After the service, David and I participated in the text study that HUC provides for us before our “tiyulim,” or field trips. We learned about the significance of Jerusalem in the Bible and what we would be visiting today.

Today was a long day and it is only 5:00 p.m. here. We woke up bright and early and headed on the busses to a couple of places around Jerusalem. We first stopped at the “Tayelet,” a boardwalk in Southern Jerusalem where you can look out at the entire Jerusalem and its neighborhoods. We then stopped at the base of Mount of Olives and saw Phaorah’s daughter’s tomb and learned about the significance of Mount of Olives. At the base were many graves from the First Temple Period. As the hill ascends, the graves are more and more modern. Behind us, as we faced the Mount of Olives, was the Temple Mount and it is believed that when the Messiah comes all of the people in the graves at Mount of Olives will arise and resurrect and enter the Temple Mount. From there, we headed to the City of David where we stood on top of what is believed to be David’s palace and then headed down into Hezekiah’s tunnels. Hezekiah came after the reign of David and was an important King to the Jews. He helped with the reestablishment and rebuilding of the Second Temple and respected Jewish practice. He also built an incredible water transport system underground. It is the earliest water system found in Jerusalem within 500 years and we got to walk around in the water! The water was freezing and there was no light but our flashlights. It was a very cool and rewarding experience.

Now we are back home, showered and napped. David was sick last week and is sick again. We are both a little concerned because he feels so yuck and is sad that he will be missing the Shlomo Artzi concert he was so looking forward to seeing tonight! It is time to get him rested up and feeling better for Shabbat. We have lots of fun plans!!!