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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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| Holy Zefat |
 I have found an excellent website on Zefat, one of the four Holy Cities, and the place where we spent the first Shabbat of our tour, one month ago.
It was a beautiful, holy city, tinted with blue. The religious community was welcoming, and the artists were talented, and the mountain air inspires peace and meditation.
 I wish we could be back, now, but, failing that, I will wish you Shabbat Shalom.
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| Ein Gedi: An Israeli oasis |
We took a brief break at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve on Friday 16 June. We all remember the beautiful pools and waterfall, and how wonderfull they felt after the heat at Masada.
Here is an article about the Kibbutz community established in the area in 1953.
Update: I have also been reminded that we drank bottled water from the kibbutz, too, all over Israel. If you wait until you are thirsty, it is too late. |
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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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| Yad La'Shiryon |
On 12 June, we went to Yad La'Shiryon, the armored corps memorial site and museum at Latrun.
 Many of the adults ran like kids over the decommisioned tanks on display. Shlomo, our guide, was surprised. I guess for Americans these are like big toys. For Israelis, these are memorials.
David Pride has a great site showing the armored fighting vehicles on display and giving descriptions of them.
We also saw a video of the dedication of the complex.
One of the most important things we saw there was the Wall of Names, displaying the names of the fallen soldiers from the War of Independence and up to this very day. Every Israeli knows someone on that wall or their family. Shlomo showed us the name of a classmate of his, who had grown up on the same Kibbutz, and died during the Sinai campaign.
To our sorrow, we noted the empty tablets at the end. As much as we wanted to hope, as much as every Israeli wants to hope, that this list will not grow, we know it will. |
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| Between Heaven and Hell |
This morning, we woke up in hell, walked through the Zion Gate, and prayed at the Kotel.
 Perhaps I should explain that the Mt. Zion Hotel Jerusalem is located on the edge of the Hinnom Valley. That is, Gehenna. This is literally, not figuratively, hell. Since we can look across the valley at the Old City and Mount Zion, we do not mind too much.
 The Zion Gate is in the South of the Old City and leads to the Armenian and Jewish Quarters. In 1967, the Israel Defense Forces used this gate to enter and liberate the Old City. In 1948, they could not break through to the Jewish residents held under siege by the Jordanians.
The stones surrounding the gate are still pockmarked by weapons fire; in fact, when we were asking for directions, we were told to look for the gate with bullet holes.
 Today as last night, we went to the Kotel, the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount. This is not a holy place in and of itself. It is not part of the Temple, merely part of Herod's man-made wall built to level off Mount Moriah, so that he could build a spectacular temple (and we have seen some spectacular examples of Herodian architecture; the man was deranged, but he had style).
What has made the Kotel holy is the prayers and tears of generations of Jews who remember and mourn the destruction of the Temple, and who eagerly await its rebuilding. When will that happen? When the monuments to man and false religions are wiped out. In that day, HaShem will be one and his name will be one. Then all nations will know that there is a G~d in Israel. Then will every knee bow and every tongue confess.
[By the way, none of these pictures are original. To rest our souls, we stopped being tourists for Shabbat. This means no cameras, notebooks, knapsacks, shopping, tour bus, etc... Luckily, we can find plenty of stock footage freely shared on teh Intarweb thingy.] |
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| Come, Beloved |
Shabbat is coming to Jerusalem, and we must welcome her.
Soon, we will walk to the Kotel, the last remnant of the Temple Mount, to welcome the sabbath in the holy city. |
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| Between Death and Life |
Today, we head to Hebron, where we will visit the Cave of the Patriarchs, the tomb that Abraham bought for his wife Sarah, where they are buried along with their son Isaac and his wife Rebecca, and their son Jacob and his wife Leah. We will drive within a quarter mile or so of the tomb of Rachel, but it is just not safe to go there, now that the land has been given to the Palestinians. By the same token, yesterday, we saw where Joseph's tomb has been defiled, desecrated, and destroyed, and is now covered with a mosque, but we could not approach the site, itself, because the PA is "protecting" the holy sites as history has led us to believe they will.
Today, we will also visit the Dead Sea, which is also called the Sea of life, and tonight, Masada.
Unfortunately, we will not have time to get back online until we return to Jerusalem, tomorrow night, and by then, it may be too close to Shabbat.
However, I have seen with my own eyes the death and squalor that the Palestinians have chosen, and the life and prosperity the Israelis are building. I have seen the viciously crowded refugee camps surrounded by empty lands to which the Palestinians will not move. I have seen the beautiful Jewish communities which were not built on empty lands on hilltops the Arabs refused to used because they believed a donkey could not live there.
Am Yisrael Chai! The People of Israel Lives! Od Avinu Chai! Our Father Lives! |
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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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