Ein Karem
Ein Kerem is just a short 30-minute ride away from Jerusalem. The area is actually pretty lush and people have homes there. There are some good restaurants and an awesome ice cream place right at the base of the mountain before you make the long trek up to the Shrine of the Visitation. I had the opportunity to visit Ein Karem three times. Once with some friends from the Jerusalem branch, once with my Hebrew University class, and another time I got to tag along with the BYU Jerusalem students. Ein Karem is a significant place in church history since it is where Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth, the older cousin of Mary, dwelt. There, Mary visited with Elizabeth while both the Savior and John the Baptist were still in their wombs.
As we know from scripture, John was sent to prepare the way for the Savior by testifying of his divinity and baptizing people unto repentance. I love the scripture of what I view as John’s first testimony of the Savior, which happened here in Ein Karem before either of them was even born. The scripture is found in Luke 1:41 when Mary first arrives in Ein Karem and sees Elizabeth. It reads, “when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.” Already John the Baptist was testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ and I find that quite profound. Another story, which is a local tradition in Ein Karem that I find meaningful, is one I learned about while visiting the Church of the Visitation. There is a rock there inside a medieval crypt next to the church called the “Rock of Concealment.” It is said that when Herod issued the edict to kill the children that Zacharias, the Father of John the Baptist, told Elizabeth to take and hide with the child and he was murdered as a result of refusing to reveal their whereabouts. They say that this rock is where Elizabeth concealed John as a child. To me, John the Baptist is one of the great and courageous men of scripture. He was the cousin of Jesus! His whole life was dedicated to bearing witness of Christ. For who he was, for all he did, and for how much he meant to Christ, it is no wonder Jesus described him as “a burning and a shining light” (John 5:35). Aug. 27, 2009 “…met up with some friends and went out to Ein Kerem where the parents of John the Baptist are from and visited the Church/Shrine of the Visitation where tradition says John was hid from Herod’s soldiers when just a baby. It is also where Mary visited Elizabeth and sang Psalms while she was pregnant with the Savior. It was tons of fun walking up there and seeing the Franciscan monks dressed in their robes smiling very warmly, and seeing the amazing view of this green and lush part of Jerusalem. I plan to go back and visit more places.” Oct. 26, 2009 “BYUJ field trip” “Yesterday I got to go on an activity with the BYU students and it was a lot of fun. We went to the Soreq Cave and watched a way old school video before our tour (“…it is called…dun dun dun…a stalagtite.”). After that cool cave we went to Ein Kerem and explored where I had to practice my Hebrew skills for directions. This was my second time there but my first time being able to go inside the St. John the Baptist Church and also my first time to see the famous Chagall Windows at the Hadassah Hospital. I had fun meeting more students too. Afterwards, the bus dropped us off in front of the BYUJ center where I said goodbye and began the 30 minute walk back to the campus dorms. I didn’t walk far when I saw a small van turn the corner with none other than Elder Holland in the passenger seat. They all waved to me and smiled as I did the same. How cool is that!? – an apostle of the Lord just happened to drive past me and casually wave in none other place than the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land. Way awesome! Needless to say, I walked back home with a big smile on my face. J” Dec. 5, 2009 “Hebrew U Field Trip” “Thursday, the whole day, my Early Christianity teacher Dr. Petra Holdt (originally from Germany) took us on an amazing field trip. On the bus ride out we found out a little about how she burnt her hands. She was the victim of a suicide bomber in the Souk. She brought this up as we drove past the Hadassah Hospital where she was taken care of. She mentioned a boy there who was also a victim – an Arab boy who was 95% burned and lost his leg. He almost gave up on life but a kind man (a Rabbi I think) visited this boy every day. The good part is the boy pushed through it and lived. The bad thing is he was a victim of a worse thing – indoctrination by family and friends – and he said that one day he too would be a suicide bomber. Anyways, its all very sad but moving on to more happier things… Our first stop was a Franciscan Monastery called St. John in the desert & the Tomb of St. Elizabeth where a Dutch nun of a Protestant church spoke to us. We then went to Ein Kerem to the Church of the Visitation and the Notre Dame de Sion Convent (Sisters of Zion) where we enjoyed a walk in its quiet & peaceful gardens. Nuns there have committed their lives to prayer and meditation. After that we got ice cream at the best ice cream spot in Jerusalem in Ein Karem (I got half berry and half cookie flavor!) Our next stop was the Monastery of the Cross. We explored all around this ancient fortress-like monastery where, like many of the other monasteries, only one monk lives today (must be a little short on staff)! Inside the chapel were some amazing paintings and icons. It is said that it was in this area where the tree was taken that was used to build Jesus’s cross. We then went to the Old City, stopping at St. Johns’ church along the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I had specifically requested (jokingly) for my teacher to use her connections to get us to places tourists don’t see. My teacher exceeded my expectations! Lol. What happened is one of the most rare and neatest experiences I’ve had so far. She started by taking us on to the Greek Orthodox Monastery/compound on top of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher itself. But wait, it gets better! We then ran into a Greek Orthodox monk on his way to the Feast of the Virgin Mary (it’s a normal thing I learned to be late for church in Greek Orthodox culture) and talked to him a little. Then we were most fortunate that the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox church throughout the world (second in authority next to the patriarchate) was also late because 1) We got to meet him, and 2) He let us borrow the key to get onto the roof of the whole church of the Holy Sepulcher. We got to look down onto the main entrance area and go right up to the huge black domes. Better yet, we got to enter the huge black domes from a small door on top and look down into the sacred tomb inside! We were also able to see the very ornate cross up close (important symbol is that only when close to the cross you realize its great beauty and understand its details). From the very top we had an absolutely spectacular view of Jerusalem’s Old City including the Dome of the Rock all the way up to the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus and my dorms on top. I was so grateful to have had that opportunity that is so very rare and unique! We then went back and looked around inside where she also showed us a sort of secret (unknown to tourists) entrance that takes you behind the shops along the road that cover today the original entrances. To sum it all up, the field trip was incredible thanks to my awesome teacher.” |