Wednesday we had our first full day tiyul. It was a long day filled with many views, a lot of walking, and a whole lot of history. We started the day off with a rooftop view of the city. From there we could see the different holy sites of the three dominant religions of Jerusalem and had a short discussion on how Jerusalem is a diversely spiritual city. After taking some pictures, we walked down to a museum and watched a video describing the second temple. The video showed the temple as a humongous and glorious sight for those who came from far away maybe only once in their lives. It also showed the process of visiting the temple on a holiday such as buying a sacrifice and using the mikveh (a bath of water 7 steps into the ground) to purify yourself. The second temple was built by King Herod during the control of the Romans. The stones used to build the second temple were all marked as Herod’s stones by a carved frame around the stone. Some of the stones also had graffiti or messages written on them in ancient Hebrew. We walked up the outer steps to the gate of the second temple, imagining the many people who had walked there before and what it had meant to them. Later on, after a delicious lunch, we went to see the ruins of the Herodian Mansions. We saw many personal mikvehs, a bathtub, and mosaic floors in the ruins as it was the richer supporters of the Herods, such as the Sadducees, who would be living in these homes. While the stone of the houses remained we saw the ashes of plaster which use to cover the inside walls but was burnt off likely in the destruction of the second temple. Lastly, we went to the Cardo to admire the mosaics depicting what the main streets of Jerusalem in the second temple period may have looked like. Overall, being in the old city was interesting as we observed the new sites and buildings mixed in with the ancient ruins and dig sites. Now imagine yourself as a pilgrim coming to the second temple for the first time in your life. What do you imagine it looking like and what emotions do you imagine feeling as you approach it?
Rooftop View of Jerusalem
Hezekiah's Wall
Mikveh
If you look closely you can see ancient Hebrew messages written in the stone. Also, notice the carved frames around the stones marking them as a part of Herod's rule.
Walking towards the the area with the second temple gates
Lunch time! :)
Herodian Mansion's mosaic floors
The Cardo
I think coming to Jerusalem as a pilgrim would be overwhelming because there was so much going on. I think it would also have been a very spiritual experience since people would be coming in hopes of purifying themselves and starting new lives.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the amount of anticipation, having heard so much about the temple. Pilgrims must've had high expectations for the experience (especially those who could only come once), and there would be a lot of pressure to feel what people that came before felt.
ReplyDeleteAfter living in a small village my entire life seeing the temple, the large buildings, and crowds of people in Jerusalem, I would be very overwhelmed. I would imagine all the grandparents would make it much easier to believe in something bigger then me and therefore have an easier time believing in God.
ReplyDeleteI think that coming to the temple a long time ago would have some pretty similar emotions to the ones we feel visiting Jerusalem and the western wall today. The thrill and nerves of being in a huge crowd of people and pilgrims remains the same even if there's less sacrificial animals and a few more tourist traps. The feeling of approaching a sacred space is still incredibly real at the Cotel today since it is the closest we as modern Jews will most likely ever be to the temple and the holy or holies. The city of Jerusalem has changed a lot through all the hands it's passed through but the human experience of emotions lives on.
ReplyDeleteWhen we walked up the steps together, I tried to put myself in the shoes of my ancestors to try to feel what the pilgrimage is like. I felt unified by the messes of Jews coming together for a common cause, and a sense of prosperity in that, because we survived our first exile and come back to rebuild our holy temple.
ReplyDeleteThe pilgrimage that BCE required, like Adrian had previously mentioned, seemed to corilate to my personal pilgrimage. From all that I’ve gathered, it feels like it’s not hard to picture myself thousands of years before my time. Seeing this rumored 2nd temple in person in all of its glory would bring me to tears just as the Kotel affected me. Although I cannot relate as much with what a pilgrim in that time would’ve sacrificed to be in the presents, I know what I had to sacrifice which allowed connection from me to the Western Wall. Because of this I can only imagine the draw and tensions bonding the ancient me to the entire 2nd temple.
ReplyDeleteAs I pilgrim, I can imagine walking towards the temple to be overwhelming and surreal. The marble makeup of the temple and its shine would be indescribable and look like nothing I'd ever seen before, as I would be a mere pilgrim from the somewhere in Israel. While I would be in shock and awe, I think I would be intimidated by how magnificent and different the temple was from the rest of the world around it.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine that ascending to the temple as a pilgrim would feel incredibly fulfilling and spiritual. I most likely would have saved up years and years in the wages to just travel to Jerusalem in the first place. Having that dream realized would be the singular most meaningful day of my life. The incredible architecture and scene of other oleh regel carrying sacrificing and going up by foot would also be beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be hard to match the emotions of a pilgrim because they spent their whole life working up to coming to the temple. I would feel pride with every step I took because it's a once in a lifetime experience. Also, getting to bathe in the mikveh and having a feeling of purity would be so rejuvenating.
ReplyDeleteI imagine that (as a pilgrim in the second temple period) seeing the Temple would feel like entering the gates of heaven, because I would feel incredibly close to God. Additionally, I imagine that I would be held in complete awe because of the Temple’s grandeur for the time period.
ReplyDeleteI think as a pilgrim it would be so difficult to deal with, because all their life they have dreampt about seeing the Temple and this religious bond to God and Judaism was so much more powerful in that age. With the beautiful architecture and towering walls knowing this is the most important place in your religion is eye opening and really makes the experience worth it.
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