March 15 - Jerusalem

The Talmud says "Ten measures of beauty descended to the world, nine were taken by Jerusalem."

Today started with a view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and ended with a beautiful Shabbat dinner with a Jewish family who lives in Jerusalem.

This was our first view of the old city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.  

Did you know that the old city of Jerusalem is only 1,800 years old?  In 136AD the whole city of Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt by Hadrian. This means that the city we walk in today is not the same city Jesus walked in.

Thanks to Arlene for her pre-Israel classes and to Ari for his explanation of all the different walls of Jerusalem.

There is a very large Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.  The Jewish people also believe that their Messiah will return to the Mount of Olives.

If you go to any Jewish cemetery in the world you will see rocks on their grave rather than flowers.  Ari explained that the rocks were in remembrance of when the Jews wandered the desert and people died along the way.  They would mark their graves with stones.

The Church of Tears is on the Mount of Olives commemorates that Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, there was a service going on and we were unable to go inside the church.  There is a beautiful view of Jerusalem through these windows.

Just thought I'd add a picture of me & Steve with Jerusalem in the background.

 Our group walking down the Mount of Olives.

 Restoration work being done by students at the Church of All Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Beautiful mosaic on the outside of the Church of All Nations.

1,800 year old live trees in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Did you know that olive trees can live to be 2,000 years old?  Even though the trunk is dead, new shoots will continue to grow from the trunk.

The Dung Gate outside the Jewish Quarter (yes, those are bullet holes).

Did you know that Ari, our guide, who was born in 1948 did not go inside the old city of Jerusalem until he was 19 years old.  Prior to that the old city was under the control of Jordan and no Jews were allowed in the old city.

A beautiful mezuzah on the doorway to David's tomb. Ari believes the correct site of his tomb is inside the city of David.  The scripture inside a mezuzah is Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Mount Zion was identified as the place where Jesus had the Last Supper (Passover dinner) with his disciples.  This church sits on that spot. This site was inside the walls of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus but is now outside the walls.

Caiaphas palace where Jesus was held prisoner before his crucifixion. (a church and convent sit on this site)

We finally entered the old city through the Lions Gate in the Muslim Quarter.

As Ari would say, these stairs are in situ, they are actual stairs of Jesus' time.  We were not allowed to walk on them because too many tourists had taken stones from the steps.

A picture of Nicole and Arlene sitting outside of Saint Anne's Church.

Saint Anne's Church is a Crusader church built in 1200AD.  There is nothing really special about this church except that it has a 7 second echo which makes singing in the church very beautiful.

The actual pool where Jesus healed the lame man in John 5.

We walked a small portion of the Via Dolorosa.  Remember that these streets did not exist during the time of Jesus.

We exited the old city through the Demascus Gate and walked over to the Garden Tomb.

A picture of Steve, John, & Steve at the Garden Tomb. The Garden was beautiful and we shared communion together.  The actual site of the crucifixion is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is now inside the city walls.








Our evening ended with an Erev Shabbat dinner at the home of Nat and Michelle Cohen and their three beautiful children.

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