Mea She'arim and other Jerusalem, Israel Off The Beaten Path Tips

I didn't need to travel all the way to Israel to see Hassidics going about their daily lives - I can find this in north Miami Beach or the Catskills of New York. But I find it especially interesting that the Hassidics in Israel can vote (in fact very powerful if not often providing the swing vote) in Israeli elections, yet they don't believe that Israel is "Zion" (at least not yet), and they have religious exemption from participating in the Israeli military - a responsibility that every Israeli assumes at some point in his/her life. So while I know the Hassidics live in many different places all around the world, it was THIS particular place that intrigued me precisely because this kind of anachronism exists in contemporary Israel.

Everyone I saw there had the special locks or "pays"...these strange looking hairlocks are a symbolic representation of the corner of one's garden which in the case of the Hassidim, is always made available to those who are hungry and in need. I don't think the residents of Mea She'arim are cultivating gardens - most of them appear to be studying or running shops or bakeries - but I think the symbolism has an interesting basis, and something about it kind of reminds me of the Amish people of Pennsylvania.

If you visit Mea She'arim, be mindful that taking photos of Hassidics is considered disrespectful and even goes against ultra orthodox Jewish law for some of them. Not to be hypocritical, I admit to taking a photo (self evident here!) but at least I tried to be discreet; my friend was much more obvious with a telescopic lens...he was interested in taking a photo of some young Hassidic boys walking across the street. When we passed these boys, they glared at us and spit on the ground in front of my friend - an obvious statement of displeasure. Down the street, an old shopkeeper must have witnessed the incident because when we stopped in front of his place, he came outside and gave me a bag of freshly made popcorn, which surprised me so much. He told us "Just be careful!".

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Other Contact: Outside old Jerusalem

Don't let yourself be duped into thinking Schindler's grave is on the Mt. of Olives (like I did in a previous trip!). His tomb is actually located on Mt. Zion, right outside the Old Walled City where the Christian Cemetery is located (if you exit the City from Zion Gate, the cemetery is basically in front of you).

Schindler was honored with a gravesite here due to his contributions toward saving thousands of his Jewish factory workers' lives during WWII. It's a Jewish tradition, not a Christian one, to place small rocks on top of a loved one's tombstone. In the case of Schindler, even though he was buried in the Christian Cemetery, there were still plenty of rocks respectfully placed on his grave, honoring the man and and his deeds.

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The Israel Museum is located in the New City of Jerusalem (a moderate distance from the Old Walled City). The most compelling attraction of this museum is the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed.

We went to this museum specifically to see this display and we weren't disappointed. After paying our entrance fee (I believe it was around the equivalent of $10 USD), we literally ran toward this amazing, oddly shaped white structure which we learned was created to mirror the clay vessels in which the Scrolls were discovered in Qumram at the Dead Sea back in 1947.

If you're lucky, you'll arrive in time to hook up with a docene who will be more than happy to lead a group through the dimly lit chamber below where the scrolls are preserved under glass. In fact, the story of the Essenes (the religious sect who housed the Scrolls and lived in the Qumram caves) is told in a series of scroll sections, all laid out in a circular manner.

Plan to spend at least one full hour inside the Shrine of the Book, if not longer. It still blows my mind to think I was looking at the world's oldest biblical manuscripts.

Located in New Jerusalem at Ruppin Blvd., near the Knesset (Israeli Parliament)

The museum has a terrific website. You should check it out, below:

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Website: http://www.imj.org.il/