It is hard to describe the emotions that I (Rob Brannon) felt as I stood next to the Western Wall in Jerusalem and soaked in all of the sights and sounds of the Jewish worshipers praying to Adonai (the Lord) at what the Jews consider to be the holiest site on earth. It was the third Friday evening in May (May 21, 2004), and normally I would have been at the board meeting of my home church if I were in Alabama. But not this Friday night, instead I was celebrating the Sabbath day at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem with hundreds of passionate Jewish worshipers of all ages. As I entered the inner court of the Western Wall plaza, I was handed a kippa, or Jewish cap, that all men are required to wear as they pray next to the Western Wall. The inner court of the wall was 
divided into two sections: one for men and one for women. Before praying at the wall, I reminded myself of the words that Christ spoke to the “woman at the well” when He told her that “neither the mountain nor Jerusalem” are the true places of worship, but rather the place of true worship is in our hearts where we are to worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth”.
I then walked from the inner court of the Western Wall to the outer court plaza. At this outer court of the Western Wall were several hundred young men from the Yeshiva, or Jewish Seminary, who began to sing and to dance to Adonai with all of their hearts. Then all of the sudden, a small group of guys in the middle of this large mass of young men latched hands together, and gave birth to a stereo-typical group of Jews twirling in a circle while dancing and passionately singing in Hebrew. (I had to pinch myself to make sure that I was not having a flash back in my mind from “Fiddler on the Roof”) Within minutes, this group of twirling young men grew into a group of about one hundred men. They were now all locked together in perfect unity with their arms around the shoulders of their neighbors. They appeared to be one large moving amoeba instead of many individuals. Their large circle moved rhythmically clockwise as they kicked their right foot and then their left into the middle of the circle in perfect harmony. They were all singing the same song and doing the same dance steps. More and more men kept joining in so that the circle kept expanding further and further into the plaza. I was so mesmerized by the whole event that I almost got trampled by the worshipers as the circle nearly engulfed me! I quickly moved to the top of a stone bench at the extremity of the plaza, and I surveyed the humungous circle of united worshipers. I estimated that there were about 400 men total in this mammoth circle! What an amazing sight to see this huge group of Jewish men singing and dancing to Adonai, all in one accord! Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
Then, to my chagrin, I noticed that the unity of the worshipers began to break down. A man on one side of the circle began to sing a different song than the group was singing. Soon there were three different songs being sung by different sections of the men in the huge circle. Then things really started to fall apart as the conflicting and independent dance steps of some began to disrupt the unified dancing of others in the circle. Then without a warning, the circle began to involuntarily break apart. It became impossible for them to hang on to their neighbor as one person pulled one way and someone else pulled the other way. The circle broke apart into many different fragments. It was no longer one united group of men. The group unity and solidarity was lost. The worship came to an abrupt end as everyone dropped hands and gave up the celebration of Adonai and the celebration of brotherhood.
My euphoria, of being a “fly on the Western Wall” during Sabbath, quickly turned into disappointed as I sadly watched people turn their backs on the group and walk away from the circle that had just fallen apart. It was all over. No doubt about it. The celebration had ended…UNTIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, a hand full of zealous young men sprinted with all of their might to the large open space at the epicenter of the dying circle. Once these young men arrived at the middle of the circle, they dove into each others arms and passionately locked arms together once again. With smiles and laughter, they treasured the moment of being reunited. My heart leapt within me as I saw this zealous group of young men mending the breaches in the “wall of broken fellowship” by once again singing the same song, following the same leader and dancing in unity with one another! It didn’t take long before the group of worshipers grew from the original small handful of men to over 100 united worshipers. Their united voices rang out in Hebrew as if it were the voice of one man. It was a powerful moment for me as I pondered: the value of spiritual unity, the importance of remaining hopeful in the midst of trials, and the logic of all following one leader. It is great to know that instead of walking away from the circle in despair, we can always come to Adonai who is more than able to mend the breaches. These are days of trials and testing. However, Adonai is at work in our midst, and He will not fail us. He is in the process of enlarging our hearts! Let’s cling to Him and to each other. Let’s humbly follow the Leader and His anointed servants. Let’s sprint to the middle of the circle, and join our hands together. Adonai is with us, and He will be magnified as He tenderly cares for His bride.
divided into two sections: one for men and one for women. Before praying at the wall, I reminded myself of the words that Christ spoke to the “woman at the well” when He told her that “neither the mountain nor Jerusalem” are the true places of worship, but rather the place of true worship is in our hearts where we are to worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth”.I then walked from the inner court of the Western Wall to the outer court plaza. At this outer court of the Western Wall were several hundred young men from the Yeshiva, or Jewish Seminary, who began to sing and to dance to Adonai with all of their hearts. Then all of the sudden, a small group of guys in the middle of this large mass of young men latched hands together, and gave birth to a stereo-typical group of Jews twirling in a circle while dancing and passionately singing in Hebrew. (I had to pinch myself to make sure that I was not having a flash back in my mind from “Fiddler on the Roof”) Within minutes, this group of twirling young men grew into a group of about one hundred men. They were now all locked together in perfect unity with their arms around the shoulders of their neighbors. They appeared to be one large moving amoeba instead of many individuals. Their large circle moved rhythmically clockwise as they kicked their right foot and then their left into the middle of the circle in perfect harmony. They were all singing the same song and doing the same dance steps. More and more men kept joining in so that the circle kept expanding further and further into the plaza. I was so mesmerized by the whole event that I almost got trampled by the worshipers as the circle nearly engulfed me! I quickly moved to the top of a stone bench at the extremity of the plaza, and I surveyed the humungous circle of united worshipers. I estimated that there were about 400 men total in this mammoth circle! What an amazing sight to see this huge group of Jewish men singing and dancing to Adonai, all in one accord! Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
Then, to my chagrin, I noticed that the unity of the worshipers began to break down. A man on one side of the circle began to sing a different song than the group was singing. Soon there were three different songs being sung by different sections of the men in the huge circle. Then things really started to fall apart as the conflicting and independent dance steps of some began to disrupt the unified dancing of others in the circle. Then without a warning, the circle began to involuntarily break apart. It became impossible for them to hang on to their neighbor as one person pulled one way and someone else pulled the other way. The circle broke apart into many different fragments. It was no longer one united group of men. The group unity and solidarity was lost. The worship came to an abrupt end as everyone dropped hands and gave up the celebration of Adonai and the celebration of brotherhood.
My euphoria, of being a “fly on the Western Wall” during Sabbath, quickly turned into disappointed as I sadly watched people turn their backs on the group and walk away from the circle that had just fallen apart. It was all over. No doubt about it. The celebration had ended…UNTIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, a hand full of zealous young men sprinted with all of their might to the large open space at the epicenter of the dying circle. Once these young men arrived at the middle of the circle, they dove into each others arms and passionately locked arms together once again. With smiles and laughter, they treasured the moment of being reunited. My heart leapt within me as I saw this zealous group of young men mending the breaches in the “wall of broken fellowship” by once again singing the same song, following the same leader and dancing in unity with one another! It didn’t take long before the group of worshipers grew from the original small handful of men to over 100 united worshipers. Their united voices rang out in Hebrew as if it were the voice of one man. It was a powerful moment for me as I pondered: the value of spiritual unity, the importance of remaining hopeful in the midst of trials, and the logic of all following one leader. It is great to know that instead of walking away from the circle in despair, we can always come to Adonai who is more than able to mend the breaches. These are days of trials and testing. However, Adonai is at work in our midst, and He will not fail us. He is in the process of enlarging our hearts! Let’s cling to Him and to each other. Let’s humbly follow the Leader and His anointed servants. Let’s sprint to the middle of the circle, and join our hands together. Adonai is with us, and He will be magnified as He tenderly cares for His bride.
Grace be with you, my Fellow Evangelists,
Rob
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