Handal’s “The Room”- referencing the Cenacle?

    This week's poetry recitations resulted in several questions, and one of them was actually discussed on Tuesday in class. This question revolved around what the room is that Nathalie Handal talks about in her aptly named work The Room. Much like acknowledged in class, there isn’t much to go on. A search through the first several pages of Google resulted in only one site containing anything that could be even remotely connected to her works. The site contains an interview with Handal herself, in which she explains her heritage. 

“I come from a deeply rooted Bethlehemite family. Today there are few Bethlehemite families left in the Old City. The birthplace of Jesus has shrunk, and less than 2 percent of the oldest Christian community in the world is in its native habitat” (Shea, 2019).

Although the interview mentions nothing of a room or anything of the sort, I couldn’t help but wonder if the room that Handal speaks of in her work is the room in which the Last Supper was held. This room, also known as the Upper room (Acts 1) (and now commonly known as the Cenacle), is located in Mount Zion in Jerusalem (CenturyOne Foundation, 1990). With Handal’s reference to Zion in her poem, I can’t help but wonder if she is referring to its location. Additionally, when she writes that the room “[h]ides in the windows of Jerusalem'' (Handal, line 25), she could potentially be referring to the location as well, as the cite is in Jerusalem. If one looks at its location, it is placed smack between several buildings such as an Abbey, a monastery, the Jerusalem Intercultural Center, and the Chamber of the Holocaust (Google, n.d.). As such, Handal could be referring to how it is almost hidden between these other buildings, but visible through the windows of them.

Additionally, Handal talks about “a room hides inside our childhood” (Handal, line 17). Beyond the idea that the room is “hidden” with all these other buildings around it, the poem could be referring to Handal’s knowledge of it and the history surrounding it from her childhood. Many with religious families come to know and remember the story of the life of Jesus, regardless of where their religious beliefs place Him (be it son of God, prophet, cool figure, etc.). So, at least in my mind, there stands the potential that  Handal means that the room hiding in her childhood is the room that she learned about in her youth: the Upper Room. Although it may be a stretch, as we don’t really have any evidence as to what Handal is actually talking about, I can’t help but think that she is referring to the room in which Jesus held the Last Supper. 

References

BibleHub. (n.d.). Acts 1. Acts 1 cambridge bible for schools and colleges. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/acts/1.htm 

CenturyOne Foundation, I. (1990). The Church of the Apostles Found on Mount Zion. Church of the apostles found on Mt. Zion - Pixner - bar and CenturyOne Foundation. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from http://www.centuryone.org/apostles.html 

Google. (n.d.). [Cenacle]. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cenacle/@31.7721264,35.2284442,17.15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x150329ccfa68a0ad:0xccba7c3afc459bb1!8m2!3d31.7718357!4d35.2293139

Handal, Nathalie. (N.D.). The Room.

Shea, R. H. (2019, November 27). Distant places and pulses: A conversation with Nathalie Handal. Poets & Writers. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://www.pw.org/content/distant_places_and_pulses_a_conversation_with_nathalie_handal