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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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| What did you do today? |
Today was a full day. Actually, today was a full semester.
It started with a wake up call. There is such a thing as jet lag, but we just were not having with it. We'll have jet lag when we're dead. Or back in the States. Same thing.
We went down for the "simple breakfast". The buffet was unbelievable. They had many of the same things, today, and I still do not believe the fresh fruit and vegetables, the yoghurts, the fish (at least three kinds), the cheeses, the pastries, the juices, the tea, the...
Did you enjoy your oatmeal or cold cereal?
Soon enough, we were on the bus. Departure time was 7:30. We actually left at 7:40, newly fortified by the cool new goody bags from Sar-El tours.
Getting 45 people on the same schedule is an ongoing challenge. The rabbi is going to be several inches shorter by the end of this trip.
Then, it was off to our first site, the Kinneret Cemetery, where we visited the grave of Rachel the poetess. A tribute to her was a fitting start to the tour. Her poetry has inspired generations of Israeli pioneers. In a sense, this barren woman who died so young has had many sons.
By 8:35, we had crossed the Jordan river. Surprisingly, this took seconds. The Jordan would be called a creek or large stream in the States. It does not boast enough water to be called a river.
For our Christian friends with the impressive murals behind your baptismals, odds are that the baptismal is bigger than the Jordan, and the mural is based on the Hudson.
We crossed just at the Southern end of the Kinneret, or Sea of Galilee, across you can see, even in the worst summer haze. The Jordan is wider elsewhere, especially if the dam were opened, but not by much. You get a totally new perspective on geography about an hour after you arrive. I will let you know if the feeling of perspective re-adjustment goes away.
From there, as we move more geographically than chronologically, we travelled to Belvoir Castle, the best example of crusader architecture left in the country. Though the Crusaders held out in Belvoir a mere ninety years, it is obvious that they were building for millennia.
After seeing what the Crusaders could do, we went to Bet She'an, historically one of the most important sites in the entire Jezreel Valley. In the time of the Canaanites (trust me, you are probably pronouncing that wrong), the competing independent cities, which were ususally at war, were remotely controlled by Egypt. Egypt kept its clerics at Bet She'an.
Later, after the Israelites conquered the land, it was still a major city, until King Sha'ul lost his war against the Philistines. Of course, he not only lost the war, but his own life, as well. When his armor bearer refused to honor his request to kill him, Sha'ul fell upon his sword. The Philistines cut off his head and sent it along with his armor throughout their cities. Then they hung the bodies of Sha'ul and his sons upon the walls of Bet She'an, on the Tel where I stood.
How humbling it is to stand upon these ruins.
Later, the city was rebuilt, again and again. The Romans called the city at the base of the hill Scythopolis, "The Gateway to Paradise". It featured baths and a theatre and fountains, even an artificial waterfall. Not to mention this:
If you cannot guess what is in this picture, hold your mouse over for a hint.
Next, it was on to Bet Alpha, where we saw the best-preserved mosaic floor from an ancient synagogue. In actuality, nobody knows anything about the ancient community which built the synagogue in the sixth century, other than what can be gleaned from the mosaic floor. However, in 1929, while digging a well, the Kibbutz Bet Alpha uncovered the mosaic floor, which features a geographically inappropriate zodiac (the seasons are wrong), beneath a holy ark surrounded by Temple implements, with the Akeda (binding of Isaac) at the base.
Next we had a short stop at Mayan Harod. If you do not know about the Spring of Harod, then you did not sit and listen to my father preach the same sermon 350 times. I was so excited about this, that I have to give it a separate post.
Pop, if you are reading this, I got you a rock and some spring water. Drink it how you like.
On the way to lunch at the Armageddon Cafeteria, we drove past a minor excavation at the side of the rode. Tel Yizre'el, or the city of Jezreel. It was only the capital of the Northern kingdom, so not worth stopping. We cannot stop for every historical site in Israel, or we could never move more than a few feet.
After a cafeteria style lunch at Megiddo, which was good enough that even those of us who hate cafeterias had no room to complain about anything but the excess of food, Tzippori was our next destination.ury style tomb with a rolling stone. This is not in a national park, it is on the side of the road. There was not even a place for us to get out and look, because there is no room for forty-five people to stand.
Of course, on the way, we stopped to see the best example of a first cent
Also known as Seforas, this ancient city, in which archaeologists have found 18 synagogues, was predominantly Greek in culture. Yet it was a model of tolerance and coexistence. This city was where the Mishna was finalized under Yehuda ha Nasi. The mosaics were amazing, but most amazing was the sense of history.
This is a city which not only saw the completion of the critical part of the Talmud, but it is likely, possibly inevitable, that Yeshua and his father Yossef were part of the massive work crew drafted to work on the city. Forget "walking on streets where Messiah walked," what about walking on streets he built?
This is only the tiniest taste of what we are learning, and this only gets you into the afternoon. In the evening, we went to Ein Gev and the St. Peter Fish Restaurant, where we ate St. Peter Fish, followed by a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee after dark.
Would you like to know the miracle of St. Peter Fish? Eat all you want and you won't get fat.
Or, you might be able to conquer a Syrian mountain-top fortress with no support from the army or government. More on that, tomorrow.
Layla Tov! |
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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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