The Encounter Chapel at Magdala

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The woman in Mark 5:24-34 believed she would be healed of her bleeding if she could only "touch the hem of his garment"  [some think this means the ritual fringe on the bottom of his garment, such as Orthodox Jews wear till today].
She had courage and touched and was immediately healed by Jesus, the New Testament says.
This mural-sized painting of the famous scene is in the lower chapel of Duc in Altum, below the Boat Chapel and the Women's Atrium that we visited in previous posts.

(Remember that my photos here can be greatly enlarged with a click or two.)

The Magdala Center brochure describes The Encounter Chapel:

The basement chapel makes use of original stones found in the excavations of the road and marketplaces near the port.  This interdenominational place of prayer is modeled after the synagogue plan with its 6 columns, colorful walls and placement of stones.
The chapel features a beautiful mural-sized painting of the encounter between Jesus and the hemorrhaging woman (Mark 5:25). 

The stone benches along the walls are also like in the ancient synagogue of Migdal.

The one and only window looks out on the Sea of Galilee.

And the window creates the shadow of the cross.

Mother Teresa, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, adds her prayerful presence to the special place.
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There is more about the chapel at the website:
http://www.magdala.org/visit/duc-in-altum/encounter-chapel/

To all the Christian readers, Holy Week blessings and happy Easter wishes from me, your Jewish friend here at Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo.
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(Linking to inSPIRED Sunday, Monday Murals, and Our World Tuesday.)
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Being comforted on Shabbat Nachamu

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Click to enlarge for the beautiful window details

Shabbat Nachamu begins this evening.

After going down to the depths on Tisha B'Av, mourning the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem [in my 9 B'Av posts], we are brought back to the light by Isaiah's visions of a better future.
He tells us that Jerusalem has paid the price for her sin and is now forgiven.

The haftorah, Isaiah 40:1-26, begins "Nachamu, nachamu ami . . ."
God is telling his prophets to console his people:

" 'Comfort, oh comfort my people,' says your God.
'Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem . . .' "

Are they not lovely and welcome words?!

The other verses are equally lovely and well-known.
You can chose your preferred translation of the Isaiah chapter:
"The Message" in modern English or NIV or the translation used by Chabad or the Hebrew with classic old English.

The painted stained glass window is exhibited at Hechal Shlomo museum of Jewish art in Jerusalem.
It was made in England in 1907, one of twelve windows that graced a synagogue in Manchester.
It is based on sketches made by 19th century pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Shabbat shalom!
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Orthodox Good Friday. A scene in glass

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Orthodox Christians are now in Holy Week.
Good Friday for the Eastern Christians is called Great and Holy Friday.

While at the Green Pilgrimage symposium (about which I still have much to tell you) at Jerusalem's International YMCA,   I discovered three unusual stained glass religious windows.
They are mounted in an inner wall that divides two meeting rooms.
(Reflections from the real windows and from lights were unavoidable.)
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I think this artwork is a painful reminder of a difficult day for Christians.
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Breached walls, desecrated crown

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For this Sunday's PsalmChallenge, here is Psalm 89.

1. A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

2. Of the LORD’s loving kindness I will sing forever; to all generations I will make Your faithfulness known with my mouth.

3. I declare, “Your loving kindness is set forever; there in the heavens You have made Your faithfulness firm.”

4. “I have made a covenant with My chosen one; I have sworn to David My servant:

5. I will confirm your offspring forever; I will set your throne for all generations.”   Selah.

6. Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD, even Your faithfulness in the assembly of holy ones.

7. For who in the skies can compare to the LORD, be likened to the LORD among divine beings,

8. a God held in awe in the council of the many holy ones, fearsome above all surrounding Him?

9. O LORD God of hosts: who is as mighty as You, O LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds You; 

 

 

10. it is You Who rules the swelling of the sea; when its waves surge, You still them.

11. It is You Who crushed Rahab as if he were a corpse; with Your powerful arm, You scattered Your enemies.

12. Yours is the heaven, the earth too; the world and its fullness―You founded them.

13. North and south—You created them; Tabor and Hermon sing joyously to Your name.

14. Yours is an arm with might; Your hand is powerful; Your right hand, exalted.

15. Righteousness and law are the firm base of Your throne; loving kindness and faithfulness go before Your presence.

16. Happy is the people who know the festive shout; O LORD they walk in the light of Your presence.

17. In Your name they rejoice all day long; they are exalted through Your righteousness.

18. For You are the grandeur of their power; our horn is exalted by Your will.

19. Truly our shield belongs to the LORD; our king, to the Holy One of Israel.

20. Then You spoke to Your faithful ones in a vision and said, “I have conferred supremacy upon a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

21. I have found David, My servant; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

22. My hand shall be firmly with him, and My arm shall strengthen him.

23. No enemy shall overpower1 him, no wicked man afflict him.

24. I will pound his adversaries before him; those who hate him, I will strike down.

25. My faithfulness and loving kindness shall be with him; and through My name, his horn shall be exalted.

26. I will cause his hand to be on the sea, his right hand on the rivers.

27. He shall address Me, “You are my father, my God and the rock of my deliverance.”

28. And so I will appoint him firstborn, the highest of earthly kings.

29. Forever I will keep My loving kindness for him, and My covenant is faithfully his.

30. I will cause his offspring to be for all time, his throne, as long as the heavens endure.

31. If his sons forsake My teaching and do not follow My laws;

32. if they desecrate My edicts, and do not keep My commandments,

33. then I will punish their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with plagues.

34. But My loving kindness I will not take away from him; I will not betray My faithfulness.

35. I will not desecrate My covenant; what My lips have uttered I will not change.

 

36. Unequivocally I have sworn by My holiness: I will not be false to David.

37. His offspring shall continue forever, his throne, as the sun before Me,

38. as the moon, confirmed forever, a faithful witness in the sky.”    Selah.

 

39. Yet You, You have rejected, spurned, and raged at Your anointed one.

40. You have repudiated the covenant with Your servant; You have desecrated his crown in the dirt.

 

 

41. You have breached all his walls, caused his strongholds to be rubble.

42. All who pass by plunder him; he has become an object of abuse to his neighbors.

43. You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries: You have made all his enemies rejoice.

44. You have turned back his sword’s blade, and You did not raise him up in battle.

45. You have ended his splendor, and his throne You have hurled to the dirt.

46. You have cut short the days of his youth; You have cloaked him with shame.   Selah.

 

47. How long, O LORD, will You hide Your face; will Your fury blaze like fire forever?

48. Remember how short my lifespan. How could You have created all men in vain?

49. What man can live and not see death, can save himself from the hand of Sheol?   Selah.

50. Where is Your first loving kindness, My Lord, which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?

51. Remember, O LORD, the abuse toward Your servant, that I have borne in my bosom—many the peoples—

52. how Your enemies have flung abuse, O LORD, how they flung abuse at the steps of Your anointed one.

53. Blessed is the LORD forever. Amen and amen.

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Translation: Rabbi Benjamin J. Segal.  See also the Hebrew original and his essay about the psalm.

Photos:

1. Mediterranean shore at Tel Aviv.

2. Stained glass window with inscription וְכִסְאוֹ כַשֶּׁמֶשׁ נֶגְדִּי  "his throne, as the sun before Me."  At the Great Synagogue, Jerusalem.

3. David by Kobi Knaan.  Mamilla Mall. 

4. A breached ancient terrace wall near my village in the Jerusalem Hills. 

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Sukkot in stamps and glass

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Shalom!  We are in the happy week of  Sukkot.
Here is a new Israeli stamp for the holiday.
The man in the tallit is holding the four species, including the yellow etrog.

In the big Sukkot stained glass window at the Renanim Synagogue in Hechal Shlomo you can see the etrog on top in its fancy protective container.
Below is the sukkah, in which Jews are supposed to "dwell" (or at least eat) for the whole week.
It's even prettier when you enlarge the photo. 
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Chag sameach, happy holiday!
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(For Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors meme.)

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Absalom's Pillar and Yom Kippur

You have seen this stained glass window before, I know, I know.
Every year at Yom Kippur I seem to refer you back to my earlier post that explains  the synagogue Yom Kippur window,  just because I have nothing new to tell about the holy day.
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But hey, let's look at the real monument that is depicted in the glass!

It is Yad Avshalom,  Absalom's Pillar, at the foot of the Mt. of Olives, in the Kidron Valley.
The bottom part is hewn out of the rock.
Together with the drum and cone, it is 47 feet tall. 

Also called Absalom's Tomb, it was built some 2,000 years ago.
It is Jerusalem's only relatively intact structure from before the Roman destruction of the city in 70 CE.
Both Greek and local styles are blended. 

Avshalom was the son of King David.
David's men killed him after a failed mutiny.

Zev Vilnay says that "For centuries, it was the custom among passersby--Jews, Muslims, and Christians--to throw stones at the monument. Residents of Jerusalem would bring their unruly children to the site to teach them what became of a rebellious son."
Frommer's says that  "At one time, religious Jews would throw stones at Absalom's tomb (Kever Avshalom) in condemnation of Absalom, who rebelled against his father, King David."

See a 17th century engraving of the stoning here. 

Go to this 19th century photo to see how high the pile of rocks around and inside the monument had reached.
Another view here. 

A big clean-up was done in 1925.

Just to the right of Absalom's Pillar are the Tomb of the Sons of Hezir and the Tomb of Zechariah.
Enlarge the photo (with two separate clicks) to see the thousands of ancient (and some modern) Jewish graves on the Mt. of Olives. 

Don't get lost, follow the signs!

Lots more information:
360-degree panorama
A short video
Bible sources about Absalom
About Yad Avshalom as a 4th C Christian shrine here and here

Getting back to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement starting tomorrow afternoon . . . I wish you gmar chatima tova, may you be written and sealed in God's Book of Life for a good new year.
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(The post participates in Taphophile Tragics, ABC Wednesday, Our World Tuesday, and  Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors.)
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Chagall windows for Psalm 68

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With thanks to Robert Geiss at daily athens photo for prodding us to take the PsalmChallenge every Sunday for the past 68 weeks.
We in his meme group will come back to our psalm illustrating again in September, God willing (and Robert willing).
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PSALM 68

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.
¹ Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
³ But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.

⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.

⁵ Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
⁶ God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.

⁷ O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
¹⁰ your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

¹¹ The Lord gives the command;
great is the company of those who bore the tidings:
¹² ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil,
¹³ though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.

¹⁵ O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
¹⁶ Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the Lord will reside for ever?

¹⁷ With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands,
the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.
¹⁸ You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there.
¹⁹ Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
Selah
²⁰ Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

²¹ But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.
²² The Lord said,
‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
²³ so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’

²⁴ Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
²⁵ the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing tambourines:
²⁶ ‘Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’

²⁷ There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,


the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun,

the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your might, O God;
show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.
²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
³⁰ Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
³¹ Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
³³ O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴ Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
³⁵ Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!

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Photos:
Four of the 12 tribes of Israel as portrayed by Marc Chagall in four of his 12 stained glass windows at Hadassah Medical Center synagogue, Jerusalem.
You can click once on the photos and then click again to see the artwork up close.
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Translation used today: NRSV.
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Rabbi Segal notes that "Psalm 68 is widely acknowledged to be the most difficult psalm to translate and to interpret. It includes thirteen terms found only here in the Bible, historical “references” otherwise unknown, and phrases which read awkwardly at best."
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Everybody clap and sing

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For PsalmChallenge, hosted by Robert Geiss in Athens, here is Psalm 47.
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For the leader. Of the Korahites. A psalm.

2. All peoples, clap hands, shout to God with the sound of joyous praise.

3. For the LORD is Most High, awesome, a great king above all the earth.

4. He subjects peoples beneath us, setting nations beneath our feet.

5. He chooses for us our heritage, the Splendor-of-Jacob, whom He loved. Selah.

6. God has risen high, amidst shouting; the LORD, amidst the blasts of the horn.

7. Sing, to God, sing; sing, to our king, sing;

8. for the king of all the earth is God; sing a hymn.

9. God has become king above the nations; God has sat upon His holy throne.

10. The princes of the peoples have gathered, the people of Abraham’s God; for God’s are the guardians of the earth. He has been raised very high.

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Rabbi Benjamin Segal's translation is literal, he says, "to allow readers to appreciate repeated metaphors."
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Photos:
1. A Christian group from abroad in praise at the Western Wall Plaza.
2. A busker playing the didgeridoo, Mamilla Mall, Jerusalem.
3. Sunday's hymn numbers (for the Arabic-speaking congregation), St. George's Cathedral.
4. From the Psalms series of windows at Hechal Shlomo.
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Of harps and horses

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For Robert's 33rd PsalmChallenge at Daily Athens, here is Psalm 33.

1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Praise the LORD with the lyre, make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song, play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth.
10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nought; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

13 The LORD looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks forth on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.
16 A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.

18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield. 21 Yea, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in thee. .
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Today I used the RSV, but the Hebrew with old English translation is at Mechon Mamre.
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Photos:
Window of Ps. 33 at the Great Synagogue, Jerusalem.
"David's Harp" by Shaul Baz, was at Mamilla mall exhibit.
"The creation of Man--sound of silence" by Betty Wachsstock Schonfeld, was as Mamilla. It is worthwhile enlarging this photo to see how Adam is stepping out of a block.
Ottoman Turkish soldier on horseback, Museum of Islamic Art Jerusalem.
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A house like a museum

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I want to share with you more of our once-a-year chance to see inside the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem.
Click on the photos to have an up-close look at the art.

Reuven Rubin created the stained glass triptych.
It shows Jacob wrestling with the angel, David entering Jerusalem, and Elijah ascending to heaven.
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For the Sukkot open house an exhibit was set up, with art made by special needs people.
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The 64 square ceiling panels by Naphtali Bezem tell the story of the return to the Land of Israel.
Just recently they were carefully taken to the Israel Museum to be cleaned of the dust, grime, and smoke that had accumulated since 1971.


Elijah in his chariot of fire pulled by red horses is fabulous!

On another wall of the reception hall is a massive relief that looks like the Western Wall.
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Jerusalem-born artist Moshe Castel died in 1991 and the New York Times wrote this about him:

From the 1950's on, he produced relief paintings, inspired by what he called "ancient predecessors of the Hebrew civilization." A visit to the ruins of an ancient synagogue in Galilee, consisting of basalt blocks into which images and ornaments were cut, led him to use ground basalt, molded into shapes, as his basic material. He embellished the basalt with archaic forms, derived from ancient script, symbolism and mythological signs from Hebrew and Sumerian culture.

Hope you enjoyed your tour for Our World Tuesday. More posts about President Peres' official residence are here.

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