Yesterday (Friday) was a free day for our class, which means it's time to study for the test the next morning. Before studying though, we got to go on a field trip that Dr. Richter had arranged for us. I'm not quite sure who initiated it, but we were invited to Hebrew Union College to go on a private tour of the Skirball Museum. When I inquired the day before what was at the museum, Dr. Richter replied, "Old stuff!" That's good enough for me, so off we went to the Skirball Museum.
Either we're getting a bit more used to walking up and down hills, or the walk was not as bad as expected because we arrived 20 minutes early.
The Museum did indeed contain lots of old stuff. They had quite a few artifacts (mainly potter) from Tel Dan, Tel Gezer, and Tel Aroer. I was excited to see some real pottery up close and personal. At almost every antiquities site we've been too, we've seen scads of pottery shards, but alas no full pottery pieces. Whatever little museums may be attached to the sites typically have only contained reproductions. It was awesome to see so many jars, vessels, and other pieces made out of pottery. They even had a bathtub and a pottery sarcophagus! The best part was that we could touch just about everything. The professor who led our tour commented that it was all just rock and fired pottery. The only way we could really damage any of it is if we smashed it.
The tour of the Skirball museum was Skirballrific, but it wasn't long before studying for the upcoming test became a priority. It's hard to believe that it was only on Monday that I was sitting down to take a test. I'd love to say studying was fun, but it's still studying so...
A group of us had planned to take a study break after supper (I know, supper is also a study break) and head to the Wailing Wall to see what it was like just before the beginning of Shabbat. We had been told it was worth the time to go see all of the people gathering to worship, pray, and celebrate the beginning of Shabbat. We made it there about 7:45 (45 minutes or so before sundown) and it was pretty packed. There was a heavy military presence, but many of them seemed to be there to also celebrate. We made our way over to the wall that separates the rest of the area from the Western Wall to watch what was going on. We stopped at the women's side first because we heard a lot of singing. Groups of women were standing in circles dancing and singing very jubilantly. It sounded beautiful and was an awesome sight to watch. After a few minutes, we wandered over to the men's side to watch the happenings. Two guys were being carried around on shoulders and the rest of the activity closely mirrored what was happening on the other side. It was like one big worship party!
Two things I found really fascinating were watching what the men were wearing, and watching the teenagers and young adults. There was a wide range in the clothing the men wore from jeans and t-shirts to suits and hats to even fancier clothes. Some guys looked like they were wearing black silk bathrobes. I joked that I needed a field guide to understand what different outfits mean. Really though, it's not totally a joke. I think I need to do some more reading on modern Judaism.
The young people were really interesting to watch. It seemed that they were at a major social event. In reality, they were. After all, many of us find church to be a social event. It was just surprising to see "kids" who were 18 and 19 standing there in clothing that is fairly western, but with semi-automatic weapons slung over one shoulder.
After a trip to the Western Wall, it was time to mosey back to JUC and get back to studying. After class and our test today, I did a little bit of homework, took a nap, and then went to the Old City with Joel Bonner to wander around and buy some snacks for our next trip. We each got a variety of dried fruit and enjoyed looking in the various shops. It's so cool to only be a 10 minute walk (if I'm taking my time) from the Old City. It'll be nice to have a lot of next weekend to shop and explore it some more.
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