Shabbat is a holy time for the Jewish people. It is a time to reflect on the past week and “live it up” for one night. Once the sun sets on the horizion, all of the Jewish stores close down and the entire country of Israel comes to a hault. It is forbidden to do any work on Shabbat (for those who follow Jewish law very strongly), so from Friday night to Sarurday night there are no open stores, no cars on the road; and very few people to be found.

I have seen small communities “slow down” for Shabbat, but I have never witnessed an entire country come to a hault. Today I had the amazing opportunity to spend my Shabbat celebrations at the Kotel, or the Western Wall, in Jerusalem. Visiting the Kotel twice, once during the day and once at night, brougt two differernt experiences. During the day, the Kotel was very open and I easially made it to the wall. I was amazed by the amount of paper stuck into every crack of the wall, one even folded into a tiny heart and placed deep into the rock. I said my prayers, took some pictures, and absorbed as much of the surroundings as I could.

That night (tonight) the exact same place took a completely different turn. The only way to explain it was one enormous singing Jewish mosh-pit with Jews of every demonination dancing in circles, singing with iron lungs, and smiling from ear to ear. It was certainly an experience that I’m sure will never be repeated back in the States.

My time at the Kotel, and experiencing Israeli Shabbat in general, was absolutely wonderful. What next? Oneg!

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