The first sight that greeted us as we approached the meeting place was Rina's cousin Ari, whom we last saw at the conference on heresy. It seems that Tenenbaums like to distance themselves from the Jewish mainstream. Who knew? Anyways, the guide quickly gathered us together and made clear his personality when he yelled at a hunched 70-man for not answering when his name was called, even though he had only arrived seconds earlier. The guide made sure that we looked suitably like irreligious tourists, and we proceeded through security. The last sight we passed on our way through the gates to the Temple Mount was a stack of twenty riot shields with the word "Police" written across them in bold black letters.
After allowing us a moment to take in the impressive sights that greeted us, the guide explained the 'purpose' of his tour as being a solidarity mission. He wanted us to understand the shift of Israeli and Jewish policy toward the right, as well as the policy of apathy toward the goings-on on Har HaBayit, and how those two elements have combined to leave what should be the most important place in Judaism entirely out of Jewish control, and even beyond interest for many. While we toured the platform the guide used maps, photos, pictures, and anecdotes to weave an elaborate history of the area that stretched from pre-Temple times through to the modern day. The tour was full of facts, figures, and stories (both true and apocryphal) that served to give us insight into a hilltop that, while ideologically important, for most of us had been nothing but an idea. He managed to bring depth to an area that sorely lacked it.
The area around the Dome of the Rock was amazing for many reasons beyond its historical and religious significance. Few of us had understood the scope of the space, which is large enough to hold several million people (or so it was explained). The plaza is also beautiful, not only because of the the architecture and art of the buildings, but also because of the gardens and groves that fill it. We were also surprised to find the place relatively empty of pilgrims and prayers, but with many school children running around. To sum up, it was a very different place from what we'd expected, and well worth the visit and possible damnation.*
*Jon seems to think that there was a divine push for him to take today's tour. He was skipping class to make the trip, but almost the moment the tour began he received a text message from the University telling him that his teacher had joined the strike.
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