PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 25, 2019
KeizerCommunity
Notes from a holy land
KEIZERTIMES.COM
BY LAUREN MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
I recently traveled to Israel
on a pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. While there, among oth-
er things, I learned what the
word pilgrimage meant.
We saw many “holy sites”
or places where things took
place in the Bible: Caesarea,
the Mount of the Beatitudes,
one of the Roman Decapolis
cities, but my favorite part was
going to Jerusalem.
We started the trip in Tel
Aviv and traveled north to the
Sea of Galilee. From there we
went southeast into Jordan and
then fi nished the circle by go-
ing northwest into Jerusalem.
We saved up for a year to
pay for this trip –in many
ways, the entire year felt like it
was leading up to Israel; upon
getting there, the entire trip
felt like it was leading up to
Jerusalem.
On the second day of the
trip we visited the Jordan Riv-
er, where Jesus was baptized.
Several members of our group,
including my mother, sister
and I, were baptized. Baptism
is symbolic of being washed
cleaned or made pure.
This was one of the fi rst
things we did, which was in-
teresting, because when the
Jews would come to the Tem-
ple (in Jerusalem) to offer their
scarifi es they had to take a
ritual cleansing bath before
they could go onto the Tem-
ple Mount. That ritual was in-
tended to purify them before
they entered the presence of
the Lord.
We visited a replica of the
Tabernacle (the place where
God dwelled before they built
the First Temple) that ex-
plained how the temple was
to be set up and the signifi -
cance of every piece inside, ev-
Submitted
An outside view of the Petra Treasury, a temple built in the 1st
Century AD.
ery component was designed
to foreshadow the coming of
Christ.
The other things we saw
were incredible, but when we
drove into Jerusalem I nearly
cried. Not because it was beau-
tiful, though it was, but because
this was the center of the faith
that I’ve built my life around.
Driving to the Mount of
Olives we could see the entire
city stretch out beneath us.
A collective gasp went
through the group. The walls
of the old city stood high
and proud, the modern city
sprawled out around them, it
was breathtaking.
We stood on the Mount of
Olives and for the fi rst time
I saw the Eastern Gate, the
Western Wall and the Dome
of the Rock.
The Eastern Gate is where
the Messiah is supposed to re-
turn through. In 1541 the Ot-
toman Empire sealed it closed
in hope of preventing the re-
turn.
Outside the Eastern Gate
is a Muslim graveyard. The
working theory is that they
built it there so that no one
will walk through it and so
that the Muslims buried there
will be the fi rst to welcome
the Messiah.
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The Western Wall, which
we got to visit later on, is com-
monly referred to as the Wail-
ing Wall– though our guide
informed us that the Western
Wall was the retaining wall on
the West side of the Temple
Mount and the Wailing Wall
was outside of the building
where they pay taxes.
When the Muslims took
over the Temple Mount they
built the Dome of the Rock
on top of where the Holy of
Submitted
Holies (the sanctuary of the
Reporter Lauren Murphy (second from left) with other mem-
temple where God appeared)
bers of her group that traveled to Israel in September.
was supposedly located. Jews
are not allowed to worship up
On our last day we walked
Both Russian Jews and
on the mountain so they con- along the walls of the old city– Ethiopian Jews immigrated to
gregate at the Western Wall, the it was the sabbath so there Israel between the late 1970s to
closest they can get, and wor- were not many people in the the early 1990s. Older immi-
ship there.
streets which gave it a peaceful, grants struggled with learning
We saw several replicas of quiet feel.
the language and fi nding jobs
the Temple, each time we did
The people we did meet in their chosen fi eld. As a result,
our guide reminded us that were wonderful: shop owners they took jobs like babysitting
when the Temple was still who brought us to tears with or cleaning that paid very little
standing the Western Wall was their kindness, a tour guide and did not offer pensions.
of little signifi cance– it was who took care of us when we
They receive a minimal
merely part of the bor-
amount of social secu-
der around the Tem-
rity from the govern-
ple and was no differ-
ment and are, in some
ent than the eastern or
cases, forced to resort
northern parts.
to begging to pay their
Standing on the
bills. The Yad LaKashish
Mount of Olives and
non-profi t was started
looking at the Dome of
to return dignity to the
the Rock brought sever-
elders of the community.
al of our group members
From there, we saw
to tears. This is an Islam-
the Southern Steps,
ic shrine built on top of
which lead up to the
the old Temple and is
Temple. Oftentimes rab-
not to be confused with
bis would sit on the tem-
the Al-Aqsa Mosque,
ple steps and teach the
where Muhammad was
people, it’s possible that
taken up to heaven, they
Jesus did the same thing.
are separate buildings
We went to the por-
and only about a minute
tion of the Western Wall
apart.
where people gather to
The location of
pray, which was an in-
Submitted credible sight. We also
shrine has no signifi -
cance to Islam other The City of Jerusalem as seen from the visited the Western Wall
YMCA Tower.
than the fact that it’s
tunnels, which were ex-
on top of an important
cavated under the West-
place in Christianity and Ju- caught the fl u and everyone at ern Wall.
daism. Several group members Yad LaKashish, the Home for
When we left for the airport
expressed anger that it couldn’t the Aged.
our guide taught us the prayer,
have been built 100 feet to the
Yad LaKashish is a local Next Year in Jerusalem, which
right or left.
non-profi t that provides jobs has several meanings. The most
As a rule of thumb, if there is and training for elders who obvious being, “I will see you
a known religious site, chanc- immigrated to the communi- again.”
es are there is also a church, ty and are unable to pay their
Even though many here
synagogue or mosque on top bills.
questioned my desire to inten-
of it (technically the Dome
The center teaches retired tionally travel to the Middle
of the Rock is a shrine not a immigrants crafts –
met- East, and the amount of walk-
mosque).
al, fabric or paper were just ing and stairs made me sore, I
The exception to that rule a few that we saw – and pays fully intend to return. Walk-
was the Sea of Galilee, a place them for the things they cre- ing in the place where Jesus
where Jesus spent a lot of time; ate that are sold in the center’s walked and seeing where Bib-
the water is one of the few community store. It was one lical events took place brought
places you can’t build a reli- of my favorite places– seeing scripture to life in an unreal
gious site and it has remained Russian and Ethiopian immi- way. The modern-day culture
relatively untouched.
grants, who share no common and people were so bright and
While the view from the language, work together as part vibrant, I could spend an eter-
Mount of Olives was incred- of a community was incredible, nity walking the city.
ible, walking through the city inspiring, and dare I say, needed
Contact the reporter at
was even better.
reporter@keizertimes.com.
in the United States.
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