Israel - Colorful Jerusalem

I flew to Israel during the month of April in 2003. My home base was Tel Aviv. I knew that at some point I wanted to make my way over to Jerusalem, especially since both Easter and Passover would be observed in the old city.

I took an early morning bus from Tel Aviv and arrived in Jerusalem around 1 p.m. on Easter Sunday. After finding a basic hotel inside the walls of the old city, I immediately rushed over to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or also called the Church of the Resurrection. This is the site where Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. I did not know what to expect on this special day. I followed the crowds into the church. I walked around. I observed the ornate ceremony taking place, but I honestly had no idea what was transpiring. One thing I learned is that no one knows if Jesus was actually buried here or about a 1/2 mile away. At least that is what I was told by several people in Jerusalem.



After leaving the church I got lost in the maze of the old city. Eventually I made it to the Western Wall or Kotel. Before entering I had to clear the metal detectors. There was security all around. I was shocked to see how close the Western Wall was to the Dome of the Rock. This is absolutely crazy. I went from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the Western Wall and then at a distance to viewing the Dome of the Rock. With so much conflicting religious passion within a small confined area, no wonder there is tension.

Upon exiting the Western Wall I got completely turned around once again. I ended up walking through the Muslim quarter and found myself at the Damascus Gate. Eventually I made it back to my hotel. This is when Jerusalem got truly fascinating. Usually when I travel I like to be out of my hotel shortly after sunrise and not return until sunset. This is definitely not the way to explore Jerusalem. Yes, there are certain places that you should explore such as Yad Vashem and Mea Shearim, but you should also leave equal time to talk to all the people visiting Jerusalem. This is a huge part of what makes Jerusalem so colorful.

Let me introduce you to just a few of the people that I met at my hotel in the old city of Jerusalem.

Greg, 63 years old, from Texas: While sleeping in his Texas home Greg received a vison from G-d. G-d wanted him to go to Jerusalem. He was to leave his family in Texas and go to Jerusalem for 6 weeks. His job was to walk the streets of Jerusalem. As long as he was walking the streets of Jerusalem, no scud missiles from Iraq would hit Israel. (Note: the U.S. started bombing Iraq on March 18, 2003). On April 21 I was part of celebrating Greg's 63rd birthday. On Tuesday, April 22, 2003 Greg was scheduled to return home to Texas.

Miriam from Germany: Miriam's mother is Jewish and her father is not. She made Aliyah many years ago and did Ulpan Kibbutz, where she eventually became fluent in Hebrew. Miriam works for the Israeli police as a translator. During my stay at the hotel there was an Israeli police bust. They were checking for illegals and Palestinians from the West Bank. One guy was escorted out and another guy was questioned for about 15 minutes but was eventually left alone. Although I did not think so, I truly had no idea if Miriam had anything at all to do with this.

Two dormitory roommates: Two women in my dormitory were Catholic. One of these women had just undergone some type of trauma. She spent most of her day praying in the dorm room. She sat on her bed and mumbled prayers for hours on end. When she wasn't sitting on the bed, then she went out with her female friend to one of the churches.

Grace, 37 years old, Arab: Grace completely embraced the Jewish faith but was finding it difficult to find a Jewish man to marry her. She was a bit depressed about this as well as very scared of catching SARS from foreigners. (Note: According to the cdc.gov website, "On April 22, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 3,947 probable severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases with 229 deaths worldwide.") Grace gave me several pointers on how to find a man:

• Visit Jerusalem's Wailing Wall for 40 days straight
• Go to Amuka, which is a place that I can pray for marriage
• Enlist the help of a Shadkhan or a matchmaker
• Sit in a hotel lobby, looking pretty and drinking coffee
• Ask a Yishiva student to say prayers for me at the Wailing Wall for 40 days straight

I found her advice intriguing.

A female missionary in India for 15 years: I met a very kind woman who helped in India with food distribution and the creation of wells. This woman worked mainly between New Delhi and Agra. We ended up in a disagreement. She said the people of India needed food and water. I said they needed birth control. She did not believe in abortion or any form of birth control. She felt people should abstain from sex or face the consequences. I replied that many women are not empowered to be in control of their sexual activity. The consequences are hard, possibly fatal labor and mal-nourished children who often die before the age of 5 from starvation or illness. As this point I said we should change the topic, especially since this particular woman was extremely kind to me and all the people around her. I really did not want to argue with her. She spent the last 15 years of her life helping many in need.

A young American couple: I asked a young American couple why they were in Jerusalem. The young man told me that he had a vision from G-d. Prior to September 11, 2001, he saw a fireball chasing him. This was a sign from G-d to leave the U.S. and go to Jerusalem. He told me that the fireball represents greed, divorce, capitalism, etc. To his disappointment he was starting to see the same devilish behavior in Israel. I asked him if he planned to work to help make changes. He said yes but he had not gotten to that point yet. The young woman he was with agreed with him. She added that the U.S. and western countries oppress the eastern countries.

As you can see, I had one interesting conversation after the next interesting conversation. I could have continued these conversations for days. If you ever find yourself in Jerusalem, make sure you make time to ask the people around you, "What brings you to Jerusalem?" You will be amazed at the variety of responses. I feel this is part of what makes Jerusalem so fascinating and colorful.