On Thursday I took the train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. First things first, before checking out of my lovely Tel Aviv seashore hotel I enjoyed one last breakfast, then took a walk up to the mall to buy a nice shirt to wear to the Seder on Saturday night just in case my suitcase did not meet in time.
I am invited to a seder courtesy of my Boulder Rabbi Marc Soloway (Thank you again Rabbi Marc) who reached out and found a friend of his in Jerusalem who invited me. I ended up buying two shirts so I could have something clean for my first day in Jerusalem and a second one if needed for the Passover seder. (thank you again Rabbi Joel for the invitation and for including me in your lovely and very meaningful seder)
I took a cab to the train station and truthfully hated the feeling that is similar to ignorance of not speaking the language and not knowing how to get the gate to open to let me on to the platform. Ultimately, I made it on to the train which was crowded and only had one stop before arriving in Jerusalem where I had to repeat the same process of trying to get the gate to open to let me out. I did not know the details at the time but the high-speed train runs 80 meters underground (about 262 feet) making it one of the deepest railway stations in the world. It really wasn’t that complicated, but I felt overwhelmed. When I finally made it out of the station and into the sunlight of Jerusalem I felt like a time traveler who had arrived in a strange new world. I walked the mile and a half to my hotel (using my I-phone navigator) and felt like an early immigrant in NYC in the 1890’s (except of course there electric trains and everyone had cell phones) Everything was busy and different, everyone spoke languages I did not understand. I eventually found my hotel which was a little buried off of three alleys that did not allow cars. Of course, there was no one at the desk to greet me (totally different from the experience in Tel Aviv) and eventually the clerk came and convinced me to sign up for the breakfast plan despite the fact that it would not be in this hotel (but in a sister hotel) for the first few days as they koshered the kitchen for Passover.
On Friday morning after finally finding the other hotel for breakfast (a little disappointing after the wonderful experience in Tel Aviv) and eventually finding my way back to my hotel (yes I got turned around not lost but turned around) twice, I showered and made my daily call to El Al and was given the number of the driver who was bringing my suitcase and who told me I had to be there waiting for him since he could not drive up directly to the hotel. Eventually I met the driver on a side street nearby, brought my wandering suitcase up to my hotel room and took off walking with my plan of visiting the Western Wall (aka Kotel in Hebrew) on my first day in Jerusalem.
I realize that some of my readers may already be totally familiar with the history of the Western Wall and the layout of the old city of Jerusalem and for others I will provide very brief information and urge you to use modern technology and look it up using that google thing. The Western Wall (Hebrew: הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, romanized: HaKotel HaMa’aravi, lit. ’the western wall’, is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem) Quite simply (copied from Wikipedia) “the Wall is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray outside the Temple Mount platform, because the presumed site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred site in the Jewish faith, presumably lies just above and behind it.”
For some reason that I was not quite sure of the navigation on my phone was going odd and kept walking me in circles. Eventually I found people who spoke English and apologized for my ignorance and asked them simply to point me in the direction of the Kotel. The last person I asked was a very kind young man who offered to walk with me up to the Jaffa Gate and kept me company and provided conversation along the way.
Here is a picture of the Jaffa Gate.
I walked through the Jaffa Gate and absolutely was in another world. I continued down the stone path and stairs until eventually I reached the Wall itself. I am writing this (on Sunday morning) two days later and still I am overwhelmed and a bit speechless at the experience. I walked directly up to the wall and put my hand to the wall and then to my lips for a kiss. I started to pray in away that I have only really done a few times in my life.
It was indeed a holy moment. Here is a picture of the wall up (from a distance and up close) and of me nearby shortly after my moment of prayer.
I stayed a little bit longer but then started the walk up the stairs and back to the new City and my hotel. Shabat was coming and the shops were still open and people were busy. By the time I got back to the hotel I was very tired and layed down on my bed and fell deeply asleep. By the time I woke up from a deep sleep I had missed my opportunity to get something to eat. EVERYTHING was closed.
Saturday was Shabat and Saturday night I was invited to a Passover seder.
More to come.