The steps alternate between wide and narrow to encourage worshipers to slow down and meditate. Worshipers used these steps to enter the temple after performing the purification requirements in the ritual baths below and paying the ½ shekel tax. The half shekel was used because it had no face on it. This is also the area where St. Peter addressed crowds at Pentecost. We saw the excavated Jewish ritual baths built by King Herod the Great for the purification rites. In God's timing, Herod the Great had unwittingly provided ahead of time the pools that would be necessary to baptize the thousands that would come to Christ on Pentecost! Schmulick says that Neal Armstrong said he was more moved by walking on these stairs where Jesus walked than he had been when he walked on the moon!
Western Wall (Wailing Wall): Work on uncovering the wall began 100 years ago. The wall was 1500 feet long. Herod the Great cut off part of the bedrock on Mt. Moriah at the north end and built up the south end to make the wall and courtyard level by using a system of arches under the whole area. This section is broken down. The north section is buried under Arab structures, but tunnels have been excavated along the wall under the Arab area, and they show the finely beveled rocks used by Herod. Herod also built an aqueduct and cisterns through this area. Huge rocks weighing as much as 600 tons are part of the foundation area, and Herod had the bedrock surface chiseled to mimic the beveled rocks of the rest of the wall. The relatively small part of the wall exposed today comprises the most holy site for Judaism, since they no longer have a temple and this part of the wall is nearest to where the Holy of Holies was. Men and women pray on separate sides. Both write prayers on pieces of paper and stick them in cracks in the wall. Women back away as they complete their prayers in order not to turn their backs on the glory.
The "shoulder police" in this area decided that my scarf did not sufficiently cover my shoulders, and insisted that I wear one of their scarves (as I entered the bathroom in a construction area!) There was no place to return the scarf after we finished going through the excavation tunnels, so one of the yellow bus ladies took it home for a souvenir.
The Rebuilding of the Second Temple by Herod the Great:
Herod the Great undertook massive building projects in many areas of Israel after 37 B.C., when he was proclaimed a "friend of Rome" which allowed him to collect personal taxes from the people. He died the same year Jesus was born (after he had killed the babies in Bethlehem.) He was a genius in his building programs who spared no expense to accomplish his goals, even as he became more and more of a lunatic in his private life. His son's after him were not "friends of Caesar," and so they were not able or interested in continuing his building programs and maintaining the ones he had accomplished. Herod hired artisans and paid them, and these projects brought financial booms to the areas of Herod's building programs. Most of Herod's projects (Caesarea, Caesarea Phillipi, Masada, +++) were for his personal enjoyment, privacy, and oppulance and to prove his allegiance to Caesar. However, the rebuilding of the temple was also to show the Jews that he cared about them. Herod was a smart politician.
In order to rebuild the temple, Herod wanted to create an immense flat courtyard. To accomplish this, he cut down Mt. Moriah on the north end and used this rock to build up the south end, to provide the 1500 feet length. Throughout his building projects, Herod's "signature" was the massive rocks with beveled edges.
In some areas, it was only the "stucco" front that was beveled. In the temple, the beveled edges were chiseled around every rock.
A series of arches supported the "Great Bridge," which allowed the wealthy to go directly from the ritual baths of their homes to the Temple and avoid the common folks who lived below and entered the temple after using the ritual baths many, many steps below.
All enteriors were supported by massive pillars and floors were loveley mosaics. Herod had priests trained to decorate the walls of the Holy Place. To decorate the interior of the Holy of Holies, he lowered workers in wooden cages. Since no one but the priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and this could be done only once a year, Herod and the priests agreed that the workers were not really in the Holy of Holies. They were in the cages!
Talk by Dr. Shor and Victor Smadja, who has worked here with the Messianic Jews for 56 years: Victor is Dr. Shor's spiritual father. Victor's son is Dr. Shor's good friend. Victor somehow sponsors Sar-El Tours, the Israel business arm of Pilgrim Tours. Sar-El Tours is the largest tour operator handling believer's tours.
Dr. Shor told how he grew up in a traditional Jewish family and found the Messiah through a friend/real estate agent in Fresno. The friend bought Dr. Shor a full Bible and convinced him to read the New Testament. Dr. Shor did after he found the verse in Micah 5:2 predicting that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus' name was taboo in his Jewish family, and Jews are not supposed to read the New Testament. The Micah verse opened Dr. Shor's eyes and he me the Messiah, gave his life to the Lord, and there's no turning back. His family are still traditional Jews. He says he has to leave it up to God as to how the Jews are God's chosen people, and yet Jesus' clear words to the Jews, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me."
Victor, a tentmaking Messianic Jew, prints religious materials and provides Hebrew speaking Jews around the world free Hebrew Bibles. In 1959, the Messianic Jews began sponsoring Youth Conferences, through which hundreds and thousands of young people came to the Lord. (The State forbids evangelism to Jewish children.) There are 130 Messianic Jewish congregations now. Messianic Jewish immigrants have added to the congregations. Rather that making plans, the groups look to the Lord for plans. Each congregation is developing their own evangelism plans as the Lord touches their hearts. The childhood evangelism happens through the church member's own children.
Victor also produces materials for the many Arab believers. Victor is worried about the moral difficulty for the mandatory military service for youth of Israel. Boys must serve 3 years; girls serve 2. This is a severe testing of faith and morality for Jewish and Arab Christian teenagers.
3 Criteria for Judging Authenticity of Sites:
Historical memory of people at the site through the ages.
Historical and church documents -- Josephus has been found to be very accurate.
Archaeology
Chronology of 6-Day War June 5-10, 1967:
Days 1-2: Main offense against Egypt in Sinai Desert. Israel takes Gaza Strip (Schmulik says "unfortunately"). News blackout. Arabs broadcast "overwhelming victory, defeat of Tel Aviv, etc."
Days 3-4: Israeli army surrounds old city Jerusalem. Encamps outside Lion's Gate. Entertainers for troops sing "Jerusalem, the Gold," soldiers are led in prayer "I'm a violin" from song, and take the area. The author of "Jerusalem, the Gold," writes a final verse to the song during the takeover.
Days 5-6: The Golan Heights are retaken in a bloody war. Israel can no longer be fired upon from there. The Arab world screams for a cease fire, which is signed at 2:30 p.m. June 10.
Dr. Shor was 14 and one of those of "all the nation headed for Jerusalem."
(The next day was the Sabbath!)
Notes:
The white sepulchers in the cemetery along the Kidron valley made a very clear picture to the Pharisees of what Jesus meant when he called them that.
Schmuck dislikes Orthodox Jews because of the way they "wear their faith on their sleeves.
3 gates were sealed by the Moslems when they learned of the prophecy that Jesus would return through them.
Dividing the city of Jerusalem "for the sake of a peace constructed by man" is only a time-out to allow Israel's enemies to prepare for their next offensive.
Money changers were allowed and necessary to the temple sacrificial system and to collect the ½ shekel tax. Jesus was angered because they had moved their money changing into the temple.
The Temple Mount is the third holiest place for Islam because they believe Mohammed ascended to heaven (and returned) from here. The Catholics consider the Church of the Holy Sepulcher more holy than the Vatican.
The Moslem dome on the Temple Mont is in the octagonal Byzantine shape wihich means "Jesus." The words on the outside say, "Mohammed has no son. God has no son."
Schmulick quickly killed a big cockroach that we saw. He said he learned to do that in tourist guide training school. He was probably joking!
King David's city covered only 10 acres. Herod's temple (Jesus' time) covered 35 acres.
We often drove past Oskar Schindler's grave several times. Schmulik says that his grave is always distinguishable because of the great number of stones Jews always put on his grave in remembrance.
We are just loving being in Jerusalem. We walk a lot and learn a lot. The Arab areas are very distinguishable by the run-down, shabby, trashy areas they usually are. It will be interesting staying at the hostel in the Arab section across from the Damascus gate Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings.
One lady in the elevator said her group was being moved to another hotel to make room for the Bush entourage.
The inside story on the Pool at Bethesda, where Jews believed that an angel of God disturbed the waters and the first to get in would be healed. The inside story is that Jesus knew this was a pagan rite to Esclepyas. Jesus was saying, "If it's not God, don't call it God."
Though churches are not particularly interesting when built over an important site, St. Anne's Basilique is interesting. The pastor from Canada met us and explained the acoustics of the building. Singing "How Great Thou Art," "Amazing Grace," and "Halleluia" together brought tears to our eyes. Even my singing sounded beautiful! The Catholics believe that Mary's mother, Anne, was born here.
One of the worsts visits (in my estimation) was the "commercialized" burial area of the Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenian. Gilded, extravagant, and supposedly beautiful, the "Christian" groups argue over everything at these sites. It's such an example of outward over inner "faith." Schmulik does so well by clearly articulating the difference.
A song that won in a song festival in Europe, "Jerusalem of Gold," became a real theme song and motivation for the soldiers in the 6-Day War of June, 1967, when the Jews stormed the gates of Jerusalem and retook the city.
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