Rabbi's Message

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman
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April 2007

Shalom M'Aretz Yisrael
Hello From Israel!

Israel Trip Part II

Last month I shared reflections of our Israel trip up through our first Shabbat in Eretz Yisrael. This month, I continue our journey with descriptions of the rest of the adventure.

Shabbat comes suddenly in the desert – one moment you are in the hot sun and the next, a breeze picks up, a chill is in the air and darkness descends over the distant mountains. We welcomed Shabbat with a short service outside at Kibbutz Eilot – someone noticed that we had our Kabbalat Shabbat service in front of the Misrad Kabbalah – the reception office. Yes – Hebrew is both a sacred and ordinary language.

Saturday morning’s service was again outside – but this time in an old field with mountains in the distance for 360 degrees. Our Torah service included special blessing for first time visitors and returnees to Israel.

After lunch, we had the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed Shabbat afternoon at the kibbutz or in the beach-front community of Eilat. Several of us went to the Ocean Park and Museum where we climbed a tower that enabled us to stand in Israel see Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. At the bottom of the tower, there is an underwater observatory where one can see the beautiful fish and sea life on the coral reefs. (The fish don’t seem to know anything about the international boundaries). We ended our Shabbat with Havdalah and then dinner and a boat ride in Eilat.

On Sunday morning, we again loaded suitcases on buses to begin the journey northward. Although we will eventually ascend to the Galilee and the green hills of the north, this part of the journey is mostly down hill as we travel along the Arava and the Jordanian border toward the Dead Sea – the lowest point on earth. Our first stop is at Masada, the mountain fortress of the Israelite King Herod under the Romans and the last refuge of zealots escaping the destruction of Jerusalem during the Roman siege.

Masada is a plateau like mountain in the middle of the desert – it’s isolated location and steep cliffs made it an ideal site for a royal vacation spot and well-guarded fortress. The children and some of the adult members climb the “Snake Path” to the top. The rest of us take the cable car!

After Masada, it is on to the Dead Sea resort area of Ein Bokek and some much-needed spa treatments.

Monday morning we continue heading north – although this time its uphill. We have arrived in Israel just at the beginning of spring – almond trees have just bloomed at Tu B’shevat. As we leave the desert and travel up into the hills, the earth springs forth before us is richer and more magnificent shades of green each mile of the way. Once we leave the palm trees and scrub of the desert, it is on to rich green grasses and wild poppies in bloom. One traveler remarked that the hills looked like Ireland – something that is true in Israel for about two weeks of the year. We were very lucky to see it.

We stop for lunch in the ancient city of Tiberius on the Kinneret or Sea of Galilee. We get our first taste of street-vendor falafel – the best kind in Israel and see a little bit of the hustle and bustle of Israeli life. Part of our group was taken by surprise when children, eating slices of pizza from one side of the street, were shooed away from the falafel and shwarma restaurant on the other side of the street – no mixing of milk and meat here!

The afternoon took us to the mystical city of Tzfat high in the hills. We visited the ancient synagogues of Joseph Caro (author of the Shukchan Aruch) and the Kabbalistic teacher Isaac Luria. We saw the hill to which the rabbis danced welcoming Shabbat where L’cha Dodi was penned. (Kim Bodemer has brought back a photo of the “L’cha Dodi Mountain” to inspire our Shabbat prayers). We walked the narrow, slippery cobblestone streets to visit an artist and a candle factory and ate dinner in an old Moslem gathering place while listening to klezmer music. After this very long and full day, most of us were glad to finally arrive in our hotel rooms back in Tiberius.

On Wednesday, we drove across the verdant and plentiful hills of the Galilee region. This is Israel’s breadbasket – the farmland is rich and most communities in this area are agriculturally based. We stopped at one – Moshav Tzippori – and met with a sheep farmer and her sheep.

We continued on our way to one of my favorite highlights of the trip – the archeological park of the ancient city of Tzippori. Tzippori existed as a city through many centuries and civilizations. The archeologists have found ruins piled layer upon layer – each civilization building new upon the old. During the time of the Roman occupation of Judea, Tzippori was a mixed city of Jews and Romans. While the Jews in Jerusalem were fighting amongst themselves and revolting against Rome, the Jews in the north chose instead to get along with the Romans and seek a peaceful co-existence. It was here in Tziporri that Rabbi Judah the Prince composed the Mishneh – the foundational text of the Talmud in the year 200 CE. While in other regions, the Jews fought against the Romans and were eventually wiped out, the Jews of Tzippori managed to live a somewhat assimilated, yet still Jewish life and give birth to the form of Rabbinic Judaism that we practice today. We took the opportunity to study some Mishneh in the ancient ruins of a synagogue in Rabbi Judah’s honor.

Our trek across the Galilee ended when we arrived at the coastal plain and the Mediterranean city of Haifa. A visit to a local community center, dinner in the city and a restful night before we began the next day’s journey to Jerusalem.
Photos of the trip are still available on the website: www.agudasma.org
Next month: Four days in Jerusalem.

A sweet and happy Passover to you all – next year in Jerusalem!

B’Shalom
Rabbi Elyse

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