Friday, January 7, 2011

Friday in Jerusalem

We began this Friday morning, our first full day in Jerusalem, with a lecture about Middle East politics by Neil Lazarus. He explained the geography of the region and the complicated history of the many conflicts over land and ideology.

We then drove straight to the Old City of Jerusalem. We entered via the Zion Gate and explored the Jewish Quarter. After a discussion about the location and purpose of the Temple, we made our way to the Western Wall for a very memorable and meaningful personal encounter with 2,000 years of Jewish history.

We shopped and braved the Friday afternoon crowds at the Machane Yehuda market. What an experience!

We returned to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. Along with the many other groups at our hotel we will celebrate Shabbat tonight and tomorrow, with many options for worship, reflection and conversation.

Tomorrow we will relax, and a few of our group have chosen to participate in a Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony. Jerusalem is very quiet on Shabbat, but comes to life on Saturday nights. We will go to the famous Ben Yehuda Street tomorrow night.

Shabbat Shalom!


Our Group


The Jerusalem Welcome Ceremony (courtesy of Piera Kempner)

No comments: