Come to Israel (Last Day)

After our many deeply religious experiences, Leo couldn’t wait for us to head over to the original Temple site to see the Western Wall and to leave prayers in the Wailing Wall. On our way to the wall, we passed a Muslim Tower, where a man chanted in a sing-song-y voice, calling the Muslim people to prayer.

We rounded a corner and headed over to the original Temple site to see the Western Wall and to leave prayers in the Wailing Wall. The walkway above the old temple area was lined with instructions for entering the area, as well as the history of the Temple.

Some like this one explained what was allowed… and some explained that: The First Temple was built on the top of Mount Moriah – beginning with the foundation stone that was already there. It’s believed by the Israelites that the world was created from that stone, that it was the altar where Isaac was bound and that Solomon built the First Temple around it. Years later, that entire Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, but a second temple was rebuilt about 70 years later, walls and all. THAT Temple was completely destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and never rebuilt. In fact, it was only after 1967 that the wall itself was unearthed, and now visitors from all over the world are welcome to pray there.

Today we were those visitors. Leo spoke for a long time with our group, telling us that during the years that the wall was gone, Jewish people came anyway, to be as close to the Temple that once was there as possible. A lot of us wanted to go down to the wall to pray and leave a prayer, so he showed us how the wall was sectioned with men on the left (main) side and women on the right – with a wall in between!

As you can see, it was crazy-crowded, but we made our way down the stairs very slowly and carefully, walking around desks and chairs that were facing the wall throughout the area, and where people seemed to be studying and praying.

I wanted to leave a prayer in the area between the men’s wall and the women’s wall, but as I moved closer, I realized that a woman was studying right in front of the spot where I wanted to stand, to do it. I was looking to see where else in the wall I could tuck my prayer and have it stay (most of the cracks were so full, that new prayers popped right out!), when another woman looked up, smiled at me and moved her desk, motioning for me to go in front of her. It was amazing! I ended up in exactly the spot where I’d hoped to be! The cracks were a little deeper here, with only a few prayers already put in, so that mine wasn’t going to pop out at all!

As we left the wall area, a man started eerily chanting again from the high tower above us. Leo explained that the calling to prayer at the temple must be made by an actual person, not a recording. We rounded a corner and found ourselves behind the Wailing Wall; this side was lined with ancient stairs and was where the original main entrance to the temple once was.

Leo said that it’s believed that Jesus was preaching on these main steps when Mary and Joseph found him. A lot of the money changers were here, too, he said, set up in the area just before the steps leading to the Gates. We walked along the stairs, stopping long enough for pictures…

As we left, we walked through massive areas under excavation, and Leo told us that this is the road Jesus would have walked and that the mounds of stones would be used to rebuild it.

It’s fitting that we end our reflections on the Mount of Olives.

You may remember that we visited the Church of the Ascension here earlier in our trip… the church that Helena had built to honor Jesus’ Ascension.

However, not far above that is a small chapel that we didn’t visit, since it is now a Muslim Mosque. Built on the highest point of the mount of Olives, it was originally called the Chapel of the Ascension.

Many churches have been built – and destroyed in wars – over this exact site. The dome of the current church marks the spot where it is believed that Jesus actually ascended into heaven !

And inside the Chapel is a stone with a footprint embedded in it.

For nearly two thousand years this stone has been venerated by all faiths because it’s believed to contain Jesus’ footprint, left as he stepped up to Heaven.

In the final picture, the monk is touching the footprint with his fingers.

We didn’t get to see it but, like so very much else, it’s still there…