An early wakeup Tuesday morning (I'm still in the past here, but I need to catch up) and a very long day overall. Not long in a boring way, though, because we viewed Jerusalem from three arms of an axis (positive and negative x-axes and also the negative y-axis, though the view from there was fairly dim to say the least).
We began with a small walk at the Haas Promenade. I can't for the life of me figure out how they get "Haas" when the sign very clearly stated that we were entering the "Richard and Rhoda Goldman" Promenade, but some questions aren't worth asking; if I weren't limited in computer time I might spend the 0.41 seconds it takes on google to answer it. One of the Keshet staff, Yitzchak, has been giving how-this-place-is-religiously-important speeches, and his second (Scopus was the first) was about this ridge that overlooks Jerusalem from the south. Since Avraham came north from Be'er Sheva with Isaac and two youth in tow, and this ridge lies where it does, Abe's first view of Moriah is said to have been from the point from which we heard the story. It was slightly hazier a view than would be desired but it was a very pretty overlook.
Pictures...you'll have to wait because we're leaving for Tzfat tomorrow early in the morning.
Can I briefly back up? They asked who knew readings for Rosh Chodesh, so I said I thought I could do 1 and 2 and Jacob said he thought he could do 3 and 4. He glanced; I glanced. He decided against; I called on practice from seventh and eighth grades. It was quite an experience reading about these sacrifices from a spot with a view of the Temple Mount.
Israel doesn't want anyone to know, but it's excavating a spot that is thought to have been David's chambers/house/Batsheva-periscope. We went there and poked around for a bit above David's City (no: עיר דוד). But a view like that one was hardly enough, so we then went underground. In preparation for the Assyrian invasion of 701BCE, King Hezekiah ordered that the Jerusalem water supply be secured. So as any ruler would do, he decided against building a 533 meter long tunnel in favor of importing Evian from France. Since such a tunnel does not exist (and I don't have pictures to prove it) no LHIYS groups could have walked through it with only the light from three flashlights to illuminate the path for three dozen people. And so we didn't, I suppose, really see Jerusalem from the negative y-axis but it was close enough. That is, if the tunnel were to be created and we could see through rock, we would have seen Jerusalem from below. The water wasn't mostly ankle deep, except for the time when it wasn't knee-deep just as we didn't enter the channel.
We ended the evening holding hands and blindly following the leader to the high spot just west of the Kotel. In this way, everyone would have a first view at the same time. That view really isn't anything compared to walking up to the wall. I looked up, then down. Some people do it the other way. Everyone does it one of the two. You can't just stare blankly at the Kotel. It wasn't without its faults, though: the commercialization (selling kippahs just outside the courtyard) and the schnorring (takes a lot of chutzpah to demand why someone doesn't have tzedakah to give). We're going back to the Kotel in about a month and it will be interesting to note the differences as we continue to make new ties with Israel. [Also, as a side note: if anyone wants notes put in the wall, feel free to send them here or, if you're willing, to email them. I'll handwrite them if you choose the latter.]
I'm still two days behind, but I think I'll be about nine by the time I write any more. We're emptying our rooms here at Beit Bretter and reloading our bags for a combination of storage and a weeklong hike/trip to Tzfat/night on the beach, etc. So I'll try to remember everything from yesteday (Wednesday) through next Thursday.
The frisbee's been fun. Decent water, good meat, unripe fruits, watery-on-top-and-thick-on-the-bottom hot chocolate. We also started the science parts. David Eisenberg is my grad student. Hakimi, he knows you. I've gotta run.
We began with a small walk at the Haas Promenade. I can't for the life of me figure out how they get "Haas" when the sign very clearly stated that we were entering the "Richard and Rhoda Goldman" Promenade, but some questions aren't worth asking; if I weren't limited in computer time I might spend the 0.41 seconds it takes on google to answer it. One of the Keshet staff, Yitzchak, has been giving how-this-place-is-religiously-important speeches, and his second (Scopus was the first) was about this ridge that overlooks Jerusalem from the south. Since Avraham came north from Be'er Sheva with Isaac and two youth in tow, and this ridge lies where it does, Abe's first view of Moriah is said to have been from the point from which we heard the story. It was slightly hazier a view than would be desired but it was a very pretty overlook.
Pictures...you'll have to wait because we're leaving for Tzfat tomorrow early in the morning.
Can I briefly back up? They asked who knew readings for Rosh Chodesh, so I said I thought I could do 1 and 2 and Jacob said he thought he could do 3 and 4. He glanced; I glanced. He decided against; I called on practice from seventh and eighth grades. It was quite an experience reading about these sacrifices from a spot with a view of the Temple Mount.
Israel doesn't want anyone to know, but it's excavating a spot that is thought to have been David's chambers/house/Batsheva-periscope. We went there and poked around for a bit above David's City (no: עיר דוד). But a view like that one was hardly enough, so we then went underground. In preparation for the Assyrian invasion of 701BCE, King Hezekiah ordered that the Jerusalem water supply be secured. So as any ruler would do, he decided against building a 533 meter long tunnel in favor of importing Evian from France. Since such a tunnel does not exist (and I don't have pictures to prove it) no LHIYS groups could have walked through it with only the light from three flashlights to illuminate the path for three dozen people. And so we didn't, I suppose, really see Jerusalem from the negative y-axis but it was close enough. That is, if the tunnel were to be created and we could see through rock, we would have seen Jerusalem from below. The water wasn't mostly ankle deep, except for the time when it wasn't knee-deep just as we didn't enter the channel.
We ended the evening holding hands and blindly following the leader to the high spot just west of the Kotel. In this way, everyone would have a first view at the same time. That view really isn't anything compared to walking up to the wall. I looked up, then down. Some people do it the other way. Everyone does it one of the two. You can't just stare blankly at the Kotel. It wasn't without its faults, though: the commercialization (selling kippahs just outside the courtyard) and the schnorring (takes a lot of chutzpah to demand why someone doesn't have tzedakah to give). We're going back to the Kotel in about a month and it will be interesting to note the differences as we continue to make new ties with Israel. [Also, as a side note: if anyone wants notes put in the wall, feel free to send them here or, if you're willing, to email them. I'll handwrite them if you choose the latter.]
I'm still two days behind, but I think I'll be about nine by the time I write any more. We're emptying our rooms here at Beit Bretter and reloading our bags for a combination of storage and a weeklong hike/trip to Tzfat/night on the beach, etc. So I'll try to remember everything from yesteday (Wednesday) through next Thursday.
The frisbee's been fun. Decent water, good meat, unripe fruits, watery-on-top-and-thick-on-the-bottom hot chocolate. We also started the science parts. David Eisenberg is my grad student. Hakimi, he knows you. I've gotta run.
Pirkei
Gideon
23:03
פרקי גדעון
1
Commentaries on the Pshat
1 Commentaries:
And why didn't you have tzedakah to give?
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