31 May 2011

I don’t want to scare anyone, but have you realized what day it is? May is nearly behind us; June is nearly upon us. Time rarely stands still. In Jerusalem, it never stands still. I can’t believe an entire month has passed since I first arrived in Jerusalem, since I first went to the Garden of Gethsemane, since I first walked through the Old City. It is becoming more and more clear to me how special time is, how special my time in Jerusalem is. I am not going to be here for a year or even for six months. The next two months will be over in a blink of an eye. Two years ago, I hadn’t even graduated from high school yet. I was probably in the middle of playing Mario Kart in my AP Statistics class. It feels like that was months ago, rather than years ago. My time here is so precious. I will make the most of it. I received an email from my dad this morning where he talked about opportunity costs. With every opportunity that you gain something, you are often losing something as well. While my being in Jerusalem does have its opportunity costs, i.e., missing out on family activities, hanging out with my friends, etc., there are also opportunity gains. I am experiencing things that can never be experienced in another part of the world. There is only one Dome of the Rock, one Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one Garden Tomb, and I have the opportunity to see, to experience each of them…and more.

As I mentioned earlier this week, maybe even yesterday, midterms are right around the corner. I have three midterm exams on Thursday: Old Testament, Judaism, and Hebrew, in that order. So in order to prepare for these exams, I spent the four hours between class and dinner studying for these midterms. I would like to say that I got a lot done, but between friendly interruptions, What About Bob?, and choosing swimming suits for each member of my family, I didn’t get as much done as I needed to. It is difficult to focus on studying when surrounded by such a beautiful city. I was constantly dreaming about David Street and Damascus Gate. But school comes first in these situations, unfortunately. Maybe I will be able to get more done tomorrow since it will be another day of full study within the Jerusalem Center. I know you are all looking forward to it as much as I am.

Late in the evening (after nine o’clock) we headed to the Old City in small groups to walk through the Kotel Tunnel. In 20 BC, King Herod undertook a project to double the area of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by incorporating part of the hill on the Northwest of the mount. In order to do so, four walls were constructed and the Temple Mount was expanded on top of them. These retaining walls remained standing, along with the platform itself, after the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. However, since then, much of the area next to the walls became covered and built upon. The Western Wall excavation began in 1864 and has led to the exposing of 485 meters of the wall. The Kotel Tunnel provides access to these 485 meters of the Western Wall that have been uncovered. It was an interesting experience to walk through this tunnel and realize that Mount Moriah was directly on my right. At one point, I could literally reach out my hand and touch the bedrock of the Mount. While the true significance of this site has not become fully known to me, the experience of walking close to where the Temple of Solomon stood, where Jesus taught and healed, and where Christ may one day teach again was overwhelming.

The day ended later than usual, but luckily, classes won’t start until nine o’clock in the morning. I secretly wish that this was the case every day! But such is the life within the Jerusalem Center. Your days begin early; your nights end late. It’s just something you learn to accept and something you want to accept. The more time in your day, the more time you have to study the Bible, to study Christ’s life, to wander the city streets, to live in Jerusalem.