Teeming with Life
Old City, Jerusalem
Since moving back to Israel, I have been struck by the “in-your-face” manner of life here. For the past two years, we’ve lived in Portland, Oregon, Perkins, Oklahoma, and Durham, England. None of these locales are known for their overly exuberant ways of being. Portland is usually quite chill, given the rain and addiction to hanging out in coffee shops (a generalization to be sure). Perkins is what you would expect of a small, rural Oklahoma town: pretty sedate except on
Friday nights during high school football. Durham is English: things only get heated if there is cricket, football (soccer to you Americans), or cursing Margaret Thatcher (that too is a generalization).
Jerusalem is utterly other. The only time it is quiet is at night. Late at night. Everyone (local) here is loud, argumentative and pushy, regardless of ethnicity, religion or politics. The place teems with energy and emotion. If you aren’t willing to throw elbows and yell at someone, it is difficult to get things accomplished around here. There are always folks on the street, cars honking and swerving in said street, and well, controlled chaos.
There is an interpretation which says that Genesis 1 is the creation account of the Land of Israel specifically. This is centered around the name Gihon as one of the four rivers which flow out of the Garden. Gihon is the primary spring for the ancient core of Jerusalem. If this interpretation holds water, then I’d be quite happy to reapply the image of “teeming” created life to the current scenario. It’s not as pretty a picture as Genesis 1, but still an apt adjective.
EIKON 