Israel - Day Eight

After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Roman general Titus, the Jews were forbidden to come within sight of the city. The emperor Constantine permitted the Jews to weep at the Dome of the Rock once a year. In the 12th century, the exterior wall (the present Wailing Wall) was given to the Jews to a place of prayer. Known for generations as the Wailing Wall, this became the Jews' holiest place of prayer. It is the closest they could come to the site of the sacred Temple. Now a days, the Jewish people gather here each Friday to cry, pray, sing, and chant portions of Scripture and parts of prayer books. The wall is separated down the middle, men on one side and women on the other. I made my way through the crowd to the base of the wall. Within the cracks of the wall you will see thousands of pieces of paper crammed into the cracks. These are "Letters to God" where the people believe is THE place where God hears their prayers. I too, took my moment and left my prayer fastened to the wall.

Our next stop was the Pool of Bethesda. This pool is just North of the Temple Mount, within walking distance. According to John, an angel stirred the waters once a year and the first person into the pool was healed of their affliction. One day Jesus walked by the pool and saw a man who had been there a long time but had not been healed. He said to him,"Do you wish to get well?" The sick man answered Him, " Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." It was there Jesus healed him.

In the photo on the bottom right, is St. Anne's Church. Located adjacent to the Pool of Bethesda, this church is known for it's excellent acoustics. Visitor's from all around the world come to sing songs in this church. Regardless of your singing ability, when lift your voice in song it resembles the sound of angels singing. We sang a couple of songs and I could have sat there all day. The sound really was amazing as I listened to each group take their turn singing.

In the photo top right, is the Holocost Museum. The building itself is fashioned after a knife that is cutting through the mountain. Although I was somewhat familiar with the events that took place, I was quite naive to the extent. The museum contains stories and images of the horrific events that took place. I found myself standing before many stories or videos with shock and tears on my face. It was a sobering look at the hatred that is in the world.

Our final stop for the day was Hezekiah's tunnel. Rising in the Kindron Valley, the Gihon Springs was Jerusalem's only water source. In 701 B.C., King Hezekiah faced an attack from the Assyrian army. Fearing the coming siege, he set 2 teams of men to excavate an underground tunnel from the spring to within the safety of the walls. Working non-stop day and night, incredibly the two groups met precisely- metres under the earth. Still today, experts are baffled by this feat of engineering. We were able to walk the entire length of the underground water tunnel.