Shavuot

This post is the story of how twenty some odd college students and one stressed out security guard walked to the Western Wall at 5:30 in the morning.

That's basically the story. Today is the holiday of Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks. I've been told that it it Pentecost in Christianity, but I'm not sure about that. It's the holiday to celebrate when Moses received the Torah. Jews celebrate by going to the synagogue at 11 pm and reading the Torah all night, until 4 in the morning. At that time, everyone in Jerusalem leaves their synagogues and walk to the Western Wall and say their morning prayers together as the sun rises.

So naturally, we had to go check it out. They don't like us leaving the center that early, before it's fully light out, hence the security guard. It was very different being at the Western Wall today as opposed to Friday night. Everyone there was a lot more solemn, more reverent. There wasn't any dancing or singing, just praying. And it was packed. There was no way to get even close to the wall. They extended the dividing line between the girls and the boys side because there were so many more people. I saw a couple of guys carrying a legit Torah to the wall.

After walking around for a bit in the square, we found a way to the top of an observation tower, where you could look out and see the whole square. It was super beautiful, to see the sun come up over the Mount of Olives and hit the Dome of the Rock. From there, the men's side looked a solid white from all the prayer shawls. At the top of a house behind us were a group of people reading from the Torah. They were just hanging out reading the Torah. Even on top of the house, the women were separated from the men.

Don't worry, we made it back in time for breakfast, but just barely. As we were walking back, all the kids were leaving to go to school. It was fun to see them all in their uniforms waiting at bus stops.

Have a Happy Holiday!