The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2010 - Page 20
Community News
Part 3: Jerusalem at Night
By Amy Krakovitz
Just before dinner on our first
evening in Jerusalem, we gather in
a meeting room in our hotel, the
Dan Panorama. There are the orig
inal 18 of us who have traveled
together since Monday in
Charlotte, our tour guide, Doron,
and the rest of our group, people
who have come to Israel earlier
than we did. Joel Blady and
Shelley Pawlyk arrived a few days
earlier, spending some time with
Joel’s family in Tel Aviv and get
ting a personalized tour of the
Weizmann Institute. The Label
family, David and Stacey, their
children Lindsay, Lauren, and
Jake, and David’s parents, Joyce
and Stan, have already visited Tel
Aviv and the Galilee.
Doron gathers us together and
asks each of us what brought us
here. When my turn comes, I try to
explain how long I have loved
Israel but never had the opportuni
ty to come. I describe my
walk in the streets of
Jerusalem that afternoon.
“Everything looked familiar
to me,” I tell the group. “I’ve
never been here before but I
feel like I never left.” As we
leave the room and walk over
to the hotel’s restaurant for
dinner, Doron stops me.
“You belong here,” he says.
When I start to explain, that
yes, I feel very comfortable,
he says, “No ... you should be
living here.”
We have a free evening ahead
of us but have heard that there is a
light show in the Old City tonight.
Judy offers to escort us as she
knows the way to the Old City.
When we come upon the plaza at
the Jaffa Gate, we see thin green
lights topped by pink neon, “My
Public Garden,” the first installa
tion of many we will see. The Old
City is strung with lights in four
colors: green, yellow, orange, and
red. Following the string of lights
brings the observer through differ
ent series of light installations or
demonstrations. We start at The
Orange Trail, but quickly cut over
to The Blue Trail as our ultimate
destination is the Western Wall.
On the blue trail, we see film
projections on the walls. The
artists play off the architecture that
exists. In one film, a window is
replicated and a scene of a family
sitting down to dinner can be
"My Public Garden ”
viewed. In another film, the
artist uses a high gable to
project children waving at
passers-by. In still another,
a woman can be seen inside
her home walking a baby to
sleep.
In Hurva Square, a film
tells the life story of Jews in
Jerusalem and their hope
for redemption. The back
drop is the wall of the
Hurva Synagogue, where
waterfalls suddenly pour
down from ledges, and the
sun bursts from the roseate
window in the top.
Around the comer we come to
the Cardo, where demonstrations
using light are taking place. A
glass blower, glass sculptors, and
other artists and designers display
their wares. As I walk down the
stairs to Cardo level, I run my
hand along the top of the stone
railing along the staircase. The
rough tops of the stone walls
are smoothed to a polished
flatness by thousands of years
of hands rubbing them down. I
get a flash and a warm feeling;
surely some of my own ances
tors have touched this very
banister, these very stones and
walked along this very Cardo.
From there, the Rabbi leads
us to a most magnificent sight:
the Western Wall at night. The
light is dim, yet the Wall seems
to project its own soft glow.
The Kotel at night.
This is a major moment for me, I
am going to the Wall for the first
time.
It seems that maybe only 20%
of the space at the Wall is reserved
for women. It’s hard to find a spot
near the stones. I manage to reach
over people’s heads
and tuck in all the
notes that have been
given to me by family
and friends. I touch
the stones one more
time and mumble my
own shehecheyanu.
But I don’t experience
the spiritual tsunami
that I had been antici
pating. It’s too crowd
ed and stuffy. Some of
the women are talking
on their cell phones.
I’m distracted and
tired. But it is a beautiful sight
to see.
We return back along The
Orange Trail again. The archi
tecture of the city’s walls
serve again as a welcome
palate for more light sculp
tures. Three bright men scale
the wall. A miniature
cityscape sprouts from the
ancient ruins.
It’s been one amazing day,
but I haven’t slept more than
two hours and I need to get
some rest before tomorrow.
For more information on
The Jerusalem Festival of
Light, go to www.lightin-
jerusalem.org.il. ^
Next: The Western Wall excava
tions, the Davidson Center, the
City of David and Hezikiah s tun
nel.
Wall projection of window and view of family din
nertime.
Jaime and I knew we wanted a solid secular
education and The Charlotte Jewish Day
School stood out. What distinguished CJV5
from other schools was knowing that we
would have a partner in developing great kids
who take pride in their Judaism. It's amazing
to witness our children become more com
fortable with who they are and that's why
CJD5 is the best school for our family.
— EJise Kosofsky
Join us for our Parent Open House
For parents of rising JK and Kindergartners
Wednesday, October 27, 9:30-11:30am
Thursday, October 28, 11:30am-l :30pm
& Preschoolers' Visitation
Friday, October 29, 1:15pm
Questions? Call 704-366-4558
CJDS
Charlotte Jewish
Day School
A BENEFICIARY AGENCY OF
Pictured are Elise (President of The Jewish Preschool on Sardis) & Jaime Kosofsky with their JEWISH^
daughters, Emily (CJDS JK), Abby (CJDS 1st grade) and Molly (Jewish Preschool on Sardis). ^