a few weeks ago i headed up to jerusalem and got to have lunch with the director of the middle east studies program, the study abroad program i did in egypt during college! that semester really changed the way i think about the world, and this particular professor had a lot to do with that, so it was wonderful see him again. also, my friend lynn from gordon college cross country running days is now the intern at the program. it was nice to catch up with her as well and talk about some of the politics/faith issues that only former mespers would think to discuss. because they live right on the seam, we decided to go to bethlehem for a few hours. after passing through the gnarly checkpoint and looking at “the wall” from the other side, we went to the church of the nativity, which marks the spot where it is believed that Jesus was born. there was a three hour long line of tourists, but because lynn speaks arabic we went in the back way and didn’t have to wait at all! we then went to “the shepherds field,” where another church marks the spot.
on the way home, coming through jerusalem, i ran into some preparations for yom kippur, which was the next day. some jews prepare for this very holy day by killing a chicken after holding it above their head and saying a prayer, called kapparot. they were doing this by the thousands in downtown jerusalem. across the street was a raucous animal rights protest (specifically for the chickens). israel is a diverse place!
yom kippur, or the day of atonement, is the most sacred day in judaism. many here fast all day, and nothing is on the radio or television. no cars are allowed on the roads, so my classmates and i took the opportunity to saunter around all evening in the middle of the normally bustling boulevards and intersections of beer sheva. we were even able to spend some time in a large municipal fountain that only gets turned off once a year. good times!
