Today is my 13th day in Israel and I FINALLY made it to the Kotel (the Western Wall, the Wailing Wall). The place has actually changed very little since I was last here with my family in 2001.
I walked from Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall/tourist trap down Jaffa towards the Jaffa Gate. When I was first able to see the city (at the corner of Jaffa and King David) I started to get an anxious feeling, but also one of wonder. As I approached the Old City the anxiety left me and the feeling of wonder changed into something else. I cannot identify it, exactly, but it felt like I was coming home.
It turns out that the Jaffa Gate area is under construction and I had to enter through another area. As soon as I did it was like I was on an entirely different planet. I had entered into a market area of the Christian Quarter in the Old City. This area, like many others, is full of small shops on both sides of the very narrow streets. You are immediately bombarded with various types of music and the sound of shopkeepers hawking their wares. There is also the sound of barter everywhere as that is how it works in the Old City. You don’t like the price of something, offer some other amount. As a friend of mine once said, “If you don’t ask, you won’t get”. That is certainly true in the Old City.
I had to stop several times to ask directions, but everyone was extremely helpful. After a number of wrong turns I finally got to a spot from which I could see the Kotel. The excavation that was being done on the south wall the last time I was here appears to be done, and the sight was one for sore eyes.
As I made my way down to the Kotel I felt yet another new feeling. This one was even harder to identify and I am not sure that I wish to hazard a guess at this time. I will say, though, that once I actually touched the wall I felt a spiritual connection like no other in the world. The feeling of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people over thousands of years was almost palpable. This is without a doubt the most spiritual place on Earth.
I had an odd experience while I was there, and it was deeply moving for me. I prayed at the wall for about 30 minutes, standing perfectly still with my eyes closed, one hand touching the wall. Every time I asked for Hashem to help me in my endeavor to serve His people I felt a cool breeze on my back. Make no mistake about it, today was HOT and there was no wind. Yet EVERY time I referenced serving His people I could feel that breeze. I felt it at no other time, and it was an almost instant response when I did. This is something I cannot explain and most certainly will not try to. Neither will I chalk it up to coincidence. I believe that it was a message from Hashem that I am following the right path, and this gives me great hope and confidence that I am doing His will for me. (Yes, I KNOW how that sounds but it actually happened, it REALLY grabbed my attention and I absolutely cannot explain it away.)
I walked from Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall/tourist trap down Jaffa towards the Jaffa Gate. When I was first able to see the city (at the corner of Jaffa and King David) I started to get an anxious feeling, but also one of wonder. As I approached the Old City the anxiety left me and the feeling of wonder changed into something else. I cannot identify it, exactly, but it felt like I was coming home.
It turns out that the Jaffa Gate area is under construction and I had to enter through another area. As soon as I did it was like I was on an entirely different planet. I had entered into a market area of the Christian Quarter in the Old City. This area, like many others, is full of small shops on both sides of the very narrow streets. You are immediately bombarded with various types of music and the sound of shopkeepers hawking their wares. There is also the sound of barter everywhere as that is how it works in the Old City. You don’t like the price of something, offer some other amount. As a friend of mine once said, “If you don’t ask, you won’t get”. That is certainly true in the Old City.
I had to stop several times to ask directions, but everyone was extremely helpful. After a number of wrong turns I finally got to a spot from which I could see the Kotel. The excavation that was being done on the south wall the last time I was here appears to be done, and the sight was one for sore eyes.
As I made my way down to the Kotel I felt yet another new feeling. This one was even harder to identify and I am not sure that I wish to hazard a guess at this time. I will say, though, that once I actually touched the wall I felt a spiritual connection like no other in the world. The feeling of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people over thousands of years was almost palpable. This is without a doubt the most spiritual place on Earth.
I had an odd experience while I was there, and it was deeply moving for me. I prayed at the wall for about 30 minutes, standing perfectly still with my eyes closed, one hand touching the wall. Every time I asked for Hashem to help me in my endeavor to serve His people I felt a cool breeze on my back. Make no mistake about it, today was HOT and there was no wind. Yet EVERY time I referenced serving His people I could feel that breeze. I felt it at no other time, and it was an almost instant response when I did. This is something I cannot explain and most certainly will not try to. Neither will I chalk it up to coincidence. I believe that it was a message from Hashem that I am following the right path, and this gives me great hope and confidence that I am doing His will for me. (Yes, I KNOW how that sounds but it actually happened, it REALLY grabbed my attention and I absolutely cannot explain it away.)
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