Day 9, Israel 2023

{As usual, photos for today’s adventures can be found on the Resplendent Daughter Ministries Facebook page.  Enjoy!}

Our first full day in Jerusalem began with a trip to the Temple Mount, a place where I had never been in this city.  Our tour guide, Joseph Good, is one of the foremost experts on the ancient Jewish Temple, in the world.  He was pointing out all kinds of things, but it was dicey because there are certain restricted areas in to which non-Muslims cannot go.  The  Temple was 22 stories high; Dome of the Rock is 2/3 the height of the Holy Temple. 

The entire Temple Mount is controlled by The Waqf, a Muslim agency that keeps everyone following their rules on a Muslim holy site.  One area of rule-dom is how women and men are dressed.  Modest dress is required.  In some cases, certain ones of our party were put into long skirts, and some of those were men!  It was a little over-the-top, in my book, but whatever.  The main thing was we got to go, and it was amazing.  Praise God!

No trees can be found at the site of the temple, unless they have been planted in later years by the Muslims. The Torah is really explicit when God says “you shall have no trees near my altar.”  This prohibition is mentioned three times.

Next was lunch.  I shared a burger with Jaye, and her husband, Andrew, had his own fare.  Around this time, I bought a head covering, because you have to wear head coverings so often in religious sites.  I also bought myself a new betrothal ring.  My former one had absolutely worn out to the point that it broke!  It was a ring I wore every day.   Let me explain.

In Jewish marital rites, the betrothal is roughly equivalent to an engagement period.  But, the betrothal is as binding as an actual marriage.  In fact, the ring is not given at the wedding; it is given at the betrothal!  And, the Jewish bride wears the betrothal ring on her right index finger.  So, finding one I liked today, I bought it.  The verse on the ring, in Hebrew, is Song of Songs 6:3 “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”  The ring and the verse remind me that as a member of Jesus’ Bride, I am betrothed to Him.  And, the wedding will be when He returns to get His own beloveds.  Hallelujah!

Allright, after lunch, we went to tour a museum called the Davidson Institute.  It was lovely, and I wish we had had more time to see more of it.  The museum is located very close to the Temple complex. 

We got to see another synagogue, the Hurva Synagogue, in the Jewish quarter.  This synagogue has a long and storied history of hardship, including multiple destructions and re-buildings.  The current building was re-built 13 years ago.  It is a beautiful place.  One of the features is in the top of the cupola.  There is a narrow catwalk around the perimeter, with amazing acoustics.  If you stand directly across from another person, that person can hear you whisper from 30 feet away.  Astounding.

The Burnt House was our next stop.  This is a second temple home that was situated in the opulent Herodian quarter of the Upper City. Excavations revealed burnt wooden beams and other house components. Apparently, it burned down in the great fire that the Romans started in Jerusalem after the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE. An inscription on a stone weight found during excavations indicates this house, apparently belonged to a family of high-ranking Temple priests, mentioned in the Bible.  This is believed to be the home of Caiaphas; and, the Palatial Mansion next door (6000 sq ft in size) is believed to be the home of Ananias, his father-in-law.

Ananias was a contemp of Hillel the Elder, in the first half of the first century CE.  Ananias had five sons and one son-in-law, Caiaphas.  Both were instrumental in the illegal trial of Jesus and His resulting death penalty assignment by the crowd.  Pinchas was the last High Priest (when the Temple was destroyed), and Josephus described him as “a clown”. Pinchas was Ananias’ grandson.

We had a complication this afternoon when our “ride home”, the bus, was delayed for an hour and a half coming to pick us up.  That was frustrating, but we got through it.  And, after we got back, we had dinner, followed by shopping, visiting or whatever else we wanted to do for the rest of the evening.