{"id":4358,"date":"2018-07-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themuseumguy.weblorenz.com\/?p=4358"},"modified":"2026-06-03T17:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:55:31","slug":"never-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themuseumguy.co.il\/he\/post\/never-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Never Again?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Rova boy spotted on the ruins of a crusader structure.. picture by my neighbor Y. Bencamoun, who captured me in contemplation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can take kid out of the Rova, but you can’t take the Rova out of the kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter in the Old City (“Rova” – \u05e8\u05d5\u05d1\u05e2 means quarter in Hebrew), I did not see closed fences or ‘do not enter’ signs as an obstacles. From age 8, I would hop from roof to roof and climb walls and pipes to explore the web of connected rooftops and buildings. I thought I was Spiderman (my parents thought something different entirely).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revisiting my old stomping grounds, during one of the busiest times of the year (the annual Jerusalem Lights Festival<\/a> has thankfully brought lots of traffic into the Old City), it is hard to get a clear and quiet view of the Kotel – the Western Wall – the remains of what was once a glorious Temple. But the Rova boy in me saw the ruins of an ancient building, and I instinctively knew what to do. Climbing to the top of the structure, I was able to sit alone and contemplate, and I would like to share with you my thoughts from the ruins of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shattering of Icons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Sitting atop what was undoubtedly a shelter and secure place at one time, overlooking a place that combines shattered hopes and despair and a source of prayers and millennia-old commitment, I was struck by the lack of imagination that besets us – as humanity, and as the People of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fast of the 17th of Tammuz is the 2nd in a series of Four Fast Days<\/a> (depending on how you count them), relating specifically to the destruction of the Temples. Several things happened on that day, and they all have a common denominator: Shattering of icons<\/strong> –<\/p>\n\n\n\n