"Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do" - Matisyahu lyrics

Our first day in Israel was somewhat unreal. First, it should be noted that we flew into Tel-Aviv at 5am and did not check into our hostel in Jerusalem (yes, completely different city) until the afternoon; in other words, we were straight to touring from the airplane. It is also important to keep in mind that I still had a full fever while this was going on, but, as usual, ascribed to the "mind over matter" axiom that leads me to (often erroneously) believe that I can kick my own sicknesses into remission, and kept pushing along.

We got off the airplane in an excited frenzy despite the dire lack of sleep and the less than desirable conditions provided by Lot airlines...those two elements quickly became worth it (personal bias here) when we: (a) happened upon the Israeli National Soccer Team at the airport and (b) knelt down in mass to kiss the ground. It was a muggy, hot, dark morning but we were here, we were in Israel!!

Our sojourn began with a visit to Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, which was named after the 26 year-old commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was oddly anachronistic to be in a place that was named after someone whose bunker we had stood in front of just a few short days earlier. I must say that there could be no more appropriate memorial to Mordechai Analewicz than such a living and continuing place, even more so since this small kibbutz held back overwhelming Egyptian forces for six whole days in 1948, giving the new Israeli army enough time to organize and ultimately defend Tel-Aviv further up the coast. How apropos that a place of such courage should follow in the figurative footsteps of an equally courageous man. After being introduced to the history of the kibbutz, etc, we had breakfast in their kitchen. This was my first taste of hummus and, I have to say, I ate it with incredible and unparalleled contentment! Even the random hummus in a dining hall somewhere in Israel is better than most hummus I have had across the Atlantic. (Sigh) I was so happy! Everyone on the trip knew to expect a minor epileptic attack when I encountered my first taste of hummus, so it was quite amusing for everybody!

After this, we drove to Sderot, an Israeli town that borders Gaza and that is known for suffering almost constant fire rocket fire for seven straight years. We stood upon a hill and looked out into Gaza for the first time, and I must admit it was strange to imagine that in a land that topographically looks exactly the same and that is crowded into such a small space with its neighbors, such conflict could rage so furiously for years. The people in Sderot had to adjust to the situation by building bomb shelters in every conceivable public area - schoolyards, streets, parking lots. If a siren sounds, you have 15 seconds to make it to a secure bomb shelter. I was tired and feverish but I could not avoid being entirely sobered up by standing in the physical location I have read about in so many accounts of the Gaza conflict.

From here we went on to Jerusalem. Our first stop was a panoramic view of the city. Beautiful! Our second stop was the Israel Museum, where we saw an incredible reconstructed model of what the city must have looked like during the Second Temple Period and (wait for it) got to see, in person, the Dead Sea Scrolls. Yes people, only a glass place separated me from these age-old documents (earlier known source of Biblical documents before 100 BCE); it was absolutely surreal!!

Let me briefly interject to say that we then went for lunch in the Arab quarter. First of all, the experience of walking through those streets alone was awesome in my opinion, because they are bustling with vendors, brimming with colors and smells and just, well, ordinary life in most ways. The lunch was at a restaurant that Avi recommended to us and entailed, among other things, hummus and falafel. Despite the loss of appetite that I usually experience when I am ill, I literally ate my weight in falafel while we sat there - it was so incredible!

At this point, we finally checked-into our hostel and had a few hours of much-needed nap and shower time! In the evening, after much-needed naps, showers, and dinners, we walked through the governmental campus (Knesset, Supreme Court) and had some lounge time at Ben Yehuda St, which was bustling with nighttime activity, wonderful life music, and people milling in and out of stores. A couple of us had bagels which, I must admit, were quite possibly The. Best. Bagels. I. Have. Ever. Eaten. So far, the food in Israel was treating me quite well which, as a Cuban woman, I very much appreciated.

During the day we talked about the Israeli banking system, their form of government, some economic aspects, etc...it just peaked my interest to learn more about all these subjects so I essentially walked away with a list of things to research!

I have to say that the feeling of this day was uplifting beyond my expectations. From seeing the work being done at the Kibbutz to the observations I could make from my window on the break-of-day drive from the airport, to the mere feeling I had overlooking Jerusalem under the mid-day summer sun...I couldn't help but notice that we had come from a place of destruction and death to a place of fulfillment and rebirth. Coming from Auschwitz to Jerusalem can do nothing if not take one's breath away with the stark contrast of its very core.

\"Out of darkness comes light, a twilight unto the heights
Crown heights burnin\' up all through the twilight\" - Matisyahu lyrics

 

Today we visited the Mount of Olives and walked on the path known as Via Dolorosa, which essentially is supposed to mark the route Jesus took carrying the cross to the crucifixion. I must say that, as a lover of contradictions, I found it particularly striking that most of the way snakes around the Arab quarter; the juxtaposition of religious pilgrims and everyday Arab merchants was arresting. On the way there we had visited the garden of Gethsemane (where Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested); seeing as how I am somewhat skeptical of religious cites that claim to mark some biblical story, I must admit that I really enjoyed being in the garden from an entirely literary perspective: Boris Pasternak has a beautiful poem that bears the name of the garden as its title and it is one of my favorite pieces of poetry in any language (the original is in Russian).

 

On the way to the first \"station\" of the Via Dolorosa we also stopped at St. Anne\'s, a church dedicated to Mary\'s mother. This church is renowned for having incredible acoustics so we asked permission to use them...we marched in quietly, took our seats, and began singing \"Amazing Grace\"....it was incredible! Holy acoustics!!! There is no way to really convey this, so I am posting a video taken by Hunter.

We then followed the Via Dolorosa until we ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which encompasses both Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified) and the area of the Resurrection. The church had a very marked Orthodox feel, which I found very comfortable, but which the Protestants in our group found new and somewhat disconcerting.

Overall, today had an incredible religious feel and very little political/archeological discussion took place.

On a tangent, let me introduce Ohad. He is our 22 year-old security guard and medic! He recently finished his service in the Israeli Defense Forces, where he worked in Counter-terrorism in Gaza (of all assignments). Having Ohad has been incredible, not only because we all seem to have adopted him as one of our own with great ease, but because he is opinionated and informed and can provide a perspective from a real Israeli; its an invaluable resource, especially for those among us who have never met someone from Israel before. Ohad is currently working as a security guard before beginning the application process for Medical School, and although he talks freely about his experiences in Gaza and the IDF, one can tell that they have scared him. As he says, \"I was the medic, so you can imagine there are plenty of stories I don\'t tell you.\" How trite everything we say or do on this trip suddenly becomes if you forget that there are eighteen year-olds pulling shrapnel out of their friends in parts of this tiny speck of a country, no? Ohad keeps us grounded, he keeps us from forgetting what we are actually here to change.

Tonight we went out to celebrate Ohad\'s birthday in Jerusalem. We sat around a big table and talked and sang for a good portion of the night, even though we were all exhausted from a day of walking. Several of us did shots of Arak for his birthday, which is an aniseed liquor that has an incredibly high alcohol content (ours was at about 70%, but it can go up to 90%). Needless to say, my body was not too happy with me the next morning.

\"Out of darkness comes light, a twilight unto the heights
Crown heights burnin\' up all through the twilight\" - Matisyahu lyrics

 

Today we visited the Mount of Olives and walked on the path known as Via Dolorosa, which essentially is supposed to mark the route Jesus took carrying the cross to the crucifixion. I must say that, as a lover of contradictions, I found it particularly striking that most of the way snakes around the Arab quarter; the juxtaposition of religious pilgrims and everyday Arab merchants was arresting. On the way there we had visited the garden of Gethsemane (where Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested); seeing as how I am somewhat skeptical of religious cites that claim to mark some biblical story, I must admit that I really enjoyed being in the garden from an entirely literary perspective: Boris Pasternak has a beautiful poem that bears the name of the garden as its title and it is one of my favorite pieces of poetry in any language (the original is in Russian).

 

On the way to the first \"station\" of the Via Dolorosa we also stopped at St. Anne\'s, a church dedicated to Mary\'s mother. This church is renowned for having incredible acoustics so we asked permission to use them...we marched in quietly, took our seats, and began singing \"Amazing Grace\"....it was incredible! Holy acoustics!!! There is no way to really convey this, so I am posting a video taken by Hunter.

We then followed the Via Dolorosa until we ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which encompasses both Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified) and the area of the Resurrection. The church had a very marked Orthodox feel, which I found very comfortable, but which the Protestants in our group found new and somewhat disconcerting.

Overall, today had an incredible religious feel and very little political/archeological discussion took place.

On a tangent, let me introduce Ohad. He is our 22 year-old security guard and medic! He recently finished his service in the Israeli Defense Forces, where he worked in Counter-terrorism in Gaza (of all assignments). Having Ohad has been incredible, not only because we all seem to have adopted him as one of our own with great ease, but because he is opinionated and informed and can provide a perspective from a real Israeli; its an invaluable resource, especially for those among us who have never met someone from Israel before. Ohad is currently working as a security guard before beginning the application process for Medical School, and although he talks freely about his experiences in Gaza and the IDF, one can tell that they have scared him. As he says, \"I was the medic, so you can imagine there are plenty of stories I don\'t tell you.\" How trite everything we say or do on this trip suddenly becomes if you forget that there are eighteen year-olds pulling shrapnel out of their friends in parts of this tiny speck of a country, no? Ohad keeps us grounded, he keeps us from forgetting what we are actually here to change.

Tonight we went out to celebrate Ohad\'s birthday in Jerusalem. We sat around a big table and talked and sang for a good portion of the night, even though we were all exhausted from a day of walking. Several of us did shots of Arak for his birthday, which is an aniseed liquor that has an incredibly high alcohol content (ours was at about 70%, but it can go up to 90%). Needless to say, my body was not too happy with me the next morning.