Today is Yom Kippur. In a brief explanation, it is the Jewish day of atonement. Even if you are a secular jew, this is the usually the one day a year you go to a synagogue (equivalent to non denominational christians going to church for christmas and easter). I wanted the opportunity to experience this holy day as close I could as an outsider to the religion, so 5 of us headed to West Jerusalem (more developed Jewish section). The usual busy streets were empty with the exception of some Jews dressed in white scattered about the sidewalks. The usual noise of cars, trams, and people disappeared, leaving a peaceful silence on this holy day for the jewish people. We were able to stand in on a service in the Great Synagogue. I did not understand exactly what was happening, but it was interesting to observe. People watching is my favorite, and religious people watching is even better. Being the seventh child I've learned how much you can learn from others by simply watching them. Men with white and blue striped prayer shawls. Women dressed in their finest whites or black holding and reading the Torah close. It reminded me of a congress type set-up where men were on the floor and women on the upper floors looking on. Everyone was reciting/chanting the Torah and after we talked to a jews from Brooklyn and Canada who helped us more fully understand what we saw.
On our way back to the Jerusalem Center on the Mount of Olives we started talking to a friendly and old Palestinian man walking back from the grocery store. He told us how he knew all about the mormons because he lived right near our entrance and had students from previous semesters over. His name is Selhail. He was born in the Jewish section of Jerusalem, but was forced out in 1948 after the British mandate. His father also died in the 1967 war, so this man knows the pain of losing a home and a loved one. He is living history and there is so much to learn from people like Selhail. He invited us to his home and we got to meet his wife and see pictures of his family. His daughter lives in Virginia so he had been to America before. From his past experience and simply being a Palestinian he was very eager to tell us the Palestinian side. We don't talk politics here and simple nods and smiles got us away from the subject. He loved us and invited us over for an Arabic dinner and we exchanged information. I am looking forward to getting to know and understand him better.
I am so thankful for the opportunities I had today to see two ends of the spectrum. We experienced a service in a synagogue on judaism's holiest day of the year and ended up on the couch of a Palestinian learning about his views about Jerusalem and Israel. All as floating, neutral individuals. It's days like these where I see the unifying beauty religion, culture, and people embody. I count my many blessings for days like these, which seems to be quite often in this Holy Land. To think I almost stayed in to study for a midterm.
lesson learned: Neutrality is needed to understand.
