The Garden, the Churches and the Holy

The weather is finally starting to change. After three weeks of 80, 90, even 100 degree weather (the high on Oct 20 was 106!), it has finally cooled off to the 70s, which means it is finally cool enough that one can spend some time outside without immediately reducing to a puddle. And that in turn means I was finally able to enjoy some time in the botanical garden at Hebrew U. I have taken to cutting through the garden on my way to class in the morning, giving me a few moments to center myself before I am bombarded with information (and Modern Hebrew). I have also been studying in the garden, at my favorite spot, beside this waterfall.

Other than the changing weather - which we are all so grateful for! - life has been pretty much the same. I have developed more or less of a routine, which, as we all know, is vital for us Methodists! In some ways I feel like I have always been here and in others it feels like I have just arrived. Either way, it is hard to believe that I have been in Israel almost a month already!

On Thursday I went to the Mount of Olives with my roommate Benedetta, her friend and two of his friends. When they found out that I had been to the Mount of Olives before, they made me the de facto tour guide (hopefully I did Sammy proud!). Since we are poor students, we only went to the churches that don't charge admission - Dominius Flevit (where Benny had to give me her scarf because I was wearing a tank top - scandalous!), Garden of Gethsemane, Church for All Nations and Church of the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. From there we proceeded toward the Old City, passing Absalom's Pillar, which I had not seen up close. Once we reached the Old City, Benny, her friend and I parted ways with the other two guys, who wanted to go back to the kfar. We, on the other hand, were not done exploring yet. We walked through the Old City (where most shops were in the process of closing for the evening), out through Damascus Gate and then up to Ben Yahudia, the pedestrian street filled with shops and restaurants. We hung out there for a while before finally catching the bus back to the kfar.

I also finished Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren, on - what else? - the Six Day War of 1967. It was interesting, especially because it was as objective as anyone can be when it comes to the Holy Land. I know I tend to be hard on Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians (which I stand by) but as the book illustrated (as did the cross-cultural trip in 2009), both sides are victims and both sides are victimizers. And, of course, there are more than two sides, which makes it all the more difficult to sift through the evidence and the accusations to get at the "truth," if there really is any such thing in this mess. I guess the "truth" is we all need to remember the sanctity of this land and, more importantly, the sanctity of the lives of others.

Something I cannot get used to is the beauty of this place. I am literally surrounded by thousands of years of history. On my first archaeological tour, almost everywhere the professor pointed out to us in Jerusalem included "and they found tombs dating to...," usually the First or Second Temple period. Hebrew U's botanical garden is on a Second Temple period burial cave. Everywhere I look, I see the holy. Every morning, I see the Dome of the Rock on my walk to campus, and every morning, it catches my breath. But it is not just grandiose structures like the Dome of the Rock or even the natural beauty of the garden. A gravel pathway, the bakery down the street, even the city buses - they all contain a sense of the holy. Perhaps I am just romanticizing things. Perhaps I am just trying to give reason to the intense fighting over this land, between the Israelis and the Arabs, between the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Or perhaps there truly is something inherently holy about a land so steeped with history - and with strife.