The Talmud teaches that there are two Jerusalems–Jerusalem above and Jerusalem on earth below.
This week more than ever the contrast of what’s happening on the Jerusalem streets was extreme.
Life continues even as people wait anxiously for the news of hostages released from Gaza.
The new buildings tower and grow above the streets.
While the light rail track construction has wreaked havoc on the streets below.
There are protests across from the Knesset to release the hostages.
There is also a “Tent of Heroes,” which remembers the soldiers who fell in battle. This morning, a young widow with three children spoke of her husband who was killed in Gaza by an RPG a year ago.
The slide show in the background showed the faces of others who lost their lives this past year. It is hard to watch, so much lost talent and potential.
The poster on the side of the building had an offensive adjective above “WAR” which was edited out rather quickly with white cloth.
I had time to take multiple photos of it as we sat in traffic at night. All day the Jerusalem streets were blocked due to the multiple protests near the entrance to the city.
Finally, renovation work on the Wohl Rose Garden has resumed after a long break.
Even the grounds of the Monastery in the Valley of the Cross are being landscaped after years of neglect.
First Station is to undergo a major renovation. Now most of these stalls wait for tourists to return.
The US Ambassador moved out. The new one should arrive and present his credentials soon.
New community projects are moving along as buildings are renovated.
Look up and Jerusalem, Israel is thriving despite over a year of war.
Today, as I walked along the Israel Museum, the Knesset was getting a power wash, flowers were blooming in the park, and a Muslim man was praying under an Israeli flag.
But, look up and see the yellow ribbon calling for hostages to come home,
and below on the park grounds, the face of one murdered, but not forgotten.
Some of the Armenian gift shops were open again.
But, other shops closer to Zion Gate are still shuttered.
The Armenian parking lot was full,
but the roads near it were empty,
missing the cars
and the crowds for this time of year.
However, the stickers remembering fallen soldiers fill the metal doors of Jaffa Gate.
A few tours listen to the history of the stones and destruction of old.
There are people at the Kotel, Western Wall,
on these sunny warm winter days,
where the Western Wall Heritage Foundation is doing work again.
Digging up the Plaza to work underneath the stones.
Fewer holiday visitors make taking photos easier.
But I would rather see the plaza outside of Jaffa Gate filled with tourists.
I am certain the shops in the Old City would like to see those tourists back.
Even in these days of extreme stress and war, the Roman Cardo pillars stand to remind us of the past.
The dome of the Tiferet Israel Synagogue rises above the Old City to remind us of rebuilding for the future. The last synagogue destroyed by the Jordanian Legions in 1948 is finally nearing completion.
The birds are singing. The sun is shining.
Next Year in Jerusalem – we’ve been saying it for a very long time.
