The Spiritual and the not so Spiritual
Before leaving Tel Aviv, we visited Rabin Square, where Itzak Rabin, Israel’s Prime Minister was assassinated by a radical Jew on November 4, 1995. As we walked around the square we asked passersby where they were and what they felt on the night of the assassination. Everyone still had emotion written all over their face when they spoke about such a shocking event in Israeli history. We related this experience to September 11 or the assassination of J.F. Kennedy; to this day many can recall what they did exactly at the moment they heard about the event/s. Rabin, who was a decorated army general, as well as a pragmatic leader seeking peace was admired by some and loathed by others for his tireless efforts to reach peace. His assassination was a crude violation of the democratic system as well as a devastating blow to the peace process. All too soon we were back on the bus, this time heading to Jerusalem, the City of Gold. As one of the most holy of cities for three world religions, Jerusalem glowed not just with sunlight, but also with a special kind of something that can only be felt. Our first stop off the bus was to the most breathtaking viewpoint in Jerusalem. Our guides pointed out some of the most prominent landmarks in the landscape, and then we talked about the controversial security fence separating East and West Jerusalem. Yet again, the complexity of the situation was overwhelming. After seeing the city from above, we drove into the walls of old Jerusalem to visit the Wailing Wall, also known as the Western Wall or the Kotel. This was a particularly emotional moment for many, as we felt the weight of the past upon us. Slowly, we backed away from the Western Wall, and we headed towards the bus, which would take us to Kibbutz Almog, north of the Dead Sea on the lowest point of earth. Here we would be spending the Shabbat. After we arrived we took showers and got dressed up for Shabbat dinner where we held the Kabalat Shabbat ceremony with music and introduced the Shabbat experience to all five of our senses.
