Spirit of the Kotel

Visiting the Western Wall of the Temple Mount (Kotel in Hebrew) in Jerusalem is, for me, a most spirited and spiritual experience. It's spiritual because this place, while merely a wall of stone, is in truth the central focal point, the closest we can stand to the Holy of Holies, an connection to the past that cries out with a sacred intensity. It is spirited, because each moment there is fraught with political and social complexity...I do have to focus myself and breathe in the stones deeply in order to find the peace I desire in this place because I am so easily distracted by the (sometimes) technical aspects of the visit. Men and women are not allowed to pray together at the Kotel and this frustrates and annoys me...I must remind myself to be in my own moment, in my own circle, and find my own peace.

Many people wash their hands before approaching this holy site. This is not about cleanliness, but rather about ritual purity. I love the image of washing away the rest of the world to step into this place.
There are many old women who spend their days at the Kotel, giving blessings and collecting tzedakah, money for the poor. This woman blessed me and my children, asking about my husband, my life, and offering her prayers in exchange for my tzedakah money.

The stones of the wall are old and worn, from generations of caresses and kisses.
It is customary to place notes in the cracks of the Kotel, personal prayers that are too precious to be said aloud, too precious to let float away on the wind, but rather clutched tightly in the hand and then wedged tightly into the holy stones.

God is everywhere, but I am different wherever I go. At the Kotel, I feel a difference in me as I stand shoulder to shoulder with the past...and I find a different connection, a different spirit.

See what others find spirited this week...

Making Memories...

Here are some memories of my trip to Israel...scroll back through my posts to read more about the trip.

My mom, brother & I...

Getting a text message welcoming me to Jordan...hmm...I didn't go to Jordan! We traveled along the Jordanian border and my crackberry picked up the signal. Funny!

Our leisurely hike through the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve
(where not-yet-King David hid from then-King Saul)

Watching other people take pictures. I think that was one of the highlights of my trip, watching how everyone else was trying to preserve their memories...I know how hard it was to process all the information and sites, I hope all the pictures help everyone to do it once they're back at home. I think I might do a photo collage of all the pictures of people taking pictures!

Shopping in the Mahane Yehuda open-air market on Friday afternoon. Yum!

Praying together at the Kotel, the Western Wall.

Visiting the Golan Heights and looking out at the land of Israel arrayed below. We read this poem "are you laughing or crying?" that really told the story of life below the Heights before and after Israel took over... before, there was shelling and danger. Now it is safer. Geography matters. (I have been watching all the fancy stuff with textures and decided to try this little fancy maneuver out myself...what do you think? It's the poem overlaid onto the view...)

Theme Thursday over at Stacy's place is Memory. Check it out!

The Glow of One

(I actually have three children, I just keep posting pictures of this one...I promise, the others will get some limelight;-)

This week's theme over at Stacy's place is Glow...and I knew I had the perfect opportunity with the birthday party on Sunday.

(Full disclosure: I'm pretty sure my dad took this picture. They all got mixed up on my computer!)

But I also thought about my little girl...she sure is glowing.

When she was first born, she was horribly colicky. For three solid months, she really wouldn't let us put her down (she'd scream, she'd cry, she'd wail...) until she finally took a pacifier, learned to calm down, roll over, smile and then...

She became lovely.

Smiley, happy, friendly, sweet, social...with moments that remind us of her colicky days but they are few and far between. She watches everyone around her with interest, she shows an unusual affinity for technological objects (especially cell phones), she eats steadily and patiently (and almost anything), she handles her brothers with ease even when they push her around, she loves books, she dances and giggles when music is played around her, she greets new people with a smile but truly shouts with glee when her daddy walks in the room...she positively glows.


For both of these pictures, I played with the saturation...a new thing for me. I really like how they look! What do you think? I think they gave each pic a nice gauzy glow. The bottom picture was also very dark, so I lightened it up and then did the saturation. I think it has a cool, artsy look...

What's glowing in your life?

P.S. *today* is my blog-aversary! (although i posted last year on 2/7 and then didn't post again til march... so i think i'll celebrate then....if i remember. ha.)

Focus....Learning to Read & Write

Such focus as he learns to write the words.


"Brave spelling" they call it.
I love that the word brave is involved.
It makes me feel like he's a little superhero, boldly embarking upon the glory of words.

And here's what he wrote:

Translation for those of you who can't quite make it out: "When I grow up I am going to be a rabbi. I will tutor with kids. I will work at Am Shalom."

It's a pretty neat feeling when your kids want to follow your footsteps. He's only 6, so who knows!

See more focus here...(and congrats, Stacy, on your new home...even though it wasn't exactly how you planned to get there!)

Theme Thursday...Books

Ah....we haven't met a book yet that we didn't like in our house....



See more booky pics here...