Gehenna and the Western Wall
May 21, 2011
Today is apparently the day the world ends. I’ll wait to see. Meanwhile, we went into the Old City, along the Palm Sunday path, through the garden of Gethsemane (had Mass in the church of All Nations, where apparently the Agony in the garden took place) A large, beautifully frescoed exterior, and a dark, cavernous interior. We walked along the Mount of Olives, and at the top, Fr. Brennan sang again “The Holy City” in the open air, against the backdrop of the Dome of the Rock, and the ancient walls of Old Jerusalem with the Golden Gate sealed shut awaiting the Coming of the Messiah. He’s 75, his voice no longer has its full power, but it did stop the other groups for a while. What a memory.
We then went to the place where Mary was assumed into heaven – a beautiful church. I thought it was Orthodox, but the guide assures me that it’s Catholic. We then visited Caiaphas’ house, where Jesus was held by the Sanhedrin (in a rather spacious cell, I thought) followed by lunch at one of the innumerable kibbutzim that seem to run everything. Since it’s the Sabbath, nothing was open, and I do mean NOTHING. Breakfast was only cold stuff (not a hardship, given the sheer volumes) but no eggs, pancakes or anything warm. There was cereal, fruit, dried fruit and salad (yes, Israelis eat salad for breakfast. Yet another reason I’m not moving here) Lunch was salads and bread. No soup, since it is Shabbat.
This afternoon we saw the Valley of Gehenna, which in the Bible is where Hell was supposed to be located. It’s one of 3 valleys surrounding Jerusalem, the others being the Kedron and the Glassmakers. Gehenna is now a national park and very pleasant; a far cry from the “place of blood and suffering, with a fire that never goes out” that was originally described!
The Western Wall, though, was a powerful experience for me. Standing in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, we entered through the Zion Gate. (The Gate Beautiful is sealed.) Then down to lay petitions on the Wall and back to the hotel.
For me, there were a couple of significant moments today, and with Jerusalem in general. The Western Wall, which forms the side of the Dome of the Rock, and was part of the Second Temple, and the base of the First Temple (Solomon’s Temple) and the place where Shekinah Glory shone, is one of the holiest places for Jews. Our guide explains that the preparations for the Third Temple are being made – and it is to be built in the same place as the first 2, so on the site of the Dome of the Rock. Standing before the Wall, one can feel almost the weight of the thousands of supplications that have been made through the years; all the hopes, the dreams, and all the anger that’s poured into those stones. There’s blood in the stones that is soaked deep, and you can feel that, too.
The other thing that came to me today was that for many people religion is a show. That’s not new. But it became more obvious today to me. For some people, religion is more about being seen in church, being seen to be doing good works, leading in prayers and always active in religious life. But when it comes to living it, they are very absent. They will not see it as a religious duty to help someone unless there is a church attachment. Great shows of prayers and religious observance are, to me, insincere. But that may just be my own prejudices slipping through.
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