on our tour, we visited the Western (Wailing) Wall.
some back history: Herod the Great decided to embellish the temple on Mt. Moriah (also mentioned in the Bible as Mt. Zion). this mount was only so big and in order to enlarge the temple, Herod made the mountain bigger by building an enclosure around it to then build a bigger platform under which would be the mount. the Wailing Wall is some of the remains of the wall that supported the large platform on the west side, which is closest to the Holy of Holies. when the Romans came in 70AD and destroyed the temple, they destroyed everything that was above the temple, leaving the Wall and the platform. with time, the platform has eroded away, giving explanation to the many different styles of masonry used to reconstruct the Wall.
I visited the women's quarters of the Wailing Wall, populated with many generations of mixed faith pausing in their busy day to pray at the Wall. it was very emotional being surrounded by many religious women offering prayer.
some women looked as if this was their only agenda of the day; others it was more obvious that they stopped by during their lunch hour. many school girls stopped along their way home to write little prayers to stick in the cracks of the Wall. many women were praying out of prayer books, while others simply placed their hands on the Wall to pray. I took the time at the Wall to pray for peace in our world. I found it appropriate to focus on global, universal peace as I was surrounded by worshipers of mixed faith. the experience was very moving and made me reflect the lack of daily reverence in my life. while I always feared this prayer routine would become emotionless as it is required every day, taking a short amount of time to pause this day was exactly what I needed in that moment.
from our intense walk, my body feels very sore. I am SO ready to get off my feet and go to bed!
5 comments:
I'm so happy for you, and I'm super glad we have communication! Nothing like hearing your voice from thousands of miles away. :)
Wow, thats intense.
As a woman, were you not allowed to enter some of the places that the men were? How did that make you feel?
Did you leave or say a prayer as well?
Im so happy you made it safely, and that there are many adventures to embark on!
what a great way to celebrate your hard work these past four years!
thinking of you as I am home for a couple of days before Urban Term. I'll next see you in Keola!
Love you very much, and take care
Thanks for all the pictures! It's so amazing to see where you are. Have you seen President Bush yet?? :)
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