Saturday Shabbat: It was District Conference for all of our Church members in Israel, held at our Jerusalem Center. We had first session from 10:00 am to noon. People had come from "Dan to Beersheba" for the conference. Jim played the organ, and Deanne led the student choir in a rousing arrangement of “The Spirit of God,” which started with Christian Devey singing solo, then two other men joining in, and ending with a thrilling finale. Many said it was the highlight of the conference. It was a different conference than we’ve ever been to: talks in English and Russian (translated), and Zoomed in from Haifa area and elsewhere. Lots of technology needs, lots of translation, Arabic, Spanish, etc., and hymns were chosen so they could be sung simultaneously in English, Arabic, Hebrew, and Spanish.
To the carillon again at the YMCA with nine students, fun group. We never tire of this. In the evening, the Center hosted a chamber group at 8 p.m., Beethoven trio Op. 1 No. 1, and Dvorak “Dumky” trio, a famous but unusual chamber piece.
Monday We joined the students today for a walking tour of the Herodian or Jewish Quarter in the Old City. First we saw Hurva Synagogue which is a real landmark place in Jerusalem. It was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times—in fact, the word “hurva” means “ruins.” Destroyed in the 1948 war, it was not rebuilt until 2010. It is a beautiful, tall synagogue with a reverberant dome at the top from which you can look down and see men at study and prayer. It also has a catwalk around the outside at the top with more views of the Old City that we have come to love so much.
You can see the Jerusalem Center on the hill in the back.
Reagan Winget
We had a visit to the Burnt House, the excavated remains of a priestly mansion, now all underground.
We even came across several celebrations of Bar Mitzvahs. Quite the celebrations!
Most exciting was our visit to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park which covers the area just south of the Temple Mount. The size of the stone blocks that support the walls is nothing short of astounding. Enormous stones that were pushed from the top of the walls by the Romans are still there below the remains of Robinson’s arch. Here also were shops where money changers would exchange foreign money for purchase of sacrificial animals. Even more memorable and impressive were the ancient stairs leading up to the double and triple gates (now bricked in) on the south wall of the temple mount. It really hit home that we were walking where Jesus walked.
We also heard a story about Neil Armstrong, a devout Christian and the first person to walk on the moon (in 1969), who visited Israel in 1988. He asked his Jewish tour guide to take him to a place where it was certain Jesus had walked. The guide said that as an observant Jew, Jesus would have accessed the temple through the Huldah Gates and concluded, “Jesus stood on these steps, of that we are certain.” After reflecting, Armstrong responded: “It means more to me to stand on these steps than to stand on the moon.”
Jim went with the student group for their evening Kotel walk under the Western Wall. It was even better than the first time. The guide was a lively and fun observant Jewish lady, Batya, originally from Maryland but who has lived here 45 years.
Underground synagogue near the Western Wall
Thanksgiving was a pretty regular day here. We had a nice tour group, had a light lunch, had some rehearsals. After a Thanksgiving devotional in the auditorium, we had a big Thanksgiving dinner in the Oasis, and it was pretty authentic, especially considering the chef is Palestinian. We had fun sitting with the Barkers and reviewing some of the things we’ve done so far here.
Jameson and Erika were in Cabo to celebrate Thanksgiving week. In their honor Deanne made some tacos for us here.
Nicholas and Ariel were treated to a big cousin Thanksgiving gathering hosted by Allison and John Fowles. Fun for cousins Allison, Christina, Steven, and Karen and families to be together!
We also had our first big rainstorm here! They kept telling us the cold and rain would come. It did and it made for spectacular skyscapes.
The next two weeks are filled with more fun and music and Christmas. We are heading up or are involved with the big Christmas concert (two shows), the Upper Room evening, the YMCA Christmas tree lighting, the Jerusalem Center decorating and tree lighting, the UNforum (a casual talent show night), Memories Night (traditionally where the students review the semester in pictures, videos, fun, and games), and the December Evensong organ evening.
