Day 6 - Final Day

During my final day in Jerusalem, I met up with another friend from the States who I met at a Model UN competition. He graciously gave me tour around Jerusalem, and we had tons of fun walking through the Shuk and exploring the streets and lane ways.

Now when I had gone to the Mahane Yehuda market previously, it was pretty much empty. This time, however, was completely different. On Fridays the market is full of people who are getting ready for Shabbat, which is the Jewish day of rest. It begins a few minutes before sunset on Friday until Saturday night.

Sabra - Israeli prickly pear. Sabra is also the term used to describe a native Israeli. Like the prickly pear, they are tough on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside.

People eating out in the Shuk

As we walked through the Shuk, I noticed a couple of stalls where some Orthodox men from the Chabad organization had set up and were offering to perform prayer services called tefillin. To humor my curiosity, my friend agreed to show me how it was done.

In front of the Chabad stalls

First, he had to put on a special kippa while our Chabad friend got these small leather boxes ready. The tefillin boxes contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. 

Next, one of the boxes was tied to his arm with a leather strap.

The last box went around the head.

Finally, they finished off with some prayers in Hebrew.

Tefillin is used as a reminder of God's intervention during the Exodus from Egypt. I've never seen anything like that done before, so it was fascinating from an outsider's perspective to learn about this ritual. 

Best line of the day was when my friend and the Chabad guy were speaking to each other in Hebrew. I don't speak Hebrew obviously, so my friend told me what was said after we left.

Chabad guy: Is she Jewish?

Friend: No

Chabad guy: Are you going to marry her?

Friend: Probably not.

Chabad guy: Thank God!

Kippas

After leaving the Shuk, we wandered around the alleys and lane ways nearby. 

We saw a synagogue

And an arts & crafts festival

And we stopped by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church. Israel has an Ethiopian population close to 120,000 and has experienced an increase in immigration from Ethiopia since 2009. 

Church gate

Inside the church

Our last stop was just outside the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood Mea Shearim, one of the oldest, most insulated Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, whose residents adhere to a very strict religious lifestyle. We couldn't actually go in and walk around because I was wearing a tank top, and the sign outside warned passerby not to go in wearing immodest clothes. Proper dress would include long skirts and shirts that cover the arms and midriff. I was told of children throwing stones at people entering the area who were not dressed appropriately, so we didn't want to risk it.

Outside Mea Shearim

"Please do not pass through our neighborhood in immodest clothes"

We ended my last tour just in the nick of time. Since Jerusalem is a religious city, it completely shuts down once Shabbat starts. Luckily, I still had an hour or two to spare and was able to get a cab to the airport, where I began planning my next trip back.

My final day in Jerusalem was a wonderful end to an absolutely brilliant trip, and I'm so glad I was able to go around the city one more time and soak it all in. It was disappointing that I couldn't stay longer, but I'm looking forward to the next time I come.