We got up early this morning and headed out to the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem, which is within walking distance of our hotel. What a privilege! I was so excited! On the Sabbath (Shabbat) cars do not run in the Jewish areas of the city. It is very quiet, and people often literally walk down the street, IN the street. Well, we went into the synagogue, and I sat in the women’s section, the balcony, with the other women. Based on my experiences at Synagogue Lavi, I was better prepared this go-round, but something I was unprepared for was the gorgeous prayers that were sung at the beginning of the service. The men were led by a cantor, and they all faced the “ark” (the cabinet that contains the Torah scrolls) as they sang. I got tears in my eyes, several times. I did NOT do a good job of knowing when to stand and when to sit, but like I did at Lavi, I just watched the Jewish ladies and did what they did. Beautiful service! It lasted a couple of hours.
Afterwards, we walked over to The Baptist House, a complex that has been here for several decades, and is owned by some arm of the Baptists. They got in when access was easier and land was cheaper and have maintained a presence here all this time. They were kind enough to host us, to provide us a place for the sabbath lunch, which our tour leader had catered in.
Then, we came back to the hotel or some went shopping and so forth for the rest of the day. A couple of friends and I walked into the Old City and explored the Christian quarter (where the booths are maintained by Christian Arabs) and of course through the Jewish quarter, to the Western Wall, where we prayed a few minutes again. I was struck, again, by the many children here in Jerusalem. It really hits you how Americans are not reproducing at a very high rate, when you see “the average” young, Jewish family. Most of the time, they have 4-5 kids. It’s lovely!
On my way around the Christian quarter, I was sort of looking for a shop of a famous artist I heard about, Victor Lepejian, who specializes in genuine Armenian ceramics and pottery. I had given up on finding it, when I was on the final leg of the walk (if you’ll pardon the pun) near the Jaffa Gate. And, I passed by this shop, glanced through the door and thought “that elderly gentleman looks familiar”…. (I have perused his website, in the past). I glanced up at the threshold and saw the name “Vic” and just had to ask him. Indeed, it was the famous Mr. Lepejian! I talked to him for about five minutes, but then had to catch up with my friends.
After dinner, more shopping and visiting with friends and so forth. This has been such a wonderful trip!
Usually, you can find photos on my Facebook page. But, I have to tell you this - - - Facebook is throttling me. Earlier this week, I was suspended for an hour. I have no idea why. Then, just as I started to write this post, I went onto Facebook, and I realized that now I’ve been suspended for 24 hours. It’s really alarming, because they may take down my page entirely. Again, I have no idea why, unless they just don’t like the content I am posting from Israel. Y’all please pray that that does not happen, because most of the traffic to my blog comes from posts I make on Facebook. :(((
So, if you don’t see Day 13 photos for a few days, just know that I will be doing my best to get them up there.
One more day to report on, and then Day 15 is a 26-hour travel day. I won’t be posting about that grueling journey, LOL! Who would want to read about that!
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