Day 2- The Old City of Jerusalem
*Churva Shul *Ir Dovid (City of David) *Kotel Tunnels
The day started bright and early with learning on the roof with Rabbi Herman.
I woke up before sunrise and caught my first Israeli dawn; it took my breath away. It was literally love at first sight. –Rosie Lipkind
Learning on the roof this morning had so much adrenaline involved. Weird. –Esti Vogel
I loved learning on the roof with Rabbi Herman. The air was cool, the sun was shining, and I was able to look out at the land of Israel while learning Torah with Rabbi.
–Rochel Brekan
Sketch of Rabbi Herman, by Sima Goldstein (Above)
Sketch of the scene from the roof, by Mrs. Guterson (Below)
Excerpt from Rabbi Herman's class:
The Rebbe explains that the Aron is the essence of the structure of the Beit Hamikdosh and the source of its spirituality; Without the Aron the Beit Hamikdosh would never be able to exist. During the second Beit Hamikdash, the Aron was not present because it had been hidden underground by Shlomo to protect it. However, this does not mean the second Beit Hamikdash was lacking that essential conduit of spirituality because the Aron actually has two alternate resting places in this world from which it can function: During the First Beit Hamikdosh it sat in the Kodesh Hakedoshim, but since the time of the Second Beit Hamikdash it has sat in its alternate location underground, where it will stay until Moshiach comes. So although the Aron was not within the Second Temple, it was underground in its hiding place, still giving eternality to the holiness. Likewise, nowadays, the Beit Hamikdosh no longer stands, but the source of its energy, the Aron, always exists.
(I found this mindblowing to think that the Aron, this battery of spiriuality was somewhere beneath my feet, channeling spirituality into the world! How crazy is that? -SARAH ECKSTEIN)
Jet Lagged Thoughts from our First Morning - ESSAY (click to read)
We started out with a tour of the famous Churva Shul, the shul of the Rova (the Jewish Quarter.)
I was so excited to see the inside of the Churva Shul. Normally, the shul is closed to the public, so in all my time in Israel, I never had the opportunity to go in. Each time I walked through the surrounding square, I would peer up at it, wondering what its famous interior and dome looked like. I had first read about the Churva shul in a true life account of fleeing the Old City in 1948. The author describes the Churva as a huge part of her childhood, the beautiful tall ceiling a source of pride amongst the Jewish community. How painful it must have been for them to abandon it to the Jordanians.
-Noa Engle
Staircase to the roof of the Churva
We visited Ir Dovid, the site that archeaologists believe to be the location of King Dovid's palace and the center of Ancient Jerusalem.
The City of Dovid was my favorite tour because I was able to actually see the Torah come to life in the land.
–Rochel Brekkan
Ir Dovid: I tried OREOS for the first time! –Sima Goldstein
I was struck that our tour guide, Ahuva, for the City of David, was just one year out of seminary, had made Aliyah, and that this was her national service. I thought, standing with our Tzohar students, "Which one of them might be inspired to move here and teach others about our Holy Land?"
-Mrs. Guterson
We finished the day with the Kotel Tunnels - the series of tunnels that run up against the now underground section of the Kotel. At one point, the tunnel accesses the closest location to the Kodesh Hakodashim, the Holy of Holies.
Learning the whole day about the history of Yerushalayim, it was so much more special to be standing underground across from the Kodesh Hakodoshim. Being Chabad, it was cool because I was able to see how my intellect really affected my emotions.
–Sima Goldstein
The tunnel tours were surprisingly super amazing. – Esti Vogel
Menachem Herman played his video game in the holes of the kotel tunnels and I think Hashem smiled a lot at that. –Sima Goldstein