Day 08 - Temple Mount, Rabbinic Tunnels, Western Wall, Yad Vashem

Shalom, Shalom!

So much of the Biblical story and history take place in a few short miles of the place we call Jerusalem. Today was an emotionally intense day. 

We visited the Temple Mount. 

Sitting on top of the massive platform Harod the Great built, listening to the history of the sacred location we were in, was a difficult experience to describe. The stories of Abraham and Isaac, David making Jerusalem his capital, Solomon building the temple… only to have it be destroyed and rebuilt by Herod… are all surreal while the Dome of the Rock towers over us.  

We as a group needed to wrestle with the contrast between the beautiful actions of God in this world and the brokenness both within, and all around us. The temple mount is surrounded by metal detectors and security… The temple itself and large portion of the wall have been destroyed… all while realizing our lives often feel broken too.  

We then went from the temple to another place where the brokenness of humanity was on display… the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Like we said… an emotionally intense day.

These emotional experiences revealed some beautiful things in each of us personally but also some amazing things about our group as an insula (family).

People who only a few months ago were strangers have developed a deep care for one another.  We’ve seen our group praying for those who are struggling with injuries, laughing with each other at dinner, and listening to each other’s stories of both joy and pain.

We close our trip out tomorrow, but none of us will forget what we’ve found in each other on this trip.