I finally slept a night in Old Jerusalem , the Austrian Hospice in the Arab Quarter, Via Dolorosa in 37 (the story I told about this place last year in the post Neshikot ), five minutes walk from the Holy Sepulchre, the Temple Mount, from Wailing Wall, in the true position "holiness." Enchanted place this hospice, a balcony on roof, garden, rooms, corridors, my spartan room and huge (42 € a night with breakfast included). Night Charmer, I hardly slept a wink the first to hear the voice of the Muezzin strong and authoritative that expands on the city as a rough, rough wool blanket, then the Christian pilgrims, with their intimate and heartfelt songs that seem to touch the stars challenging the silence of Morpheus. And it's a unique vantage point on the road, the comings and goings of people, vendors, street carts, when the city falls asleep and when awakened.
long stop at dusk and dawn to Kotel, the Wailing Wall to observe, think, look what they are troubled by a glimmer of insight existential questions without me once again response. At one point I was reminded of a story recalled recently by Moni Ovadia in his book: an American saying - as I'm tired, so thirsty I could almost make myself a big glass of coca-cola is also a French feel tired and thirsty and opts for a nice fresh cup of champagne, Italian of course, prefer a glass of wine and the Scot, ça va sans dire, down with a pint of beer. And the jew doing? He sighs and thinks - oh to be you, with this tired and this thirst for power I have diabetes.
I said to myself, to force this irrepressible optimism, look at the magnificent St. Peter's, look at the majesty of the Al-Aqsa, the hindou Buddhist temples and breathtaking not to mention the site in Haifa Bahai just seen, and above all the extraordinary Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab. And as the sacred place of the Jews? A piece of the Wall, the Wailing called for more, what remains of a temple destroyed 2000 years ago. Already, Jews scattered in diaspora have grown nostalgic for a place and a time that saw them together and have coagulated around a book, the Torah, the Pentateuch. I found illuminating the words of a wise very thin, but full of meaning, fortunately quantity and quality are not directly proportional, " the temple, which was not only the place of prayer but also the center of religious and social life, you replaced the collective study of Scripture. This became essential to Judaism the mythical place of remembrance, because, as a civilization without a territorial link, Judaism did not keep in memory geographical places that could nurture collective memory and traditions. Judaism born of unhappiness ... exile Jerusalem became the ideal of an ideal return ... The memory of the founder produced a culture of identity. " (Stefana Sabin:" The world as exile "ed. Giuntina).
a wall, just a piece of the Wall. But I moved this drive to absolute fidelity constantly renewed mind and heart. A twenty centuries-old allegiance to a book, to its history, traditions ... "despite and in spite of everything."
prior booking Then I saw an amazing gallery of the Kotel, a tunnel along the wall that runs along a street 40 meters underground underground Herodian. Excavations of the Western Wall have brought to light the entire length (485 meters) to the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount. In the first section of the tunnel there are sections dedicated to prayer, a model of the Second Temple and then an incredible canyon of rocks, like Petra in the ground, the same rock formations, incredible.
Enough with the serious talk, I do not have too much strain on the few cells neurons remained. I understand that every city tries to exploit the family jewels, Naples pizza and tears of San Gennaro, and Paris Baguette Eiffel tower, Salisbugo Mozart in every possible way, but frankly I find that Jerusalem does not exaggerate a little with the sacred, c ' and even the Holy Rock Kafé and the Holy Bagel. By the way, I've made a bagel for lunch with cream cheese spread, smoked salmon and sour cetrioloni in, I thought it was not holy, but it was very good.
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