A donkey in waiting

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A donkey among the many red flowers on the Mount of Olives.
Maybe he is resting up for the big entry into Jerusalem tomorrow, Palm Sunday.
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Sorry, friends, that I have no new photos for the Christian holidays since I no longer live near Jerusalem.
You can, however, enjoy Sr. Dr. Vassa's brief video about Palm Sunday.
She has nice insights from her childhood home in Nyack, New York, about the holiday customs.
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Happy holiday to you Western Christians who celebrate the day tomorrow.
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Palms of Meitar on Sunday

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Well, this is the closest I got to palms today.
Now that I live in Meitar I miss being able to see the Palm Sunday processions in Jerusalem.

The most I can offer you is this Franciscan Media Center video of today's worship with the palm branches inside the Holy Sepulchre.
Or you are welcome to visit my Palm Sunday procession posts and slideshows from past years.

Holiday greetings to the Christian readers on this special day today.

Tomorrow, Monday evening, we Jews will sit down to the seder and start the week of Pesach, Passover.
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Mt. of Olives donkeys, now and then

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We passed silently as Peter the donkey and his human half-dozed, waiting for tourist groups to come by.
The pair has been working the Mount of Olives and the Old City for many years.
I remember the Arab man steadying my young relative on the donkey's back, back when we were all a lot younger.
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Hours later we saw them ascending the steep slope of the Mt. of Olives.
From the short shadows (for Shadow Shot Sunday), it must have been almost noon and the day was hot.
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The picture brings to mind a scene two thousand years old, of a man riding a donkey down the same Mt. of Olives toward Jerusalem. But then there were crowds, and they were shouting Hosanna.
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Palm Sunday blessings to all the Christian friends.
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And here, another Palm Sunday donkey story, also for Camera-Critters.
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Slideshows (in case you missed them last time):
Morning services for Palm Sunday in the Holy Sepulchre
Afternoon pilgrimage of the faithful from Mt. of Olives to the Old City
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Going up!

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We Tiberias excavation volunteers were already hard at work at 6:13 a.m. last week when suddenly everyone started running for their cameras.
I, of course, thought "For SkyWatch Friday!"
A golden sunrise over the Sea of Galilee doesn't happen every day.
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Now I am back home in Jerusalem, the scene of another rising into the sky some 2,000 years ago, according to Christian belief. A Son-rise.
Your Jewish friend wishes happy Ascension Day to all you Christians who celebrate today.
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Entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday

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For me it is the day before Pesach, a day for cleaning the cupboards of the last vestiges of bread, cookies, pasta, etc.--anything that may have touched leavening. Tomorrow we start a week of eating matsa, the hard "bread of affliction," instead of soft bread.
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But for Christians, today is Palm Sunday and I wish you all a joyous holy day.
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If I were a braver blogger, I would have gone to the Holy Sepulchre to get you fresh photos of the festivities.
I should explain that this ancient church is not your modern orderly type of church. It has no pews or chairs. You do not have your own space.
Instead you have surging masses of pilgrims, the press of bodies, a lack of air.

Last time I was in the huge church for Palm Sunday, I was literally trapped in the crowd and could not force my way to the only door.
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But my pictures from 2007 are basically no different from what is happening this very day and year.
So I invite you to see my previous slideshows, from the comfort of our own homes:

• Morning services for Palm Sunday in the Holy Sepulchre
• Afternoon pilgrimage of the faithful from Mt. of Olives to the Old City

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The Palm Sunday donkey on the Mt. of Olives

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Tomorrow being Palm Sunday, the animal of choice for Camera-Critter Sunday can only be the donkey.
My favorite donkey story happened a few years ago, so permit me to repost it.
A funny thing happened on the way to Bethphage . . .
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My two nun friends were taking me to see, for my first time, the Palm Sunday procession.
The walk up the Mount of Olives to the pilgrims' starting point at Bethphage is very steep.
Near the Garden of Gethsemane the sisters and I stopped to rest and admire the wildflowers.
We were quite alone among the olive trees and the goats.
Silence and peace all around.
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Then I caught sight of a sleeping donkey (!) and could not help but be reminded of the story in Mark 11:
"And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he [Jesus] sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find an ass tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and he will send it back here immediately.' "
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Suddenly the donkey awoke, as if out of a dream. He stood up quickly. He began walking.

And he was headed straight toward the double arches in the city wall!

This is none other than the Gate of Mercy, which Christians call the Golden Gate, the Gate Beautiful.
In Jewish tradition this is the gate by which the messiah, mounted on a white donkey, will enter Jerusalem. To prevent this, the Turkish Sultan Suleiman blocked up the gate five centuries ago.

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But sealed gate or not, our donkey must have heard his marching orders, perhaps from a much earlier time, and nothing was going to stop him.

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Coptic Orthodox

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Today is Russian Orthodox Christmas.
I was planning to post pictures of the big and beautiful Russian Orthodox monastery in Ein Kerem.
But then I read the so very sad news that seven men were gunned down outside the Coptic church right after Christmas Eve Midnight Mass last night in southern Egypt.

In memory of them I give you whatever photos I have of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.

The Copts have a presence in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

You can see their priests and the faithful in this celebration of Palm Sunday 2007.

Since the 13th century the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria has been represented in Jerusalem by a resident archbishop.

They seem to have a nunnery in the Old City.

Slaying the dragon.

At the entrance to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate.

I think this was on Via Dolorosa Street.

( The signs at the far left are obviously not connected to the Patriarchate. )

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The only statistics I can find say that in 2001 the small community numbered just over 1,000 members, in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth.

I get the impression that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the Coptic Christians have religious freedom and security.

I wish them well on their Christmas Day and always.

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Palm Sunday in Jerusalem

Today is Palm Sunday. Christians around the world mark Jesus' "triumphal entry into Jerusalem."

And Jerusalem is THE place to celebrate this first day of Holy Week!

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However, today my one-year-old grandson Eyal made his triumphal entry into my house and we had a great day together, just the two of us. So I could not cover the prayer services and the procession for you. But things don't change much from year to year, only the faces of new pilgrims from abroad; so I offer you my photos of Palm Sunday 2007.

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On Palm Sunday morning, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional place of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, each of the various Christian communities has a time for their public worship. I hope you can feel the spirit (or Spirit) of the joyful throngs in the church through my photos in the Picasa album.

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In the afternoon everyone gathers on the Mount of Olives to begin a joyful procession all the way down to the Old City, entering the city walls through the Lions (St. Stephan's) Gate, and gathering again at the old Crusader church of St. Anne's. En route there is singing and dancing and waving of palm fronds and olive branches. (And lots of security.) Click here to zip through a slideshow of the colorful scenes of pilgrims, monastics, clergy, and mounted police.

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If you still have time, you might enjoy my story about a donkey in the Garden of Gethsemane.

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Happy Palm Sunday to all the Christian friends (except for the Greek Orthodox who celebrate it one week from today).
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Scenes from the Holy Sepulchre

Tarboosh (or fez) on the head of Muslims leading the Armenian clergy in procession to the Holy Sepulchre church.
Turban on a pilgrim from a far country on Palm Sunday.
Tarnished? Not for long when the workman does his labor of love.
Tall old doors into the church.
TV cameramen from CNN cover Palm Sunday festivities.

Double holiday

Happy Pesach! We just now had our festive seder meal, launching the Passover week holiday.
Today Orthodox Christians celebrate their Palm Sunday. And today is also Camera-Critters Sunday. So of course the animal of choice can only be the donkey.

This nice man is often in the Old City of Jerusalem or on the Mount of Olives, ready to give pilgrims the meaningful experience of sitting on a donkey in the Holy City.

Visit other bloggers sharing animal pictures every Sunday at Camera-Critters.

Little Donkeys of God

A funny thing happened on the way to Bethphage . . .

My two Sister friends were taking me to see, for my first time, the Palm Sunday procession. The walk up the Mount of Olives to the pilgrims' starting point at Bethphage is very steep. Near the Garden of Gethsemane the sisters and I stopped to rest and admire the wildflowers.
We were quite alone among the olive trees and the goats. Silence and peace all around.

Then I caught sight of a sleeping donkey (!) and could not help but be reminded of the story in Mark 11:

And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find an ass tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and he will send it back here immediately."
.

Suddenly the donkey awoke as if out of a dream. He quickly got up and began walking. And he was headed straight toward the double arches in the city wall! This is none other than the Gate of Mercy, which Christians call the Golden Gate, the Gate Beautiful.

In Jewish tradition this is the gate by which the messiah, mounted on a white donkey, will enter Jerusalem. To prevent this, the Turkish Sultan Suleiman blocked up the gate some five centuries ago.

But sealed gate or not, our donkey must have heard his marching orders and nothing was going to stop him.
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Palm Sunday in the Holy Sepulchre

Happy Palm Sunday to the Christian friends!
Last year on Palm Sunday I experienced all the colorful and diverse worship services of the many different faith communities within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The ancient church was packed with pilgrims. This year my claustrophobia got the better of me, and I chose to stay closer to home for this festive day.
Enjoy the slideshow. For bigger version of the photos you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/ponddina/PalmSundayAtHolySepulchre2007

Palm Sunday preparations

In a still-quiet lane of the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City a man prepares palms to be carried in procession by the throngs of pilgrims tomorrow, Palm Sunday.