Holy sightseeing in the capital of the world
- Vivian Chaya Russo
- Sep 2, 2019
- 3 min read
On Wednesday May 29th the second part of my adventure began. People started going their separate ways from the Akiva trip. A portion of them were going back after the 2-week program. Of the ones extending their stay in Israel, some of them were exploring on their own different places for varied periods of time. Some wanted to learn more about Judaism in a formal setting, through higher education entities like Seminary for women and Yeshiva for men.
I planned to stay an extra 3 weeks visiting family and friends that I don't get to see often. My next stop was staying in Jerusalem with a friend for 5 days. I had to get from the Old City to Katamon with my suitcases. I was a bit nervous to navigate the traffic on my own and unsure of the best way to do so. After a recommendation I shared a taxi with a girl from the group who was also going in the same direction. She used the platform Gett, which is equivalent to the American, Uber or Lyft. Her stop was before mine and I was a little uncomfortable to be by myself with the driver, especially dealing the payment situation without being ripped off in the process. But Hashem had other plans and I got a taste of unsolicited kindness as she offered to pay for my taxi through her phone. She said she was sure after I asked and we said our goodbyes. When I got to my destination I wrote to her how much it was so I could pay her back but she insisted on treating me and just said "Pay it Forward". What a powerfull and selfless act. It meant a great deal to me and I felt Hashem escorting me, making it easy every step of the way.
Our first activity was getting groceries. As boring as it may sound, it's an adventure to shop for food when traveling. You get to take in the little details of another culture and hopefully learn something in the process. My friend lives very close to a Rami Levy Supermarket, one of the most famous franchises in Israel. I could stand there for hours just trying to read all the signs in Hebrew. It hasn't gotten old for me to see everyday things written in the Holy Tongue. The next day we went sightseeing in Jerusalem. I've always wanted to go to the historical King David Hotel, so we went there. Then my friend suggested we also visit the newer David Citadel Hotel in Mamilla. Once we left the final hotel we were so close to the Old City that to not go soak up the holiess would've been a shame. We enjoyed the Temple Insitute museum right by the Kotel, were modernity meets ancient sources to recreate the vessels of the Holy Temple. The past comes alive as you walk through the museum's rooms. With original artwork, captivating music and instructing audio, it's an activity not to be missed. It makes the concept of the Beit Hamikdash much more tangible, which is so central in Judaism. The vessels are all built according to Torah law and ready to be used when Mashiach comes, may it be Speadily in our days!
Another mandatory stop in the Old City are the Four Sephardic Synagogues. This is especially close to my heart since my grandfather is a 3rd generation Jerusalem-born of Turkish origin, may he live and be well until 180! That's exactly the same backgrund of these ancient synagogues. I was delighed to connect with my Sephardic heritage, so I took plenty of pictures to send to my grandfather. It was exciting to me that I was helping him relive his past even though he's a hundred miles away. That's one of the blessings of technology. My friend told me later that she never visits these sites precisely because she lives in Jerusalem. "Locals Syndrome" I guess.
To life!
Vivian Chaya Russo
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