Adventures in the Mideast

First visit to Jerusalem

The nature of Israel being so small creates the opportunity to be a part of the fascinating activities some of which I will recount to you in this story. I’m still thrilled every day to know that I am living in “the cradle of civilization” as we know it today.

The Cotel (Western Wall) and the Dome of The Rock

I can still visit many of the most famous sites from history. My favorite trip is to Israel’s capital Jerusalem to visit the Tower of David, where King David composed the 23rd psalm. When I finish my tour in the Tower of David, I dined at my beloved Arab restaurant where I enjoy the cuisine of traditional Arab cooking accompanied by a cold beer. Then I cross the street towards The Tomb of Jesus, where I am always inspired by the visit. It still amazes me that the distance between The Tower of David, my favorite traditional Arab restaurant and the Tomb of Jesus is less than one hundred meters.

The House of the Dead Sea Scrolls

My first and favorite tour of Jerusalem was two months after my “Aliyah”(immigration), May of 2007. I was accompanied by my cousin Chaya which is the Hebrew female name for life.

She is Jewish Orthodox and by the age of thirty has six wonderful children. She is also an American Oleh (immigrant). Her family immigrated to Israel, two decades ago. Their intention was to be in the holiest city of the holiest nation on earth. My pride and joy is her three year old son Elchanan. He is a handsome, brilliant, and very precocious young man with dark hair, brown eyes, and a very enchanting but somewhat sly smile. His mom refers to him as a walking Chamsin (turbulent hot storm), and his proud grandma jokes that he is Israel’s greatest threat to stability.

The heart of Israel is the holy city. For two thousand years Jews living in exile annually chanted “Next Year in Jerusalem”. Jerusalem is the soul of Judaism, the heart of the Jewish homeland.

Chaya, like most residents of the holy city takes great pride in giving guided tours of her beloved metropolis.

During my last visit, we enjoyed touring the city on Israel’s double decker bus 99. Elchanon managed to get into everything and talk to everyone to the merriment of all, including our bus driver Haim, a resident of the city for forty years.

The 99 bus navigates a route of both scenic and cultural interest. Mount Scopus boasts a visage encompassing the Old City, the Temple Mount and Bethlehem. As the Old City passes into the remote distance, the New City boasts iconographic sites. The Knesset houses Israel’s parliament. The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial remembers all those that were the victims of history’s most insidious crime.  However, the Israel Museum is a testimony to Jewish endurance and continuity of their presence in the Land of Cnaan (between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea).

One of the most impressive and famous discovery dating back more than two thousand years is the Dead Sea Scrolls which describe Jewish isolated group way of life as well as part of their holly books. This group was called “The Esseim” and some researchers related them to the birth of Christianity.

By the end of the tour many of the travelers felt like old friends. Next year in Jerusalem is now. This is the birth place of the three major monotheistic faiths. Many modern juristic systems are based on the Talmud; an ancient Hebrew collection of traditions that were passed on orally throughout the generations, until it was put into written form about 2,000 years ago.  At that time not only the theology of modern Christianity was formed, it was also the time of the formation of the framework for the church as we know it today.

The” Copper Scroll”, part of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Author Earl Jose Shugarman

11/13/2010