What a scene in the Old City right now. Thousands upon thousands of muslims flock into the Old City to enter the Al Aqsa mosque for the final Friday prayers of Ramadan. Next Friday is Eid el Fitr, the end of Ramadan. They started cramming in as early as 9am when prayers should have started at noon. The place was packed ... and Israeli police/military presence is very very heavy. Every 10 metres stand a group of police/soldiers.
Today's called Jerusalem Day by muslims - established by the late Ayatollah Khomeini - to protest against Israel. Alot of threats from islamic groups of greater violence. And disgruntled Jews over the Washington peace talks and the deaths of Israelis the past few days, have added their voice to proactive resistance and violence. It's going to be a very very tense week. Ramadan ends on Sept. 10-11 and Rosh HaShana begins on Sept. 8-9. It's a clash I dream never to see.
And the islamist are extra strict this year. Men and women have to walk on different sides of the street - even in the narrow road between the 3rd Station of the Cross to the 5th Station. Men shouting and beating sticks threaten the women to move to the right side of the road while men walk on the left. Even Damascus Gate has a barrier so men and women ascend or descend on different sides of the staircase. I was stuck in the middle of a group women because I had to turn to the right lane that leads to my house. I almost expected the stick swiveling men to beat me up. Frightening experience. Crowds just kept pressing forward and people shouting and screaming.
Helicopters are flying overhead and the blimp with panorama camera is floating above. Way of the Cross today is cancelled because of fears of violence. But I think this is nothing compared to what will happen next week when Ramadan ends and the Jewish New Year falls on dates that are hours apart.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Friday again
At yesterday's dinner we had a good laugh at the unexpected rain yesterday afternoon ... it wasn't much but it was a good sign. Someone said God worked too early ... he should have waited till Sukkot (next week) to send the rain.
At Vespers yesterday evening we could not start the prayers because the muezzin from the Dome of the Rock began his call. It was loud. We had to wait till he stopped before we could begin as we could not even hear ourselves. During those few minutes of waiting it crossed my mind what it must have felt for christians the last 1000 years to live here under muslim rule. And the thousands of religious monks and nuns who served and died here. I can't tell you how I feel. And what is more humbling is that I am now part of this mission ... and must be prepared to suffer, even to die just as they did.
My jaw is much better but I still have to take a painkiller once in a while. Like I said, the crown is a little misaligned and this makes biting or closing my mouth difficult. The nurse called this afternoon to confirm my appointment on Sunday.
Meantime despite the violence, everyone in the country is looking eagerly at the peace talks in Washington. Let's pray it works out.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
1st Rain
Today is the feastday of Blessed Claudio, a venetian friar. It's also the patron saint day of our dean, Fr. Claudio. We had Mass this morning to commemorate the event, and a simple lunch to celebrate. I had ice cream and mashed potatoes!
The topic around our lunch table was the coming of the rains. Everyone could smell the dampness of the air. It's 25 degrees right now and if the temperature lowers a couple more degrees, precipitation will take place. It's unusually cloudy and the winds are blowing from the east (Mediterranean Sea) hence it's loaded with water. The weather forecast for today is 20% chance of rain here in Jerusalem. This is from the Israel Forecast website:
And this is from BBC
And for the disbelieving/ignorant person who's living in our land (Emmaus to be precise) but still know nothing about it, here's a lesson on rain and the Jewish feasts of autumn.
On Wednesday evening 8th September we will celebrate Rosh HaShanah or the Jewish New Year. It lasts two days and the Jewish people take stock of their lives last year and pray for a provident year ahead.
On Friday evening 17th September they celebrate Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, where they pray for God's forgiveness for sins of the past year and hope for a better year ahead.
On Wednesday evening 22nd September, they celebrate Sukkot, the feast of Tents, which ends on wednesday 29th. As the rains should fall during this period, farmers who harvest the autumn fruit need to build tents in the fields to stock their harvest otherwise it will spoil. Inside the tents, Jewish families today hang fruit on the walls to remind themselves of the agricultural origin of this feast.
whoooooa ... it's raining now in Jerusalem just as I'm writing. Coincidence? The dark clouds have gathered and from my window I can see raindrops ... it doesn't look much but it sure augurs well for this winter. Get an umbrella, Ting, if you're coming to Jerusalem.
Continuing with the Sukkot feast - on the last day, the greatest day of the feast (this year on wed. 29th) back in the time of Christ, the High Priest would offer water drawn from the Siloam Pool and poured out on the altar. He then prays that God will send rain for winter. The rains are God's providence for the Holyland that begins the New Year. It was during this feast that Jesus announced "Let anyone who thirsts, come to me and drink" (Jn 7:37-38), proclaiming as it were the true live-giving water that comes from him.
And so .... the autumn feasts are linked with the coming rains - the symbol of God's providence and life for the new year. End of lesson.
The topic around our lunch table was the coming of the rains. Everyone could smell the dampness of the air. It's 25 degrees right now and if the temperature lowers a couple more degrees, precipitation will take place. It's unusually cloudy and the winds are blowing from the east (Mediterranean Sea) hence it's loaded with water. The weather forecast for today is 20% chance of rain here in Jerusalem. This is from the Israel Forecast website:
| Updated: 3:00 AM IDT on September 02, 2010 | |
 | Thursday Chance of Rain. Scattered Clouds. High: 32 °C . Wind WNW 18 km/h . 20% chance of precipitation (water equivalent of 0.50 mm). Heat Index: 32 °C ." |
And this is from BBC
- Sunrise 06:15
- Sunset 19:02
| Weather | Temp. (°C) | Wind (mph) | HumidityPressureVisibility | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday Day |  Light Rain Shower | 26Max. Day | 10 | 43%1011mbVery good |
And for the disbelieving/ignorant person who's living in our land (Emmaus to be precise) but still know nothing about it, here's a lesson on rain and the Jewish feasts of autumn.
On Wednesday evening 8th September we will celebrate Rosh HaShanah or the Jewish New Year. It lasts two days and the Jewish people take stock of their lives last year and pray for a provident year ahead.
On Friday evening 17th September they celebrate Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, where they pray for God's forgiveness for sins of the past year and hope for a better year ahead.
On Wednesday evening 22nd September, they celebrate Sukkot, the feast of Tents, which ends on wednesday 29th. As the rains should fall during this period, farmers who harvest the autumn fruit need to build tents in the fields to stock their harvest otherwise it will spoil. Inside the tents, Jewish families today hang fruit on the walls to remind themselves of the agricultural origin of this feast.
whoooooa ... it's raining now in Jerusalem just as I'm writing. Coincidence? The dark clouds have gathered and from my window I can see raindrops ... it doesn't look much but it sure augurs well for this winter. Get an umbrella, Ting, if you're coming to Jerusalem.
Continuing with the Sukkot feast - on the last day, the greatest day of the feast (this year on wed. 29th) back in the time of Christ, the High Priest would offer water drawn from the Siloam Pool and poured out on the altar. He then prays that God will send rain for winter. The rains are God's providence for the Holyland that begins the New Year. It was during this feast that Jesus announced "Let anyone who thirsts, come to me and drink" (Jn 7:37-38), proclaiming as it were the true live-giving water that comes from him.
And so .... the autumn feasts are linked with the coming rains - the symbol of God's providence and life for the new year. End of lesson.
Rains coming?
Another two Israelis killed yesterday. We're asking ourselves when this madness will end - but from the streets, they're saying it's just the beginning.
The weather has cooled alot. It's unusually cloudy and breezy now. Rosh HaShana will begin soon - the Jewish New Year - and a couple of weeks later it will be Sukkot - the feasts of tents - and the prayer for rain .... so hopefully this year God will hear us and give us the rains that's lashing across Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Korea. We need it so badly in this parched land. Several tropical storms here will reverse the drought that we've been having for the past 10 years. Let it rain here.
The wakers did their rounds this morning from 3am to 4am. Loud banging of drums to wake the muslims to eat before the sun rises. Then at 4.45am the cannon sounded to start the daily fast. It was very loud. The muezzin of Al Aqsa mosque was extra loud this morning.
The pain in my jaw has subsided. Sr Aquila gave me several pain killers last night. I'm still on a diet of cold mashed potatoes. And the crown isn't well aligned with the upper jaw. It makes biting difficult. I have another dentist appointment on Sunday.
The weather has cooled alot. It's unusually cloudy and breezy now. Rosh HaShana will begin soon - the Jewish New Year - and a couple of weeks later it will be Sukkot - the feasts of tents - and the prayer for rain .... so hopefully this year God will hear us and give us the rains that's lashing across Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Korea. We need it so badly in this parched land. Several tropical storms here will reverse the drought that we've been having for the past 10 years. Let it rain here.
The wakers did their rounds this morning from 3am to 4am. Loud banging of drums to wake the muslims to eat before the sun rises. Then at 4.45am the cannon sounded to start the daily fast. It was very loud. The muezzin of Al Aqsa mosque was extra loud this morning.
The pain in my jaw has subsided. Sr Aquila gave me several pain killers last night. I'm still on a diet of cold mashed potatoes. And the crown isn't well aligned with the upper jaw. It makes biting difficult. I have another dentist appointment on Sunday.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tension again
Tension all around as Hamas kills 4 Israelis. The Palestinian Authorities have arrested 300 people as a result. Can't believe the police and military presence in the city right now.
1st Day of school
Public schools have started here in our land. Parents accompanying their children for primary 1 classes; noise everywhere. Streets packed with cars and people. No fun.
Yesterday night was pure horror. Thanks to a bite of chocolate (no sugar type for diabetics), my crown came off the implant. It hurt. I had to go look for a reliable dentist this morning. The family doc referred to a french jewish dentist in Emek Refaim which is quite far away. The dentist was very nice and charged me only 100 shekels. We spent about 25 minutes as he washed the wound and implant, then forced the crown back into place. He asked if I wanted anesthesia but I said no. The pain was horrendous. He pushed it in to see if it fitted; then put glue, then pushed it back. Then I had to bite on a cotton three times to make sure it stayed in place. Had an x-ray taken. But the pain ..... the dentist kept saying "I'm sorry but I must make sure it's tightly fitted in place". Grit my teeth! The gums had slightly shrunk since last night so pushing the crown back meant peeling the gums back and getting some of the flesh jammed in the crown. The dentist had to slowly pull back the gums; which was pretty painful. Believe me, I thought about all of you and offered the suffering for you.
After that I walked home 4 kms ... had to save my last 50 shekels just in case for emergency. Well I actually enjoyed the walk - it's a new area for me. But the sun was quite hot despite a lovely breeze. Nadia our cook made mashed potatoes and 4 eggs for my lunch. I could swallow them otherwise I'd have died of hunger. Then sisters gave me ice-cream after lunch. That was nice.
Yesterday night was pure horror. Thanks to a bite of chocolate (no sugar type for diabetics), my crown came off the implant. It hurt. I had to go look for a reliable dentist this morning. The family doc referred to a french jewish dentist in Emek Refaim which is quite far away. The dentist was very nice and charged me only 100 shekels. We spent about 25 minutes as he washed the wound and implant, then forced the crown back into place. He asked if I wanted anesthesia but I said no. The pain was horrendous. He pushed it in to see if it fitted; then put glue, then pushed it back. Then I had to bite on a cotton three times to make sure it stayed in place. Had an x-ray taken. But the pain ..... the dentist kept saying "I'm sorry but I must make sure it's tightly fitted in place". Grit my teeth! The gums had slightly shrunk since last night so pushing the crown back meant peeling the gums back and getting some of the flesh jammed in the crown. The dentist had to slowly pull back the gums; which was pretty painful. Believe me, I thought about all of you and offered the suffering for you.
After that I walked home 4 kms ... had to save my last 50 shekels just in case for emergency. Well I actually enjoyed the walk - it's a new area for me. But the sun was quite hot despite a lovely breeze. Nadia our cook made mashed potatoes and 4 eggs for my lunch. I could swallow them otherwise I'd have died of hunger. Then sisters gave me ice-cream after lunch. That was nice.
Tiring Tuesday
I've been trying to rest today but calls keep coming in for this and that. And the workers are digging the floor of the library with drills - very very noisy. And I have to move out ... lots of packing. What a headache.
Last night I had to accompany prof. Ligato to New Gate to catch his shuttle bus to the airport at 1am. The streets were still full of people - being Ramadan - and some rowdy youths tried to cause trouble. Luckily police and soldiers patrol the streets every 10 minutes so we were not robbed or attacked. The police asked if we were alright and I said yes. When the prof. left, the police stayed around to see me walk off so that no one would cause more trouble.
I'm telling myself this is summer holidays and I should have at least 1 week rest; if not, at least to take all these changes slowly. I'll restart research next week .... if my brains and body can catch up. Knees and ankle are still hurting alot. Cutting back from the high sugar intake for the past week. I should feel better. But I'm just feeling so weak and listless.
Tension in the city talk. Palestinians are furious that rabbi Ovada made comments tantamount to a curse as a roundup to the Jewish New Year. "A tradition from the Talmud holds that the things you do to begin a New Year will have a profound effect on the entire year you're about to have. The foods you eat, how you sleep, and, especially, words spoken in anger.". The former Chief Rabbi chose to augure the Palestinians "be made gone from this world". http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/a-special-place-in-hell-celebrate-jewish-new-year-with-a-de-occupation-seder-1.311068
Last night I had to accompany prof. Ligato to New Gate to catch his shuttle bus to the airport at 1am. The streets were still full of people - being Ramadan - and some rowdy youths tried to cause trouble. Luckily police and soldiers patrol the streets every 10 minutes so we were not robbed or attacked. The police asked if we were alright and I said yes. When the prof. left, the police stayed around to see me walk off so that no one would cause more trouble.
I'm telling myself this is summer holidays and I should have at least 1 week rest; if not, at least to take all these changes slowly. I'll restart research next week .... if my brains and body can catch up. Knees and ankle are still hurting alot. Cutting back from the high sugar intake for the past week. I should feel better. But I'm just feeling so weak and listless.
Tension in the city talk. Palestinians are furious that rabbi Ovada made comments tantamount to a curse as a roundup to the Jewish New Year. "A tradition from the Talmud holds that the things you do to begin a New Year will have a profound effect on the entire year you're about to have. The foods you eat, how you sleep, and, especially, words spoken in anger.". The former Chief Rabbi chose to augure the Palestinians "be made gone from this world". http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/a-special-place-in-hell-celebrate-jewish-new-year-with-a-de-occupation-seder-1.311068
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