Hesed in Jerusalem - December 29

As always, the day started with a buffet breakfast with the group.  We actually isolated ourselves from the rest because Joyce had come down with a cold that had worsened overnight.  After talking it over and checking with Ron, Joyce decided that she wanted to do the touring, but we had some contingency plans just in case she couldn't make a go of it.

We boarded the bus and took off for a day of walking around Jerusalem.  We were told from the beginning that after we got off the bus, we wouldn't see it again until the end of the day, so we knew we had a lot of walking to do.

We got dropped off near the Jaffa Gate and hiked to an escarpment known as Ketef Hinnom, which overlooks the Hinnom Valley (Gehena) just opposite Mt. Zion.  This is near the St. Andrews Church, a Scottish Presbyterian church.

Here we could see the excavations of burial
tombs that might date back to the 8th century BCE.

In the excavation we could see the place between the stones were the head was placed.  In those days, the dead persons body was laid on a stone slab for one year, and at the end of that year, the bones were collected and put into another chamber with the rest of their deceased ancestors.  It was in that chamber that some silver amulets were found with the inscription of the Blessing of Aaron from Numbers 6:22-27.  By the time of Jesus, the person's remains were collected after a year and placed in a stone box, called an ossuary.  This is a demonstration of the distancing of a person from a family identity to a personal identity, largely a Hellenistic concept.




From there we walked around the north and entered the Old City through the historic Jaffa Gate. Our destination was the Tower of David Museum located in a medieval citadel.


Tower of David
This site is also known as "The Citadel".  The Tower of David is actually a misnomer.
 Most of what we see today dates back to the middle ages, though there are some recent excavations that date back to the 2nd century BCE.  There are several architectural finds there that date to Herodian times, including evidence that Herod had fortifications here, leading some to believe that this was the site of Jesus's trial.

We toured the museum located here, and learned about the first Temple period.


Christ Church
Across from the Citadel, we met in the courtyard of Christ Church, a part of the complex that includes the coffee house where we had lunch the day before.  Christ Church claims to be the oldest protestant church in the Middle East, the building having been finished in 1849.  It is an evangelical Anglican congregation, with Hebrew language, customs, and holidays being incorporated into daily life there.  Christ Church has a particular mission to Jews, and is proud of its property and beautiful church located inside the Old City walls.  We had a guide who was quite passionate about the mission, and pointed out several features of the church, in particular that it was really a synagogue with a number of Christian symbols embedded into the stained glass, the artwork, and the furniture.

We had lunch in the Old City, near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  It was chilly, but we ate outside and had shawarma (A stack of chicken or turkey is put on a spit, roasted as it spins, and then shaved off and placed in a pita, much like a Greek gyro.)  The shop owner brought over an outdoor heater near our table which helped.  We still hadn't gotten enough shekels to pay for smaller purchases, so when we finished eating, Alan went off in search of an ATM.  He was directed to one, but after setting off for it, it didn't appear to be in a real reputable area, so he turned back, but got to see the Church in the process, and was reminded by the ladder over the door of the squabbles among the various church bodies trying to control the place.

When he returned, he found that Dave had been put into a tribal headscarf by one of the local vendors, in an attempt to get him to buy it. Alan was the next mark when he got back, presumably because of his mustache, which was like Dave's and the vendors.  Of course, he wanted to sell this one, too.  The vendor started with a price way beyond what we were interested (or capable; remember, no ATM!), so Alan said no.  The vendor kept coming back with "how much do you have?"  Alan answered truthfully, and amazingly, he came down to that amount, a fraction of the original price.  Hey, it was a bargain and it was Alan....so he bought it!

Ariel Center
We made our way to the Ariel Center for our next stop.  Ariel The Center for Jerusalem in the First Temple Period presents a multimedia presentation incorporating archaeological replicas and miniature models that bring to life this exciting period in Jerusalem’s history; from the Kings to the Assyrian siege on the city and its dynamic end.  In a small theater, we saw a dramatic presentation of the building of the First Temple during Solomon's reign and were presented with a history of how the original city of Jerusalem developed through time.

City of David

Hezekiah's Tunnel
When we had been here 4 years ago, we toured in the City of David excavation area, and were near the entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel, but did not go in.  This time, it was a part of the tour, and the reviews we read ahead of time said that it was a 'must do' experience in Jerusalem.  But first a little background [History of Hezekiah and the Tunnel purpose]

It was a topic of discussion all day about what to wear, who would go, and what would it be like.  It was clear that we were going to get wet, and the excursion was planned as the last item on the agenda.  Joyce had considered going, and was a little disappointed that the cold was getting the better of her at the time, and decided that the best plan would be to skip.

Alan had prepared by wearing swim trunks under his jeans, and wearing an older pair of tennis shoes that should dry faster than others.  We descended even more stairs to get to the staging area for the tunnel.  The tunnel starts just before the Gihon Spring (Gihon meaning 'to gush', referring to this spring's tendency to be gushing at times and nearly dry at others.)  Remarkably, there is little change in elevation from one end of the tunnel to the other, and it was also remarkable that the tunnel was begun from both ends of the completed tunnel and that they men in the middle with very little maneuvering to make them meet.  The tunnel itself is about a 1/3 of a mile long, is generally straight, though there are a few gentle curves, and varied in height from about 10 feet to as little as 5 feet tall.  I would guess that most of the tunnel averaged about 6 feet tall; I felt like was ducking to avoid hitting my head about a 1/3 of the time.  It was generally a little more than a shoulder's width wide, and there were several places where I had to turn sideways to get through.  Water in the tunnel was about 55 degrees and was about mid-calf deep through most of the tunnel, though it rose above my knees in a few places.


At about the half-way point where the tunnels from each end joined, there was a group of about 4 of us who got a little separated from the lead group.  When I went to tell the next person behind me about the joining information, I didn't see anyone.  I went back a ways and still didn't see or hear them.  Did I mention that the only lights in the tunnel were the flashlights we were carrying?  We waited for about 5 minutes with no sign nor sound from them.  While we were a little worried, we decided that there really wasn't a choice but to continue one....this was a one-way tunnel!  We continued on, commenting that the crew that was chiseling out the tunnel coming from the other end, the Pools of Siloam, must have put all of their energy into the first part of their end, where the ceilings were quite high, and been tired or running out of time by the time they got to the middle, which were low.  There were some turns at the midpoint, apparently as the two groups were trying to meet up, but still remarkably close, having gone through so much rock with hand tools to meet up.

We are reminded (and thankful for the brief period to rest!) that evening falls fairly early here and it is nearly dark by 5 pm.  So that means that we are usually finishing up our touring by that time or earlier.  Tonight that was time for Joyce to nap, Alan to blog, and to try and recreate the very full day.

Our evening ended with another wonderful meal with delightful company, reminiscing about the days activities, learning about each other's backgrounds, and marveling at God's work through the centuries, even up to today.  After some of that sharing at our evening debrief session, We joined with Mike on his "Jubilee", another hesed song, and Mike shared some of this thoughts, especially centered on Exodus 34:6 and following.