On Friday Sept 28 we decided to tour the Hurva Synagogue where we had gone to worship on Yom Kippur. It is  large, beautiful, modern with architecture based on the previous one built in 1864 and blown up in 1948.

 

 

 It has been destroyed and rebuilt four times since the 1700's. It is 70 metres high and it's dome is physically higher than the Dome of the Rock, the large Islamic monument on Temple Mount (clearly a political statement). The last major re-construction began in 1967 and it was dedicated for service in 2010. It's significance is that since the 1500s this synagogue has represented a visible Jewish presence in the Old City.
Old ruins exist and are preserved in the basement of this building including this Mikva, a ritual bath. The presence of many such baths under the present day Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem is thought to be because this area was the home of the Temple priests who had to be pure for service in the Temple.

On Sept 29 we spent the day with Ruth Fazal. We travelled to Nof Ginosar to pick-up a friend of Ruth's. This is the kibbutz where in 1986 a 2000 year old fishing boat was found similar to the one that Jesus would have used. It took 10 years to perserve the waterlogged wood and it is now in a climate controlled room at this kibbutz.

We then went to Caesarea for a Convocation organized by The House of Prayer for all Nations. This was held in the restored Roman amphitheater built by Herod in the 1st century overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. (we were there in 2005). It was a large port city and the place from which St Paul and others travelled to the then known world to teach about the Jewish Messiah Jesus.

The convocation included people from 240 countries around the world who came to pray for Israel. During this evening there were representatives who spoke on behalf of their countries asking forgivenenss for the destruction of the Jews in the Holocaust. Below is the rep from Germany.

There were 500 Holocaust survivors present as guests and Ruth Fazal sang a song she had composed in Hebrew for them while her friend danced. (fuzzy video but you get the idea)
The chorus of the song is;
"I cannot forget my people, I cannot forget my Israel"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAEG2iSDYXo&feature=context-gau 

The meeting ended with 2500 people singing over the survivors in that ancient place an old worship song whose lyrics are only 1 Hebrew word-Hallelujah. (not the Leonard Cohen version)
It means hallel- praise, yah-God. It sounded something like this only without the verses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kZ2xtfyaAU

Sept 30 was the first night of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. This is the festival from Leviticus 23 where the Israelites were commanded to live in booths to remind themelves of the time they spent in the desert in temporary fragile dwellings with the sky visible through the roof covered with branches.
This is to remeber the God is our eternal dwelling place and he is present to us even in the fraglile places. We need always to look up to the heavens where our help comes from.
All over Jerusalem people build the sukkot and "live" in them for 8 days.
Here is one on a rooftop in the Old City.

 

 

 

In the evening of the first night of sukkor we had dinner on the rooftop of friends of Ruth Fazal who are form South Africa. From there you could see the full moon over the city-the time of month when this feast is always celebrated. The symbolism is that when the light is at its brightest God revels himself and dwells with us in the "sukkah" (our fragile bodies).

 

Most of this week we will be attending another conference involving Christians from all nations called the Feast of Tabernacles sponsored by ICEJ. This conference was started 33 years ago in Christ Church by Canadians, Merv and Merla Watson. When they shared their idea with a rabbi his comment was;

 

"When I see the nations coming to celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem, I hear the footsteps of the coming Messiah"

 

This conferene is based on Zechariah 14:16

 

"Then the survivors from all the nations----- will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles "

 

If you want to watch any of it or hear the talks ICEJ is streaming it live at about 1:30 pm Toronto time, or you can select from the archives.    http://int.icej.org/live