Today, for the first time on the trip, we entered the walls of Jerusalem. In the early morning we were able to view the city from observation posts only a mile or so away from the old city. The buildings in the old city are so much older than anything in the United States. While we talk about buildings that have been around for one or two hundred years, here they talk about steps and walls and buildings around for over 1000 or 2000 years. I heard it said that something from a few hundred years ago in Israel is not an antique, but just a used item.
So, after we viewed the entire city from afar and were able to get our bearings, we entered the walls of Jerusalem. As we were walking up the side walk to enter the gates I heard loud drumming and singing. As we got closer I realized it was just around the corner from us. I asked our tour guide what all the commotion was about and if we could join the party. Tom, our guide, informed me that we were hearing a bar mitzva. There were two drummers playing leading the procession followed by a crowd of men dancing with the young boy who's bar mitzva it was under a small tent carried by four little boys. They were all singing and would stop periodically and lift the boy into the air, dancing and singing songs, encouraging the bystanders to clap along. As we were in the city we periodically heard this group making its way through the streets with its final destination at the Western Wall. The Western Wall is a Jewish holy place. It is a retaining wall for the land the temple was built on, and since the Muslims occupy the land that the temple once sat upon, this wall is the closest place the Jews can get to the area with ease. It was beautiful and moving to me to see this boy becoming a young man before my eyes. I was a part of his growing up as I clapped along with the music on the side of the road. Seeing the young boy so happy and energetic gave me hope for the being of Israel and the surrounding area. I hope that as generations pass, we become more knowledgeable about other religions, races, and ethnicities, and become more accepting of differences.
As we were in the old city today I met a shop owner named Moshe who lived out the dream of learning about differences. Moshe closed down the shop for abour 45 minutes while we were in the store just so we could all sit down and talk about Judaism and Christianity. He is a very smart Orthodox Jew who was able to intelligently articulate what he believes are misunderstandings between Christians and Jews. He then gave us an opportunity to ask any questions about Judaism that we may have had. Moshe is a very loving man who was willing to close his shop in the middle of the day just to have conversation about the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. What a business model. It was clear that Moshe was not just in the business of selling things, but in the business of doing God's will. Moshe said that he closes the shop up and has discussions multiple times a day when tour groups come in. This meeting with Moshe and the time in his shop also gave me hope for the state of Israel.
Jerusalem is a city that is very much alive and growing. While there may be parts of the city that are dangerous I have yet to see them. I am sure they exist just like dangerous parts of D.C., New York City, and even Pittsburgh exist, maybe not so much New Wilmington. Seeing the bar mitzva today and meeting Moshe was like seeing into the future a little bit. I hope and pray for a time of peace, not because we are all alike, but because we are able to sit down and talk about our differences and be able to learn from each other.
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