begging at the sepulchre

So I was walking around the old city today with a colleague who hasn’t been to Jerusalem before.  I’ve done this enough times now, showing a new person around the old city, that I’ve got a little routine down — first through the market, then to see Jesus’ tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, next to the western wall, and if they are game and it is open, to the Blue Mosque.  Then, back to the Jaffa gate through the Jewish and Armenian quarters.

The person I was with today was super interested in the church, and also in photographing it, so I sat around and looked at stuff for a lot longer than normal.  I lit a number of candles for people close to me, admired ancient columns next to newly-restored walls, and sat on benches watching people for some time.   After I lit a candle and sat on a bench, a nun approached me.  I asked a number of questions about the church, and she asked where I was from.  I said Chicago, and she immediately replied with “I’m from Bethlehem”.

She said this as if I was going to gasp and say, “BETHLEHEM!”  but I’ve met enough people from Bethlehem (or at least who say they are) that this fails to elicit any response from me any more, I’m sorry to say.  I said, “Oh, yeah, it’s just a bit north, right? Did you come down today then?”  She said yes, and described the work she did up there.

OK fine it sounded interesting and all about good works and all - she was helping a family from IRAQ (she stressed) who lost their father and the mom had five kids to take care of, etc etc. She was here to meet a man who was going to give her a donation for this cause.  Around 4, she said, he was coming.  Hopefully.  I listened politely, but the story didn’t get much more interesting and it seemed she was taken care of with this guy, and I went back to observing people at the tiny altar in the Golgotha room.

She asked if was from a group, and I said no I was working here, I come here fairly often.  And went back to looking at the altar and the people lighting candles and kissing Jesus’ picture.   She said, well, she asked if I was from a group because she was wondering if I could contribute to her cause.   There it was.  OK fine I gave her fifty shekels (a little more than $10) and she thanked me.  She didn’t bless me, or say God Bless You or anything, and I just said something lame like “I hope it all works out for the family.”  No mention of God at all. She moved on to ask more people for money.  I totally didn’t feel blessed by the occasion, nor even felt the rush of altruism.  Just noting a beggar in a different form.

Posted by Marie on October 6th, 2007 under Uncategorized

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