My 5 small papers (submitted prior to the larger, final paper!)

For my record purposes, I’m going to cut and paste below papers 1 – 5 which were short summary papers of sacred sites visited during this trip!

Lila Robinson RLGN 392 Sacred Spaces Independent Studies Paper 1

Coenaculum
Our visit to the Coenaculum was also the first time I had ever heard the term. I learned that the word Coenaculum actually means “upper room” and refers to the room where the latest meal of the day takes place. The place we were visiting, the Coenaculum, is said to be the place that the Last Supper took place. As with many of the holy sites we will visit, there is conflicting evidence and/or thought on whether or not these sites are the actual historical and/or biblical site.
Most of the Israeli sacred sites we will visit are re-creations, re-constructions of and for the sacred events they celebrate. That said, however, most of them, as with the Coenaculum, are still quite ancient and were reconstructed in part or all centuries and centuries ago.
The three pillars that support the roof in this room along with other architectural features prove that even if it was built on top of the remains of an older structure, these columns/pillars and the arches were definitely built during the Crusader period in the 1300’s.
This site is sacred and popular to most Christian pilgrims as the Last Supper, a Jewish Passover Seder, was the final meal Jesus and his disciples shared. The Eucharist was instituted here by instruction of Jesus. Being unfamiliar with this terminology, I consulted merriamwebster.com for this explanation:
Christian rite commemorating the Last Supper of JESUS with his disciples. On the night before his death, according to the Christian scriptures, Jesus consecrated bread and wine and gave them to his disciples, saying “this is my body” and “this is my blood.” He also commanded his followers to repeat this rite in his memory, and the Eucharist traditionally involves consecration of bread and wine by the clergy and their consumption by worshipers. Although celebrated spontaneously when the first Christians gathered to share a meal, the Eucharist quickly became a central part of the formal worship service and remained that way despite the many controversies over its nature and meaning. Intended as a means of fostering unity in the church, it has also been a source of division because of differing interpretations of its nature. In Roman Catholicism the Eucharist is a SACRAMENT, and the bread and wine are thought to become the actual body and blood of Jesus through TRANSUBSTANTIATION. Anglicans and Lutherans also emphasize the divine presence in the offering and recognize it as a sacrament, while others regard it as a memorial with largely symbolic meaning. Also controversial has been the belief in the Eucharist as a sacrifice, the renewed offering of Christ each time the rite is celebrated at the altar.
While the above is a long definition, for the purposes of this paper and for my better understanding, I felt it was necessary not to omit any of it! It makes it easy to understand why this place is sacred and also how it affected the beliefs and practices of Christianity to now.
In one corner of the room, a small religious tour began singing some prayers on this site. They were stopped from continuing. Outbursts of any sort are forbidden in reverence to the sacredness of the site. Even prayer is forbidden unless it is personal and quiet. Tour guides are asked to refrain from explanations or must whisper them softly.
This is a relatively small space but is a popular sacred site for Christian visitors to the Holy Land. Over the years and various occupations, inscriptions in several languages are scraped into the walls. At one point in time, during the Ottoman Empire, monks were banished and the site was even declared a mosque in the 1500’s.
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Lila Robinson RLGN 392 Sacred Spaces Independent Studies Paper 2

King David’s Tomb
Located directly beneath the Coenaculum is King David’s Tomb. Our guide informed us that there is no irrefutable evidence that this is so, however, it is also not something that is searched for to a great degree. I inquired why the tomb was not examined further. He informed me that grave and tomb robbery has been so rampant over the centuries that lack of presence is still not proof that it is or is not King David’s Tomb. However, with the more recent excavation of what is called the City of David, I inquired if that wasn’t where Kind David’s Tomb was supposed to be. I was advised that this is one of the issues of archeology and history and biblical history not always agreeing or not always needing to agree! Due to the close proximity of all the sacred sites in Jerusalem, it is a fair explanation.
Notwithstanding any real proof, this site is quite sacred to its Jewish visitors and pilgrims. The entrance to the tomb is literally split. The men can enter on the right, and the women can enter on the left. There is a portable wall erected so that the men and women cannot see each other and you see half of the enormous cement sarcophagus from your side. I asked our guide and male guest what their side looked like to try to compare it to the women’s side. It seems as though the men’s side also has an anteroom off of it containing Jewish texts that men can study in this sacred space. There is no such area on the women’s side.
There is a heavy red velvet cloth covering and engraved with Hebrew lettering propped atop the tomb and several short rows of chairs placed in this otherwise totally empty and stark stone cellar-like room. (there was a modern stand-up fan toward the back provided some air movement). Were it not for the crying and praying women I saw in our side of the room, I may not have felt or even know the sacredness of this place. I took a picture from my side but did so very quickly and still feel a bit guilty at having done so as, with the chairs filed with women praying and crying, it felt as I was doing something quite profane.
Had no one else been there, I would have seen this site as an interesting site with possible historical and biblical significance but would not have seen or felt a sense of sacredness. There are etchings on the walls heading into both sides of the tomb which I believe were parts of psalms written by David.
Our guide informed us that on the anniversary of David’s death, which is also the eve of Shavuot, it is the custom of some Jews to study and pray all night long at the tomb.
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Lila Robinson RLGN 392 Sacred Spaces Independent Studies Paper 3

The Kotel

The Kotel, also called The Western Wall, is actually the remains of a wall surrounding the plaza or area where The 1st and 2nd Temple was erected. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. by the Romans, leaving this wall only partially destroyed. Undoubtedly, the Romans would have destroyed it too if they could have envisioned the sacred future of this site.
This sacred space is easier for me to understand due to a lifetime of learning about it and hoping to someday be able to pray there. I am among a world of Jews who come here to pray in consort with Jews everywhere in commemoration and reverence for what was the most sacred building in Jewish history.
People of all religions come here to pray and put notes in the crevices of the wall filled with prayers, dreams, hopes, desires and gratitude to God.
Until preparing to write this paper, I hadn’t realized that from 1948 – 1967, the Kotel was under Jordanian rule and that Israeli Jews were not permitted to come pray at the wall during that entire time. Until the 6-day war in 1967, when Moshe Dayan, believed to be one of the first to come to pray at the wall, there was not a tradition of personal pilgrimage here. As I was born in 1958, I can understand why I was unaware of these political/religious events.
Even with the sacredness of this space, the Wall has had controversy even among Jews themselves. It has been controversial, especially among Ultra Orthodox Jews for women to pray at the Wall. Over time, there have even been violent outbursts and arrests. However, there is a designated Women’s area on the right hand side of the Wall area as well as below ground, in a relatively recently excavated area, an approximate 6’ x 6’ section, which is said to be most near and underneath the original “holiest of holy” in the original Temple, has been set aside solely for women to us and pray. I made this underground tour a couple years ago and it is a very small area but women daven (bow up and down while praying) and pray with deep earnest. But, I should add that the tour groups walk right through this area so it is not set off to itself. However, even up above ground, the Wall area on both the men and women sides are a very busy and not necessarily peaceful place if you look at it from afar. Fortunately, most everyone who goes to the wall becomes engrossed in their own prayer and the crowds and noise become insignificant.
The plaza that exists encompassing the whole area of the Kotel, is not very old and was created after bombings and destructions of other buildings and living spaces that had long been over-built on these grounds. Indeed, much of Israel is stuff built on stuff. Archeology is ever ongoing. A mixture of ancient, old and new make-up this and many other sacred spaces in this Holy Land.
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Lila Robinson RLGN 392 Sacred Spaces Independent Studies Paper 4

Gethsemane/Grotto of Gethsemane

Our interfaith tour took us to Gethsemane. The two sites, Gardens of Gethsemane and the Grotto of Gethsemane share biblical history in the life and final hours before Jesus was arrested. This sacred space sits above Jerusalem proper and beneath the Mount of Olives. Biblically, according to the New Testament, Jesus would go to the Gardens at Gethsemane often to pray. Of course, this also made him easy to find when Judas betrayed him on the night he was arrested. Gethsemane means oil press, and as this garden sits beneath the Mount of Olives, it makes sense biblically and historically. To further authenticate this as a historical sacred space, carbon dating tests performed on the olive trees in this garden area were proven to be of the oldest living olive trees known to science. Scientists were even able to test the DNA of the trees and verified that they are all related and from the same original tree. The combination of biblical sacredness and historical authentication contribute to making this a regularly visited site for Christian, especially Catholic, pilgrims.
The truth is, even without historical authentication, the sacredness of this site is, in my opinion, definitive for several reasons. Initially, it is easy to understand that because Gethsemane is known as the place where Jesus would go to pray regularly, pilgrims want to come to this site to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and to pray where he prayed. Geographically just below the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane brings the bible to life as visitors realize that biblical passages are referencing this sight and where, right next door in the Grotto, Jesus was arrested. This is also considered the beginning of the “Scriptural Way of the Cross”, also known as the “Scriptural Stations of the Cross”, inaugurated by Pope John Paull II in 1991 (on Good Friday), as a more scripturally close devotion to the biblical story of the “Passion”. The “Passion” refers to the final hours of the life of Jesus on earth. So for Catholics particularly, Gethsemane has an extra special sacredness to it.
The Grotto of Gethsemane, referred to by Jesus as a “stone’s throw away”, is where his disciples were said to be sleeping instead of looking out and, in effect, enabling Jesus to get arrested. Even though this may not seem like it should be a sacred space, this grotto, which is actually a cave, is said to be where Jesus and his disciples often rested or slept after praying in the gardens nearby. And the arrest of Jesus, initiating the beginning of the “Passion”, makes this space extremely sacred. So few people around the world ever have the opportunity to see and experience this space of their religious prominence. Today, the grotto remains as a deep cave but has, over time, become a chapel as well. You can see the remains of an ancient cistern system, and olive press as well. Figurines representative of sleeping disciples have been added along with other religious paintings and artifacts. The signs ask for silence and the natural state of the cave/grotto, creates and quiet and sacred place for guests to pray and to contemplate the hours before Jesus’s arrest.
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Lila Robinson RLGN 392 Sacred Spaces Independent Studies Paper 5

The Church of All Nations

Directly beside the Gardens of Gethsemane sits the Church of All Nations. IT is said this church is built directly on rock whereon Jesus prayed shortly before his betrayal by Judas followed by his arrest. The official name of this church is the Basilica of the Agony. The New Testament tells us that Jesus prayed and was overwhelmed with sorrow and agony. The current structure, built in the 1920’s was built with shared funding from 12 Nations which is how the moniker “Church of all Nations” came to be. Two ancient churches were erected earlier on this site but were either destroyed by earthquake or abandoned.
The outside triangular arch decorating the entrance to the Basilica is a gilded mosaic depicting Jesus as the moderator on behalf of God and man. He is shown giving his heart on man’s behalf to an angel. Inside the Basilica the 12 contributing nations are represented in small domes on the ceiling. The natural lighting inside keeps the Basilica in a darkened state, creating a very calming and quiet sacred space for contemplation and prayer. Also quite poignant is the rock which is said to be the Rock of Agony upon which Jesus did pray.
Without even being Christian, the sacredness of this space speaks in the construction and religious symbolism throughout. Without the Basilica, would this space be sacred? I believe the answer to this is a resounding yes. However, in conjunction with the construction of the Basilica over and around this Rock of Agony, the space becomes not only a special place to honor this deeply religious site and the agony experienced by Jesus, but also a focused and directed space of prayer and meditation. The final hours of Jesus on earth are hallowed by Christians world-wide. The Rock of Agony, encompassed by the Church of All Nations plays an important biblical role in these final hours. But it also is a deeply spiritual opportunity for Christians to open their hearts and religious souls to try to experience or share the experience that Jesus felt in this site. It is not only a site where something biblical “happened”, but a site where Jesus had a particular experience that pilgrims and all visitors can try to recreate or experience for themselves.
What is irrelevant here is whether or not this is the exact site where these biblical and/or historical events took place. Since these are the accepted or agreed upon places, they take on the spiritual and sacred nature visitors attempt to experience.
As a Jewish tourist, one might wonder if I found sacredness in this place. The answer is yes. It may not touch me religiously as it touched my fellow travelers. It may not have even the historical significance for me as it does for Christian travelers. However, everything about the construction and meaning placed on the alter, the Rock, the Basilica in general, reminds every visitor that this is a holy or sacred site. That it contains a deeper and more sacred and spiritual meeting to some over others does not displace the reverence one can experience in this space if so desired.
There is a sorrowful sense inside. Whether this is architecturally created or not is also irrelevant as it incites the visitor to contemplate and possibly have a spiritual experience.