This was one of their most sacred places. the Holocaust Museum. and i guess i can understand why. how would you feel if one day, someone wants to wipe out your entire race!! quite scarey, and quite.. painful huh.
didn't quite stay in there for long. gave me the creeps, all the evil things done there. don't think i'll ever want to specialise in this area. at least not in the near future. so didn't quite see the need to explore very much. quickly walked through, and then exited for fellowship and rest.
but the visitors really respect the place. coz as we were walking out, a group of western toursists were walking with us, and along came a group of really noisy jewish teenagers, talking super loudly. the americans (i think) then turned to them and told them "quiet please! respect!" and immediately, the teenagers grew very quiet and apologised. even they knew the significance and importance of the place. respect! and i thought that was very.. amazing a moment.
yes, let's give due respect to those who have suffered the horrible persecution.
Monday, March 23
Nehemiah's Wall
Then we saw Nehemiah's wall.
apparently, chariots could conduct races on its width! that's how wide it was. and a group of people building the wall for 52 days straight. no sleep, no food also i think. interestingly, that was the period of esther too.. after she became queen. never realised how ezra, nehemiah and esther were written during the same period, but in reverse timeline. esther happened first, followed by nehemiah, followed my ezra. interesting hey.
apparently, chariots could conduct races on its width! that's how wide it was. and a group of people building the wall for 52 days straight. no sleep, no food also i think. interestingly, that was the period of esther too.. after she became queen. never realised how ezra, nehemiah and esther were written during the same period, but in reverse timeline. esther happened first, followed by nehemiah, followed my ezra. interesting hey.
Southern Steps
We are now on the Southern Steps, the other way into the temple. Why is this the most common entrance? because it's from LOW ground to HIGH ground. so they believe that it's more meaningful and significant, you know, when you walk UP.. it's like in humility, you come to meet with God. quite cool i thought. to physically remind us. but then again, we ARE new creations in Christ. the old HAS passed, and the new IS here!!
this is also one of the only areas of the temple that have been reserved. also the place where 3000 got saved by Peter's maiden sermon.
here, we sang "i will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, i will enter His courts with praise. i will say this is the day that the Lord has made, i will rejoice for He has made me glad". very meaningful a song for this occassion, and so as we climbed up, we sang! indeed, that was the day, when Jesus died, and therefore, THIS IS OUR DAY OF CELEBRATION!!!
we then proceeded to the Jewish quarter, which was more organised and less dense/crowded. and we had our lunch there. kebabs and other typical jewish dishes.
after that, we had shopping!!! =D bought more things, if it's even possible.
Wailing Wall
We then reached the famous Wailing Wall.
where people were REALLY wailing. quite a sight. once again, females were seperated from males. people would usually write their prayers on a small piece of paper, and try and slip them into the cracks of the wall. so that's what i did! hahaha.. just for fun and tradition. i know i don't need to write it down on paper etc, (like what uncle peter says, why use slow mail when we've got direct access?) but just for experience's sake. hahaha..
some pics of us being so pious. hahaha..
but i WAS genuinely praying lah. wah, it was so tough to just GET to the wall. had to wait for ages, and then squeeze my way through the crowd.. so of course had better get my "time's" worth! hahaha...
more pictures of us at the site
we also saw this mini-showcase area, and Moshe taught us about the timeline of Jewish history.. pretty interesting. who conquered Jerusalem when..
also, Jews would usually celebrate boys turning 13 years old. a "becoming a man" time. Bamitzvah. took a video of part of their celebration. very loud and jovial and affair. quite the opposite of the wailing wall.. and yet, both occurances are side by side.
one such celebration
Via Dolorosa
here, we went through very briefly the via dolorosa. for some reason, we didn't quite dwell on this part. don't know if it's because everyone was just in such a rush, or whether they purposely didn't want us to DWELL on this part. for some reason.
anyhow. the first 2 stations of the cross.
1st station - smooth stone. where Jesus was spit at, crown of thorns were placed on him. the place of judgement. remember, he bore our worries (at the brain) so that we could be stress free!
2nd station - grooved stone. so that animals won't sleep when they walk. uneven ground. no pictures unfortunately.
the rest of the stations were abit.. blurred. took some pictures of pictures. hahaha.. but that's about it.
oh, the only cool thing is, you know what the 5th station is? (5 being the number of grace). when Simon helped Jesus carry the cross. talk about grace huh. beautiful picture.. :)
the streets were so.. filled. imagine Jesus having to walk down these streets. what a sight it must have been!
people were trying to sell stuff to us all along the way
example of man carrying cross. but of course, fake one lah. for tourists haha
the Via Dolorosa
some streets were more quiet, so quick quick take photo!!
there was a nice mural which depicted the time of Jesus, and what must have been there along the streets. decided to sit on the "floor" and pretend to have been there hahaha
they had many bagel shops.. jewish bagels. interestingly shaped. quite nice a bite.
wanru and me enjoying the bagel YUM.. thanks Moshe for the treat! ;)
a minorah that we spotted
israelites playing their drums so cool lah
also, Jews would usually celebrate boys turning 13 years old. a "becoming a man" time. Bamitzvah. took a video of part of their celebration. very loud and jovial and affair. quite the opposite of the wailing wall.. and yet, both occurances are side by side.
watch it!
mom just had to barge between them haha
anyhow. the first 2 stations of the cross.
1st station - smooth stone. where Jesus was spit at, crown of thorns were placed on him. the place of judgement. remember, he bore our worries (at the brain) so that we could be stress free!
2nd station - grooved stone. so that animals won't sleep when they walk. uneven ground. no pictures unfortunately.
the rest of the stations were abit.. blurred. took some pictures of pictures. hahaha.. but that's about it.
oh, the only cool thing is, you know what the 5th station is? (5 being the number of grace). when Simon helped Jesus carry the cross. talk about grace huh. beautiful picture.. :)
the streets were so.. filled. imagine Jesus having to walk down these streets. what a sight it must have been!
people were trying to sell stuff to us all along the way
example of man carrying cross. but of course, fake one lah. for tourists haha
the Via Dolorosa
some streets were more quiet, so quick quick take photo!!
there was a nice mural which depicted the time of Jesus, and what must have been there along the streets. decided to sit on the "floor" and pretend to have been there hahaha
they had many bagel shops.. jewish bagels. interestingly shaped. quite nice a bite.
wanru and me enjoying the bagel YUM.. thanks Moshe for the treat! ;)
a minorah that we spotted
israelites playing their drums so cool lah
also, Jews would usually celebrate boys turning 13 years old. a "becoming a man" time. Bamitzvah. took a video of part of their celebration. very loud and jovial and affair. quite the opposite of the wailing wall.. and yet, both occurances are side by side.
watch it!
mom just had to barge between them haha
Sheep Gate / Pool of Bethesda
Sheep Gate and Pool of Bethesda, very near each other. this is where Stephen got stoned.
Today, there are lions "guarding" the sheep gate because Sultan the Magnificent had a dream of 4 lions attacking him. why? he believes it's because he didn't protect the Holy City. so he put 4 lions at this gate. haha..
Pool of Bethesda is also where Jesus healed the lame man in John 5.
stairway down to the water area, which proves that this was a pool. Moshe actually went down to throw a stone into the water area, just to let us hear the pebblehitwater sound, PROVING that there's water. okok, i believe you moshe.
some trivia. there were 4 groups of Jews.
1. Sadducees - they run the show at the temple. considered the highest of highest class of Jews. Very extremely religious.
2. Pharisees - think they accept the greyer areas of the Jewish laws.. can go wiki it to find out. Moshe said that the bulk of Jews belonged to this catergory, but upon further research, it doesn't quite appear so. what IS true however, is that there was no "middle" class for the jews. you were either high class or low class. Pharisees were considered high class
3. Essenes - the scribes, people of simple life. because they believe that life on this earth is not important. what's important are your treasures stored up in heaven.
4. Zealots - the rebels. FIGHT THE ROMANS!!! they scream. small number, but very powerful and radical. they did eventually win over the jews to fight with them, which was a wrong move, coz that caused the jewish race to die.
Today, there are lions "guarding" the sheep gate because Sultan the Magnificent had a dream of 4 lions attacking him. why? he believes it's because he didn't protect the Holy City. so he put 4 lions at this gate. haha..
Pool of Bethesda is also where Jesus healed the lame man in John 5.
stairway down to the water area, which proves that this was a pool. Moshe actually went down to throw a stone into the water area, just to let us hear the pebblehitwater sound, PROVING that there's water. okok, i believe you moshe.
some trivia. there were 4 groups of Jews.
1. Sadducees - they run the show at the temple. considered the highest of highest class of Jews. Very extremely religious.
2. Pharisees - think they accept the greyer areas of the Jewish laws.. can go wiki it to find out. Moshe said that the bulk of Jews belonged to this catergory, but upon further research, it doesn't quite appear so. what IS true however, is that there was no "middle" class for the jews. you were either high class or low class. Pharisees were considered high class
3. Essenes - the scribes, people of simple life. because they believe that life on this earth is not important. what's important are your treasures stored up in heaven.
4. Zealots - the rebels. FIGHT THE ROMANS!!! they scream. small number, but very powerful and radical. they did eventually win over the jews to fight with them, which was a wrong move, coz that caused the jewish race to die.
Eastern Gate
This is where many believe that Jesus is coming back again. that's why they purposely put huge thick bricks there to "prevent" HIm from coming. that's what the Muslims did. and Jews still believe that Jesus is coming back, SOMEHOW.
us christians? we believe He already HAS come!! (thanks to dad's sharing) hahaha.. that's why the gate is now sealed. so in that way, they fulfilled prophesy. how silly of them, and how cool of God! =D
eastern gate
we were wondering what the man with a blue chair was doing up there!
us christians? we believe He already HAS come!! (thanks to dad's sharing) hahaha.. that's why the gate is now sealed. so in that way, they fulfilled prophesy. how silly of them, and how cool of God! =D
eastern gate
we were wondering what the man with a blue chair was doing up there!
Temple Mount
Our last full day. 8th day out of the 10th. SOOOO FAST!!!!!!!!!!
Today was Jerusalem city temple day.
We went directly to the Temple Mount, which is the huge gold blob smack in the middle of the city, damn outstanding, and nope, it's not jewish, but muslim.
we entered through the Gentile Courtyard, where everyone was allowed to be at. Only Jews were allowed to enter in further than that.
This was where Jesus overturned the money changers tables. why? i have always thought it's because they were creating unholiness, but i never quite questioned how. let me elaborate.
Jews would bring their sacrifices to offer at the temple. usually animals like ox, sheep, doves, etc. but they soon realised that it's rather troublesome to bring that animal ALL the way from wherever they were living TO the city temple. So what they found more practical was to bring MONEY instead and PURCHASE the animals at the temple itself. but in order to that, you not only need people to sell these animals, but for money changes to change whatever currency they had. makes a lot of sense, once again, practicality.
so then, why was Jesus so upset? isn't it very.. reasonable? the problem was that these money changers and stall owners would UP their prices very unreasonably, knowing full well that the people who came to worship had no choice but to do business with them (sneak peak into the jewish culture haha)
of course, the chief priests also had much to gain from this transaction. think about it, there were like 400,000 worshippers every sabbath!
we saw some pillars that were from Jesus' time. one of the few remains of the time of Christ.
Question:why gold and silver domes? Silver, to the Muslims, mark the end of the night journey, while the gold dome makes the ascension to Heaven of Muhammad. just a side point.
Muslims have controlled this holy site ever since 705AD, which is 600 years after Jews were defeated officially by Romans. and the site has been controlled by Muslims all the while, besides the very short while that the crusades took over.
it was on 28 Sept 2000 when Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, came to visit, and caused riots, that they decided to stop others from coming to visit the temple. to prevent more riots. unfortunate.
the dome is made mostly of marble, only the top is Gold, but over aluminium. King Hussein paid for it. It's an octagon, and apprently the only one in the Muslim world.
There are writings on the top of the dome, around the crown area. and it reads "God has no son, and God never sent His son to save the world." stuff like that. HOW MEAN!!! just to make the jews and christians ANGRY. terrible terrible. never mind, da ren bu ji xiao ren guo (big pple don't care about small pple's mistakes)
the old people at the top of the mount
This cleansing feet area is probably inspired by Moses and the "Take off your sandals for this is holy ground" incident. ie, have clean feet! hahaha..
Today was Jerusalem city temple day.
We went directly to the Temple Mount, which is the huge gold blob smack in the middle of the city, damn outstanding, and nope, it's not jewish, but muslim.
we entered through the Gentile Courtyard, where everyone was allowed to be at. Only Jews were allowed to enter in further than that.
This was where Jesus overturned the money changers tables. why? i have always thought it's because they were creating unholiness, but i never quite questioned how. let me elaborate.
Jews would bring their sacrifices to offer at the temple. usually animals like ox, sheep, doves, etc. but they soon realised that it's rather troublesome to bring that animal ALL the way from wherever they were living TO the city temple. So what they found more practical was to bring MONEY instead and PURCHASE the animals at the temple itself. but in order to that, you not only need people to sell these animals, but for money changes to change whatever currency they had. makes a lot of sense, once again, practicality.
so then, why was Jesus so upset? isn't it very.. reasonable? the problem was that these money changers and stall owners would UP their prices very unreasonably, knowing full well that the people who came to worship had no choice but to do business with them (sneak peak into the jewish culture haha)
of course, the chief priests also had much to gain from this transaction. think about it, there were like 400,000 worshippers every sabbath!
we saw some pillars that were from Jesus' time. one of the few remains of the time of Christ.
Question:why gold and silver domes? Silver, to the Muslims, mark the end of the night journey, while the gold dome makes the ascension to Heaven of Muhammad. just a side point.
Muslims have controlled this holy site ever since 705AD, which is 600 years after Jews were defeated officially by Romans. and the site has been controlled by Muslims all the while, besides the very short while that the crusades took over.
it was on 28 Sept 2000 when Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, came to visit, and caused riots, that they decided to stop others from coming to visit the temple. to prevent more riots. unfortunate.
the dome is made mostly of marble, only the top is Gold, but over aluminium. King Hussein paid for it. It's an octagon, and apprently the only one in the Muslim world.
There are writings on the top of the dome, around the crown area. and it reads "God has no son, and God never sent His son to save the world." stuff like that. HOW MEAN!!! just to make the jews and christians ANGRY. terrible terrible. never mind, da ren bu ji xiao ren guo (big pple don't care about small pple's mistakes)
the old people at the top of the mount
This cleansing feet area is probably inspired by Moses and the "Take off your sandals for this is holy ground" incident. ie, have clean feet! hahaha..
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