Shabbat Shalom

On Friday night, I had the pleasure of welcoming in the sabbath (which begins at sundown on Friday evening and goes through sundown on Saturday evening) with many Jewish people at the Western Wall. The lower part of the Western Wall consists of the remains of the retaining wall on the western side of the temple that was destroyed on the Temple Mount. This place is very holy and sacred to the Jews.

They go to this wall often, but there is an especially large crowd that gathers to welcome in the sabbath. They write prayers on little pieces of paper and stick them in the cracks between the bricks in the wall. They touch the wall with their hands and faces and rock back and forth uttering sincere prayers. When they come away from the wall, many of them gathered together to sing songs of rejoicing and excitement for the coming Sabbath Day. Many of us got to be a part of this experience as the Jewish girls grabbed our hands and urged us to sing and dance with them! Though I didn't know the Hebrew words that were being said, I could tell that welcoming the Sabbaht truly was a joyous occasion to them!

In just the short amount of time that I have been here, I have gained a significant amount of respect for the Jewish people. They are so devoted to their beliefs, and it shows in everything they do- the way they dress, the way they worship, the way they observe the sabbath, etc. They truly are a "peculiar" people. This ties in so well with some of the things that I'm studying in my Old Testament class as well. After their escape from Egypt, the Children of Israel were brought up to be a "peculiar people," and a "peculiar treasure unto God" (see Exodus 19: 5) The meaning of the word peculiar means to be different. I take this to mean that they were to set themselves apart from the world, by living in a way that was of God, not of the world. After seeing the devotion of these Jewish people, I have to ask myself if I am as devoted of a disciple of Christ as I would like to be. Am I somebody that could be picked out as a "peculiar" person? I hope so. If not, and even if so, that is my new goal-- to reach my full potential and stand out as a true disciple of Christ. If there is ever a time for me to achieve this goal, now is the time, when I'm here in the Holy Land, walking the pavement that Christ himself walked, living just up the hill from where he suffered individually for my shortcomings, just around the corner from where he carried his cross to the place where he would end his mortal life, and not far from the place where he rose again, and brought hope to each one on this earth. I know that setting myself apart from the world will be a life-long journey that will sometimes be difficult, but it's one that is well worth the effort! I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to see the devotion of these Jews, so that I can re-evaluate my life, and recommit to being the true disciple of Christ that I wish to be.