Today we went into the Old City of Jerusalem and got to see so many holy and sacred sights. We first went to Saint Anne’s Church and tried out the awesome acoustics as we sang How Great Thou Art. Then at the Pools of Bethesda we were reminded that it was the place where Jesus healed a man who had been sick for 38 years (John 5:1-15). After this we went to the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. This is the last remnant of Herod’s temple and it is the closest to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, so the Jews pray there because they believe that is the closest place they can get to God. Since the destruction of the temple the wall has been nicknamed the Wailing Wall because of the devastation it brought the Jews because they were without place to worship God. At the wall the Jewish people are separated by men and women, and each person prays and writes a prayer on a piece of paper that they then stick in a crack in the wall. When they are done they walk backwards away from the wall so they do not turn their back on it, as they believe that would mean turning their back on God.
We then went to the Temple Mount (on top of Solomon’s temple and Herod’s temple) which currently has the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on it. After this we went to The Temple Institute where the items that will be used in the new temple are being built. The exact place and timing of the Temple being built is unknown, but the Jews believe that when the peoples’ hearts are right God will reveal this to them. Then we went to see the tunnels that run along the western wall of the temple remains. This gave us a greater understanding of each temples’ construction since much of it is underground. We learned a lot through the tour but many mysteries still need to be unveiled about the exact location of many things.
Layla Tov! Israel Team 2007