A Transcontinental Celebration!

At 4:30 AM the birthday boy got out of bed for his final mid-east shower for a while. By 7 the buses were loaded for Morocco, and the day was ready to begin with a tour of the Temple Mount, Haram al-Shariff, Al-Aqsa. By extreme coincidence, the only entrance to the site for tourists is through the “Morocco Gate.” This could mean a few things, because Morocco in Arabic literally means “The West,” and the entrance is above the “Western Wall” and the western side of the platform. Additionally, though, there was once a Moroccan neighborhood in Jerusalem, right next to the Western Wall, that Israel destroyed after the Six-Day War in order to expand the Jewish Quarter and clean up the Western Wall Plaza.

A tour of the Temple Mount followed, led in separate groups by Ophir Yarden, a Jewish scholar and lecturer at Brigham Young University and Ali Qleibo, an artist/author/anthropologist and classical civilizations lecturer at Al-Quds University. I followed the latter group, and got a very art-history themed tour of the area. Nuances in architecture,stone, and time, were noted, and most interesting to me was when we entered a small area of the Western Wall for a short discussion about the layers of civilization present throughout the Old City. I don't believe I'll ever have the opportunity to get a tour of the Western Wall by a non-Jewish Arab.

Afterwards we walked through the Muslim quarter for a short while, and then returned to the hostel for a last go round of lunch. Then the buses took off for the airport, with me leading a spirited reading of "Oh the Places You'll Go," all on Blackberry.

The real fun began once we finished our struggle through airport security and took our seats waiting for the flight to Frankfurt. Out of nowhere, a bunch of students and Nicky, a madricha on the program, showed up with a McFlurry (cookies and cream!) filled with three lit Hanukkah candles (red, white, and blue) and the group sang Happy Birthday in at least three languages...It was a cute gesture, but I had no idea what was in store.

PICTURES OF THE BDAY

The Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt turned out to be the best flight of my life thus. The pilot spoke English with a very slow and windy inflection, making her comments sound matter-of-fact while suggesting she would rather be doing anything else. I was mildly amused by the fact that I could watch "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" on a German airline with Hebrew subtitles. In the middle of the flight I went to the bathroom, and when I returned, I found a stewardess holding a huge tray with a rose, a small chocolate cake, a card, and a small bag of Christmas cookies, all GERMAN! It was a very sweet moment, that I even got to share some chocolates with some of the other strangers sitting nearby. The flight landed in freezing Europe, and the pilot returned to the intercom: "I'm really sorry we just couldn't get to Frankfurt on time. And Happy Birthday Ira!" People cheered, and an Italian nearby wished me a good day, with me responding with the only Italian word I know besides Pizza and Gelato.

German security at the airport was also a rather fun experience. My bag was inspected for a camera charger of all things, and when another's students shampoo exploded in his bag, the officer looked up at him and said "this is too much," referring to the amount of fluid.

While waiting for the flight to Casblanca, the director of the program fulfilled a dream that required me to bring a Hanukkia on the first flight. We took it out and gathered for a very powerful contiunation of an historic ritual in one of the most unlikely of places...

Smoking, in this case a profane social activity clashed with a religious sacred social activity, and in Germany, nonetheless. Onlookers were fascinated, and one covered his own head and videotaped it as well, thanking us afterwards. At the end, I asked Doc the director how long we should let the candles burn. He responded that enough people had seen the candles thus marking the miracles of Hanukkah. I blew out some more birthday candles.

The second flight was a little turbulent but pretty smooth. The Kosher meal was a second serving of schwarma, but a little spicier than the first. No champagne this time but I woke up midflight to find a beautiful birthday card signed by the students. We arrived in Casablanca after 1, ready to sleep and explore Africa. I believe this was a 26 hour birthday if I include timezones, but it was nonetheless a transcontinental celebration that I was really privileged to share with so many wonderful people.