{"id":642,"date":"2016-12-12T22:11:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T22:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/12\/yad-vashem-museum-ein-karem-via-dolorosa-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:44","slug":"yad-vashem-museum-ein-karem-via-dolorosa-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/12\/yad-vashem-museum-ein-karem-via-dolorosa-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre\/","title":{"rendered":"Yad Vashem Museum, Ein Karem, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\nNov 25, Fri: <\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nYad Vashem Museum-Ein
\nKarem-Old City of Jerusalem-Via Dolorosa-Church of the Holy Sepulchre<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Our day began with breakfast in Hotel Arthur\u2019s<\/i> lobby.  <\/span>As the Sabbath had come around again, things
\nwould be closing by 3.00 pm that day. We steeled ourselves for our visit to the
\nYad Vashem (or Holocaust) Museum as we knew that it would not be easy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nVisit to Yad Vashem Museum:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>All over the world, Jewish Holocaust
\nMuseums have sprung up in addition to the conversion of former concentration
\ncamps into museums. Over the years in our travels, we have seen a vast number
\nof Holocaust Museums (Paris, Berlin and Washington for instance) and we have
\nalso visited two concentration camps (Dachau in Germany and Auschwitz-Birkenau
\nin Poland) where we have actually seen the gas chambers and the crematoria that
\nwere used to exterminate the Jews as part of Hitler\u2019s \u2018Final Solution to the
\nJewish Problem\u2019 from 1942 onwards. Israel was established in 1948 and within a
\nfew years, it was decided, that a museum ought to be built to remember both
\nthose Jews who had perished in World War II as well as those \u201cGentiles\u201d who,
\nwithout thought to reward or their own safety, helped in saving Jewish lives (e.g.
\nOskar Schindler). A site was chosen on Mount Herzi and the architect selected
\nwas an Israeli-Canadian called Moishe Safdie. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>The modern structure clings to the
\nhillside. Inside, the building is shaped like un overturned boat. It is narrow
\nand dark\u2014a structure that hopes to depict the despair of the inmates of the
\ncamps. As you move from room to room, you receive tons of information through
\nmulti-media resources of the history of Jewish persecution from the beginning
\nof time to the present. It also traces the history of the creation of Israel.
\nThere is a wonderful Hall of Remembrance which is dome-shaped and covered with
\nblack and white pictures of the departed and a Children\u2019s Memorial which has
\nbeen designed in such a way through multiple mirrors that a single candle flame
\nis replicated thousands of times into infinity to reflect the numbers of
\nchildren that were killed during the Shoah (the Jewish Hebrew word for
\nHolocaust). The grounds are filled with sculpture created by Jewish artists
\nfrom all over the world. These were some of the highlights of the museum that
\nremain with me. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nWe
\nspent the entire morning in the Museum and had lunch in the cafeteria. Llew and
\nI chose to eat a full lunch of rice with two side dishes\u2014we chose a chicken
\nstew and a vegetable. It was all delicious and we were glad we filled up as
\nthere was no opportunity to eat again until dinner.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nVisit to Ein Karem (Village with Church
\nof John the Baptist and Church of the Visitation):<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Our next stop was the small village
\nof Ein Karem which has gained significance as the site of two important
\nBiblical happenings: the birth of John the Baptist marked by the Church of John
\nthe Baptist (run by the Franciscans) which is quite ornate with a beautiful
\ncrystal chandelier inside and mosaics on the wall. The priest was closing up
\nfor the afternoon but he permitted us to descend the stone stairway leading to
\na cave which is supposed to be the one in which John the Baptist was born.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Up on a hill, a little away from
\nthis church, is the actual Church of the Visitation built on the spot at which
\nMary arrived to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was married to Zacharias. The
\nBible tells us that when Mary and Elizabeth met, Elizabeth who was pregnant
\nwith John the Baptist felt him leap in her womb. At this occurrence, Elizabeth is
\nsupposed to have told Mary, \u201cMost Blessed Art Thou Among Women and Blessed is
\nthe Fruit of Thy Womb.\u201d These words, of course, are now part of the Hail Mary<\/i> as well as of the Magnificat<\/i>, which is the most well-known
\nof the Latin hymns to Mary. Unfortunately, we did not have the time to make it
\nto this church which is also a must on many pilgrimage agendas. Instead, Moti
\nspent quite a bit of time, using maps, to explain to us again the complicated
\nhistory of Middle Eastern politics. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nShopping in the Old City:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>There was not a lot of time left, so
\nMoti led us into the van and back into the Old City of Jerusalem so that we
\ncould do some shopping. Members of our group bought all sorts of things from
\nceramics to olive wood carvings and soon it was time for us to move on again.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nVisit to Church of the Holy
\nSepulchre:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Moti then led us on foot to another piece de resistance<\/i> of our travels\u2014our
\nvisit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which is built exactly on top of the
\nspot that is recognized by Roman Catholics and the Orthodox Church as Golgotha
\n(also known as Calvary). We found our way there and entered the church. It is an
\nimposing edifice of huge proportions built in yellow sandstone with domes,
\nGreek Corinthian pillars and striking Gothic arches. Had we realized how
\ndifficult it would be to see the Tomb after the Stations of the Cross, we would
\nhave opted to get to that spot before their commencement. As it turned out, all
\nwe did was enter the church and go directly to the marble slab upon which Jesus
\nis said to have been laid after his death. The interior of church is ornate and
\nelaborate and once again impressive in its Byzantine architectural design. We
\nknelt down and kissed the slab and we were also able to nip upstairs, up a
\nflight of curving stone stairs, to the spot which is recognized as Golgotha.
\nHowever, we barely had a few minutes there when we were ushered out again to
\nmake our way to the spot where the Stations of the Cross commence.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nRe-enacting the Way of the Cross:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>One of the highlights of the trip
\nfor me was being able to undertake a re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross
\nexactly as they might have occurred two thousand years ago. The commencement
\nsite is just outside the Umariya school in a courtyard inhabited by Franciscan
\nmonks at the Monastery of the Flagellation. At exactly 3.00 pm, the procession
\nbegan with a few prayers outside the church. Unfortunately, the entire service
\nwas in Latin, but we were able to follow with the small guide books that we had
\npurchased for a dollar. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>The procession winds its way through
\nthe 14 Stations that are mainly to be found on what was the road to Golgotha or
\nMount Calvary (where all crucifixions took place)\u2014what is today the Via Dolorosa
\nor the Road of Sorrows. Because there is a microphone system throughout the
\nWay, you can hear the service no matter where in the procession you might be.
\nThe Via Dolorosa today is a busy thoroughfare, exactly (I am guessing) as it
\nmight have been in Jesus\u2019 days. So although it was crowded and narrow and busy,
\nit seemed to be a very authentic re-enactment of the situation as it might have
\nbeen at that time when all prisoners who were sentenced to be crucified, were
\nrequired to carry their own crosses all the way to Golgotha.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Today, there are shrines and small
\nchurches at every one of the Stations which reminded me, of course, of the
\nvarious decades of the Rosary. Eventually, during the last few decades, we left
\nthe Via Dolorosa and entered the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
\nwhen all participants followed the monks to the top floor up the narrow winding
\nstone steps. The last two Stations were upstairs under the grand mosaic-encrusted
\nByzantine ceiling that was covered with medallions depicting the saints and the
\nBlessed Mother. There was a great deal of incense and the ringing of bells\u2014it
\nwas all very ritualistic. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>At the second last Station, when
\nJesus dies on the cross, we move to another niche which was absolutely
\nelaborate and has a wooden cross right above a small marble altar. As in
\nBethlehem, at the spot of Jesus\u2019 birth, here too, there was a small marble
\nniche under a marble altar, to mark the spot of Jesus\u2019 death. You had to bend
\ndown and literally crawl into the niche in order to kiss the spot where the
\ncross would have been affixed. The last station involved going down the same
\nwinding stairs to the marble slab where he was laid out after his death and
\nattended to by his mother, Joseph and St. Nicodemus who then prepared his body
\nfor burial. At this point, we moved to the last station, the laying of Jesus in
\nHis Tomb. When we entered this small side segment of the church, I found it
\nonce again to my enormous disappointment) to be fully enshrouded by
\nscaffolding. What are the odds that two of the most significant sites\u2014the place
\nof Christ\u2019s birth and of his Resurrection\u2014would be under renovation at exactly
\nthe same time and just during our visit???? I simply could not believe it! <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>Anyway, we then had to join a long
\nand winding queue to get a glimpse of this final resting place where a majority
\nof Christians believe he was laid to rest and from where he rose on the third
\nday. This line led to a highly ornamental altar richly clad in variously colored
\nmarble\u2014I managed to catch a glimpse behind the shrouded sheeting. I can only
\nimagine how gorgeous it must be (and later I caught postcard glimpses of it).
\nLlew and I found our way into the queue and finally arrived at the hidden
\nniche. No photography was permitted inside which made it impossible for me to
\nrecord one of the most significant parts of our pilgrimage. We did eventually
\nget to the spot and managed to kiss it, but we barely had a few seconds in
\nthere before we had to move out again. I found the crowds deeply annoying and
\nvery distracting\u2014but I had been warned about this by most people who said that
\nthe crowds diminished the entire experience for them. The general chaos
\ncompletely robbed me of the spirituality of the moment and I felt deeply
\n\u2018cheated\u2019 (even though I had been warned about this). Since we had the time, I
\nthen circumnavigated the entire church and was amazed at its intricate
\narchitecture as well as the multiplicity of altars and niches and shrines that
\nhave been carved out of it <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\nDinner at Ditn:<\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>We made our way almost directly back
\nto our hotel after what was a very eventful and significant afternoon\u2014although
\nnot quite as solemn and prayerful as I had hoped it would be\u2014and returned to Hotel Arthur<\/i>. Moti had made reservation
\nfor us for dinner at a place called Ditn<\/i>,
\nlocated at a railway station of a former railway line that is no longer in
\nuse\u2014known as the First Jerusalem Railway Station. The entire area has been
\nreconfigured to include restaurants, amusement arcades, etc. Moti\u2019s partner
\nRuthie was also present and we ended up having a really good (if very pricey)
\nmeal. There were a few toasts and Thank-yous said (which took me by surprise as
\nI did not realize that this was going to be our last \u2018formal\u2019 meal). Since we
\nstill had one more day to go before our tour ended, I had assumed that the next
\nnight would be our last dinner and the one at which we would say our Farewells
\nand Thank-yous.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>It was not long before we got back
\ninto our van and got back to Hotel Arthur<\/i>
\nfor the night.   <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nov 25, Fri: Yad Vashem Museum-Ein Karem-Old City of Jerusalem-Via Dolorosa-Church of the Holy Sepulchre             Our day began with breakfast in Hotel Arthur\u2019s lobby.  As the Sabbath had come around again, things would be closing by 3.00 pm that day. We steeled ourselves for our visit to the Yad Vashem (or Holocaust) Museum as… <\/p>\n

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