{"id":5447,"date":"2019-06-01T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T00:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5447"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:14:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T08:14:19","slug":"234-western-wall-prayers-conflict-and-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5447","title":{"rendered":"225. The Western Wall: Prayers, Conflict and Rest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><span id=\"en-NRSV-30007\" class=\"text Heb-4-9\"><sup class=\"versenum\">9\u00a0<\/sup>So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"en-NRSV-30008\" class=\"text Heb-4-10\"><sup class=\"versenum\">10\u00a0<\/sup>for those who enter God\u2019s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><span id=\"en-NRSV-30009\" class=\"text Heb-4-11\"><strong><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><sup class=\"versenum\">11\u00a0<\/sup>Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as their<\/span>s.<\/strong> [<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Hebrews 4:9-11<\/span>,\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/The-Western-Wall-Jerusalem.3.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5449\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/The-Western-Wall-Jerusalem.3-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"207\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/The-Western-Wall-of-Jerusalem.4.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5451\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/The-Western-Wall-of-Jerusalem.4-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"239\" height=\"319\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/The-Western-Wall-Tunnels-of-Jerusalem.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5452\" src=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/The-Western-Wall-Tunnels-of-Jerusalem-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"372\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Western Wall, Jerusalem (L &amp; centre); The Western Wall Tunnels<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Western Wall is one of Judaism&#8217;s holiest sites. It is a must-see site of international attraction in Jerusalem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A trip by Christian pilgrims to the Wall is highly recommended, preferably timed on a Friday evening when the Jewish population comes out in huge numbers after their Sabbath meal. We can then see different types of Jews at the Western Wall Plaza \u2013 the orthodox Jews who are always well dressed and accompanied by families; the young and liberal Jews who wear jeans, singing and dancing and having fun; male and, lo and behold, female rabbis as well; and so on. We were not so lucky this time round, as the weather was foul and the normal crowd was so depleted as to be almost non-existent. On our previous pilgrimage trip, the weather was brilliant, and some in our group were delighted to be able to follow the guide to walk up to the Wall to place in the crevices written prayers many of which were brought on behalf of friends and relatives from back home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Status Quo on the Temple Mount and the Western Wall<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Known as Kotel in Hebrew, the Western Wall\u00a0is an ancient limestone wall in the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Old_City_(Jerusalem)\">Old City of Jerusalem<\/a>. What we see is but a small remnant segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall that underlay what is known as the Second\u00a0Temple (Temple of Herod)\u00a0in\u00a0Jerusalem. As the last existing part of the Second Temple that stood within the period of 516 BCE and 70 CE, this wall is held sacred by Jews from all over the world as a place of prayer and pilgrimage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This wall was not part of the Temple as such<em>, <\/em>but originally erected as part of the expansion of the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Second_Jewish_Temple\">Second Jewish Temple<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Herod_the_Great\">Herod the Great<\/a>. The result of that expansion scheme saw the completion of a retaining wall that then encased a steep hill known to Jews and Christians as the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Temple_Mount\">Temple Mount<\/a>. The Western Wall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">According to the Bible, the Jewish\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Temple_in_Jerusalem\">Temples<\/a>stood on the Temple Mount. The <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Solomon%27s_Temple\">First Temple<\/a>\u00a0was built by King\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Solomon\">Solomon<\/a>\u00a0the son of King\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/David\">David<\/a>\u00a0in 957 BCE and destroyed by the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Babylonians\">Babylonians<\/a>\u00a0in 586 BCE, when\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(587_BC)\">Jerusalem was conquered<\/a>\u00a0and part of the population of the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kingdom_of_Judah\">Kingdom of Judah<\/a>\u00a0was taken into\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Babylonian_captivity\">exile to Babylon<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Second_Temple\">Second<\/a>Temple began on a modest scale by a number of returnee-Jews from the Babylonian exile, supervised by governor Zerubbabel. During the reign of Herod the Great, however, this Temple was completely overhauled and refurbished, its structures greatly enlarged with the addition of magnificent edifices and facades. Herod completed the process by building an almost rectangular set of retaining walls that accommodated earth fills to give the natural hill a geometrically regular shape.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, the Romans\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(AD_70)\">destroyed the Second Temple<\/a><em>and<\/em> Jerusalem in 70 BCE as a strong signal of Roman wrath against <a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/First_Jewish%E2%80%93Roman_War\">an ongoing Jewish revolt<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ever since, Jewish tradition maintains the belief that it is here that the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Third_Temple\">Third and final Temple<\/a>will also be built. Hence, the location is the holiest site in Judaism and is the place Jews turn towards during prayer. Understandably, this wall is now\u00a0a\u00a0site\u00a0of\u00a0pilgrimage,\u00a0lamentation,\u00a0and\u00a0prayer\u00a0by\u00a0 The intense offering of lamentations and prayers result in this wall being termed also as the <em>Wailing Wall<\/em>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The scene of the present Temple Mount, entirely Muslim-controlled, is a flat plaza conspicuously dominated by three Islamic buildings &#8211; the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Al-Aqsa_Mosque\">al-Aqsa Mosque<\/a>, the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dome_of_the_Rock\">Dome of the Rock<\/a>and the\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dome_of_the_Chain\">Dome of the Chain<\/a> &#8211; as well as\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Minarets_of_the_Temple_Mount\">four minarets<\/a>.\u00a0This Mount is accessible through\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gates_of_the_Temple_Mount\">eleven gates<\/a>, ten reserved for Muslims and one for non-Muslims. Conflicting claims by both Judaism and Islam easily turn this site into one of the most contested religious sites in the world. There is an urgent and constant need to keep the \u201cstatus quo\u201d, an expression we hear a great deal of in relation to many religious sites in the Holy Land. Keeping the status quo prevents, at least for now, this major focal point of Arab-Israeli conflict from boiling over into open war. So, on the one hand, the site is managed by an Islamic trust; on the other hand, security comes under the Israelis. Entry to the Wall area is strictly regulated.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Western Wall Tunnels<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While the Western Wall is a must-see site in Jerusalem, the Western Wall Tunnels is equally a site that should be included on a pilgrimage itinerary. It is best visited in the early morning. A new visitor will find it a very interesting and informative tour and well worth the time\u00a0(about 90 minutes in duration).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From a brief official guide description:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u201cThe Western Wall of the Temple Mount is one of the most magnificent and significant remnants in Jerusalem from the days of the Second Temple, destroyed approximately 2,000 years ago. It stretches along almost half a kilometer, but today, the part visible to all at the Western Wall Plaza is a mere 70 meters of it. The tour of the Western Wall Tunnels allows visitors to reach the segments of the Wall hidden from view, and to touch the original and special stones that tell the story of the Jewish nation. Visitors to the Western Wall Tunnels walk through ancient and fascinating subterranean spaces with exquisite archeological findings, such as large stone arches, water pits, an ancient water aqueduct that ends at the Strouthion Pool, and more.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">During our walk on foot through the narrow corridor, the guide pointed out the largest stone upon which the rest of the stones of the Western Wall rest. This stone, weighing about 570 tons, is 13.6 meters long, 3.5 meters high, and 4 meters deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The roughly 90-minute guided tour is very interesting and informative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Reflection<\/u><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong style=\"font-size: 15px;\">1. Face Your &#8220;Wall&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chabad.org\/search\/keyword_cdo\/kid\/100\">Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi<\/a>\u00a0(1745\u20131812) has taught that although God is everywhere, God\u2019s light shines stronger in some places than in others. Imagine the human body, even though a person is everywhere in one\u2019s body, one is usually more conscious of one\u2019s mind than of one\u2019s toes. So too, in the universe that God created, there are bound to be places, times and states of being where our consciousness of God is heightened. There, we can pray better. For the Jews, we must understand, the Temple on the Temple Mount was chosen by God as His dwelling place in the time of King David. The Western Wall being the only remnant left standing, the specialness of that Wall to the Jews is beyond question. So Jews wail, lament and pray there, while Christians go stuff prayer petitions into the Wall\u2019s crevices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Walls, however, may be used for entirely different purposes. A Shaolin monk, for example, instructs a pilgrim to his temple up on a remote mountain to literally stand and face the wall in order to overcome the pilgrim\u2019s \u201cwall\u201d in his heart and mind. And that interior wall is the wall of so much anger, hatred and revenge the relief from which the pilgrim has come all the way to seek counsel. The pilgrim is to stand in front of the concrete wall, so the monk instructs, to face his own interior and spiritual \u201cwall\u201d,\u00a0until that wall finally crumbles and he finds peace.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jeff is one who can never \u201cpunish\u201d his little darling girl (what can you do other than \u201cgive up\u201d any soft idea of \u201cpunishing\u201d her when she looks at you with great big tears?) when she misbehaves or is being unreasonable. So it never ceases to amaze him to see how some young fathers within the extended family can \u201charden their hearts\u201d as they apply a strict house rule that requires a pretty little darling girl to go \u201cstand at the corner\u201d, \u201cfacing the wall\u201d, and not to step out of the two-by-two mat for ten minutes. This \u201ctough\u201d punishment seems to work though.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>2. Sabbath Rest as a Gorgeous Manifestation of a God-Loving People<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In Israel, everywhere we turn it seems like nothing is free from politics and religions and therefore everything seems marked by strife and controversies. But human relationships do not always have to be so violent and hateful. Our visits to Jerusalem and its Old City, the Western Wall and the Western Wall Tunnels have given us a closer feel, and in a more human way, of the reality of the Old City of Jerusalem in its various aspects. More importantly, we also came away from these visits with a greater appreciation of the spiritual potential that Jerusalem and its Old City hold for all people of good will.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In particular, political and religious conflicts aside, we are always impressed by the total obedience of the Jews to keep the Sabbath rest. To be sure, the stop-at-every-floor hotel lifts may be a bit of a nuisance. And the fact that our breakfast is cold leaves a bit to be desired. Yet, in Israel, come Sabbath, it is so good to see the Jewish families steadfastly coming together to share communion at table, enjoying each other\u2019s company, \u00a0remembering God and giving blessings. Instinctively, we feel that it is good and positive for humanity to take a Sabbath Rest from creative activities, respecting the God of creation. A Sabbath rest is a God-ordained respite from strife and competition.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Letter to the Hebrews weaves together three themes of rest: the rest promised to Israel from enemies, the weekly Sabbath, and the spiritual rest through Christ. This reminds us of an occasional scene back home at the Kuching Waterfront Darul Hana Bridge where we regularly do our early morning walk. \u201cDarul Hana\u201d\u00a0means a place of\u00a0peace and tranquility in Arabic.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is a young local Malay Muslim man who appears but occasionally at one of the two resting areas up on the bridge. Whenever he does appear, he sits alone on the floor reading the Quran or blowing his clarinet, seemingly oblivious of the noise and the people around him. On one very early morning when it was still dark and drizzling and there was not another soul around, Jeff chanced across this young man again and the two lone and quiet-seeking souls started chatting. He plays the clarinet, he said, pointing at the growing traffic below, as a reminder to himself and anyone who cares to listen, that our modern life does not have to be filled with breakneck activities, strife and oppressive noises; that there is an alternative to din and clatter and an endless abuse of the eardrums; and that a dose of soothing music is such an immense value-supplement to our daily life. Jeff told him that he is drawn to the vantage point on the bridge early each morning to feel the caressing breeze blowing in his face. This is, for Jeff, the gift of a therapeutic rest from the uplifting Spirit of God who banishes dark emotions and oppressive feelings from the head, the heart and the soul and lifts his spirit once again for a new day. Just as a major theme in the Jewish Sabbath Rest is joy, so too this rest in the Spirit is for Jeff a joyful celebration of the goodness of God, a celebration that always fills his heart with immense gratitude and, with a bit of luck, fills the eyes with occasional tears that burst forth from joy and gratitude. &#8220;<em><strong>No matter what happens in life, all will be well<\/strong><\/em>,&#8221; the <em>Ruach Elohim<\/em> (Spirit of God) that originally hovered over the waters , the surface of the deep, the chaos (Genesis 1:2), waiting to begin the work of creation, now whispers ever so gently.\u00a0 In God, all will be well. In the meantime, the Spirit comforts the heart with hope, and hope is the reason for continued existence even when everything seems quite hopeless. A gift which the world cannot give, this \u201crest\u201d in and with the Spirit is for us Christians a precious spiritual rest in Christ.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong style=\"font-size: 15px;\">3. Rest in God when the going gets tough<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Writing on the Rule of Saint Benedict, Sr. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun, cautions that we cannot rush life. She quotes St Benedict who says, \u201c<strong><em>When difficult things are commanded, endure and do not grow weary<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d There are some things that simply must be borne. There are some mountains in life that must be climbed but can only be climbed one boulder, one level at a time, Sr. Joan writes.\u00a0It is necessary to learn this fourth degree of humility, which insists that we bear with patience the burden of visions envisioned but not yet accomplished.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In what we do or hope to achieve, when the going gets tough, St Paul offers profound and yet ready guide. St Paul knows better than anybody else what it is like to hit the walls in Christian missionary work. His remarkable spiritual insight is immensely helpful in counseling work: \u201c<strong><em>We know that all things work for the good, for those who love God<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Romans 8:28). Many people live a tortured life (sometimes permanent) which they may not reveal to others; some go through a particularly rough patch at some point of their lives. They all seriously need a word that offers a glimmer of hope in the midst of pain and seeming hopelessness. They need to, they want to, trust God, despite suffocating signs to the contrary that God can still be trusted. But St Paul gloriously acclaims the trustworthiness of God in \u201call things\u201d \u2013 good and bad; good times and hard times.\u00a0 \u201c<em><u>All things<\/u><\/em>\u201d include our successes and failures, happy events and traumatic ones, joys and sorrows, glorious stories and truncated symphonies \u2013 they <em>all<\/em> contribute to a pool of experiences in life that mold us, and help us grow and mature. <strong><em>In times of suffering, if we but patiently endure the hard times and lift them up to God<\/em><\/strong>, all these experiences will eventually work together for the good, even if it takes time and much heart-pain for us to see the positive side right now. Everything will pass, St Paul counsels. Rest in God; trust in His Providence. All will be well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Copyright \u00a9 Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh, June 2019. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are most welcome to respond to this post. Email your comments to <strong><u><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:jeffangiegoh@gmail.com\">jeffangiegoh@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/u><\/strong> You can also be dialogue partners in this <em>Ephphatha Coffee-Corner Ministry<\/em> by sending us questions for discussion.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>9\u00a0So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;\u00a010\u00a0for those who enter God\u2019s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.\u00a011\u00a0Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs. [Hebrews 4:9-11,\u00a0NRSV] The Western Wall, Jerusalem (L &amp; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5447\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Dr. Jeffrey &amp; Angie Goh","author_link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?author=1"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">From Our Perspective<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"9\u00a0So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God;\u00a010\u00a0for those who enter God\u2019s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his.\u00a011\u00a0Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs. [Hebrews 4:9-11,\u00a0NRSV] The Western Wall, Jerusalem (L &amp;&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5447"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5447"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6712,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5447\/revisions\/6712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}