“And Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves..” (Mk 11.15b)
We began today very early, leaving at 6:30 am for the Western Wall (formerly called the Wailing Wall). There were a lot of people there early! One must go through security to enter the area. This wall is a remaining wall from the Second Temple – the temple completed by King Herod and dedicated in 10 BCE. The stones are gigantic. Look at how small the people in the picture are in comparison to the wall. When I stood at the wall, the first block stopped at heart level. (Below: Stone from the Second Temple)
This site is a holy site for the Jews and is open for prayer 24 hours/day. The men pray on one side and the women on another. This was my second visit. I find it a powerful place. There is a special energy there generated by all of the people in prayer. It was almost as if the stones are living. The energy is palpable. I wonder, if we had a place set aside for prayer if anyone would come.
From there we waited in line 45 mins to go through security again at the non-Muslim entrance to the Temple Mount. This is a Muslim holy site – The Dome of the Rock, built in 691 CE, sits at the spot of the former Jewish temple. It is supposedly over the rock where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. Jews and Christians are not allowed to pray there or to bring any symbols of their faith. We saw many groups of Muslim men and one large group Muslim women studying together.
The Temple Mount is huge – covering 34 acres. The area surrounding what would have been the Temple is so big that Jesus would only have chosen a small section to clear the money changers from. I always thought he cleared the entire space. That would not have been possible.
Later we stood on first century stones in the city. Perhaps Jesus, or the disciples, stood there. We also saw stones from the Second Temple that lay where they fell after the Romans destroyed the temple.
We saw the pool of Bethzatha where Jesus cured the paralytic. I believe that was the true location. What I do not believe are the number of places where Mary was born -sort of like “Washington slept here.”
There are soldiers everywhere. We are used to seeing soldiers carting Uzis in the shopping area and even at the beach.
On Fridays a siren sounds at sunset letting the Jews know Shabbat has begun. They stop work and begin their observance of the Sabbath. It makes me wonder – what if we set an alarm to tell us our Sabbath had begun – even if only an hour? Or are we too busy to try?
Looking Out Seeing Within 