So yesterday me and a few friends realized we had a few hours of free time and we were in Jerusalem so we should go out and do something cool.
After much deliberation we decided to go the Dome of the Rock because that's pretty high up there on the list of must-see things. We're getting much better at finding our way through the city so we got there no problem but right as we were about to walk on the platform several soldiers with very big guns (which is a very common sight everywhere you go) blocked our way and informed us that it was closed at that time. Slightly disappointed we headed back to campus. On the way though, we had to walk through the square where the Western Wall is. For those who don't know, the Western (or Wailing) Wall is the retaining wall of the original Temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The Dome of the Rock was built on top of the platform the Western Wall creates, hence why we walked by it. We had planned to come to this spot later when we had more time, but as we now seemed to have a lot of time, we figured we'd stop.
There were many bar mitzvahs going on which was super exciting. The area around the wall is fenced off and separated so the men go in one half and the women go in another, much smaller half. The bar mitzvahs take place right near the dividing wall and the women stand on chairs to see over, sing, clap, pray, and throw candy at the boy turning thirteen. We watched and laughed and clapped with them and it was thoroughly delightful. We also found some of the candy on the ground and it was delicious (it was wrapped so don't get grossed out). After that I went up to the wall itself where the mood is much different. Everyone is silent, some are praying in Hebrew and rocking back and forth, some are crying, and some just stand with their hands against the wall, silent. Every crack in the wall is stuffed with paper, the prayers of hundreds of people who've come before. Standing and looking at the huge stones, the people, and the hundreds of tiny folded prayers was beyond description. There's an incredible feeling of awe and peace you get when you stand in a holy place and there's nothing to do but stand perfectly still and silent and rest in it. That wall and those notes represent such hope and perseverance that is beyond me. Through thousands of years of persecution and despair the Jewish people can still stand in this wall's shadow that represents ruin and destruction and celebrate a boy's coming of age. They see and touch these stones and it brings them to tears. They bring their hopes and prayers and stick them into the cracks of the walls because they know that this wall stands for something great: God's presence among His people. I stood for a while with my head and hands pressed against the wall and just prayed. It's definitely going to be a place I visit frequently.
After that I visited a gypsy community center! We are encouraged to volunteer somewhere while we're here to get connected with the community and I chose this place, called the Domari Center. The gypsy population in Jerusalem are the Dom people and they represent a small, minority that is considered neither Jewish nor Arabic and are often marginalized because of this. The community center provides all kinds of services from tutoring and child care to a women's center where they make and sell various crafts. I love crafts and children so I volunteered. We walked into a room painted bright shades of green and blue with a wall of embroidered pillows, jewelry, and knitted afghans all for sale. We met the woman who runs the center, Amoun, and several young German girls who are helping out. They made us apple cakes and black tea with mint and we talked about the center and what we could do to help out. We decided to come every Thursday and just do whatever is needed. I'm so pumped I could explode!
