More Jerusalem pics.

Nicole and I took a lot of pictures in Jerusalem.

Here are some more. Nicole happens to be a pretty fantastic photographer,

so I take no credit for the photos in this post, except for the ones of Nicole herself.

Enjoy!

show me the camels.

Neither my friend Nicole or I have classes on Wednesdays. 

So last week we decided to capitalize on the free day and be tourists in Jerusalem. 

We took the sherut on Tuesday after class and stayed the night with my friend's Na'ama and Ari- who I babysat for over Yom Kippur. They graciously hosted us, and I was so happy to have a chance to visit with them and their little boys. 

We began our morning on Wednesday with breakfast at a bagel shop- the baristas here are so talented.

Then we made our way to the Old City. Even though it was Nikki's first time in Jerusalem I was just as excited to explore, and we did some classic tourist-y things I haven't done yet. 

First on our list was the Ramparts Walk- you can walk along the top of the Old City walls, which were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th Century to fortify the city. It was incredible. You just don't experience  history of this magnitude in Boston. 

Next up- the Temple Mount. The Muslims who control this site only allow non-Muslims up to this area during limited hours, so we had to wait in line (in front of some Russians who were not respecting my personal space) but it was totally worth it to see the Dome of the Rock. 

This is the 3rd holiest site in the world for Muslims. The building behind me (with the gold dome) was built to commemorate the site where, according to Islamic tradition, the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It was built on the Temple Mount- the site of the Second Jewish Temple. 

Needless to say, this place is a huge deal to a lot of people, and it's hard not to feel lucky that I can just travel here on a day trip. 

How is this my life?

Afterwards we went to the Western Wall to say a prayer (or two). I've been here before, but Nicole hadn't yet- and to be honest, I will never tire of visiting this place. There is something about Jerusalem, but the Kotel in particular, that just has a calming effect on my soul. 

God is just more palpable here than anywhere else I've ever been.

We spent some time walking around the Old City afterwards, just drinking it all in. I stopped at Shorashim, a Judaica/jewelry shop that I'd been to the first time I visited Israel in 2005 and chatted with the owners, Moshe and Dov, for a few minutes. They know some of the professors I had at Gordon College, and it was nice to share fond memories of mutual friends. 

Nikki and I met my friend Ze'ev for lunch and then wandered around the Muslim shuk for a little while. We didn't end up buying anything, but its definitely a worthwhile experience just to meander through.

Nikki finally had the pleasure of experiencing what its like to have guys catcalling "gingi!" at me everywhere I go- one shop owner actually left his store to come over to me and propose marriage. The conversation went something like this:

Arab merchant: 

"I'll give you 55 camels and you will be my lovely gingi wife."

Me: 

"Really? You have 55 camels in that little store? I'll need to see them up front in order to consider it."

Dad, you should be offended- I'm worth at least 300, right?

Yom Kippur

For my non-Jewish audience, this weekend was Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)- the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. The most detailed description of observance of Yom Kippur is in Leviticus 16- which happens to be the chapter at the mid-point of the Torah, which shows the centrality of this holiday in Jewish religious life (and yes, I did go through some of my old notes from college to re-learn this stuff...) When I try explain it to my non-Jewish friends I usually compare Yom Kippur to Christmas for Christians- not in terms of what the holiday IS but in that even people who aren't particularly observant in everyday life tend to observe this holiday. Jews traditionally observe Yom Kippur with a 25-hour period of fasting and prayer, spending most of the day in synagogue services. In Israel on Yom Kippur everything shuts down. Literally. There is no public transportation, no cars on the roads, and many people don't even use electricity. People (generally) dress in white, in an effort to make themselves as akin to angels as possible- they are, after all, fasting and praying for the Lord to seal their names into the Book of Life for the coming year.

The holiday lasted from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and on Friday night I went for a walk in Jerusalem (where I was staying for the weekend). What I found was hundreds of people out walking in the streets- cause they could. There were tons of kids out riding their bikes around in the abandoned streets and every once in awhile I'd even see someone just laying down in the middle of an intersection.

It was kind of eerie, and really cool. There was a palpable current of joy in the air, and I felt so fortunate to be in Jerusalem on such a special evening.

 I was invited to spend Yom Kippur in Jerusalem at the Applbaum's (friends of mine from The David Project). Ari and Na'ama have twin 2.5 year old boys, and this year Na'ama was in the States for work, so Ari was in need of some help caring for them so he could observe the holiday. I was more than happy to oblige. People kept telling me that I would move over here and be smitten by the handsome Israeli boys....

They weren't kidding. Look at those faces! I ate those faces for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their names are Yuval and Roni, and it did not take long for me to fall head-over-heels. Yuval (bottom right) is sensitive, a little moody, but generally easy going and gentle. Roni (bottom left) is higher-octane, mischievous, and a total sweet-talker. Both of them had me wrapped around their little fingers- they're so sweet, terribly smart, and had me in stitches all weekend.

One of my favorite things to do when one of them seemed like he was headed down the tantrum-path (where one goes, so goes the other) was to yell out "belly bump!" cause this would happen:

I'm so into them.

So, basically I had the best weekend ever. I got to spend the holiest day of the Jewish calendar in the holiest city in the Jewish faith, and I fell in love with two of the cutest kids mine eyes have ever seen. Winning.