I went this morning with a group going to Har HaBayi. the group was officially put together as the culmination of daf yomi having recently learned the tractates involved with the measurements and layout of the mikdash. The group was from Bet Shemesh, but not on the normal Bet Shemesh day (7th of every Hebrew month).

When we got to the entrance, it was already packed with tourists. Of course, we religious Jews get to go in a separate line with unique rules and directions. After checking our identity cards, something that is technically no longer done but was done today as a result of some "trouble" they had yesterday with a group (MK Ben-Ari's group), and only disqualifying one person from ascending, we were on our way.

The police combined us with another group - a group from Tekoa. There were some first-timers in the group, and that group was mostly older women, and the "guides" needed to say everything in both Hebrew and English, so we were moving pretty slowly, and the info was mostly basic. On the one hand that gave us plenty of time for prayer. On the other hand, it was a bit too slow.

The trip was mostly uneventful. One of the Tekoa ladies got told off for trying to take a rock as a souvenir.Eventually, as we moved the eastern side to the northern side, by Shaar Rachamim, we split off from the other group, an act which needed special permission from the police officers following us, including head counts, so we could finish quicker. The guides, both Baruch Ben-Yosef and Yoel Keren from Maaleh Adumim, were very knowledgeable and interesting.

While I did not get to do "hishtachavaya" this time, as the police and the Waqf officials kept very close eyes on us, there was at least plenty of time for [silent] prayer. Despite their ridiculous rule of not allowing prayer books up, rendered completely pointless in the age of smartphones with both siddurim on them along with internet access that can load any prayer from any source in a matter of seconds, I was able to download the tefillah of the Shlah and say it while they probably thought I was taking pictures or sending a text message or whatever.

Because I have been up on Har HaBayit so many times, and the place does not really change, I only took a few pictures...

The local daf yomi group

And, seemingly by chance, when leaving the Old City, we bumped into the Kalover Rebbe of Williamsburg  (a cousin of the Kaliver Rebbe of Jerusalem as explained in this Wikipedia entry). He and his entourage chatted with us for a few moments and then he gave us a bracha as we parted ways..


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