Posts Tagged ‘Religion’

Space

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

We did go back to the Rockefeller Chapel today for the organ concert. The biscuits were only store bought cookies but the tea was strong and the music was glorious. The chapel is awe-inspiring; the ceilings are so high that you feel like you are outside while inside.

I forgot to mention that the day we were at the game was the fortieth anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 13 space mission. The Adler Planetarium has an exhibit on it and Jim Lovell, the commander of the mission, was at Cellular Field. Tom Hanks played him in the movie.

On Sunday night after the game and dinner, we went to hear jazz at a church. The Hyde Park Jazz Society usually has jazz on Sunday evenings at a different venue. For a few weeks they will be at the church instead. A group of high students performed and were very talented. The headliner was the Tammy McCann quintet. She is local and had a lovely voice.  The crowd was diverse although not particularly young.

Peace

Monday, June 15th, 2009

At the end of our meeting with the Sufi Sheik, Abdul Aziz  Buchari, in his lovely and historic home, he said he had a website. I asked him if he was on Facebook. He replied, “Yes.” Twitter? “I am  working on it.”

Almost everyone we met had email and a website. The Arab merchant we bought our game table from said he was trying to develop a site. When the world is that interconnected can getting along be far behind?

We read and discussed a Yehuda Amichai poem, that, in part said:

“Why is Jerusalem always two, (Jerusalem) Above and (Jerusalem) below while I want to live in Middle Jerusalem.” (I’m sorry I don’t know the name of the poem.)

The Internet and the world wide web also occupy both high and low spaces.Would the middle be a better understanding of other cultures and more peaceful ways to solve problems?

The Jerusalem Syndrome: Shopping

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Jerusalem 2009

Jerusalem 2009

On our tour we went at a pretty fast pace. Lee, our amazing tour guide, kept us in line. Because we had so many appointments, leisurely strolling through a market was not often an option.

On the last day, the tour was officially over and we did not have to leave for the airport until 8:30 p.m. Aaron and I walked to the old city, first going through an artist colony. In those shops the wares were fairly expensive and we were able to restrain ourselves. When we got to the Arab shuk, (market), it was a different story. Everything was so colorful and looked so nice. With no time limit, it became almost hypnotic. Eventually, after we bought a game table and had tea in an Arab shop, I realized we had to leave or we would keep shopping. Maybe Lee moving us along was not such a bad idea.

The Jerusalem Syndrome is a phenomena that occurs when someone comes to the city and starts believing that they are some kind of messiah, prophet, or religious leader. The cure is to leave Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Syndrome: Shopping

Lee implores, cajoles, commands
This way, this way through the shuk
We walk quickly
Looking straight
Our eyes sometimes stray
No stopping
No shopping
We complain
We want to shop
It is our right

Today, no Lee
No directions
No instructions
Plenty of time
The shuk is open and inviting
We are pulled in and in
So entrancing
So appealing
Come in and see my shop
Just for a minute

We cannot stop
We need
Or at least want everything
If we do not stop now
We never will.

Steps and Stones

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

This is another poem I wrote while in Israel. The session at Elul unleashed a creative spurt that is very interesting.

A few days later we met with David Ehrlich, an excellent writer of short stories. He spent over an hour with us, talking about his writing and the creative process. He said that sometimes ideas are in his mind or in the air and they float by. This is similar to what I have been feeling lately.

Jerusalem is a very different and interesting city. All the facades, by law, have to look the same, which is a beige Jerusalem stone. The Old City is very winding and up and down, but other parts of the city are as well. Jerusalem perches on a mountain with hills and valleys around it. You are always going up or down, often on paved or cobble-stoned paths.

Another aspect of Jerusalem is the intense tourism since so many different people and faiths feel the city belongs to them. When ever I travel overseas I like to buy things that are actually made in that country. Of course in many parts of the world the tourist items are made in China.

Steps and Stones

Everything in Jerusalem is
Steps and stones
Steps and stones
Up and Down
Up and Down

Buy/Save
Spend/Don’t Waste
Made here
Made there

Jerusalem 2009

Jerusalem 2009

Justina

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

We got back from our trip to Israel on Thursday May 28 after being up for about 26 hours. We  had a wonderful time but it has taken a few days to decompress and resume my everyday life. For one thing the weather was fabulous and the plants and flowers were so beautiful. It is not quite as pretty here at home. I plan to post a few entries about the trip, hopefully with pictures. Some will be about beer and alcohol while others will just be about the experiences I had while there.

One afternoon we walked on the rooftops of the Old City of Jerusalem and looked at churches and other buildings. We also went into some of them. One place we visited was the Syrian Church. A woman named Justinia is in charge. She was from Iraq and had been a math teacher. To say she was strict would be an understatement. She made clear that we were to sit properly and not cross our legs. Justina was also devout. She speaks English but prays in Aramaic which was the street language of Jews and early Christians. She spoke to us about a miracle that had occurred at her church and then sang the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 150, the final psalm, both in Aramaic.

The next day we had a teaching about Jerusalem and its many varied meanings for different people. Our teacher, Yardena,  was excellent and she had us each write something about Jerusalem. I wrote the following poem. I haven’t written a poem in probably twenty-five years.

Syrian Church Jerusalem 2009

Syrian Church Jerusalem 2009

At first Justina seems strange
Even crazy and very strict
But as she talks
She almost glows
Exuding her faith and certainty
When she sings
She is whole and holy.