Sunday Evening
January 31, 2010
16 Shevat 5770
“Tu b’Shevat heegee’a, chag ha’ilanot…” These are the opening words to a song that celebrates Jewish Arbor Day, which was officially yesterday. It is customary in the Jewish tradition to go into the fields and to plant, as well as to eat many different types of fruits in celebration of the many blessings that trees offer us. Since it was Shabbat on the 15th, the planting would have to wait. As for the fruits, Lynn and I visited a friend in Jerusalem on Shabbat afternoon who treated us to candied etrog, which is only available in the stores in limited quantities at this time of the year. What a true delight to celebrate the holiday! I will have more to say about the trees shortly!
Our day began early, as usual. Our first destination was the Western Wall and the Rabbinic Tunnels. We are familiar with the sight of the Wall as being the closest point at which a person can come in regard to the Holy of Holies that once stood on the Temple Mount above. The Wall itself has no intrinsic holy value, other than its proximity to the Temple. Excavations under the old city, the Muslim Quarter, which is to the left of the Western Wall, has revealed many marvels that have been hidden by the buildings above. Archaeologists have been able to dig below the surface and follow the Western wall of the Temple to the point where it turns south. As a consequence, as one moves south along the wall, there is a point where one is even closer to the place where the High Priest entered God’s sanctuary once a year on Yom Kippur. It is a place where primarily woman gather to pray. Even pictures cannot capture the sheer wonder and awe of the architectural feat and what it must have taken to build the Temple and its retaining walls. It will probably remain as another mystery to the history and the spirituality that surrounds this place.
Next on our tour of the Jewish Quarter was the Davidson Center and Robinson’s arch. It is here that we stood on stones that were two thousand years old, the same stones that paved the way for our ancient ancestors to make their final steps up to the Temple mount with their half-shekel and their offerings for the Priests. We saw a movie that helped us visualize what this place once looked like and the feelings of awe that accompanied the pilgrims in the final stage of their journey to Jerusalem. All that remains are the road, some stones knocked to the ground by the Romans when they destroyed the Temple Mount and an ancient inscription near the remnants of what was considered the biggest arch of their time.
Next, we did some shopping in the Cardo, the area that was once Roman and Jewish shops outside of the walled city, which is now a part of the ancient shuk that continues today. For many of us who were interested in buying our religious items in Jerusalem, this was the place to do so, stopping long enough to chow down a falafel before going back to the serious business of personal souvenirs.
Then, we returned to the bus for our drive to the outskirts of Jerusalem and the Jewish National Fund Forest, to the JFK Memorial Park. It was here that I planted trees with my parents, my cousins, my sisters, and my grandparents thirty seven years ago. My grandparents were strong supporters of JNF. We each planted several trees in honor and in memory of loved ones from back home. Now that we have planted them, we have learned that this is a communal effort and it is your turn to water the trees next Thursday. If you can’t make it, it is up to you to call the JNF office and switch with somebody else, other wise they don’t get watered for the week. Saplings need lots of attention. We each had a choice of several types to choose from making it that much more difficult which trees to plant for whom. However, we did make our selections and had a memorable time planting.
However, the day was not complete until we visited Har Herzl and Israel’s national military cemetery. We visited the graves of several important people, both politicians and soldies, including Theodore Hertzl, Yitzchak Rabin, Golda Meir, Chana Senesh, and Yonatan Natanyahu. What a fitting end to a moving day filled with many emotional spiritual highs and lows as we reflect back on the significance of this city and our new-found ties to the land and the people who inhabit it, and who offer their lives to protect its security.
