Old And New

It occurs to me that people who've not visited must have a lot of ideas of what Israel and Jerusalem, in particular, must look like. I have found it, so far, to be an incredible mix of old (VERY old!) and new. The 21st century's prints are all over parts of the city, which is constantly developing, while the prints of centuries BCE (Before the Common Era) have not worn. In fact, those old prints are, perhaps more evident now as a result of extensive excavations of ancient existence.

Within a half mile of my apartment, you are here...











Not 200 yards from the Gap stores, located in a beautiful, modern shopping mall, this view of the walls of the Old City greets you...

It really is an incredible mix of the ages, putting modernity side-by-side with antiquity, forcing a coexistence that seems comically unnatural, yet comfortable in a way that reinforces everlasting qualities of tradition, even as the present is continually reinvented.

Early this morning, I ventured with several classmates and two of our "upperclassmen" summer interns, who are helping us acclimate to school and to life in Jerusalem, to a Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the new month of the Hebrew calendar) service at the Wall. You know, THE Wall! My classmate, Marc, has posted an excellent account of the special circumstances of this worship experience on his blog. I encourage you to read it.

I found it meaningful, touching, and inspiring to participate in the service and to stand beside my fellow Jews, whose wish it is to be able to fully embrace the tradition in which they share. It aroused in me prayers for unity, understanding, and tolerance within my faith family. Surely those would allow us to do better the work we were meant to do - the work, according to Elie Wiesel, not of making the world more Jewish, but of making it more human. I pray those same prayers for every faith and nation, with the hope that each and all can be united by our profound commonality rather than set apart by our often miniscule differences.

As the Fourth of July, my first outside the U.S., draws near, I am committed as ever to the right of each voice to make itself heard, and to the responsibility each of us can take - and effort we can make - to replace chains that restrict with ties that bind, and barriers that divide with connected hearts and helping hands.

May we remember and embrace the ability of our traditions, like our ancient structures, to stand amidst modernity, so that the fear of losing what we are may be supplanted by the hope - and then the reality - of becoming what we are meant to be.

Jump back on the Ride tomorrow for July 4th fun, including some early observations and opinions of life in another country and a celebration of our 15,000th visitor. Was it you???