There is a new trail in Jerusalem along the western side of Gai Ben Hinnom, the valley that drops from just past the Old City's Jaffa Gate along Mount Zion, toward its intersection with the Kidron valley. Together, these valleys frame the ancient city, and are perhaps the most recognizable element of what Jewish pilgrims saw 2,000 years ago as they approached the Temple.

In most of Jerusalem, it is difficult to mentally strip away the urban expansion of the past two centuries. Not so in Gai Ben Hinnom. Aside from some strips of asphalt, much of the valley looks untouched, dotted with olive trees and tombs cut into the cliffs from when it was a burial place outside the city.

I walked this trail on Tisha Be'av evening with a group from my synagogue. The synagogue is in the German Colony, five minutes' stroll from the trail's start. The trail ends with a spectacular view of both valleys, the City of David extending up to the Temple Mount, and the valley continuing into the Judean desert toward the Dead Sea.

Our guide told us that, according to Jewish sources, a voice from God told Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who ransacked the First Temple on Tisha Be'av almost 2,600 years ago, that he had "destroyed the destroyed and ground the ground [as in ground flour]." This meant that he should not be proud of himself for conquering the Jews, because God himself had destroyed the Temple as punishment to the Jews.

ONCE AGAIN, we see a striking theme of Jewish history: It is mainly a chronicle of lack of Jewish faith in God - from the Golden Calf, to the Korach rebellion, to the spies who pronounced the land unconquerable, to the destruction of both Temples and exile, all of which our holiest texts and traditions blame squarely on ourselves.

The concept of chosenness, which makes many Jews uncomfortable, shouldn't. Set up for a fall is more like it.

Unlike other religions that link salvation to themselves, Judaism does the opposite: Our tradition says that it is easier for non-Jews to be in God's favor because they are not bound by all the laws that Jews must uphold.