Birthright: My First Time in Israel – Day 9
June 7 – Jerusalem
We had been staying in Jerusalem for two nights, but hadn’t even ventured to the central city! Can you believe it? I would be staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel for four nights, and was only able to experience the flavor of this historical city for one day! We were taken to the Haas Promenade to overlook the entirety of Jerusalem. The panoramic view was very tranquil and was a great spot for us to say the shehecheyanu or the blessing for having done something for the first time. This was only a quick photo-op stop, though, as we were excited to head to the City of David.
After Chen got us our entrance tickets and mini-flashlights, we entered Hezekiah’s Tunnel. It was a wet tunnel walk! The history 
of this water tunnel reminds me a lot of the book The Source by James Michener. The reason for the construction of the underground water passage was because of a coming siege by the Assyrians. It was made as an aqueduct to direct water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam (hence the alternative name: Siloam Tunnel). The reason this reminds me of the book I’m reading is because, similar to this site, the town of Makor built a tunnel to access the well and camouflage the water source from threatening military forces. I’m not a big water person, but I think it’s interesting that my favorite activities this trip were the river raft and the tunnel walk. They weren’t necessarily educational, but they were fun and different!
We walked a 1,748 foot trek through cold water. It started off frigid, but it wasn’t long before we got used to the temperature. The level of the water changed throughout our journey, but never got higher than my upper thigh. The walls and ceilings also varied in width and height. My favorite parts were when everyone else had to stoop down and suck in, but I could walk through freely. I dressed appropriately for the activity, as I wore a dress (which I hitched up) with a bikini bottom underneath.
When we were done with this activity, and climbed through a dry, less fun, tunnel, we had to wait 
several long minutes for our bus to show up (people needed to drop off their bags). We weren’t going to get driven the five minutes uphill to the Dung Gate, the entrance to the Kotel or the Western Wall. This stone wall, with three layers of history (biblical, crusades, and Ottoman), is the holiest site in the Jewish world. It is the closest remnant of architecture to the Holy of Holies on the Temple Mount. We were given our own time to approach the massive structure, as usually visitors get emotional in its presence. I found my experience to be a bit anti-climactic. I don’t know what I imagined I would feel like, but looking at the Kotel seemed no different, to me, than looking at another stone barrier. I sat for the allotted time in the women’s section on a flimsy plastic chair, many of which are made available for those who want to sit while finding their spiritual center. I witnessed women weeping, putting notes in the cracks (which I had imagined would be more hole-y), and walking away backwards with reverence and tears in their eyes.
The itinerary stated that we would get a walking tour of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter (we were forbidden to venture into the Christian, Muslim, and Armenian sections). Like many other times, we deviated from tour itinerary and were just given enough 
time to eat some food and walk around with no direction. I got two slices of pizza that were quite disappointing due to their lack of cheese (this coming from a restaurant called Mozzarella). We also visited a shuk called Makhane Yehuda, a market with a myriad of food stalls. There was a lot of bustle as the day was coming to an end and Shabbat was nearing. There were several women handing out free candles! I don’t know if it was because the Sabbath was approaching, or because our bus driver Karem was no longer on duty, but we had to walk back to the hotel. Because our group was so disorganized, we got to candle lighting late and this proved to be a problem for the more orthodox and observant members of our group.
Dinner was in a fancier dining hall than usual, but the food was just okay. This time, 
Oneg Shabbat was a necessary activity after dinner, and everyone showed up with dessert that they bought at the shuk (I brought apple juice). Certain group members spoke about their memorable moments on the trip – many focused on telling stories about our Israeli peers as they had left us after the water tunnel. I didn’t really have any memories with the soldiers. I did appreciate when Liron and Maor came up to me and gave me hugs and good wishes – they didn’t even hang out with me during the trip, but they took time out of their inside jokes with the outgoing bunch to make me feel a part of the larger group. At the end of Oneg, Chen told us stories about his time in the military, but only the stories that he was allowed to recount (most of them are top secret). Our group was quite respectful at this point, but perhaps it was because they were dozing off like me. It was getting late! I didn’t worry much, though, because the next day was Shabbat and nothing much was planned… and even less was actually done!
