The alleys of the Old City. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
A tour of the alleys of the Old City always brings us sights and aromas that penetrate our hearts. KKL-JNF offers us a tour between the walls, which emphasizes the principle of rapprochement of hearts, a tour in which we will open our hearts and remove the walls we carry on our back year round.
During the special period of the Selichot days, KKL-JNF carrie out a number of alternative tours. These tours take place all over the country, in the following districts - one tour in the south, six tours in the north and three tours in the Jerusalem area, When their main purpose is to create a connection between man and himself, between man and society and between man and god.
The Selichot tours emphasizes mutual guarantee between people, as the project manager, Odia Billing, explains: "We in KKL-JNF, chose to carry out the Selichot tours, during this period, when everyone goes out. We called the Slichot tours “heart examiner”, with the goal that we will examine our hearts, everyone will have a self examination, and after we become more connected to ourselves, we will be able to connect with society and the people of Israel”.
In the cycles of the year, this is the time when nature converges within itself, the nights lengthen and become cooler. In the spirit of the period, the tours invite us to act like nature and converge within ourselves, and begin to think about inner mental processes that we as humans can and aspire to go through during this period and time.
The group near Sha'ar Zion, before entering the Jewish Quarter. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
The tour focuses mostly on the Jewish Quarter, which is located within the walls of the Old City. The tour guide, Yuval Baruchian, explains the importance of the walls in the tour: “These walls teach us about the long and rich history of the city of Jerusalem, which over the years and different periods, stood in it a large number of walls, from the Jebusites, through David and Solomon to King Hezekiah. These walls have a strong symbolic meaning relating to the removal of those walls of ours, which we carry on our backs throughout the year. The goal of the wall removal process is to find one opening, which may be at the gates of today's city walls, in order to enter into ourselves and go through a significant process that connects Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur."
These days we are asked to increase in three things - repentance, prayer and charity. These three points connect us to the understanding that the desire is actually social desire. Yuval Baruchian explains: “The repentance is not only between man and his environment (the Creator), but also between man and his friend. "Charity” means “come out for a minute” of yourself, and thus we will reach the social circles to which we strive to reach throughout the year, and especially during this period”.
The starting point of the tour is at the windmill at the Mishkenot Sha'ananim neighborhood. Mishkenot Sha'ananim is one of the first neighborhoods built outside the city walls. Moshe Montefiore was the one who bought the lands and gave them to the Jews of Jerusalem, who until then had lived only inside the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This neighborhood is the symbol of the exit from the walls, and therefore it illustrates our exit from the fixed and ordinary, thus breaking through into a new path. This breakthrough was made possible thanks to the charity of a man of vision, who decided to go out of his way and take action for the Jewish people.
The windmill at the Mishkenot Sha'ananim neighborhood. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
Later in the tour, we leave the lower side of the neighborhood and ascend in the "Maalot Bni" path, in the direction of the walls of the Old City. From there, the tour continues to visit the tomb of King David, a compound located outside the walls, and at night time the tour in this location is magical and full of atmosphere. At the end of the explanation for this compound, the tour returned in the direction of Sha'ar Zion, from where we entered the Jewish Quarter inside the walls. After a short walk in the alleys of the quarter, we arrived at the "Cardo" complex, where we sit in the open air next to the ancient open cardo pillars, and listen to the “oud” player who plays Selichot songs.
The group listens to the “oud” player. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
From there, the tour continues through the alleys of the quarter, and passes by the large and impressive Spanish synagogue building. Afterwards, another stop is conducted at the Galed compound, in memory of the slain persons of 1948, Jews who fought the jewish nation’s war of existence in 1948. The site commemorates the people of the quarter (mostly boys and children) who sacrificed their lives for the continued existence of the Jewish community in Jerusalem.
The "Cardo" complex in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
The tour continues around the "Batei Mahseh" (shelter houses) buildings, is which one is called the "Rothschild House". The next stop is conducted in the German square near the shelter houses, and it is a great opportunity to sit down and watch the impressive structure that was built to serve as a shelter for poor Jewish families in the 19th century, enabled by sending “shaliakh de-Rabanan” (de-Rabanan emissaries), Chaim Zvi Schneerson and Azriel Zelig Heisdorf, all over the world to collect donations from Jews living in many countries. (the most remote of which is Australia). A particularly large donation was made by Baron Wilhelm Carl de Rothschild of Frankfurt. These donations are a noble act of charity that removed many Jewish families out of the street. In the German square, the tourers can enjoy the performance of a guest actor, who entertainingly conveyed the social mood surrounding the matter of charity associated with the Jewish Quarter, and the Jewish people as a whole, over the years.
Near King Davids tomb. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
The Selichot tours are primarily intended to convey to the tourer the feeling of love for the environment and society, so it was important for the tour organizers at KKL-JNF to include a wide range of populations, as the project manager, Odia Billing explains: “The pupolation in our tours is very variegated, it consists of immigrants, youth and youth leaders, members of various authorities, members of councils and many more. The tours are suitable for all ages and are carried out at a comfortable pace and in a pleasant atmosphere”.
One of the groups we accompanied was a group of residents of the city of Lod. The tour of this group is the result of a collaboration between the Municipality of Lod and KKL-JNF. Elvira Kolihman, Deputy Mayor, went on a tour with her daughter, and she says: "We came here today with the residents of the city of Lod, after last week we arrived here for a preliminary tour with the mayor and council members. We set out to deepen and expand our knowledge on the tradition of the Jewish people and its holidays, and on the history of the people of Israel in general. We are interested in creating a rapprochement of hearts, and feeling the magical atmosphere of our amazing city, the capital Jerusalem. The tour teaches us about free love and helping others, and I want to thank KKL-JNF from the bottom of my heart, for allowing hundreds of thousands of citizens living here, to explore, get to know and deepen their connection with our country. And especially in this special period, between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur".
The breathtaking view of Jerusalem at night. (Photo: Yoni Sheffer, KKL-JNF Photo Archive)
From the German square, the tour continues through the alleys of the quarter, with the final destination being the Western Wall plaza. Beyond the fact that this plaza is a sacred place, where man can unite with the Creator, it is also the largest plaza in Israel where people sing songs of Selichot together. At the entrance to the Western Wall plaza, the joint tour ends, and from here each one goes his way, independently, carrying the sights, smells and insights he absorbed in the tour.