Tisha B’Av – The Real Jerusalem Streets

See Jerusalem as July Ends

July 30, 2023July 30, 2023Sharon A

It was another week of trying to stay cool in Jerusalem, Israel, with summer temperatures unusually high for most of July.

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Building and construction went on in spite of the temperatures that kept me off the Jerusalem streets during the day.

Disappointing that the new Israel National Library might look finished from the outside, but the special program planned there next week has been moved to another location. Looking forward to finally seeing the inside!

Outside the Ramada Hotel, the announcement board was unusually empty.

However, inside on the Tuesday before Tisha B’Av was a special event sponsored by the OneFamily non-profit organization Welcoming Women.

Not any woman, but women from all over Israel who had experienced the loss of a family member as a victim of terror – and not just Jewish women.

At the same time the Women’s Empowerment Day was beginning young teens from the US were preparing to leave the hotel. They participated in JCC Maccabi Games held this year in Israel. The games are an Olympic-style sporting competition held each summer and state they are the second-largest organized sports program for Jewish teenagers in the world.

I wondered if the young sportswomen I spoke with, from Florida to California, had any idea of the history of the hundreds of women arriving.

It was standing room only for the day filled with exceptional speakers.

Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi started off the day inspiring as always.

To end her talk she asked the women to bless the person next to them with a version of the priestly blessing using the names of Sarah, Rivka, and Leah.

Physical health tips were included in the day, beginning with healthy brunch options and ending with a dairy dinner, with education and laughter interspersed.

The Women’s Empowerment Days have been held before Tisha B’Av for a number of years, except during the pandemic. Hundreds of women have benefited from the group bonding experience.

And how many more received support from the opportunity to speak with someone who has had a similar pain of tragic loss?

More photos from OneFamily Women’s Empowerment Day.

The next day, for Tisha B’Av the sun went down, and the Jerusalem streets were cooler. Once again I decided to walk around the walls of the Old City.

To start the route goes by New Gate, so close to Mamilla Mall that most people do not realize it. There are new night events held inside New Gate sponsored by the Jerusalem Municipality on my to-do list.

Before passing Damascus Gate, participants were stopped by security to walk together and not spread out. Walking was a slow process this year.

Along the way, we walked by road work and construction near Damascus Gate. Since this was such a quiet walk, with no shouting or singing or violent epitaphs, it was a no-news event you may not have heard about.

Families and people of all ages walked around the Old City Walls.

At Lion’s Gate, there were speeches, but not with the usual well-known names as in the past, and not in the same location.

Though people did sit on the Jerusalem stones near Lion’s Gate, the road was not blocked by hundreds of people as in the past.

One reason I go is for the incredible views from the road of the Mount of Olives over the ancient cemetery, on the way to the entrance to Old City.

The views of Jerusalem at night are special on Tisha B’Av when one mourns the destruction, and now sees the new lights, at the Kotel, and all along the Western Wall.

There were reports of a fox running thru the stones of the old destruction, but I did not find one in any of my photos or videos from this year. I did notice people below in the midst of the stones.

I did see people sitting and sleeping on the ground of the Kotel Plaza, alone

or in groups in the Old City near the Kotel,

or in the Cardo, the Roman main street so long ago before they destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem on Tisha B’Av in 70 CE.

A replica of the Temple’s golden menorah was lit on Tisha B’Av night, in front of the Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter.

Some of the streets of the Old City were very quiet.

However, all night long on Tisha B’Av, people came and went thru Jaffa Gate.

Thousands of people passed thru Mamilla Mall, but all the shops and restaurants were dark and closed in respect of the fast day.

Not sure I will go again, but this year, I put the various gates and scenes on a short video to give you a feel for the mood and night walking around, which really is a short distance.

I met some fascinating people along the way; a woman and son who recently moved to Jerusalem from the US, a 3-generation family from the Golan who came for the night and planned to drive back, and a young married couple from Utah on their last night in Israel before returning home who were trying to find someone who spoke English to explain to them what was happening in Jerusalem.

More Tisha B’Av photos of the night, during the daytime I stayed inside!

Now that the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av are over, the weddings, concerts, programs, and festivals begin again as July comes to an end.

The Wine Festival at the Israel Museum is back again this week.

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In addition, a special Under 20 European Olympic competition is to be hosted in Jerusalem at the beginning of August.

Once again there are things happening on the Jerusalem streets.

Rediscovering Ancient Jerusalem before Tisha B’Av

July 26, 2020Sharon A

Oh, Jerusalem.

How does the city sit solitary, that was full of people!

So begins Eicha, the Book of Lamentations read at night on Tisha B’Av.

We are in what is known as the Nine Days that end with Tisha B’Av, Wednesday night, and Thursday, August 29 – 30, 2020.

With the COVID-19 restrictions, the Old City will not be teeming with crowds as usual.

This view from the step toward Plaza of the Kotel, the Western Wall, is well known.

The area inside called Wilson’s Arch is not as familiar. This inside space had been closed much of the time due to coronavirus restrictions.

However, this week on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Av, leading Israeli rabbis attended a special afternoon service to pray for health and relief from the coronavirus pandemic.

Underneath the Jerusalem streets, excavations continue with new finds.

Jerusalem Archaeological discovererstorage center from the days of Kings Hezekiah and Manasseh (8th — Photo credit: IAA

A significant administrative storage center from the days of Kings Hezekiah and Manasseh (8th century to the middle of the 7th century BCE) was recently been exposed in an archaeological excavation near the US Embassy in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Restoration work has progressed on the Pilgrims’ Path.

This is the road underground which runs from Shiloah Pool to the Old City, where the Jewish Temples once stood.

The actual old stones remain along what was the busy route on the holidays thousands of years ago.

Three years ago when it was first opened to media,

this video was recorded for an official explanation.

The Roman market place might have looked like this scene.

Under Pilgrim Road, the drainage system has also been excavated. This is where the last Jews hid until the Romans found and murdered them.

The earth removed was carefully searched for bits of history, last year we participated in the sifting project. The best we found were nice pieces of pottery.

However, discoveries include this Roman coin issued after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Five years ago the exhibit “By the Rivers of Babylon” opened at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, see HERE – and is still a favorite.

With only limited attendance allowed in museums now due to corona health restrictions, new for this year is a virtual tour of BLMJ exhibit HERE now you can see for yourself,

The Romans destroyed the Temple and leveled Jerusalem.

The Jewish inhabitants were murdered or exiled.

Stones of destruction as they remain today.

For the first time in many years, I do not plan to walk around the walls of the Old City on Tisha B’Av.

Crowds will not pack into the Kotel, Western Wall plaza this year.

COVID-19 restrictions are limiting the annual walk to 50 people.

How does the city sit solitary, that was full of people!

Next year in Jerusalem, even for those of us in Jerusalem has taken on new meaning.

Jerusalem: Layers of History Underground

August 13, 2019August 27, 2019Sharon A

It is obvious the future skyline of Jerusalem, Israel, is changing daily, as buildings go up and up.

But centuries of history of Jerusalem are underground going back thousands of years.

This is the image most think of when mentioning Jerusalem of old.

But under the Jerusalem, Israel streets layers of history are being revealed daily.

Along the southern side of the Old City Walls, the new excavations can be seen by everyone.

The intricate archaeological work under the Givati Parking lot is another site open to the public.

Across from the Old City Walls, not far from Dung Gate, centuries-old houses are being restored.

The remains of Roman domination in Jerusalem are on display.

One new discovery was a two-story house. The destruction by Rome of Jerusalem was so powerful that the upper level of this house fell on top of the lower one and a two-meter high piece of the structure was unearthed.

As in other Ir David finds of the historic time period, blackened remnants from the destructive fires were discovered in this house.

I opted to take photos from above and not enter the bedroom below.

But below we did go.

We followed the path of the drainage system of Jerusalem to the Shiloah pool in the Kidron Valley, which was under the Jerusalem streets in the time of the Romans.

This map shows the route of the planned Pilgrims Path which is being excavated and made safe for tourists.

Another layer under the old street has been found, the drainage channel from which the last Jews of Second Temple times tried to hide and escape from the Romans.

This poster illustrates the street scene in more pleasant ancient times and the drainage channel which ran below it.

However, the last Jews of Jerusalem did not escape to Masada.

They were discovered hiding in the drainage channel by the Romans and all murdered.

The artifacts they left behind are being revealed daily at the Sifting Project in the Zurim Valley.

Today large portions of the drainage channel have been careful revealed by archeologists.

From the Givati Parking lot, we surfaced at the base of the Western Wall.

Here are stones from the Roman destruction of the Second Temple, tossed away and remaining today.

Pieces of stone with Temple carvings are in this area by the Davidson Southern Excavations.

Under your feet, almost anywhere in Jerusalem’s Old City are layers of history.

A new excavation under the Western Wall exposed a very old mikvah, a ritual bath.

Work in this area leads archeologists to believe the Greeks were building a theater that was never completed.

More sections of the Western Wall stones have been revealed under the present street level.

The Davidson Southern Excavation is continuing with new discoveries, with the view of the Mount of Olives in the background and Al-Aqsa Mosque on the left.

Children, tour groups, thousands of all ages filled the Jerusalem Old City streets during the Nine Days leading up to Tisha B’Av.

People sat on the ground, on Jerusalem stones to hear Eicha, the book of Lamentations, at night.

Tens of thousands arrived all night long for Tisha B’Av at the Kotel, the Western Wall.

There was so much more I could share, but I will conclude with two favorites on Tisha B’Av.

This gentleman with a lovely English accent, born in 1931, took a head start before the group walking around the walls of the Old City. He said that he comes most every year for the last 25-years. Later during the walk, he refused any help, and his only complaint was timing to get to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv after Shabbat.

Kessim, Ethiopian religious leaders, have been coming to the Kotel each year before Tisha B’Av to pray.

Near the Kotel, under this old archway, three of the men, from the larger group of Kessin all dressed in white who were on a tour, stopped to talk.

Think about it–their traditions went back to the times of the First Temple.

They arrived in Jerusalem to find Zion, Jerusalem, the First Temple had been destroyed.

Another ancient war, another layer of history yet to be revealed.

On and below the Jerusalem streets, old and new, constantly evolving.

Though 15 Real Photos of Arab Girls was the most popular RJS post.

I hope you enjoyed these bits of archeological finds, there are more to share next time.