On my way there I walked through the Mamilla Mall. This is a shopping area attached to the Mamilla Hotel located on the corner of Kind David and Jaffa streets. The mall runs from King David Street all the way to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City. At this time of year the mall is decorated for Hanukkah, and the next three pictures show some of those decorations
As you can clearly see, the overhead area is completely lit up with strings of blue and white lights. There is also a menorah overhead that is lit up and visible in the second and third pictures below.
This next picture was taken outside of a synagogue on Jewish Quarter Street in the Old City and shows a case holding several menorahs (menorot). (Part of the mitzvah of lighting the menorah is to make sure that the light can be seen outside of the building. Here that is taken literally and they are moved to the outside.)
Next is a picture of the menorah at the Kotel.
Following is a picture of a menorah mounted above the Kotel plaza.
At the exit from the Mamilla Mall there are steps leading up to the Jaffa Gate. This next picture is of a menorah set up outside the gate.
This last picture shows the decorations on King George Street.
As I mentioned above, I went to the Kotel to take some pictures and to pray. While I certainly knew it was the last night of Hanukkah I was not aware of any other significance to the day. As I walked into the area of the Kotel everything seemed quite normal to me. I was aware of all the other people around jockeying for position to take pictures and of others there to pray. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary while I was walking around.
There WAS a difference, though. In the past I have mentioned feeling a remote presence while leaning against the Wall and meditating. Tonight was very different. I started to feel a presence when I was a couple feet from the Wall. When I touched the Wall it was almost like a shock. There was a strong presence that I have no words to describe. It was not just that I knew I was in a holy place, but that I could in fact FEEL the presence of Hashem about me. I did NOT want to leave.
Unfortunately I had to go. I had arrangements to meet a friend for dinner at ben Yehuda Street. After we settled on a place to eat, sat down and had ordered I mentioned the experience to my friend. She told me that this night is also called the Night of the Shekhinah by the mystics, on which the presence of the Shekhinah is more ….. palpable?? [According to Wikipedia: Shekhinah (alternative transliterations Shekinah, Shechinah, Shekina, Shechina, Schechinah, שכינה) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew language word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God (cf. divine presence), especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.] She also told me that most people feel nothing at all and only those that are sensitive will perceive anything. Needless to say, I was amazed by this. It is going to take me quite a while thinking about it to even begin to comprehend, but I feel truly humbled and blessed by the experience.
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