Interfaith Matters
February, 2010 Ma'aseem
1/27/2010
In last month's article about our trip to Poland and Israel, we were exploring Jerusalem. The week of traveling in Israel was packed with sights, sounds, tastes and history and religion. We won't even try to capture everything that we experienced in these articles. Rather, we hope a few memorable impressions will suffice.
At nearly every religious site we visited, the authorities insisted upon the covering of the body. We were warned, and planned accordingly. Some in our tour group pushed the envelope and paid the price. The Muslim quarter was especially strict. Bare shoulders, arms and legs were forbidden and raised quite a scene with Muslim security. Tim reflected on some of the outfits seen on fellow congregants in church at home in stark contrast. Many of the churches in Israel had the same restrictions as the Muslim areas. It is about faith and respect. In that regard, the attitudes were quite understandable. Although we often see Islamic women in full garb from head to foot on TV news reports, walking among them seemed a strange cultural shift and projected us back a dozen centuries or so. Interestingly, a different century was revealed when we discovered some were wearing designer jeans underneath. The ancient and modern coexist in this place.
The Dome of the Rock is an impressive structure, clothed in dark blue tiles with fine detail work and Arabic writings, capped with a 24 carat gold dome. It is over the rock that is thought to be the exact location of the Second Temple and the exact location where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. From a faith and biblical perspective, as a Jewish and Catholic couple, the concept of another religion placing itself above the foundation of our religions seemed a bit presumptuous. From a different viewpoint however, it does further memorialize the location. You can't miss this spot. And ironically, the building protects the rock from the elements, albeit with gold. We only wished that everyone, not just Muslims, were allowed entry to experience the rock.
The West Wall, formerly the Wailing Wall, is the last remaining artifact from the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE. It stood before us defending the faith against the elements of nature and the winds of modernization. Its presence and significance refused to be denied. Just a big, old stone wall, it sat silent, demanding our reverence. We prayed at the wall, separately of course, according to custom. Your particular faith tradition did not seem to matter there. It simply was a place where God had dwelled on earth and a good place to interact with Him. We were moved.
In the Christian section of the old city were biblically, strategically placed churches. These sites are the most important for Christians. We walked the Via Dolorosa and stopped at the Stations of the Cross. The cruelty of the Romans became immediately apparent, as the path to the crucifixion area traversed the narrow, congested marketplace of the old city climbing relentlessly, up and up to Golgotha. To have walked on the same stones that Jesus struggled over was an incredible experience for Tim. We visited The Church of the Holy Sepulcher over the site where Jesus was thought to have been crucified and the famous tomb where his body was laid. Sadly, the tomb was under repair and not given the reverence Tim expected. Later we stood in the Room of the Last Supper and walked through the Garden of Gethsemane. Intellectually and emotionally, the experiences at the Christian sites were profound for Tim. Clearly, knowledge of the Bible enhances one's appreciation of the Holy Land. As we found earlier, one cannot separate the history and land from religion. We stopped trying.
Next time we will explore central and northern Israel around Galilee, the Ruins, the Golan Heights and the Kibbutz. Until then, shalom.
Doreen and Tim Linehan
Contact us at 215-997-9741 or via email at TimDoreen@verizon.net with any questions, concerns or suggestions about interfaith issues at TBI. Information received will be discussed with Rabbi Joshua Kalev and the Interfaith Committee.
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