In my article in a previous issue some brief observations were made upon the physical features of Judea and the Old City of Jerusalem with its environs. Such were the outward circumstances in which the godly of Old Testament days lived out their lives, and such, also, was that outward situation in which the Son of God tabernacled for an appointed period among men on the earth.
Another important insight into that way of life of which the Bible speaks is present for the modern traveller in Israel as he is confronted with the inhabitants of the land. Here, and paradoxical as it may appear, our debt is to the Arab citizens of Israel rather than the Jews. The latter, by and large, adopt the ways of the Western world, and their modern cities and progressive methods of husbandry certainly have brought transformations for the better to the countryside, but, by the same token, tend to obliterate the past. With the Arabs it is otherwise, and for many of them their manner of life is little different from what their forefathers knew thousands of years go.
Opportune, therefore, the Pilgrims’ Palace Hotel, where our party resided, was situated in Eastern Jerusalem which, previous to the Six-Days War, was in Jordan, as were, of course, all the so-called “holy places.” Thus the modern (“Western”) State of Israel seemed far away. Our hosts were Arabs, as were the majority of the people we met on-side; and again, Moses, our official guide, was of the seed of Abraham other than by way of Jacob and Judah. The persons and scenes of Biblical times were before our eyes and unfolding in all their richness and variety, — endlessly numerous children of every age, the water-vendor with his bottle of skin, the market-place of narrow, congested shops and wares of every description, and also the money changer who (she) courted the attention of the strangers. Business was conducted on the basis, not so much of the value of the goods, as of the ability of the salesman to obtain the highest price possible related to what the purchaser was prepared (or was not prepared!) to pay. Thus, in the mentality of these merchants we witness the debasing of morality to mean no more than the expediency of a present opportunity. Beggars, such as frequented the Damascus Gate, were much in evidence. They included the lame and the blind and one with an open sore upon which flies swarmed at will. Such were the conditions and artifices which elicited pity and an alms.
For several of the party there was the special treat of a visit by invitation to the home of our guide. The traditional flat roof was familiar enough but, now inside, we found the house to be a commodious and pleasantly cool with thick walls and a stone floor with mat coverings. The family was on the large side, and the oldest girl already married at 16. The women folk seem cowed and naturally assume a place of subjection. The “housekeeper” was a girl of 12 and, as she had herself inherited this place of trust and experience, she would, in turn, hand it over in the appropriate time to the next sister after her. In the way of traditional Eastern hospitality we were entertained with several drinks (soft) and the final cup of Turkish coffee. Meanwhile we talked. An item of peculiar interest which we “had to see” was a pet sheep which lived with the family as one of its number. (cf. 2 Sam. 12:3).
Moses informed me that it was kept over against the homecoming of the son-in-law when the family would have a sacrifice and feast at its expense.
My sketch of the present-day citizens of Israel would not be complete without reference to what is the greatest anachronism of all. This comes from the side of the Jews in the modern counterpart of the Pharisees of the Bible viz. the orthodox Jews. They are present in Jerusalem in considerable numbers and are in evidence in the Old City and around the Western (wailing) Wall. Their dress is unmistakeable and clearly quite unsuited to the heat of Jerusalem in summer. It consists of a large hat and frockcoat in black along with black beard and side curls. They pray in public, sometimes swaying and, at times, audibly, towards the Wall. We had proof of the arrogance of one of them in exchanges with Moses in the ruined synagogue at the fortress of Masada at the Dead Sea. Many of the younger ones study in colleges within the Jewish quarter of the Old City, and we were told that they are liberally financed from America. Again, as we heard from our Jewish guide (in Galilee), these orthodox Jews do not even acknowledge the modern state of Israel on the grounds that they consider any government established prior to the advent of Messiah premature.