Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The day started out cloudy and cool, with prevailing breezes from the west (pretty typical for Jerusalem). This short touring day began at 9 AM with a visit to the Davidson Archaeological Center located inside Jerusalem’s Old City walls, at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount complex. The Center focuses on reconstructing the shape, function, and profile of the Temple Mount as it was in the time before the destruction by Rome in 70 CE.

One facet of the Davidson research center was a unique computer program, created by the Center and archaeologists at UCLA, was an interactive computer model of the Old City and the Temple Mount.

A trained operator/tour guide took us on a virtual tour of the Old City and the Southern Wall areas, which were, in actuality, the original entrances and exits of the Temple Mount precinct. In these walls, which today make up the foundation for the Al-aqsa mosque, you can see the original Herodian arches that allowed people access and egress to the Second Temple.

A partial arch, that you can see here, comes out from the far southern part of the Western Wall, and is called Robinson’s Arch, named after the archaeologist who, in the Nineteenth century, discovered it and theorized about its origins. The arch descends from the top level of the Temple to the street below, where there was a market place and possible location of money changers who would, in Second Temple times, exchange sacrificial animals for money of the pilgrims who would come to Jerusalem on pilgrim festivals (Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot) and not have the ability to bring their own animals for sacrificing.

The tour at the Davidson Center lasted until about 11 AM, at which time the group’s official tours stopped and we had the remainder of the day for walking, meeting, shopping, and relaxing. Some returned to the hotel for packing and sleeping. Others walked throughout the Old and New city of Jerusalem for shopping, bargaining in the Arab shuk, and eating the luscious middle eastern treats.

In the evening, we gathered for a farewell dinner in the hotel dining room. It was a time for reflection on the itinerary, on the exceptional people whom we met, gratitude for our guide Miri. . .

and our driver Dudi. . .

and our tour arranger Ari. . .

Most of all, there were kudos for our travelers who decided that coming to Israel at this (or any) time was worth their time, substance, and energies, and that their dedication to learning about the land and Progressive Judaism there was strong and growing.

Our travelers came on this trip with various motivations. Some came to connect with the land on an emotional level. Others came to learn about its history and its contemporary dynamic. Others were interested to learn about the presence and effect of liberal Judaism in Israel. All of these parts came together in the last few days, as we entered Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, felt the influence of its people and its institutions, and were able – as a group – to speak among ourselves and analyze the situation in which Israel finds herself today.

Each traveler had a different “high point” of their trip, and each traveler will relate differently to the various experiences we had and people we meet. As a group, we hope to maintain this blog as a place where people can offer their insights and their views, and we hope that our love for Israel grows through learning and contact with Jews in Israel.

We thank you for reading this blog and for keeping in touch, and we invite you to comment on these pages by clicking on the appropriate links.

We write this blog from Liberty Newark Airport on the way home from Tel Aviv, and we will post this Wednesday evening January 5. But the effects of Israel on our group will be timeless, and will lead to even greater exposure, discussion, debate, agree- and disagreements, and – we hope – a strengthening of the ties between Jews of Israel and the rest of the Jewish world.