A walk in the Old City

In addition to being a tour guide, I am also a Sofer Stam (Torah Scribe), and I own and manage a website called MezuzahStore.com.

Usually it is a really good mix for me. I aim to spend about half of my time out in the field guiding and half of it at a desk writing Torahs or working on the computer.  But for the last three weeks I have been very busy getting MezuzahStore.com updated with a new template and products in time for the holiday shopping rush. So I have barely left my desk. I have a few tours coming up over the next weeks so I decided I’d better get out of the house today and clear my head before I greet my clients.

I decided to take a walk around the Old City in Jerusalem. When I arrived at the Jaffa Gate, I was greeted by an air raid siren. Nobody looked too worried but everyone did their best to do the responsible thing and find the most protected place available.

I couldn’t get into any building so I sat down in a corner behind a wall with a few other passers by. Everyone just continued their cell phone conversations while they took cover. I really feel that this is the proper attitude, take the proper precautions, but don’t allow it to get to you. It was really uplifting for me to see that! Besides it was a gorgeous day today!

A gorgeous day in Jerusalem, not withstanding the air raid siren.

I thought it would be a good idea to take a walk on the Ramparts Walk, where you can literally walk on the walls of Jerusalem. The Ramparts were built as part of the walls by the Ottomans who built the walls in the early 16th century.

There are two sections to this. One goes around the south of the Old City and one around the north. The northern portion is longer and has more interesting things to see so that is the section I almost always do on tours. I haven’t been up to the southern portion for a couple of years. So I thought it would be nice.

From the walls you can see some of the first neighborhoods built outside the walls of Jerusalem in the mid 19th century such as Mishkenot Sheananim and Yemin Moshe. If you look closely you can make out the famous windmill.

View of the first neighborhoods from the Ramparts Walk

While I was up there enjoying the view, I came across a man with a camera around his neck and a big case of some kind under his arm that turned out to contain a harp. We started to talk. His name is David Michael. He is a harp teacher from Toronto.

He told me that he has a song that he plays on his harp to the words from Isaiah, “Al Homotayich Yerushalayim Pekadti Shomrim…” – “I have placed watchmen upon your walls, Jerusalem.”  He said that he came up to the ramparts because he has always dreamed of playing this song on his harp while standing on the actual walls he was singing about.

He asked if I could take a picture with his camera. I was happy to oblige and also got one of my own.

David with his harp on the wall of Jerusalem

After I got the pictures we sat down and talked for a few minutes and then David played his song beautifully.

Playing harp on the walls of Jerusalem

Then we went our separate ways. I went to the Kotel to Daven Mincha where I saw my old friend Shmuly Weiss who is the Chabad Shliach to the Kotel where he spends his days helping the visitors put on Tefillin.

As the day ended I made my way out through the Arab Market. Despite the war we are having with the Arabs in Gaza, I didn’t notice as much as a stare from our Arab neighbors in the Market. They seemed very eager to carry on business as usual.

I got this picture that I am very happy with (I already posted it as picture of the day but here it is again)

A beautiful day overall!