11/3 to 11/5 | A Morning in Bethlehem and Shabbat with my Chavruta

On Friday, my roommate Matt and I went to Bethlehem, which is considered one of the holiest cities in Christianity.  While the city is only located five miles south of Jerusalem in the West Bank, it is a different world than Israel.  A trip to Bethlehem offers a cross-cultural immersion in Arab culture that most Jews never experience (I still cannot believe I did!).  The municipality is under the complete control of the Palestinian National Authority both in terms of civil and military affairs; in fact, Israeli citizens are not even allowed to enter the city.  To get there, we had to use the Arab bus system, which was nerve-wracking as everyone spoke Arabic and there were almost no other tourists.  At around 10:00 in the morning, Matt and I departed from Damascus Gate outside of the Old City on our way to Bethlehem.  What we experienced was something I do not think either of us will soon forget.  Here are some pictures from our adventure:

The Arab bus we took to Bethlehem from the parking lot outside of Damascus Gate.  Almost everyone on the bus was Palestinian.

The view from one of the main roads in Bethlehem.  In Hebrew, Bethlehem is Beit Lechem, which means House of Bread.

On our walk to the main square of the city, we passed the campus of Bethlehem University.  I was not able to take a picture of the quad, but it actually resembled a college campus.

Friends, the restaurant.  This logo is the same as that of the popular show.

One of the main streets in Bethlehem.  Everything was written in Arabic and there were very few tourists.

Bethlehem, while predominantly Muslim, contains a number of churches with bell towers that dominate the skyline.  This is called the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church.

The bell tower of Saint Mary's Syrian Orthodox Church.

The road to the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square, where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born.

Peace Fountain:  It does not work.  Irony?

There were pictures of Yasser Arafat everywhere.

Another picture of Yasser Arafat.

Manger Square, where Christian pilgrims gather on Christmas Eve to sing carols before the midnight service.

A banner on the Bethlehem Peace Center in support of the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations.

The Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Jesus is said to have been born to the Virgin Mary.

The entrance to the church, called the "Door of Humility," forces people to bow as they walk in.

The Basilica of the Nativity, maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The original mosaic floors dating back to the Roman period under Emperor Constantine I.

The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Catherine, where Midnight Mass is held on Christmas Eve.

Tourists, mostly Asian and Russian, waiting to enter the Grotto of the Nativity.

The entrance to the Grotto of the Nativity.

The underground cave of the Grotto of the Nativity features two altars.  The first altar marks the spot where Mary supposedly gave birth to Jesus.  The second altar marks the spot where Mary laid her newborn in the manger.

Millions of tourists come to kiss the 14-pointed silver star that marks the spot where Jesus was born.

Tourists also come to kiss the spot where Jesus was laid in the manger.

As we walked out of the Church of the Nativity, the Muslim call to prayer began and all the Muslims started to prostrate in the direction of Mecca in the middle of Manger Square.

On our way to the bus back to Jerusalem.  Mission accomplished!

After we got back to the Student Village, there was only a little bit of time until Steven and I headed to the apartment of our chavrutoht for shabbat.  Every Monday at the Beit Midrash program, Steven and I study Jewish text with a buddy, known as a chavruta in Hebrew.  My chavruta, Ben, and Steven's chavruta, Matan, live together so we headed over to their place on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony (a neighborhood of Jerusalem).  We were joined by Jacob, a fellow Anti-Defamation League intern, and a friend of Ben's from high school.

On Friday night, we went to a synagogue called Sheer Chadah, which means "new song" in Hebrew.  The congregation was led by Rabbi Pear, an English-speaking rabbi from the United States.  His service was nice because it was short and engaging, not to mention his sermon was in English.  After the service, we headed to the home of Shana, another chavruta, and her sister, Tiki.  Dinner consisted of challah, chicken, potatoes, rice, and salad.  Steven and I brought a white wine--a Golan Moscato--that was a huge hit with everyone at the table.  Shana and Tiki also had a cat named Annie that was one of the biggest we had all ever seen, so she was a major topic of conversation.  After dinner, we played Bananagrams before heading to a neighborhood tisch.  A tisch is a chasidic event in which people gather around a large table (tisch in Yiddish) to sing and tell stories.  We only stayed for a few minutes, but it was a really joyous celebration.  Everyone just seemed happy to be there in the moment, singing and chanting and dancing.

On Saturday, we got up early to head to what would be considered a Modern Orthodox synagogue in the United States.  The morning service was only two hours, but it was all in Hebrew so it was a bit challenging.  The crowd was mostly English-speaking olim, meaning those who have made aliyah to Israel, and there were many young adults in attendance.  Matan, Steven's chavruta, read from the Torah, so that was especially interesting.  Architecturally, the synagogue was ultra-contemporary, which contrasted greatly from the Sepharic synagogue next door.  All in all, it was a great introduction to a movement of Judaism that is very different from the Conservative synagogue I grew up in.

After the service, we headed to a friend of Ben's for kiddush.  When that was over, we headed to a family's house for lunch.  The meal consisted of chicken and potatoes (no surprises), but it was delicious.  Upon leaving their house, we decided to head to the Jerusalem promenade, known as a tayelet in Hebrew.  I had been their during Birthright, but I was very excited to head back because it offers some of the best views of the Old City and the surrounding area.  When we were done there, we headed back to Ben's place where we all rested until it was time for havdalah and the end of shabbat.  This was probably the first weekend ever that I have fully kept shabbat, so I am very proud of myself for such an accomplishment.  Also, a big thank you to Ben and Matan for hosting all of us for the holiday and making sure we always had something to do.  Truly a great weekend!

The view from the tayelet on my Birthright trip.  I could not take a picture this time because it was shabbat.  The towers on the hill in the center of the picture are the buildings of the Student Village, where I live.