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Day 7 in Israel: The Via Dolorosa, Hebron, and Holocaust Museum

Today was one of the days I think many people were looking forward to, with the highlight being walking the Via Dolorosa. We also visited the old Temple Mount, the city of Hebron, and Yad Vashem, the Jewish holocaust museum.

The Western Wall in Jerusalem
We started the morning off by visiting the Western Wall where many Jewish people come to pray because this is the last remaining part of what was the Jewish Temple Mount. It basically is the closest thing Jews have to the old Temple which was destroyed in 70 A.D. Today you can see individuals coming to the wall to pray, read the Torah, and place prayers on papers in the wall. After, we went up on what was the Temple Mount, which is now space occupied by Muslims. Here we were able to see the Islamic mosque there and the shrine known as the Dome of the Rock. This location once was where the Jewish temple sat on what we know as Mount Moriah, where Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac. The "Dome" is built over the rock said to be where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son, hence the structure's name.

The Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock

Dr. Jorgensen leading our reflection at the Praetorium, where Pilate sentenced Jesus.
The place where Jesus's cross stood
Next we began walking the Via Dolorosa, which means "The Way of Suffering." This is a path that winds through the innermost parts of Jerusalem, consisting of 14 points or stations beginning with Jesus's trial before Pilate and following his path through the city until his crucifixion at Golgotha. This path as it is today was established in the 15th century and Christians from all over the world have come

to Jerusalem to travel it ever since then. As we traveled to each "station" we were lead in a time of reflection and response by Dr. Cameron Jorgenson, CUDS theology professor. Stops included Biblical accounts such as Cyprus taking Jesus' cross, and traditional, non-canonical events along the way, such as the woman named Veronica who gave her veil to Jesus to wipe the blood from his face. This path took us a an hour or so, and culminated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is a church built on the site of Jesus' crucifixion, and some believe the tomb in which he was laid.


The building at Hebron constructed over the Cave of Macpelah

After lunch, we drove out to Hebron, which is the location of the Cave of Macpelah. This is the cave where the Patriarchs and their wives were buried. It is here that the remains of Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & Leah, and Joseph were laid to rest. Today the cave is inaccessible and on top of it is a large building where one side is a Jewish synagogue and the other a Islamic mosque, as both faith groups trace their origin to these patriarchs. In the Jewish part we were able to see what are said to be the tombs of all those listed above except for Isaac & Rebekah which are housed in the mosque. 

The place said to be Abraham's tomb

We ended the day by going to Yad Vashem. This is the national holocaust museum here in Jerusalem. This was a somber visit for the group to say the least especially when we visited the children's memorial. There were many artifacts from holocaust victims, as well as pictures and stories shared by survivors. The museum is doing significant work to catalog all those six million Jews who were killed and document their stories.

Hard to believe that we head home in two days but this has been great. Tomorrow we visit the City of David (Jerusalem in the time of King David), and then tomorrow afternoon, we will participate in an archeological dig. 

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