Weeping at the Wailing Wall

Sorry that I haven't posted a blog before now, I've been caught up in keeping a good journal and taking everything in that I haven't bothered to fill anyone in on the goings-on. I won't say more than you care to read, but we went to the wailing wall as the sun was going down for the start of Shabbat and it was too good an experience not to share. Firstly, I think my favorite time in this city (or any city) is just as the sun in going down and the people around you are bathed in the glow of twilight so that added a joy to the experience that couldn't have been there midday. I walked halfway to the wall just talking in the sights and trying to avoid being a sore thumb, but my height made it impossible to completely avoid. The men were singing and dancing to celebrate and welcome in the Sabbath, but that felt like only a sidenote. Suddenly I felt someones arms around me and I turned around it was Mom. It isn't like I didn't know that Mumadad were coming, but to see her there in the middle of the city with me made the whole experience complete and suddenly familiar and my senses were heightened and I began to cry. Having Mom at my right shoulder as we made our way up to the actual wall made everything important and allowed nothing to remain a sidenote. I could here distinctly the murmured prayers of the women around me and suddenly the joy of the men dancing around in circles also caught my attention. I stood quietly in prayer and contemplation of the place and the history and the desperation that the thick coat of paper scraps in the cracks of the wall represented and I was blown away.

I can't even comprehend this experience and how blessed I am to be here. I am so awestruck I can find no other words to describe how I feel. When we came back up onto the higher sidewalk I stood on a chair overlooking all of the men and saw that they were dancing around the word, dancing around their prayer books and scriptures. The joy that was being emitted from over that wall was absolutely intoxicating and I haven't smiled that big in a long time. Oh to find that kind of joy in the word and rejoice so freely in the Lord. Oh to have my parents finally here with me to share this experience, even for just a few days. I came to this city when I was 2 and they had wondered if I'd remember anything. Nothing felt familiar until they came and now suddenly every looks like I've seen it before. Everything feels like home with Mumadad here. I love it so.