Marathon and Shabbat

Marathon Day

            Our itinerary was partially determined today because of the Jerusalem international marathon.  Many roads were closed until the afternoon so it was impossible to get the bus to or from the hotel. Part of the route was directly in front and behind the hotel on both Keren HaYesod Street and King David Street. At one point when I looked out the window I saw a small group of African runners.  I turned to the TV and there they were just about a minute later. Our entourage left the hotel by foot, walked to King David Street, past the hotel of that name, through the Mamilla Mall right up to the Jaffa Gate to enter the Old City.

            It was exciting to look out from the plaza leading to the gate and see runners coming up the hill and running into the stone streets of the Old City. We were able to enter the city and turned off the main street to wind our way through narrow alleyways in the Armenian Quarter, ascend some steps and arrive on roof tops looking over the Jewish Quarter.

 

On one side we saw the domes of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter. Uri spoke about different aspects of the city from the time we entered and saw the Tower of David, constructed by Herod and now the Museum of Jerusalem.  Upon our descent we found ourselves inside the Jewish Quarter which was taken over by the Jordanians in 1948 and recaptured by Israel in 1967.

            As we made our way into the Jewish Quarter we stopped by the Hasmonean wall from the First Temple period. 

We moved on to the Cardo, the main drag from Roman days and serves as a lovely area to shop.

 We moved up to the main square and looked at the Hurva Synagogue.  For many years the large archway served as a sign that this great synagogue was destroyed during the Independence War.  Now the rebuilt synagogue stands and represents the renewed jewish life in the Old City.  

 

This was followed by a period of time when the group could either shop or grab a bite of lunch.  Guess what most of us did?

            At this point the majority of the group headed to the Wall, and the excavations near the Southern Wall and Robinson’s Arch.  They were able to see the platform that has been built in this area for egalitarian prayer.

            Back to the hotel to wash up and prepare for our Shabbat visit to Modi’in.  We drove on Rte 443, avoiding the traffic and longer trip on Rte 1, the main Jerusalem to Tel Aviv highway.  Rte 443 travels partially through the territories and at times we saw the protective walls and fences that keep the road safe.  We saw some of the newer Jerusalem, post-1967 neighborhoods as well as a number of Palestinian villages.  In about 30 minutes door to door we arrived in Modi’in to a nature preserve within the city, Titora Hill. 

 

 We were met by friends from the Partnership Together (P2G), Hana Sirkis Katz, Aviva Dvir and Hila Hadas. 

 They spoke about Modi’in and the activities of the partnership, including the Journey for Identity, Ramim (for mid-career adults), the Educational Bridge, Friends Across the Sea, cultural exchanges and more.  Some of the group had some connection to one or two activities but most were learning of the wonderful connections we have established on a people to people level with Modi’in.

            We drove through the city to Kehilat YOZMA, the Reform synagogue, for Shabbat services.  We were greeted warmly by the president of the congregation, the executive director, Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon, the rabbinical student who led our service David Laor and other members of the congregation, including Ron Newman’s cousin, Yuval Newman.  The music was lead by my cousin’s daughter, Noam Elsberg, who has spent summers at URJ camps in the US including Kutz and Jacobs.  Her beautiful voice and wonderful guitar playing were a treat.  She also honored Jan and me by playing one of our son Noam’s prayers, “Roll into Dark.”  That was the only English prayer either read or sung during the service.

            After the service we were split up to go to our host families.  Some of the families were from the congregation and some were connected through the partnership.  A few people, the Osowskis and Schachters went to families who hosted their children on JFI.

Everyone enjoyed the time with their hosts and returned from the dinners who new found connections in Modi’in.  We then drove back to Jerusalem. This was another example where personal encounters have enriched the total experience.