Thoughts On [insert religious topic(s) here]

We only spent a half day today sight-seeing, coming back early so people can get a head-start on packing. Many of us are leaving in only one day. Jac’line and I are staying for another two weeks. Additionally, Nancy Cappo and Jacky Saeger are also staying a few extra days to spend more time in the Old City.

It was a somber day. Ruthie took us to Yad Vashem–the Holocaust Museum–and the Israel Museum to educate about her people from her perspective. We all formed a strong bond with her this trip, so we were anxious to hear what she had to share with us.

At the Holocaust Museum she didn’t talk at all in the museum, instead giving us an hour to walk through it ourselves. Seeing the Holocaust from the perspective of the Jews was a different and moving experience. Many of the exhibits focused on the children and young adults dealing with the atrocities being committed against them. There were poems written by the youth describing their resistance to the movement and their confusion about what was happening to them. Many of the uprisings in the ghettos were started by twenty year olds, people my age. I wondered if I would have the fortitude and courage to stand up against such an injustice were it to be against me.

I was also moved by the older ladies in our group as they realized the breadth of what was happening while they were growing up. As I listened to them, I saw how they were feeling called to care about the world beyond themselves, feeling that their faith isn’t focused on their well-being but also that of the world.

I have to lead a devotional tomorrow night, our last night together, and I’m beginning to see it form. When I think of our individual faith I see it as a single thread in a great tapestry of others all coming together to form an image. We can pray not only for our well-bring but perhaps more importantly for the well-being of the entire community, the entire world, all people. The tapestry is complex and goes beyond our concerns, our praises and joys. All of those are important in their own right, but I think we all saw on this journey our place in the vast tapestry of faith today and the faith of the past. Just as Jesus came for the Jews and the Gentiles, the entire world, as followers of him, we should have the same mind of Christ in reaching out in prayer and service to the entire global community. What better place to recognize this than in a city where four religions live closely together, often in tension.

I hope that this formulates more clearly over the coming day and I can convey my message to the group. I have really cherished my time with the people in out group and have come to care very deeply about each of them.

Leaving the museum, we went to a synagogue outside the museum devoted to the memory of the Jews killed in the Holocaust. As we were going in, a special prayer service for military women from 22 different nations was occurring. They rekindled the eternal flame that symbolizes those who passed and a rabbi sang a beautiful Hebrew prayer.

Military service at Yad Vashem

We left the museum and drove to the Israel Museum. The two major exhibits at the museum are a scale model of Jerusalem in the 1^st century CE and the Dead Sea scrolls. The scale model was impressive, stretching for 100 feet and accurately depicting the city of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. Ruthie took time with us pointing out all the major structures and their significance in both her Jewish faith and our Christian faith.

The most exciting exhibit for me was the Dead Sea Scrolls. They had 6 feet of the actual Isaiah scroll from Qumran on display. Having studied manuscript variants and techniques throughout college, I was fascinated to see an actual manuscript in front of me. If I had had my phone with me, I was going to call Dr. Willis and wake him up to tell him about the experience. That would have been fun. They also had a facsimile of the entire Isaiah scroll stretching 25 feet in a cylindrical case. I was enamored walking around the case examining the text and noticing places where the scribe had inserted a marginal comment. The way they wrote the scroll is amazing in itself. The font is intensely small and compact, fitting a 66 chapter book onto 25 feet of scroll.

Downstairs they had facsimiles of Codex Aleppo, a 11^th century CE text that contained the entire Old Testament when first found. Over time certain parts such as the Pentateuch vanished but much of it still remains. It was awesome to see the actual texts I had studied in college. Too bad I couldn’t take pictures.

We went to lunch at a self-service buffet and I managed to get lunch for 16 shekels ($4.50). I’m getting good at finding deals now that I’ve been here for ten days. The first trick I found was to pay in shekels because you get a better deal for your money. The cost in dollars at the cashier would have been $6 so I save a bit by not having them convert the currency at the register.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel. Like I said, it was a short day. This might be my first post under 1,000 words.

Bonus!!! Ruthie offered to take my laundry to her house and bring it back clean to me tomorrow. She said she has no patience for folding but just having it done will be a weight off my shoulders.

Shalom,

Mat