Last of the Pics from the Holy Land

[jocose]

Well, I've finally finished going through all of my pics from Israel. Here's the last of them. As always, thanks for looking:

1. Prayers

2. For Protection

3. Prayer

 

[LaFoto]

Good ones!
I particularly like the second.
But that said, I should stress that I like them all.

I've never been there... My sister has, many, many years ago. She's always wanted to return, but she's too busy travelling to even farther-away places of this world ...

 

[ShaCow]

I dont understand why they are up against the wall... is it a religious thing?

great photos

 

[danir]

Great shots.

I dont understand why they are up against the wall... is it a religious thing?

This is the wailing wall.
It is supposed to be the western wall of the temple.

 

[mmcduffie1]

Nice shots.I still cringe when i think about all those people kissing that wall. I'm a germafobe though

 

[matt-l]

great shots ! really like the first.

 

[Antarctican]

Heyyy, Jocose, great to see you posting more of your pics from your trip! All are quite moving, but I especially like the second one.

Did anyone give you any flak about taking pictures at the wall?

 

[Robin]

On the last one, I wish I could see more of his face. With the first one, even though you're not seeing their faces, you can see the emotion with their body language. And the second one is angled enough to see their faces or see what they're doing. But the last one is angled just enough to give you a tease of his face but not enough to actually read it. And it's cropped in too tight to read his body language - you can see a glimpse of his hand on the wall but it's not shown enough to be as powerful as the others are. I feel like I'm just looking at a picture of a man's shoulder and beard.

I imagine you didn't want to be too intrusive though so it's understandable. I think the first one is your strongest image because like I said, it shows emotion without even needing to see their faces.

 

[jocose]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your comments.

ShaCow, danir is correct with the exception that there is no dispute that it is the western wall of the Temple (I don't think that that's what danir meant, but just wanted to make sure there wasn't any confusion). Supposedly, God said that no matter what happened to Jerusalem or the Temple, the Western Wall would always stand as a symbol of the Temple and a token that it would be rebuilt. 2,000+ years later, it is indeed still standing. There are incredibly famous pictures of Israeli soldiers at the Wall when they took the Old City during the war. It is one of the most important places in Judaism, not because it's sacred or holy, but because it embodies the religion...a wall that has endured for over 2,000 years of punishment. It is also the closest Jews can get to the Temple Mount, which IS the holiest site in Judaism. There is some extremely powerful and awe inspiring when you stand before the Western Wall.


Robin, it's very interesting what you say. I never thought about it from a non-Jewish perspective. There are few Jews in the world who would look at a picture of an old man with a flowing white beard, black hat, and black coat at the Western Wall, and not immediately be able to fill in what he is doing and what the expression on his face would be.

You are correct, though, I should not expect my audience to fill in the gaps. Thanks for that comment.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[danir]

I need to add that I like how you also captured all the notes that people put in the wall in the first picture. These are prayers that people put in there.

Dani

 

[Robin]

Robin, it's very interesting what you say. I never thought about it from a non-Jewish perspective. There are few Jews in the world who would look at a picture of an old man with a flowing white beard, black hat, and black coat at the Western Wall, and not immediately be able to fill in what he is doing and what the expression on his face would be.

You are correct, though, I should not expect my audience to fill in the gaps. Thanks for that comment.

Thanks again everyone.

Well it's true I'm not Jewish but I am educated enough to know he's Jewish and fill in what he's doing. I just think a more powerful image is one that really shows the emotion, like the first photo. Just because we know what he's doing doesn't mean we don't want or need to really see the emotion, kwim?

 

[jocose]

Well it's true I'm not Jewish but I am educated enough to know he's Jewish and fill in what he's doing. I just think a more powerful image is one that really shows the emotion, like the first photo. Just because we know what he's doing doesn't mean we don't want or need to really see the emotion, kwim?

I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know what he was doing or that you were not educated...I only meant that when I see a guy that looks like that, I can paint the rest of the image of his eyes squeezed shut, lips moving without a word coming out, and probably swaying a bit.

I do agree with you that the lack of energy or emotion sort of blahs out the image.

 

[Robin]

lol don't worry, I didn't take offense, just clarifying what I was saying