Windows and SPNI

On an absolutely beautiful day in Jerusalem I rode the number 19 bus from my neighborhood out to Hadassah Hospital. There are actually two Hadassah Hospitals in Jerusalem. I live down the street from one, the Mt. Scopus campus, and the other is an hour bus ride to the East in Ein Kerem.

I wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting off at the wrong location so I asked the man sitting next to me on the bus “Hadassah?” He initially responded to me in Hebrew. After my puzzled look and plea, “English?" he offered to show me, in his American accented English, exactly where to find the Chagall windows. He had lived in Israel for 30 years. He also expressed that the one time he visited the Chagall windows he had been underwhelmed.

Chagall Windows

After passing through security I found the tour office, a woman led me into the synagogue. I’ve learned to carry a Kippa with me so that I don’t have to use the paper ones. One of the advantages of being in Israel during the “off season” is that popular locations are empty. There was one couple in the synagogue. The woman started the pre-recorded message, in English, explaining the symbols embedded in each window.

Colorful, beautiful, intricate, vivid…simply marvelous. Chagall’s windows are grand and bold in a way similar to Monet’s water lilies (I’m not trying to pass myself off as an art connoisseur, I’m simply trying to compare the windows to other art I’ve viewed).

Hiking path to Ein Kerem

Hadassah Hospital sits atop a hill overlooking the valley that holds the village of Ein Kerem. Attempting to find a path down the hill I stumbled (it is very rocky here), onto a hiking trail. The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has a series of hiking trails across the country. At the trailhead is a box containing a trail map (in Hebrew) and photographs of the sites along the way (presumably for those of us not well versed in Hebrew). While I didn’t explore the entire trail I did find my way to the village.

Looking across the valley at Notre Dame the Sion Convent

Christian traditions hold that Ein Kerem is both the birthplace of John the Baptist and site of a visit by a pregnant Mary. Hence this small village (less than a mile across) has a Russian Orthodox monastery, A Greek Orthodox monastery, five other churches, a Rosary Sister’s Orphanage, and a Sisters of Norte Dame convent. It is also reputed to have good restaurants, although the one I ate could be described as adequate. I can attest to the presence of a very good chocolate shop.

Three of the churches in Ein Kerem

Walking around the village was partial fulfillment of the fantasy I had about traveling in Israel. Climbing up narrow streets, flanked by stone buildings with the hot sun on my face. The grounds of the Notre Dame of Sion Convent contained a very pleasant and peaceful garden. The churches all had nice detail, either tile work, mosaics, or paintings. While the Church of St. John is only 450 years old, it was built upon centuries of ruins dating back to the first century B.C.E.

If you are traveling to Israel, on a nice day I’d recommend a visit to Ein Kerem.

Steps leading to Church of the Visitation