Friday, November 4, 2011
 |
| Palestinian youth dancing at the Dalal Center |
After Hebron, the tomb of the Patriarchs. Is the place holy with its guards and separate rules for Jews, Christians and Moslems?
After Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Christian denominations fighting each other for every inch of space. Is the place holy?
After Bethlehem, Rachel's Tomb. Is the place holy with it's ugly security wall, higher than the Berlin Wall, completely cutting off Palestinian neighborhoods?
After Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount with its two mosques off limits to all but Moslems. Illegal to meditate here. Carry no Bible. Is the place holy?
After Jerusalem, the Wall. Separate entrances for men and women. Disneyland atmosphere with people telling you to do this and not do that. Washing hands wrong, tefillin not placed correctly on head. Holy?
From Kaddish, Alan Ginsberg,
The world is Holy! The soul is Holy! The skin is Holy!
The nose is Holy!.....
Holy is the fleeting moment in our morning meditation when we find that equanimous internal state that allows us to take in all the brokenness around us and simply notice.
