Arab Market, Yoga and Tel Aviv!

This morning Rev. Gramely and I went the Arab Market, walked into one of the shops, saw goods that we wanted to purchase and began the bartering process.  As soon as I asked "Kamah Zeh?" 'How much is this?" I noticed that this shop was different. It felt different--less pressure, the shop keepers were more knowledgeable and easy going.  We began talking--it turns out the Omar, the store owner went to UIC--where I did my undergraduate work and is a Jeweler and his brother Yosef, who also is a Jeweler and in the family business, lived in Naperville for a few years.  We shook hands.  Omar asked Yosef, to show me "the well."  We walked through the large store and Yosef flipped on a light switch, I looked down on the floor and there, I saw a laminate cover over an ancient well, clearly from antiquity, was illuminated.  Unreal.  I learned from the brothers that they had been born in Jerusalem and their family just celebrated 384 years on the same property.  They should us pictures of his relatives and the home that has belonged to his family for generations.  Eventually, we spoke about our respective time at UIC and after a while, I shared with him that as a student, a Palestinian friend and I organized a student group on campus called PEACE--People Encouraging Acceptance Through Communication and Education.  Jews and Muslims came together for dialogue, programs and activities.  Actually, Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary gave us the seed money for the group!  Anyway, we talked some more and discovered that we share a favorite Persian restaurant (Rezas) and a fondness for Greek town.  Finally, I purchased a small piece of Jewelry and as we shook hands and said good-bye I realized my interfaith study/tour of the Holy Land had already begun.

From the Shuk (Arab Market) I walked to meet one of my yoga teachers, who lives in Jerusalem, for lunch.  Diane is one of the best teachers of Torah I have ever encountered and the Torah we shared over Moroccan vegetable soup and whole grain bread was brilliant and beautiful.  One of the teachings she offered to me seems so obvious, but I had not heard it before and was happy for the teaching.  She told me that in Hebrew the word Yehudah (Jew) is spelled with the same 4 letters that spell Adonai + 1 more letter--a daled.  Daled in hebrew is often the letter that symbolizes humility.  Diane thus offered a reflection on how the Hebrew word Yehudah (Jew/Jewish) contains both the idea that there is strength in Faith, and we must also be humble and remember from whence we came etc.

After our time together, I walked back to the hotel and met up with Rev. Gramely to begin the ride to Tel Aviv. Our official program begins in an hour.  It is cold, dark and rainy--thunderstorms and all.  Jerusalem and all of Israel need the rain, yet i am cold and miss seeing the sun over the Mediterranean.   I am thrilled that Nathan reminded me to bring an umbrella to Israel.  Yes, before I left, N spoke to me in Hebrew saying, "It is winter in Israel. There is rain in the winter.  Bring an umbrella."  Let's hear it for our tuition dollars at work!!

With Love.

It was a beautiful morning to visit the Kotel (Western Wall).  I stayed for a while and enjoyed being alone with my thoughts and prayers while surrounded with others who were also alone expressing words from the heart.

After the Kotel, Rev. Gramely I wandered around the Old City, we went to the Burnt House Museum which is basically a 20 minute movie about a Priest-family who lived during the days of the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem.  The multi-media presentation is housed within the ancient ruins of the 2nd Temple. We then went to the Arab Market, and I bought tee-shirts for the kids and had a bite to eat.  After, I walked downtown for a while--and saw the new train in Jerusalem! WoW! When we were here 6 months ago we watched this train go back and forth as practice runs without passengers and now finally--there are people riding the train!  Fun to see.  A modern Israeli miracle.  Of course the real miracle is how it manages to avoid all the people who cross the street right in front of it!  I walked back to the hotel around sunset and took in the view.. along with the pollution, noise and traffic... Ah, the beauty of it all.  While walking back, I reflected back on my morning prayers and remembered David Zeller's beautiful prayer-song, "I am alive." A perfect song for how i felt today. In the clip below, Reb David Zeller (T'L) sings Ha'Lo Chai Ani (I am Alive) at 24:27 but a minute or so before he teaches about the song and... the whole video is wonderful!

http://vimeo.com/1176214                           Rabbi David Zeller:

Reverend Margaret Gramely and me at the Western Wall.

Day One: Jerusalem

Day One:  Jerusalem

After a fairly exhausting travel day--nearly 18 hours--I arrived with Rev. Margaret Gramely, at Ben Gurion airport last night and a few hours later (!) we finally made it to the hotel.  It is a bright and sunny  Tuesday morning in Jerusalem and I am looking forward to walking to the Old City and going to the Western Wall in few minutes. The Wall is my first stop on this visit because I want to return to the spot where only 6 months ago I was blessed to see my children look up in awe and amazement at the holy sight.  It was so great to see them so excited about being at the Wall.   They knew they were standing on holy ground.

I want to return to the Wall first thing because it there where I felt God's presence rest between Kyle and Nathan as I watched them speaking and praying together.

Also, 6 months ago I was at the Wall with members of my congregational family, Beth Am and we prayed, sang and shared together as we welcomed in Shabbat and it was a beautiful time for all of us.

Today I am with out my family by my side, and with out my congregation and I miss both.   I want to get to the Wall first thing because I will use this time of quiet and solitude to say thank You.  Thank You for all that is mine.  The blessings include both the great moments and the challenging ones and I want to reflect on it all.   The western wall is of course part of sacred Jewish history and it also holds with it the words and prayers of my children and extended family.  I will return there today to continue the prayer-conversation that has existed for millennia, to return to the conversation that I began 6 months ago.

I'll keep you posted.