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Thursday, December 27 - "Jerusalem of Old"
Every morning during our stay we enjoyed an Israeli breakfast buffet at our hotel. The huge variety of foods to choose from is marvelous: eggs and breads and cereals, yogurt and many kinds of hard and soft cheeses, fruit, warm pastries filled with cheese or vegetables, potatoes, fish, and a multitude of salads, from tuna salad to green bean salad to fresh cucumbers and tomatoes to pasta salads….plus puddings and halvah if you feel a need for dessert. You could easily eat an entire day's meals at one of these buffets!
Morning, tour of the Western Wall Tunnels, followed by a Torah service at Robinson's Arch, part of the Davidson Archeological Park grounds, which are located just south of the historic Western Wall (Ha Kotel) and include part of the southern wall of the Temple Mount. It was quite an experience, davening together with the sounds of several other minyans also praying and singing close by, plus a crowd of young drummers and shofar blowers making noise just a block or two away at the Dung Gate. After services, we spent some time looking around the Davidson Archeological Park.
Lunch in Old City Jewish Quarter.
Afternoon, historic sites: City of David, Herodian mansions, water tunnel.
Dinner on our own: Mike and Michelle and I walked 15 minutes from our hotel to Ben Yehuda street for food and shopping. Overnight in Jerusalem.
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The historic Western Wall of the Temple Mount |
View of the Dome of the Rock from inside a market lane |
Southern Wall, with Mount of Olives in the background |
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Robinson Arch area of Davidson Archeological Park |
More of the Temple Mount wall that's been uncovered |
Our morning service at Robinson's Arch |
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At the South Wall steps, public entrance to the Temple Mount in King Herod's time |
Some recovered columns, thrown off the Mount when the Romans razed the Temple in 70 C.E. |
Western Wall to left of ramp leading to top of the Temple Mount; archeological park to right |
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Friday, December 28 - Those Who Sacrificed
Morning, walking around Har Herzl, then Yad VaShem. We ended our too-brief visit there with a stop at the Garden of the Righteous, to look for the name of the woman who sheltered Esther and her family in Greece during WWII.
Lunch and afternoon at Shevat Achim, a Masorti congregation in Gilo. Viewed the security fence between Gilo and the Arab village of Bet Jallah, which was the base for a lot of shooting attacks aimed at homes and businesses in Gilo at the start of the second intifada. We also heard stories of how the members of Shevat Achim came to join the congregation.
Kabbalat Shabbat: we walked to the Yamin Moshe neighborhood, near the Montefiore Windmill, to daven at an orthodox shul there. The young man who led much of the services had an extraordinarily beautiful voice; lots of multi-part harmony singing from the congregation, too.
Group Shabbat dinner at Prima Kings Hotel, overnight in Jerusalem.
Saturday, December 29
Morning, everyone went their own way. Some went to services, others took walks or simply slept or relaxed. Mike, Michelle, and I walked about 15 minutes to the Old City, entered at the Jaffa Gate and spent about four hours exploring. Visited the Kotel, the Jewish Quarter, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and took the Rampart Walk from the Jaffa Gate to the Dung Gate.
Lunch, buffet at Prima Kings Hotel.
Late afternoon, some of us joined Shari for an hour-long walking tour of the Rachavia neighborhood, one of four "garden cities" planned and built during the British Mandate era. We all got together for havdalah around 5:20 in the square in front of the hotel.
Dinner and evening on our own: Mike, Michelle, and I went to dinner with some of our Israeli cousins at the restaurant Selina in the German Colony neighborhood. Overnight in Jerusalem.
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Part of the security fence separating Arab and Jewish neighborhoods |
Concrete barriers allow residents to use this road without fear of being shot |
Get-acquainted dinner with our cousins |
Photos of December 30
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