Israel, Day 2 – Tuesday – Spiritual Jerusalem

After learning much of the structural and archeological history of Jerusalem, on Tuesday we set out to discover the spiritual side – for all three monotheistic religions.  We headed out to the Haas Promenade on the Mount of Olives – so named because it used to be covered with olive groves - which is where Jews have been buried since biblical times based on scripture that says resurrection will begin from the hilltop east of Jerusalem.  Jews from all over the world and all of history are buried here; some pay huge amounts of money to have their body sent here after death. When the messiah comes, Jews believe he(she?) will come down the Mount of Olives to enter Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate, and those closest to the top will be the first to be resurrected.  Interestingly, on the opposite ridge you can see a Muslim cemetery and the Eastern Gate (also known as the Golden Gate, Gate of Eternal Life, and Gate of Mercy – and supposedly the gate through which Jesus entered Jerusalem), which has been blocked by Suleiman the Magnificent, an Ottoman Sultan, possibly for defensive reasons.  However, there’s an interesting tale of apocalyptic strategery here; legend has it that Suleiman placed the cemetery in front of the gate because the messenger Elijah who precedes the Messiah, as a high priest, will be unable to walk through a cemetery, and therefore the Messiah will not come.  Or, perhaps Muslims who chose to be buried there wanted to make sure they could take part in the Jewish resurrection as well.  So there are two dueling cemeteries on opposite ridges of the same valley.   

True to my activist nature, I found myself hooked by the Dominus Flevit Church (Latin for “the Lord Wept”), which is placed behind the spot where it is thought that Jesus stood and said,

View from inside the Dominus Flevit Church

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”  Matthew 23:37-39

He was lamenting the broken present and future of the city that he loved and despaired for.  At that moment, overlooking the old city, I realized I found that very comforting about Jesus.  It’s very close to what we organizers and everyday prophets feel as well.  And, like the words of prophets, it stays relevant over millennia.

As we made our way down from the Mount of Olives, Dr. Mikva gave me the opportunity to purge a bit of what had been weighing on my heart – my guardedness - and jostle it to the side just enough to let the Garden of Gethsemane hit me in the gut.  From my trip to Turkey four years ago, I know how strange and wonderful it can be to recognize the similar foods eaten by people of Jesus’ time.  That type of visualization of the landscape and the diet - the continuity and connection - is so powerful, and so different from how we exist in America.  And it’s the kind of power that surprises you because it comes as a revelation rather than anticipation.  Since that time, or at least for several months, I’ve had this unspoken eagerness to get a first hand look at an olive tree.  I had learned in my studies about Palestine – one in which Israeli tanks were plowing up an olive grove on Palestinian land - that olive trees live an incredibly long time – like thousands of years.  Then, as we enter a nondescript courtyard, Jared tells us that Gethsemane literally means ‘oil press’, and that the Garden where Jesus spent his last few hours and was betrayed was a grove of olives, perhaps the very one we were standing in.  And, since olive trees are capable of living not hundreds, but thousands of years, the connection to our shared past was palpable.   

Off the courtyard is the entrance to the Church of All Nations, in my opinion the most beautiful Church in all of Israel.  Built in 1920 (the remains of two other churches were found below during building), every surface is covered with mosaic or stained glass.  The church was funded by donations from many countries, and the symbol of those countries are integrated into the ceiling and mosaics.  The entry door itself is set aglow in the morning light. 

The Southern Corner of the Western Wall

We leave Christianity for a moment and arrive at the stairs to Herod’s Temple Mount – the massive structure that was built as a platform for the Second Temple in Judaism (built in 18 BCE).  In Jewish practice at that time, followers would visit the temple at least once a year to give a ritual sacrifice.  But the old temple was the highest point on a steep holy hillside, and would leave lines of people leaning and waiting on uneven ground for their opportunity to visit the temple.  King Herod, with his complex of grandiosity (more about that tomorrow), decided to build a new temple with a wide, flat floor the size of multiple football fields that would accommodate the pilgrims in comfort.  This is interesting when you learn that Herod himself was Jewish, probably recently converted, but also appointed by the Roman Army to govern Judea and the Jews.  So Herod was likely ingratiating himself with the locals with this construction. The lane outside the wall becomes Jerusalem’s main street. Markets surround the outside of the temple, allowing Jews from all nations to exchange their money for shekels in order to purchase the sacrifice they need to make, as well as other wares that travelers enjoy.  There are possibly even some of these market places within the temple gates (yes, these are the ‘moneychangers’ Jesus calls ‘den of thieves’).  It was an architectural marvel of incredible proportions, with some blocks measuring 45 feet long (45 x 4 x 4 probably) – carved out from tunnels chiseled into perfect framed squares that is the signature of Herod’s work.

Around the corner, the excavations of a huge wall extend before our eyes.  This wall, the Western wall of Herod’s Temple Mount, is essentially the same wall as the Wailing Wall, which is just beyond an earthen encampment.  There were so many societies conquering and re-conquering Jerusalem in history that when building, many of the new residents will just add on to existing walls of buildings destroyed by the last conquest.  In this way, the Western Wall of Herod’s temple has been holding up various residences and buildings for centuries.  But in the 1800’s, a portion of the wall became exposed, and Jewish pilgrims looking for some sort of connection to the land began to visit it.  Word spread, and it became a sort of holy place.  Now, Jews from all over the world, or those who live in Israel, visit the wall to pray and leave prayers in the wall.  Prayer sections are divided between men and women, in respect for the Ultra Orthodox Jewish tradition of men and women not praying together.

Onto Islam, we gain access to the Temple Mount for the short 1 hour that non-Muslims are allowed to visit.  Last seen from the Mount of Olives, the Dome of the Rock guards a place that is holy for all three religions, and is covered with Arabic calligraphy.  Under is believed to be Mt. Moriah, the site where Abraham took his son Isaac, on God’s command, to be sacrificed.  The golden dome covers the rock from which the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) ascended into heaven.  The fact that central religious events in all three Abrahamic religions repeatedly happen in the same place gives one pause, I think.

 The Old City also contains the Via Delarosa, the walk that Jesus took through Jerusalem carrying the cross – otherwise known as the Stations of the Cross.  We join Via Delarosa, stopping at the station where a woman stopped to wipe Jesus’ face with a cloth, denoted by a Roman numeral on the wall.  

 

Eventually we come to the last station, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Tomb), built over the very place Jesus was crucified and resurrected (so they think. Of course, there is also a concrete slab where Jesus was anointed after death, and the location of the tomb, all conveniently located under one roof and available to be toured). 

An interesting aspect to diversity in Jerusalem is who of the Christian sects gets or splits control over the holy sites.  The Greek Orthodox Church is actually the largest landowner in all of Israel, as a result of their alliance with the Ottoman Empire centuries ago.  Their mark is evident in the heavy, ornate, decadent silver and gold décor present at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and many other sites.  However, the 3 other Christian groups are able to claim space (for both worship and monastery housing) at on this holy site, including the Roman Catholic and Ethiopian Christian Church.  Protestant Christian groups have no claim to this site, and in fact, have established a different site elsewhere in Jerusalem called the Garden Tomb, where they claim Jesus was buried and resurrected.  After climbing narrow stairs to witness the rock, we exit to see the slab and circle around the tomb, where once a year a candle is lit by the divine and that fire is carried out into the world.

…

Reflection: Olive Trees

Contracting and Expanding.  The trunks of olive trees appear huge, twisty, gnarled and unsightly, even hollow. They are like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  But that unsightly form is, like all of nature and life, pure function.  Olive trees hold water in their trunks and proliferate only in deserts – in fact they are one of the 7 species native to Israel/Palestine.  The trunks expand to fill with water to get them through the dry season, and can contract over time.  Through this process, the trunks become a knotted, gnarled, enchanted looking thing. 

Standing in the Garden of Gethsemane today – ‘Gethsemane’, where Jesus went to pray and think before the betrayal and scolded his disciples for sleeping –we learned ‘gethsemane’ literally means “oil press” and is filled with olive trees.  I had subconsciously been looking forward to spotting an olive tree during my time in this place where olives come from –which is just about my favorite food. Surrounded by these trees, this new revelation brought Jesus front and center –connected me in a very real, tangible way to this ancient tale from 2000 years ago. I have fully moved, for the moment, from the political and justice issues blocking wonder and have been completely immersed in the incredible archeological world we saw today.  Expanding and Contracting. 

Contracting and Expanding, like our impressions of Israel and Palestine.  Contracting from our reading and research in preparation for the trip, with the false sense of ‘knowingness’ that academia gives us all.  Expanding as we look with new eyes at the life – integrated, functional, collaborative and present with us as we walk the streets.  Expanding as we are overfed with religious symbols and landmarks and incredible archeology.  Expanding to include how this land has so many meanings for so many different types of people; Orthodox Jews, Coptic Christians, native Muslims, Jewish Youth, Armenian Christians, Greek Orthodox, displaced Palestinians, Western Christians, and homebound Jews. I’ve noticed how our guide, Jared, greets every long lost friend – whether it be Rabbi Mikva or Seminarian Fransisco Herrera, with “Welcome Home.”  Expanding the idea of ‘home’ – is this sacred land ‘home’ for all?

Expanding and Contracting – like our faith over the years.  Like ourselves.  Like our desire for theological discovery, our capacity for belief, our sense of the spirit at different times in our lives.  Our ability to rely on God, our humility to call out for help, our sense of grace.  Contracting and Expanding, adjusting to the times we need to be fed, the times we are well watered, the wet and the dry seasons of our lives.  Note the wisdom of the olive tree.  Jared mentioned that scientists recently traced an olive tree that has been alive for 6000 years.  Expanding and Contracting.