by Judy Lash Balint

Created on: May 22, 2010   Last Updated: May 23, 2010

It’s 5:00 a.m on Shavuot morning and I’m having trouble finding an empty seat at any synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City. Every synagogue is already packed as I make the mistake of lingering a few minutes too long at the Western Wall amongst the tens of thousands who have made their way there after a night of learning in honor of the holiday. 

The atmosphere is light, almost light-headed you could say from lack of sleep, as young and old congratulate each other for making it through the night. Only the young yeshiva boys puffing away on cigarettes spoil the atmosphere. Small groups of secular Israelis wander through the crowd. "This is amazing," mutters one woman.

After dropping in at three synagogues, I finally find a spot in the hallway of the Ramban Synagogue near the Cardo. 

After the reading of the Ten Commandments, a swift Haftarah reading brings us to the Yizkor memorial prayer. Only a few women are left inside as the young girls who filled the place and have not yet lost parents, file out. It’s about the same proportion down at the Kotel—it seems that at least two thirds of the masses thronging the Kotel plaza are under 30.

Coming barely a week after Jerusalem Day, when similar numbers of mostly young people fill the area to celebrate the reunification of the city, the Shavuot early morning spectacle is uplifting.

In the blessedly cool air of the pre-dawn, it’s as if the Western Wall is a giant magnet pulling in the multitudes from every direction. Flooding down Agron Street in front of the U.S Consulate building and its sleepy guards, the crowd gathers force and takes over the Mamilla area. The Tower of David and Jaffa Gate rise in front of us, outlined by spotlights.

It’s 4:40 a.m as we surge forward and down the steps of the David Street shuk only to encounter a human traffic jam as we make the turn from the Street of the Chain into the approach to the Kotel. A few groups of Arabs heading to work are walking up in the opposite direction. No one bothers them as they make their way out of the Old City through Jaffa Gate.  On the way down, I follow Ashkenazic Chief synagogue near the Cardo. Rabbi Yonah Metzger who is surrounded by a 4-person security entourage as he walks along holding hands with his grandson.

There are only four entryways into the Western Wall plaza and they’re all completely overwhelmed by the numbers of people pressing to get in.   There’s barely room

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