Jerusalem

Oh, my God.

BRIAN FEILER: It's the most contentious land on earth,

drawing believers from around the world.

Jews, Christians and Muslims

visiting sites of faith and conflict.

Despite all the rivalries and entanglements,

in the end, everybody is worshipping the same God.

But for the pilgrims I meet in this holy land,

the questions are more personal.

How do you thank God?

MAN: We're looking for a faith experience,

a spiritual experience.

FEILER: Can a journey to the roots of their faith

save them in a time of crisis?

MAN: I lost hope.

The only thing that I had left

was knowing that God was with me.

(gong rings)

FEILER: Today, organized religion is more threatened than ever,

yet pilgrimage is more popular than ever.

I'm Bruce Feiler.

In this epic series,

I travel with American pilgrims

on six historic pilgrimages.

I bathe in the rivers of India,

dance in the heart of Africa,

cleanse in the waters of Lourdes,

trek through the temples of Japan

and walk in the footsteps of prophets

in Mecca and Jerusalem.

I attend some of the most spectacular

and moving human gatherings on earth.

And I ask, what can these journeys tell us

about the future of faith?

FEILER: It's been called the birthplace of humanity.

Jerusalem: holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims,

half the world's believers.

This city has been built, sacked, rebuilt and wept over

dozens of times in the last 3,000 years.

(chanting)

The Western Wall is the all that remains

of the Jewish Temple compound

that was destroyed almost 2,000 years a.

(cnting)

It's the holiest spot in Judaism.

Jews from around the world gather here every fall

for the harvest festival of Sukkot,

the Feast of the Tabernacles.

RABBI DAVID ROSEN: Jewish tradition suggests

that there's a kind of unique shaft of holiness

that connects this earthly Jerusalem

as the most holy place in the universe

directly to the footstool of heaven.

So Jerusalem becomes therefore

the focus of the life of the people,

the focus of their pilgrimage.

FEILER: The Hebrew Bible says all descendants of Israel

should make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem

to see the Temple three times a year:

in the spring for Passover;

in the summer for Shavuot,

the holiday that marks the giving of the Torah at Sinai;

and in fall for Sukkot.

After the destruction of the Temple,

pirimage began to lessen in importance in Jewish life.

It never disappeared entirely,

but when Jews spread all over the world--

many in ghettoes--

coming to Jerusalem wasn't really an option.

Now it is again.

I love coming here,

because it's a place where religion infuses the air

and lives in the stones.

Since the Temple was destroyed,

Jerusalem has been conquered again and again

in an endless tug-of-war

among Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Each has its own unique claim to the place.

Christian pilgrims began flocking to this city

within a few hundred years of the death of Jesus

in the 1st century CE.

(chanting)

RABBI ROSEN: And because of course Christianity

is uniquely focused around issues

that related to pilgrimage,

the whole of the Christian world

comes focused on Jerusalem.

And then, because of Jerusalem's significance,

when Islam comes along,

it affirms that it is not only the continuity,

but actually the confirmation

of all that is true and noble that's gone before

and therefore it seeks to affirm its stake

with regards to Jerusalem.

So you have this incredible focus of history,

of geography of the different traditions

and cultures on this rather tiny little location.

FEILER: Throughout history,

pilgrims from all three religions

have come to Jerusalem

seeking something deeper within themselves,

some connection with the Divine.

But for Christians especially,

Jerusalem is not the only place they visit

while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

While Jesus ended his days in Jerusalem,

a number of the key events in his life

occurred several hours north of here,

in the Galilee.

Many Christian pilgrims begin there.

Nazareth is the childhood home of Jesus.

Adam and Christina Bourne are young Americans

about to set out from a 200-year-old guesthouse

on a four-day, 40-mile hike

to the Sea of Galilee to visit places where Jesus taught.

It's called the Jesus Trail,

created in 2007 as a common thread

linking different cultures and different faiths

in modern Galilee.

20% of all citizens in Israel are Arabs,

80% are Jewish.

In the Galilee it's 50/50,

and Nazareth is 100% Arab.

The Jesus Trail is like a mirror of history.

CHRISTINA: So would the road have started here?

ADAM: Well, let's look.

It's been over 2,000 years.

FEILER: This is Adam and Christina's first visit to the Holy Land.

They've been married several years

and are considering starting a family.

Like many pilgrims,

they're at a time of transition in their lives.

Jesus walked through here.

He had to have used this road, right?

Mm-hmm.

ADAM: Walking on history.

CHRISTINA: It brings the stories to life for sure,

and then to be able to go back home,

and every time you read it,

then you've got the mental picture of...

ADAM: I've walked this road, I've walked this path.

This being the only road at the time,

there were other people

that were traveling this road.

And you think of all the different folks

that he met along the way.

You know, just brushing shoulders with folk

that maybe didn't know who he was.

And then they get down the road and they find out later,

that guy performed a miracle in Cana not three days ago.

And it all happened right here.

FEILER: The idea of walking to get closer to God

is a theme that links Christianity

with its Jewish roots.

The theme goes back to the core story

of the Hebrew Bible, the Exodus,

when the Israelites leave Egypt

and wander for 40 years in the desert.

I'm heading to the desert with my friend Avner Goren,

the legendary Israeli archaeologist,

who's been my guide on previous trips.

He takes me into the Negev,

a vast, sparsely populated desert

that makes up more than half of Israel today.

This area is home to many of Israel's Bedouin,

who've been here for thousands of years.

Abdullah is a friend of Avner's who welcomes us

with Bedouin hospitality.

We're out here in the open desert.

One of the most common phrases in the Hebrew Bible

is "Remember you were once strangers

in a land with no hope."

It's almost as if the Bible seems to be saying,

"Your tendency is going to forget

"what happened in the past,

"but we want you to remember that wandering

was part of your past too."

Very much so.

A key idea of the holiday of Sukkot

is to reconnect wi that wandering faith.

FEILER: Once the Israelites entered the Promised Land,

they dispersed.

It took King David, 1,000 years before Jesus,

to create a unified capital in Jerusalem.

RABBI ROSEN: From a historical point of view,

it was David who gave Jerusalem

the special significance because he realized

that he needed a central focus around which he could unite

the disparate tribes of Israel.

And if you want to have a real unity of purpose

amongst the people, it's not just to have...

enough to have a political location;

there has to be some spiritual vision behind it,

where the Ark of the Covenant was to be housed,

where the Temple was to be created around it.

FEILER: The Ark of the Covenant was the tabernacle

the Israelites used to carry the Ten Commandments

through the desert.

It contained the word of God,

but it had no permanent home.

After David conquered Jerusalem in the tenth century BCE,

his son, Solomon,

built a permanent headquarters for God

on a hill that had long been holy to pagans.

This was the Temple, and Jews from across the region

made pilgrimages here three times a year.

RABBI ROSEN: The occasions are associated

with both historical events, but also with the seasons.

Passover is a spring festival,

Pentecost is the beginning of the first fruits,

Tabernacles is the end of the agricultural season.

FEILER: During Sukkot,

temporary shelters made of wood, cloth, palm fronds--

and nowadays steel-- pop up all over the city.

They are reminders of a time when the Israelites

were wandering with no settled home.

So you walk around the city like this

and you just see them everywhere.

Okay, so this is one here.

People eat in here, right.

FEILER: Ahava Zarembski is an American Jew

who, like me, has spent a lot of time in Jerusalem.

But this week, she hopes to make a critical decision:

whether to stay in America or move to Israel

on permanent pilgrimage.

Now you have a foot in both worlds,

what are you hoping to find during this stay?

I made this trip because I was tired

of feeling alone in my Judaism.

And after celebrating

a full year of holidays in the States,

I said, never again will I celebrate

the holidays in the States.

I'm deeply rooted in my faith,

I'm deeply rooted in my tradition,

and so the concept of holiday here

is completely immersing,

where I feel a part of something

much bigger than myself.

FEILER: Because Sukkot celebrates the harvest,

plants are key.

Ahava visits her local market

to buy the holiday symbols.

ZAREMBSKI: The etrog,

which is this beautiful-smelling fruit.

It's kind of the family of a lemon,

and it represents the heart of a human being.

The etrog is supposed to be perfect

and completely beautiful.

FEILER: Finding the perfect etrog is a national obsession,

as is finding a perfectly straight lulav,

the unopened frond from the date palm

that symbolizes the human spine.

Along with myrtle and willow boughs,

these four species represent

the best parts of being human.

Bring it together and then I'm going to go

to the right.

To the right.

Then to the left.

To the left.

Straight ahead.

The heart, right.

And then up...

FEILER: Shaking this sacred bundle acknowledges that God

fills the space that surrounds us.

Branches from these four species are often used

to build the sukkah, the temporary shelter

where people dine during the festival.

ZAREMBSKI: And so for seven days in Israel,

you leave your house and you go

into a temporary dwelling that you built.

I'm a female, I'm a Jew, I'm an artist.

I love the idea of celebrating my Judaism

in a physical way.

FEILER: The act of leaving your house

and entering a sometimes shaky structure

is like going on a pilgrimage within your own daily life.

RABBI ROSEN: We dwell in the booths today

to remember Divine Providence,

to remember and to instill in ourselves

an awareness that real security and real stability

do not come from material things.

FEILER : Ahava built her own sukkah in the parking lot

of the apartment where she's staying.

Well, you did it, it's standing.

I did it, yes, with the help of others.

FEILER: What was the hardest part?

AHAVA: So about an hour before the holiday came in,

the winds came and blew the entire thing down.

I'm not kidding you.

So part of the whole week is,

let's go dwell in our sukkah,

but let's hope it doesn't fall down.

I think part of the fallacy that we live in,

the obsession over materialism

is part to do with control, but what's control?

It's about wanting to be safe,

and wanting to be secure.

But at the end of the day, what's really real

is the fact that

nothing is permanent.

FEILER: All pilgrimage is built on this notion of dislocation,

of leaving what's comfortable to seek answers

that may make you uncomfortable.

For Ahava, the question is, where should she live her faith?

For Adam and Christina the question is,

can they make their faith more real?

For American Brian Kwan, also walking the Jesus Trail,

the question is,

can he overcome a crisis of faith?

Three months and four days ago,

my dad suddenly passed away.

I just never really thought about my dad

going away like that.

In fact, I've never thought about my dad

going away at all.

I just arrived in Israel two days ago.

Right now I'm in Nazareth,

and the very first stop is this church over here

where Jesus turned water into wine.

And this was where people really started to question

whether or not he was the Messiah.

FEILER: Brian's parents were Buddhists from Taiwan,

but gave him no formal religious training.

KWAN: I always wondered

if I was blindsided by a car, where would I go?

It was just so mind-boggling to me to think about,

and it would actually keep me up at night

because I had no background in faith.

When I turned 16 I decided to go

to my first church service, and that's where I experienced

God's love and his story.

God the father loves his son so much

and yet he gave up his son so that we may live.

That story about a father and a son relationship

is so intriguing to me,

that is actually what brought me to Christ.

FEILER: A related question has brought him here.

Over the years, Brian has heard

that only Christians go to heaven,

but since his father wasn't Christian,

what does that mean for him?

So it shook my faith quite a bit

and I decided to make this journey of mine

so that I could reexamine my life and determine

whether or not Christianity was going to be the faith

that I was going to pursue for the rest of my life.

What does it mean to question

whether you want to be Christian?

Questioning is very important

for my faith because I think

the moment that you stop questioning,

that's the same moment that you kind of stop growing

in your faith.

You're either always walking

towards the direction of God or you're walking away.

FEILER: The Galilee is a landscape of faith,

but also struggle.

It's filled with biblical sites, early churches

and the ruins of ancient synagogues.

The Gospels say Jesus performed a miracle on this spot.

For Brian, the place raises the question

of wther his father received God's blessing.

KWAN: If there is really a creator,

then my dad probably would have met his creator.

My question isn't so much, was my Dad a Christian?

My question now becomes, is Jesus Christ the Messiah?

Because if he is, then I believe whole-heartedly

that my Dad is in heaven with him.

That's another reason why I decided to embark

on this journey.

FEILER: The climactic event in Jesus' life

occurred in Jerusalem.

The southern steps

are one of the best preserved remnants

of the Second Temple compound that was here

2,000 years ago when Jesus lived.

This structure replaced Solomon's temple

that was destroyed 600 years earlier.

I always like this spot personally,

because to me it feels

like what it must have felt like

2,000 years ago.

You're an archaeologist.

When Jesus came here, we know

that he was walking up and down these steps?

RABBI ROSEN: Every Jewish person,

every member of the different tribes

of the people of Israel,

aspired to come up to the Temple

for the pilgrim festivals.

By that time, the Second Temple period,

Jerusalem's place is categorically confirmed

as the center, as the pilgrimage location,

as the unique place of God's dwelling

in this earthly world.

FEILER: Within a generation of Jesus' death,

Jerusalem was burned again--

this te by the Romans--

and the Second Temple was destroyed.

Thousands of Jews were slaughtered.

Others fled into exile.

These are massive cut stones;

where are they from?

RABBI ROSEN: For many Jews, they thought

it was the end of the whole story,

especially those cast off into exile.

The idea of Jerusalem, the idea of pilgrimage,

of being able to visit, was a dream,

was a hope that was passed on

from one generation to another.

We are privileged to live in the time

when we can actually not only live in,

but flourish in Jerusalem.

This was something which generations before

could never imagine.

(chanting)

FEILER: The Western Wall,

known for centuries as the Wailing Wall,

is considered the holiest spot in the world for Jews

because it would have been closest to the Temple

that once stood here.

Among the thousands here today for Sukkot

are Lazer and Leibel Mangel, cousins from Ohio.

A lot of people say that spirituality

is for the old,

that young people,

they're caught up in tir digital technology

and they don't care about something as abstract

and untouchable as God.

LAZER MANGEL: And I'll tell you, I was the same way.

I think eventually you find yourself

living a kind of empty life,

and you find yourself looking for something greater,

something to ground yourself,

something to kind of anchor yourself to.

Here we're all the same.

We come here for...

FEILER: Seven months ago, Liebel came here

to join the Israeli Defense Forces

and turn his faith into service.

Coming here for this experience,

getting to serve my people,

getting to protect my land is once in a lifetime.

So you are going to walk down here,

put your hand up on that wall;

what are you going to feel?

LEIBEL: I think every time it's different.

You just thank God for everything you have.

It's really not a thing you can put into words.

FEILER: But it is something you can feel.

At least if you come,

at least if you open yourself up to the possibility.

Jerusalem is not just holy to Jews and Christians,

it's holy to Muslims, too.

The city was the first one Muslims prayed to

in the early years of Islam

and Mohammad is said to have come here

during a miraculous nighttime journey.

Today, Arabs make up 80% of the Old City

and half the modern city outside the 16th century walls.

Jamal Amro and his family live in East Jerusalem,

right below the Al-Aqsa mosque,

which is built near the spot where it's believed

the Temple once stood.

JAMAL AMRO: It means a lot to be Muslim in Jerusalem

because you are living

in one of the most important cities in the world.

Every Muslim is recommended to come

with his family to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In spite of 200 mosques in Jerusalem,

Al-Aqsa Mosque has extra value.

Millions of Muslims in the world,

they are dreaming to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

FEILER: For more than 1,000 years,

this has been one of the most sacred sites in all of Islam.

(chanting)

Let's look out at this landscape for a second.

Here's the Mount of Olives.

We see churches commemorating where Jesus was

the night before he died.

You've got the Western Wall,

Jewish tradition that this is where Abraham went

to sacrifice Isaac

and where the Holy of Holies was.

You've got the Dome of the Rock, you've got Al-Aqsa.

Is this a city of conflict

or a city of coexistence?

Both.

Right now, at this moment, we are sharing the city,

but it's almost like a couple in a bad marriage.

They continue to sharing the same house,

they rub shoulders in the kitchen,

but you have this little bit of unease.

Who'd provide the marriage counseling here

for this troubled city?

I would say that there's a lot to share.

FEILER: The central Petri dish in that troubled marriage

is the Old City,

the most contentious third of a square mile

in world religion.

It's divided into four quarters:

Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian.

Beyond those interfaith divisions,

there are even greater intra-religious rivalries,

as different denominations fight with one another

over who controls access to the sacred sites.

RABBI ROSEN: Generally speaking,

this city, which should be an inspiration

to the three religions

to have a special respect and bond with each other

has been more fought over than celebrated,

and there's been more competition

than partnership.

FEILER: It's quite dramatic.

You can get a sense of the tension

and also the heightened emotion in this place.

You can see there, that's the top of Al-Aqsa.

And this pathway,

which is a way for Muslim worshippers

to climb up to the top of the dome,

when it was opened, it created a clash

a number of years ago.

What always strikes me about coming here

is the layers of contention.

Not only do Jews and Muslims fight over this space,

but Jews are fighting other Jews

over access to the Wall.

As romantic as pilgrimages can be,

there's a risk that contemporary politics

can overwhelm the journey.

To me, to be a pilgrim is to push through

that layer of now,

to reenter the past

and maybe for the first time ever

make contact with the foundation of who you are.

The Koran says that God is the God of all of us.

This God is the God of Abraham,

he's the God of Moses, he's the God of Jesus,

he's the God of the Prophet Muhammad,

and ultimately it's the same God.

When Muslims come to Jerusalem, definitely they are fulfilling

almost like a commandment.

The Prophet said that Muslims can travel

to either of the three mosques,

the mosque in Mecca, the mosque in Medina

or the mosque in Jerusalem for spiritual pilgrimage.

FEILER: Muslims have been making pilgrimage to Jerusalem

since the time of Mohammad in the sixth century.

Christian pilgrimage began earlier,

becoming popular after Emperor Constantine

converted to Christianity in the fourth century

and made travel safe.

It was Constantine's mother, Empress Helena,

who made the most important pilgrimage.

Traveling just a decade after her son's conversion,

she ordered the construction of a string of churches,

from Nazareth to Bethlehem to Jerusalem.

When Empress Helena came here,

local Christians told her of the tradition

that this is the place where Jesus was crucified,

buried and resurrected.

On the orders of her son, a church was built.

Ever since, for pilgrims to the Holy Land,

a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

has been a highlight of their journey.

FATHER GARRET EDMUNDS: If you accept the fact

that these events happened here--

the story of Jesus' life, the central events of salvation

as Christians understand it--

we can argue that it is the most sacred place

in the Christian world.

(bells tolling)

This is a building that's shared

between six different Christian traditions,

different cultures, different experiences

and expressions of their religious faith.

And they all want to be able

to get as much out of this building as they can.

For the most part, it works out pretty well.

FEILER: Here's an example of how intense

this rivalry has been.

A century ago, a dispute arose over this step.

The Greek Orthodox control the plaza,

and the Franciscans the stairs.

So which is this?

Is it a stair, or is it part of the flat surface?

At one point, that dispute became so heated

the two sides descended into violence.

With different Christian groups

controlling different parts of the building,

almost 1,000 years ago,

a solution was devised for a specific problem.

Who controlled access to the front doors?

Every day before dawn,

Adeeb Joudeh makes the same walk.

Since 1192, his family and one other

have been assigned to keep the key

to this contentious church.

(knocking on door)

The Muslim sultan who ruled Jerusalem

in the 12th century was so fed up

with the constant bickering among Christian factions,

he appointed two Muslim families to guard the door.

Today, Christian monks still lock themselves inside overnight

to protect their territory,

only to be let out in the morning

when the Muslim overseer arrives.

It's a reminder that for all the tension,

these different faiths still share an interest

in maintaining the sanctity of these holy places.

(knocking)

Only when Christians and Muslims in this Jewish state cooperate

can the great doors be opened

and the flocks of pilgrims and tourists

who've gathered outside enter the place

where a Jewish teacher was crucified by pagans

2,000 years ago.

As hard as you try, you cannot separate

one of these religions from the other,

especially here.

To come on pilgrimage to this land

is to be reminded of the permanent braid

that entwines the children of Jerusalem.

Adeeb Joudeh tugs on that thread every day--

a peacemaker in a place of turmoil.

Is this the original key?

This is the original.

Is there a back-up?

What happens if you lose it?

I have also another one in my house.

Oh, you do have another one.

Now, can I see... you have a document here.

May I see what you've brought me?

Okay, so can you tell me what it says?

(speaking Arabic)

So this is the stamp of the Sultan

that indicates that it comes

from his private stationery?

Your family name is right here?

Yes.

FEILER: An 800-year-old charter written in liquid gold,

giving a Muslim family in a Jewish country

control over Christianity's highest church.

A shared land, indeed.

(bells ringing)

It's the richness of this land

and the depth of that tradition

that pulls me back here

over and over again.

From the first moment I came to Jerusalem,

I felt at home.

I always thought of myself as a bungee cord.

I would travel to a new place and bounce back.

But when I came here, I wanted to stay.

I've come to realize over the years

that almost everyone who comes to Jerusalem

feels the same way.

A visit to Jerusalem is an invitation to find out

more about who you are

and especially what you believe.

We're now halfway through the week of Sukkot.

Ahava invites me to visit friends in their sukkah.

Channa Mason and her husband, David,

are Americans who've made the decision

to live in Jerusalem full time.

It's the choice Ahava faces for herself.

ZAREMBSKI: My grandparents

from my father's side are Holocaust survivors.

(praying)

ZAREMBSKI: What that means in terms of Jewish identity

is so complex.

Our relationship with Israel

and the need for Israel to survive

was a matter of personal survival

and of national survival

and that was infused in our blood.

Do you feel

like you are on a permanent pilgrimage?

Yes, but I'm not exactly Israeli.

I'm always going to be an immigrant.

I'm always going to be, to a certain degree, a foreigner.

DAVID: I absolutely found myself

at home here in Israel,

but it's constantly a process.

So much of what our Jewish tradition is trying to tell us

is that we're put here on earth

to be growing and to be exploring.

ZAREMBSKI: As a Jew in America, I really have

to search out my Judaism and I have to go to the places

where, you know, the community is.

And here it surrounds me.

FEILER: What's unique about the land of Israel

is that the same sliver of earth-- 70 miles at its widest--

nourishes pilgrims with such different beliefs.

But that land is also rugged, arid and harsh,

especially for pilgrims.

Brian learned this firsthand.

KWAN: I was going to take a hike to Kibbutz Lavi.

It's only supposed to be about a four- to five-hour hike

and I had a liter and a half of water,

which I thought was going to be enough,

which ended up being

one of the first bad decisions of the day.

So carrying five liters of water is mandatory.

KWAN: I continued on the journey and I saw a town

and I thought that that was going

to be my next destination, but it turns out it wasn't,

it was another town.

And that's when I figured out

that I was supposed to take an exit somewhere.

The Jesus Trail markers had stopped;

that's when I realized

just how unshaded and how hot it was.

There'd be bushes and bushes of thorns,

I mean just fields of thorn.

By now I'd run out of water, I'd opped sweating,

and I knew that that was one of the signs of dehydration.

That was the scariest part.

But I knew that God was with me

and that my Dad was with me too.

And I could imagine my Dad seeing me in that condition

and being really sad for me.

(voice trembling): I would never want to do that to my Dad so...

FEILER: Two hours pass before Brian sees a group of hikers

who can help.

KWAN: And I asked them in English,

"Do you guys have any water?"

And they said, "Yeah, yeah, of course,"

and so they invited me to go under the tree with them

and they were so kind.

I ended up hiking for ten hours.

I don't know how I'm still alive or conscious.

FEILER: The scare has been a transforming moment for Brian.

As he reaches the great cliffs that look down

on the River Jordan and Sea of Galilee,

he's ready to make the decision

about the future of his faith.

Oh, my God.

KWAN: I just feel

like I've literally conquered a mountain.

I went down and up a mountain.

FEILER: Jesus' story is particularly conducive to pilgrimage.

Many of the key events in his life took place

in natural settings--

on the top of a mountain, by the side of the road,

here on the Sea of Galilee.

For pilgrims seeking a reflective experience,

the Jesus Trail is ideal.

It takes you out into open places

where you can have a private encounter with God.

Adam and Christina have reached

a similar juncture.

ADAM: We're looking for a faith experience,

our spiritual experience while we're here.

CHRISTINA: I think the pilgrimage, the idea of it

was me connecting with God, but I think He's telling me

that He's there all the time,

whether I'm in the Holy Land or not.

I had a very set expectation

that I was going to have these feelings,

these thoughts, these emotions,

this spirituality just flood me.

And at first I was a little disappointed

when I didn't get that.

There's something special about this place for sure.

But I'll look back and say,

things that happened weren't even on my radar

of what to look forward to.

FEILER: They've arrived at the Mount of Beatitudes,

where tradition says that Jesus

gave his plea to compassion, the Sermon on the Mount.

FATHER EDMUNDS: What I want to encourage people to do

on a pilgrimage is to look at these stories anew, fresh.

They're so familiar to us, they can become mundane

because of their familiarity.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"Blessed are the meek,

"for they will inherit the earth.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst

"for righteousness, for they will be filled.

"Blessed are the peacemakers,

"for they will be called children of God.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted

"because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom in Heaven."

ADAM: 2,000 years later, here we sit,

but it's the same words, it's the same place.

CHRISTINA: We focus so much

on how divine he was,

which is huge, but he was also a man,

which is just as huge.

The whole point was that God sent someone

to be here with us and to understand

what we've been through.

This is the first time

that I've really been able to connect with that

and understand who he was as a man,

more so than I ever have been able to before

because of the pilgrimage.

FATHER EDMUNDS: Probably a majority of the gospel stories

we have about Jesus took place

in this little corner of the Sea of Galilee.

It was on the Sea of Galilee

when he first encountered these fishermen

and called them to be his disciples.

FEILER: For more than 750 years,

Franciscan friars like Father Garrett Edmunds

have protected the Christian shrines

and welcomed pilgrims to the Holy Land.

FATHER EDMUNDS: Often times, even today on the Sea of Galilee,

in the late afternoon, a storm comes up

and the sea, which is normally

smooth as glass becomes very choppy

and very difficult and very threatening.

And the disciples were afraid that the boat

was going to sink.

ADAM: "He replied, ye of little faith,

"why are you so afraid?

"And he got up and rebuked the winds

and the waves and it was completely calm."

FEILER: Adam and Christina have reached the place

many pilgrims reach, no matter the religion.

Where a faith that may have been abstract or assumed

becomes grounded to history and landscape.

Back in Jerusalem, the landscape comes alive

on one of the final days of Sukkot.

Today is the mass blessing of the Jewish people

that occurs at the climax of the pilgrimages

in the spring and fall.

It's 7:30 in the morning and I'm standing

in the male section of the Western Wall.

People have been gathered for hours now,

assembled close to the wall to get a good place.

You see lots of people now streaming in,

carrying their lulav and their etrog,

chanting is picking up.

You get the sense that something exciting is about to happen.

Tell me what's going on here.

There's a blessing of the priests

to the people, which is a commandment

all the way back to the time

in the desert, Bruce.

And we've been doing it since.

That's Jewish tradition.

Hundreds of priests will come and at one time

give a blessing to the people of Israel

like it used to be at the Temple.

(chanting)

FEILER: Around 80,000 people gather for this special occasion,

though only men descended from Moses' brother Aaron

are included in the ritual.

They're called Kohanim.

We just finished the morning prayer

and we're coming up to the priestly blessing.

So all the Kohanim are removing their shoes

as if they were on the Temple Mount.

(chanting)

(worshippers chanting in response)

FEILER: Mass blessings like these took place daily

when the Temple stood, but were stopped

during the years of exile.

They were reinstated

after Israel captured the Old City in 1967.

These worshippers are not taking pictures,

they're using cell phones to transmit the blessing live

to Kohanim around the world.

RABBI SELAVAN: There's this moment of a sense of God's presence

and of blessing and of hope.

Something is happening amidst all the confusion--

who are the Jewish people,

who are the people of Israel, all the politics.

This is a moment that, as it says in the Bible,

as it's in tradition,

as we did for hundreds of years in the Temple,

we have a taste of what that was like.

FEILER: The threads of faith continue to unfurl

and to tug believers of all faiths

back to this land.

Adam and Christina have now arrived

just outside the eastern walls of the Old City

at the Mount of Olives.

FATHER EDMUNDS: The Garden of Gethsemane

is the place where the story

of Jesus' passion and suffering begins.

Jesus, even in his humanity, has a sense

that great events are about ready to unfold.

And he's not sure in his humanity

if this is really something that he's ready for and up to.

ADAM: You seem really sad.

I have a lot of... yes!

But it's a peaceful place.

It wasn't.

I mean did you read on?

Yes, this is where he was apprehended.

FEILER: Gethsemane is the place Jesus' impending death

becomes real for many pilgrims.

But it was God's will.

FATHER EDMUNDS: He accepts what lies ahead

and that's why it's important for us as Christians

to remember this is something

that in a human dimension is very real.

FEILER: This last stage can be a deeply emotional experience

as the pilgrims feel as if they are walking

in the footsteps of Jesus' final days.

Just as Jesus walked, they walk

and as in all sacred journeys, time seems to collapse

and the pilgrims feel

as if they are entering the past.

FATHER EDMUNDS: The events from his arrest,

to his condemnation,

to his carrying of the cross,

to his arriving at Calvary and being nailed to the cross,

to his being lifted high on the cross,

to his dying on the cross are all part

of what in the Christian tradition is known

as the Way of the Cross or the Via Dolorosa,

the Way of Sadness.

FEILER: Early Christian pilgrims mapped out these steps

along a route that became known

as the 14 stations of the cross.

ADAM: A lot of people witnessing this.

CHRISTINA: It's not like it was an untrodden path

that he was taking.

ADAM: Yeah, by design they wanted him

to come through the busier part of the city,

so that he could essentially be on full display.

Okay, here's five then.

FEILER: This is station number five,

commemorating where a bystander was told

to carry Jesus' cross.

If pilgrimage is about difficult questions,

this may be the most difficult:

Why did Jesus die?

Christina and Adam are now where tradition says

that crucifixion occurred:

the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

FATHER EDMUNDS: Part of the Christian narrative

is that the conflict, the pain, the difficulty

that we experience in this world

is not something that I think human beings

have oftentimes found

that they can solve all on their own.

And so we come to this place and we remember

that by rising, Jesus calls us to share

in that risen life, which transcends the conflicts

and the hurts and the pains of this world.

CHRISTINA: This isn't a museum,

this was built around a site that was real,

and things that happened that were absolutely real.

There was a man named Jesus on a cross

and he died and was buried, and was washed on that stone.

Those things are all very real.

FEILER: But what happened next?

For pilgrims, that is the very real question

that being here raises:

Was Jesus resurrected?

Was he saved by God?

And will I be?

FATHER EDMUNDS: Pilgrimage can help us

to frame the reality that we experience.

It doesn't mean of course that those things all go away,

that you no longer have any problems in your life,

but you're able to look at those problems

from a different perspective.

CHRISTINA: I guess I came here

thinking I would be sad,

but instead I'm happy because He's not here,

and that's a good thing

because He still lives on with us today.

FEILER: Pilgrimage doesn't always provide the answers,

but it often provides clarity.

Brian has reached his destination.

He's arrived at the River Jordan,

where the Bible says Jesus was baptized.

And for Brian, the mourning son,

he's come to realize that his spiritual crisis

was mostly grief over his father's death.

He's now ready to rededicate himself to his faith.

KWAN: An American group is coming.

They're bringing their pastor,

and so my hope is that I'm going to be able to get baptized

alongside them.

WOMAN: Hallelujah!

(cheers and applause)

KWAN: And that's going to be kind of the symbolism

of my old life going away and being washed away.

And then I'm going to be lifted up,

proclaiming that I believe in the Father, the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

WOMAN: Hallelujah!

(cheers and applause)

KWAN: When I began this journey,

I think I was seeking assurance--

assurance of where my dad is right now,

assurance that I'll see him again.

I can't say that I'm disappointed

that I didn't find that assurance.

I think there's a part

in just letting time heal me.

FEILER: Pilgrimage, no matter the destination,

is a way to mark time.

The places are largely unchanged.

It's the pilgrims who do the changing.

It's the final night of Sukkot,

and Ahava has invited friends

to dine with her in her Sukkah to hear her decision.

Her first stop is the market.

Do you have a certain set of places

that you like to go to?

Sure I do.

I have my cheese guy, and my carrot guy,

and my hummus guy

and my wine guy.

I feel like part of being a local is knowg

who your particular favorite people are, definitely.

Wow, it smells delicious.

FEILER: Food is central to all religious festivals.

In Judaism, after Jerusalem was sacked,

the family table assumed some of the symbolism

of the Temple.

A place to experience the presence of God.

I've seen some halva in my day.

This is the sesame-based,

but I've never seen it like this.

I mean there must be 50 flavors here,

it's like an Italian gelato spread.

This is coffee?

This is coffee.

Amazing, this is sweet nuts,

Strawberry.

Strawberry, it's like cheesecake.

ZAREMBSKI: We're going to have lots of close friends.

I'm sure there will be lots of song,

lots of good food, and lots of community,

gathered in a really small space

and there is an intimacy that exists there

that I really look forward to sharing with everyone.

I'm going to wait right here and use all my restraint

not to eat fig

until we're under the sukkah, how about that?

Exactly.

These are pretty great looking.

FEILER: Sukkot teaches a valuable lesson

about religious quests.

Some sacred journeys are grand,

involving years of planning and months of travel.

But they don't have to.

Every believer is on a journey of some kind.

Sometimes, all it takes is to pause amidst the chaos,

gather with friends

and create a moment of connection.

(speaking Hebrew)

FEILER: Everything I'd ever heard in my life

about the feival of Sukkot

has focused on the construction,

but the longer I'm here, the more I realize

it's less about the construction

and it's more about the space

that the construction creates.

There's a lot of Jewish law that gets very nit-picky

about how we're going to go about doing things,

but it's usually all this detail

that goes into creating a place

where beautiful things can happen,

where holiness can happen.

Which is so interesting because that's

what we're doing in Sukkot.

We're leaving our space and going into a new space.

What you're saying is the tradition builds in

the idea of these mini journeys

in the course of the year?

And yet at the same time, we live in a moment

when the idea of generating your own faith,

of creating your own belief system,

of going on a journey, is very popular.

ZAREMBSKI: This is the difference between organized religion

and spirituality.

How much are people willing to...

make hard choices to go on a journey,

an enormous journey that will shift

the trajectory of your life.

FEILER: As Sukkot draws to an end,

Ahava has made her choice.

Though she'll always have a foot

in both worlds, her future is here.

I'm not 100% Israeli and I'm not 100% American.

I do think I'm a perpetual pilgrim,

and now I'm starting to ask myself, what does this mean?

What it looks like it may mean is to come back in February,

and possibly with a one-way ticket.

Part of living in the modern world

is this blessed capacity to go back and forth

and not feel like either has to be permanent or forever.

FEILER: The pilgrimage ends, but the journey does not.

The night after Sukkot finishes,

Jews again gather before the Western Wall

to celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah,

when the annual reading of the Torah ends

and the new year begins.

The questions never cease.

LAZER MANGEL: We finish the entire Torah scroll,

the five books of Moses, every year.

We read one chapter a week,

and then we just finished it tonight, so we celebrate.

Within the same ceremony you read the ending of the book

and then you scroll all the way back

to the beginning, then start over.

(singing)

While I feel out of place with the dancing

and with the celebration itself,

I still feel like I belong here.

It's conflicting, but it's my people.

It's different.

LEIBEL MANGEL: In America, the dream is to come here

to be able to celebrate this holiday here.

For us, this is the holiest place in the world,

so where else better can you do it

than at the Western Wall?

(singing)

FEILER: I've been on pilgrimages all over the world

in many different faiths and the one thing

they all have in common is they give the pilgrim

the chance to escape the ordinary

and encounter the extraordinary.

A pilgrimage at its core is a gesture of action,

and the words pilgrims use capture this physicality.

They feel a deeper connection to their faith,

they feel closer to God.

Their beliefs are less abstract, more concrete.

In a world in which more and more things

are digital and ephemeral,

a sacred journey gives the pilgrim the chance

to experience something real.

I'm in the Arabian Desert,

home to one of the great pilgrimages in the world,

where for thousands of years people have come to answer

the call of Abraham

and celebrate the worship of one god.

Coming to Mecca on the Hajj is a duty and privilege

for all Muslims.

MAN: I truly was alone

with God in a sea of five million people.

FEIL: The Hajj, next time on Sacred Journeys

with Bruce Feiler.

Find more information and exclusive video

on Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler

at pbs.org/sacredjourneys.

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