Various Sights around Jerusalem

This entry is a "catch all" of various scenes from our wanderings around Jerusalem. Fear not, I do plan to devote individual entries to more of the major Jerusalem sites (such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Agony and the Garden of Gethsemane, the Stations of the Cross, the Tower of David, The Tomb of David, the Upper Room, and so forth). Still, I thought it important to present some images and remembrances that don't necessarily fit neatly in with any of the recognized places.

As we quickly became aware, Israel is a country that is ever vigilant, prepared to defend itself against its surrounding enemies at all times. Once they turn 18, all Israeli Jewish men and women (with some exceptions for religious reasons) are required to serve in the Israeli Defense Force for two or three years, with reserve service continuing until the age of about 45. Members of the IDF almost always keep their weapons and equipment at hand, and it is not unusual to see armed soldiers taking the bus back to base from weekend leave. In Jerusalem, there is a mingling of the IDF, the Israeli Police, and the Preventive Security Service of the Palestinian National Authority.

Security was particularly strong at the "Wailing" or Western Wall; visitors had to pass through metal detectors, and all bags and packages were subject to inspection.

The following photos depict Saturday morning (Shabbat) "traffic" just inside the Jaffa Gate in the walled (old) city of Jerusalem:

Despite orthodox Jewish observances of the sabbath, Jerusalem is a place of such varied beliefs and practices that the markets in the old city were nevertheless open for business. Here are some views of various market stalls and shops from throughout the city:

Rusty and I were particularly impressed with the displays of spices for sale.

These merchants were taking a break from their sales day.

Yes, the Hard Rock Cafe and Coca-Cola are everywhere!

The newer portions of Jerusalem are quite fascinating as well. Our hotel, the Dan Panorama, was very close to the YMCA.

The YMCA, below, is really striking, and beautifully lighted at night.

Here is a view of the King David Hotel, which is just across the street from the YMCA. This hotel is top of the line; many heads of state, dignitaries, and celebrities have stayed here. During our visit, U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama was a guest of this hotel.

This is a view of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament; it is located just across the street from the Shrine of the Book museum.

There are many, many antique and antiquities stores located throughout Jerusalem, both the old and the new portions of the city. Here is one storefront, with an amazing Sterling silver scroll "case" (for the scrolls of the Torah) on view:

Outside the Jaffa Gate is a brand-new, ultra-modern, upscale outdoor shopping mall:

The most amazing thing about this shopping mall is that it is reconstructed, each stone having been labeled before the old buildings were taken apart so that the stones could be reassembled to recreate the street once internal reinforcements had been erected.

This is an artist's drawing of the work in progress (and it was ongoing while we were there):

Finally, a couple of scenes from the streets of old Jerusalem; it is a city of many, many tourists, particularly during the summer months:

We were amazed to encounter this outdoor fountain in the old city, since water is so precious here. But it is a beautiful work of art--a "kinetic sculpture," if you will--and testifies to the people's ability to overcome difficulties while continuing to hope for a better future.

Shrine of the Book, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Model of Second Temple Jerusalem

Some scientists conjecture that religious belief is the main characteristic that sets humankind apart from other animals. From the earliest days of human society, one of the most important parts of religious ritual was the telling of stories. For millennia, stories about the creation of the world, the activities of the gods, and the origins of groups and their traditions were recited by one generation to the next, and the stories changed in the telling. The recording of these stories is a relatively modern event in human history, for "writing" did not become widespread until sometime in the 4th millennium B.C.E., with the need to record commercial transactions (though people used symbols much earlier). Though early "writing" was highly pictographic, it enabled societies to begin to "fix" their stories in a form that could pass unchanged through the generations. The first alphabet emerged in Ancient Egypt about 1800 B.C.E., and it is possible that the Israelites learned writing while they resided in Egypt--or even that they may have helped the Egyptians develop writing.


It is uncertain when the sacred stories of the Israelites were inscribed onto scrolls--one must remember that, according to tradition, many years passed between the time the Israelites escaped from bondage in Egypt (perhaps in the 1300s B.C.E.) and the time King David united the peoples into a great kingdom (perhaps some time around 1000 B.C.E.), maybe the first opportunity for a stable Jewish society in which writing could flourish. It was during this First Temple Period that the Jewish people began to shape their ancient traditions into holy scriptures.

In about 586 B.C.E. Babylon conquered the kingdom and took the Jews into exile again; though they began to return to Jerusalem about 50 years later, it was not until 450 B.C.E. that the "Men of the Great Assembly" first compiled the contents of the Tanakh (the five books of Moses [also known as the Torah or Pentateuch], the books of the prophets, and other writings). The process of compilation continued, and by the 1st century B.C.E. the "canon" of the Hebrew Bible had been determined. Other people in other lands had undertaken the task of recording their stories and religious beliefs, but the Jews became known as the People of the Book because of their adherence to the laws set forth therein.

Thus the background to the construction of the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. When the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts, were discovered at Qumran in the Judean Desert beginning in 1947, certain scholars and Israeli nationalists conceived the idea of building a museum where people could view and study these scrolls. The museum was finished in 1965, funded by the family of David Samuel Gottesman, the philanthropist who had purchased and donated the scrolls to the state of Israel. Part of the Israel Museum, the shrine is actually built mostly underground, topped by a white dome that symbolizes the Sons of Light and abutting a black wall that symbolizes the Sons of Darkness.



Inside, the exhibits are very dimly lit, to protect the fragile scrolls from the harmful effects of light (because photographs are prohibited, I picked these particular images up from other websites). And only one scroll is on display at any one time, the rest being stored in climate-controlled "vaults" (after all, they were preserved because they were buried in cool, dry, dark desert caves for hundreds of years); visitors can view facsimiles of those originals not on display.

When we were in Jerusalem, we were fortunate because our visit coincided with the display of the Great Isaiah Scroll [see my previous blog posting], wrapped all the way around this large representation of a scroll:

Another rare and special manuscript found in the museum is the Aleppo Codex (I don't have a photo of it, unfortunately). Written by Masorete scholars in Tiberias in the 10th century C.E., the Aleppo Codex embodies centuries of traditions with regard to pronunciation, spelling, punctuation, and cantillation. It is known as the "Aleppo" Codex because it had made its way to Aleppo, Syria, from where it was smuggled back to Jerusalem in the 1950s. Many Israelis believe that the exhibition of the Aleppo Codex in the Shrine of the Book is a a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy: “For instruction [Torah] shall come forth from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (2:3).

Outside the building is a peaceful sculpture garden. These are some photos of the gardens and sculptures, both modern and ancient (since this is part of the Israeli Museum, there are a number of antiquities on display):

Nearby the Shrine of the Book is the Model of Second Temple Jerusalem. It is a fascinating and beautiful 1:50 scale model (occupying 21,500 square feet) that displays ancient Jerusalem's palaces, homes, courtyards, gardens, theater, and markets, as well as the Temple and Temple Mount complex. The model was originally built in 1966 and moved to the museum in 2006. Visitors can circumnavigate the city and view it from above, coming to understand what the ancient sages said about Jerusalem: “Ten measures of beauty were given to the world; nine were taken by Jerusalem.”

Our visit to the Israeli Museum was quite a learning experience, and another of our extraordinary encounters with the ancient cultures of the Middle East.