Continuing on with April A to Z Challenge - sorry in advance for the photo overload!
U
is for Unseen
Have you
ever been somewhere and felt totally unnoticed or totally unseen? I actually
noted an event in my little travel journal that was quite bizarre. I was in the
restaurant of the hotel in Jerusalem one morning and I was totally ignored by
the wait staff. They were all men and I watched them bustle around serving
other tables but not a single one approached my table. Breakfast is served
buffet style so I had food but no one ever asked if I needed coffee (which I
didn’t) or any other thing. Not one of them even looked at me. It was the
weirdest thing! Has anyone else ever experienced something like that?
Since I was unseen . . .I have no photos :-)
U
is for Upper Room
I’ve told
y’all a million times about things that were my favorite but this one was NOT.
It was fine and interesting but for some reason it was a tad disappointing to
me. When I read I have a tendency to make pictures in my head of what something
should look like. On both trips, I tried to go with no expectations – no preconceived
notions but I couldn’t shake them for this space. I know that this space has been rebuilt on top of whatever used to be there so I wasn't expecting "original" - it just wasn't what I thought it would be. One cool thing is that they told us the tomb of King David is underneath the building!
 |
statue of king david who is
missing his nose
someone did this to him!
|
 |
| people praying in King David's tomb |
The Last
Supper was taken, according to old belief, in the big room below. One Byzantine
column still stands from the Crusader reconstruction. There is a pillar in one
of the corners which has a pelican motif. What does a pelican have to do with
the upper room? An old story says that the pelicans bill has a crimson tip, and
the contrast of this red tip against the white breast probably gave rise to the
tradition that the bird tore her own breast to feed her young with the blood.
Since we celebrate the Lord’s Supper using grape juice or wine which represents
the blood of Christ, I guess this is the stretch between the two.
above and below - shots of the pelicans on the pillar
U
is for Ultra Religious
Our tour
guide used this reference often – Ultra Religious Jews. I read on one website that these gentleman do not like to be called Ultra Religious or Ultra Orthodox. If this is so, someone please tell me. I certainly would never want to offend anyone.
This is from the Jewish
Center for Public Affairs:
Israel's Jews are not divided into two groups but into four:
ultra-Orthodox, religious Zionists, traditional Jews, and secular. Some 8
percent are ultra-Orthodox. These are the strangely (to Western eyes) garbed,
black hatted Jews who are featured in all the pictures, despite the fact that
they represent only 8 percent of Israel's Jewish population. Both years of travel,
our flight from Newark to Tel Aviv and back, was populated with many Ultra
Orthodox or Ultra Religious Jews. These are the men in the big black hats and
big black coats with “boxes” on their arms. These “boxes” are Tefillin. They
are actually two small black boxes with black straps attached to them. Jewish
men are required to place one box on their head and tie the other one on their
arm each weekday morning. This practice comes from the scripture, “And you
shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and
with all of your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge
you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at
home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as
a sign on your hand and let them serve as a frontlet between your eyes.
(translation from Jewish Virtual Library . . .which has been a great resource).
The flight from Newark to Tel Aviv is about 12 hours and these
gentlemen are up and down several times during the night praying.
This is what I get for reading and commenting on your V post before U. I see now that you did have a non-favorite. Oops!
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about the ultra- label but I wonder if it is that they see themselves as Jewish, no more or less than Jewish other groups. I once mentioned that a Sister, who does not wear a habit, was very religious. She took exception and said she was no more or less religious than anyone else. It was an interesting conversation, me arguing that she gave up all earthly possessions and future possessions. Her saying people do essentially the exact same thing every day in less visible ways (giving up time, funds, words to help others). Anyway, the point is she took offense that I referred to her as more religious than any other person.
Emily In Ecuador
Emily - Good point about the ultra label. I actually wondered if it was a derogatory term and hesitated to blog about it. Your friend's comment makes sense and I can see why she was offended.
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