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| Roadsigns |
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| Help Support Victims of Terror |
| On our tour, we met with representatives of Hands of Mercy, a broad-based, Israeli Non-Profit Organization serving as an 'outreach' expression of compassion and support to the many individuals and families now suffering from the tragic events of terror, violence, and war. Won't you, please, give to help these victims and their families? |
| Help Fight Back Against Terror |
| On our tour, we were also privileged to hear from the director of Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center, a legal rights institute based in Israel dedicated to providing legal representation and resources for the numerous courtroom struggles which are being waged in the Israeli, American and European courts on behalf of the Jewish State. Striking at the terrorists where they are most vulnerable, in the funding, the Israel Law Center needs your help to continue this expensive, yet effective struggle. |
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| Rachel the Poetess |
The first site we visited was the the Kinneret Cemetery where many of the great Zionists are buried. Perhaps none was greater, in a way, than Rachel the Poetess.
There is no agreement on her last name, (Blubshtain? Blaustein? Bluwstein?) but it does not matter. The Hebrew on her grave simply says Rachel.
Rachel was a Zionist in a time when being a Zionist was a silly dream. She came from Russia to Eretz-Israel in 1809, when it was still the Ottoman province of Palestine. She moved to the Kibbutz Kinneret on the shores of what is called in English the Sea of Galilee. She lived there for only a few years, falling in love with the land, its vistas, and the people.
Because she so dearly loved the soil, she was convinced to go to Toulouse, France, to study agronomy and drawing in 1913. Unfortunately, World War I broke out, and she was unable to return to her home. Instead, she returned to Russia where she worked teaching with Jewish refugee children. It was there she caught the tuberculosis which would eventually kill her.
When she did finally return to what was now the British Mandate for Palestine, supposedly intended for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people, she was not allowed to return to the kibbutz on the shores she loved, nor could she work with children, as tuberculosis was considered a highly contagious, always fatal disease.
Although Rachel died unwed and childless on April 16, 1931, at the age of 41, her poetry survived her and still inspires many. It is among the most popular poetry in a nation of poets and songwriters.
One poem, which our guide read to us, is translated as follows:
The Childless One
Would that I had a little boy,
A wise lad, and with raven locks,
To take him by the hand, and walk
Slowly upon the garden-walks.
And 'Uri' would I call my son,
A delicate name, and full of joy,
A name that is a sunbeam - such
The name of my small winsome boy.
Yet shall I grow bitter, like Mother Rachel...
Yet shall I pray, like Hannah in Shiloh...
Yet shall I wait
For him.
Her wish was to be buried in the Kinneret cemetery in a grave overlooking the Sea of Galilee. This was granted. The spot is beautiful and has become a place of pilgrimage, the stones quietly marking the respect of visitors.
Rachel's poetry, and what it meant to our guide and the Israeli people colored my visit.
It is easy as Americans to bring a lot of baggage to Israel, to think we know how things should run and operate, what the politicians should do, or what their response to various provocations should be. It is harder to listen and share the soul of the people.
To Die Young
To die young, to die,
No, I did not want.
No, I did not want.
I loved the warm sun,
The light, the song, the sparkle of your eyes.
And I did not want the devastation of war.
No, I did not want.
No, I did not want.
But if I am destined to live today
In bloodshed and lack of peace,
I will say: "Blessed is G-d, and he has the right
To give me life and to take it away,
On this land, my land, the land of my birthright."
To die young, to die...
This is the heart of the Israeli people I love. |
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| 1 Comments: |
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This was our first site on this wonderful tour. It impacted my heart and soul in a way that defies words(expression)and set the stage for the rest of the tour. I have delayed sending this to you because it was so difficult to put into words and needed processing time. This is the best I can do.
It was as though arrows of revelation were shooting into my heart continously at this site. My heart got so full that I could not contain it. Tears involuntarily began to roll down my face and to drip on the ground. Where are the kleenexes when you need them? I finially had to turn away and start taking pictures for a time to avoid embarrassment.
First came an intense awareness of the Jew's love of the Land of Israel and the sacrifices they have made for "her" over the generations. As was the case with all the arrows, I had intense emotion of both grief and joy in the same moment. It's as though the blood of murdered Jews was calling out to me from the land. Yet there was a sense of celebration and joy because though they have suffered through many generations, Hashem has been with them. They have persisted and blessed many nations. They have overcome great obstacles and Hashem has brought them back to the Land as He promised.
The second arrow was an identification with Rachael's deep longing for a son whom she never had. As Shlomo was reading her poem about Urie it was impossible to ignore her pain. I was barren and intimately acquainted with her hearts cry. In our 50's we adopted three children and it was a great joy. But grief came(now no longer on the surface, but deeply felt). Our yougest was killed in a car accident 5 years ago. He was just 14. Many Jewish mothers have and are grieving for the loss of their children in war and persecution. All of a sudden, my grief and their grief became as "one". A parent should not have to bury their children. Yet, we are not alone and we have hope for the future.
Arrow number three was Shlomo's description of the custom of putting rocks on the graves of loved ones to honor them. He said it was done this way because rocks are plentiful in Israel and cost little. Then I remembered a scripture I had read that said (paraphrased)....My people will even love the rocks of the land I have given them. What more can you leave with someone you have loved than something you love?! The flowers we place do not carry as great a price as the rocks of Israel.
This time of weeping was both joy and grief. It's like a phenominal experience of two seperated emotions being made wholy into one.
There are more arrows that came to me then there is space to share them. But I must tell you about one more. It is one that I, as yet, do not understand.
When Shlomo and Rabbi Feldman were being very transparent in sharing their "soul" with us I became acutely aware of an atmosphere around-about that was indescribable. It was somehow a part of, yet seperate from, what was being said and what had been said before. It was so available and so present that it felt one could physically touch it, yet it could not be grasped. It was as though The Spirit of the Living G-d was hovering, loving, and imparting to me/us things beyond my/our human understanding, that defy explanation.
Maybe it was a revelation of G-d's faithfulness to His Word and His Covenant with the Land of Israel and His Covenant people! Who can comprehend that fully?! I'm not sure what happened here, but it was an experience of a life time. Maybe someday it will be revealed.
October 15, 2006
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| An Unbelieveable Journey |
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45 Americans - Orthodox Jews, Messianic Jews, Christians, and others - toured Israel from June 4 through June 20, 2006, from the Golan to Be'er Sheva, from Tel Aviv to the Dead Sea, from Hevron to Jerusalem.
This site will hold pictures, memories, impressions, lessons learned, and more. Come along with us, and leave your comments as we journey. |
| Contributors |
 - Name: Christopher
Christopher Coleman was born in the US but raised in Central Africa, specifically what was Zaire and is now the Congo, again.
As an adult, Christopher learned of his Jewish heritage, which had been hidden for generations. He also began searching for the Jewish roots of his Christian faith, and eventually joined Adat Yeshua Messianic Congregation.
Although a long time student, and sometimes victim, of foreign affairs and US foreign policy, Christopher assumed there was no point in speaking out until the events of September 11, 2001, made keeping silent impossible. Later that year, he was invited to join Jerry Feldman as co-host of For Zion's Sake, which eventually led to the creation of the For Zion's Sake Blog.
View my complete profile
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| In Honor of the Soldiers and Security Forces which Protected Us and All Israel Throughout Our Tour |
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This was our first site on this wonderful tour. It impacted my heart and soul in a way that defies words(expression)and set the stage for the rest of the tour. I have delayed sending this to you because it was so difficult to put into words and needed processing time. This is the best I can do.
It was as though arrows of revelation were shooting into my heart continously at this site. My heart got so full that I could not contain it. Tears involuntarily began to roll down my face and to drip on the ground. Where are the kleenexes when you need them? I finially had to turn away and start taking pictures for a time to avoid embarrassment.
First came an intense awareness of the Jew's love of the Land of Israel and the sacrifices they have made for "her" over the generations. As was the case with all the arrows, I had intense emotion of both grief and joy in the same moment. It's as though the blood of murdered Jews was calling out to me from the land. Yet there was a sense of celebration and joy because though they have suffered through many generations, Hashem has been with them. They have persisted and blessed many nations. They have overcome great obstacles and Hashem has brought them back to the Land as He promised.
The second arrow was an identification with Rachael's deep longing for a son whom she never had. As Shlomo was reading her poem about Urie it was impossible to ignore her pain. I was barren and intimately acquainted with her hearts cry. In our 50's we adopted three children and it was a great joy. But grief came(now no longer on the surface, but deeply felt). Our yougest was killed in a car accident 5 years ago. He was just 14. Many Jewish mothers have and are grieving for the loss of their children in war and persecution. All of a sudden, my grief and their grief became as "one". A parent should not have to bury their children. Yet, we are not alone and we have hope for the future.
Arrow number three was Shlomo's description of the custom of putting rocks on the graves of loved ones to honor them. He said it was done this way because rocks are plentiful in Israel and cost little. Then I remembered a scripture I had read that said (paraphrased)....My people will even love the rocks of the land I have given them. What more can you leave with someone you have loved than something you love?! The flowers we place do not carry as great a price as the rocks of Israel.
This time of weeping was both joy and grief. It's like a phenominal experience of two seperated emotions being made wholy into one.
There are more arrows that came to me then there is space to share them. But I must tell you about one more. It is one that I, as yet, do not understand.
When Shlomo and Rabbi Feldman were being very transparent in sharing their "soul" with us I became acutely aware of an atmosphere around-about that was indescribable. It was somehow a part of, yet seperate from, what was being said and what had been said before. It was so available and so present that it felt one could physically touch it, yet it could not be grasped. It was as though The Spirit of the Living G-d was hovering, loving, and imparting to me/us things beyond my/our human understanding, that defy explanation.
Maybe it was a revelation of G-d's faithfulness to His Word and His Covenant with the Land of Israel and His Covenant people! Who can comprehend that fully?! I'm not sure what happened here, but it was an experience of a life time. Maybe someday it will be revealed.
October 15, 2006