Hosanna! Preserve the Feelings of Oral Knowledge

        This is a bonus post that does not have to do with my ancient culture, but as we were talking in class today about history as it is experienced and history as it is written and interpreted, I thought about an experience I had yesterday relating to this. Thinking about the disconnect that happens between the reality of the past and interpretation of the past, much is lost. Regarding a religious, sacred experience, I believe the most important thing to preserve is not the finite details, but the feelings.  

          I had the opportunity to spend a day in Jerusalem in the days of Christ yesterday as an extra in the Church's new New Testament movie. I participated in the scene of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the task of embodying a young Jewish woman rejoicing to witness and worship her Savior. 

          In preparation for this experience, we were asked to read the passage depicting the account of this event in the 4 Gospels. Reading them in the King James version, I notice these are not identical accounts. I realize this consists of oral knowledge written down years later, so it makes sense that two people preserved the memory differently. In just expressing one sentence to describe what people said, you lose the finite details, especially individual experiences, but as long as you capture the actual feelings you want people to remember, does it matter? The biblical accounts are written in a formal language that reflects the sacredness of the experience in one concise sentence and fits into the institution of the bible for a medium of knowledge. 

Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. (Matthew 21:9)

 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. (Luke 19:38)

       
           However, for me, reenacting the experience added much more personal depth to my understanding of the event. Filming yesterday, we did not all shout the same rehearsed thing, but instead, praised the Lord orally however we wanted to. I clapped my hands in the air, waved my palm, and shouted "Hosanna! The Lord has come! My Savior is here!" etc. and whatever else came to my mind and heart to express my testimony, joy, and gratitude to see the Savior. I actually don't remember word for word what I said, especially since we filmed the shot a dozen-plus times. However, I remember how I feel. I was embodying a young jewish woman 2000 years ago who actually witnessed this sacred event. I was moved to tears when I first saw Him and felt full of joy. Christ took my hand and smiled at me! He knows me. Rejoice! Feelings surpass words, but you can still pass on a feeling through words, even if it doesn't describe it perfectly. 

Yet, it was still an artificial experience as the real event can’t ever be reproduced exactly, especially for each of the hundreds of individual people involved. I don’t know exactly how a woman my age would have felt in that situation, or even if there was a 20.5 year old woman there. I can’t imagine seeing my actual Savior, even Jesus Christ come down the street on a donkey. Regardless of this disconnect, in that moment where I was reinacting someone else’s experience yesterday, I got a glimpse of what it might be like, but in feelings, not in words.

    Note: Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures on set and cannot post any pictures of my experience anywhere online ever, due to copyright reasons and hefty fines, sorry. If you want to see pictures, I can personally show you them on my computer.