OK, I know it has been a long time since I have updated my blog. Last you heard, Roni and I were heading to Israel. Well, as you can tell, we made it back safe and sound. So, now it is time to catch you up on the trip and what we have been doing since.
First of all, my health.
I continue to get better. It is still a long process and some days are better than others. Fortunately, I have am having more and more "good" days. Good days are where I only have to go the bathroom about 4 times a day instead of 6-8 on bad days. This is a lot better than when I started recovery from my last surgery, where I would have to go about 10-15 times a day with a lot of diarrhea, I know "TMI" (too much info). But it is all part of the process of healing from cancer, three major abdominal surgeries (two with chemo), 4 rounds of chemo, 9 months of an ileostomy and having about 4 feet of small intestines and about a third of my colon removed.
So, all in all, I'm doing OK. Not quite 100%, but getting there. I'd say I'm about 80-85%. I have to contact my oncologist soon as next month I need to schedule my next blood tumor marker tests and my next CT scan. Prayers for those upcoming events would be greatly appreciated.
Now for Israel. (Click on the "Day" links for pictures from that day.)
Day 1 - Saturday
We left late Sat night on May 14th. Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave till 11:50 PM, but we wanted to make sure we got there in plenty of time to get through security (El Al has its own security that you must pass before you go through the TSA security), get our boarding passes and have some time to relax before boarding. The flight actually left about a half hour late, but soon we were on our way.
Day 2 - Sunday
We landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv about 5:30 PM on May 15th. After getting our luggage and waiting for some return flight details to be worked out, we finally boarded our bus for Jerusalem around 7 PM. I was hoping to leave earlier so we would have more daylight on the bus ride to Jerusalem, but we were able to see the wrecks left along the side of the road. The deal with these wrecks is that they were armored cars that were used to bring supplies to Jerusalem during the War of Independence in 1948. Many convoys were ambushed and many cars were destroyed and the people killed trying to save the Jews in Jerusalem. These wrecks were left on the side of the road as reminders and memorials.
We arrived at our hotel (the Mount Zion Hotel) around 8 or 8:30 PM. We were all very hungry as we hadn't had much to eat since they fed us breakfast on the plane. Fortunately, dinner was part of our package, and they left the dining room open so we could get something to eat.
After a meal (which, by the way, was very good), checking in and unpacking, I think we all crashed around 10 PM. None of us really slept well on the plane, so finally being able to stretch out on a bed was a treat. Thus, we spent our first night in Israel.
Day 3 - Monday
We woke up Monday morning, took showers, got dressed and headed down to breakfast. Today was one of the main reasons we came to Israel. It was Ari Cohen's Bar Mitzvah, and it was to be held at the Western Wall (also know as the Wailing Wall, or just The Wall, in Hebrew, HaKotel).
After all had eaten, we loaded up on our bus and headed to the Old City of Jerusalem. We entered through the "Dung Gate" (this is the gate they used to through the garbage out of) and walked to the Wall.
The Bar Mitzvah started about 11 AM and one amazing thing is that we were not the only Messianic synagogue holding a Bar Mitzvah that day. It turns out that the local congregation was also holding a Bar Mitzvah, and it happened to be right next to us. We did not know they were going to be there, and they did not know we were going to be there. But there we were, NY and Jerusalem, side by side.
The Bar Mitzvah was a very moving experience for all there. The weather was perfect (although I did get sunburn on the top of my head), the fellowship was great and the atmosphere was spectacular. The only downside were the people there who felt it was their job to observe and make sure we were doing things correctly, and the people who took the opportunity to seek (beg for) donations (money).
After the Bar Mitzvah, we headed back to the hotel for the reception and lunch. About half way into the reception, the Rabbi told everybody to get ready for a surprise. About minutes later, Ari (the Bar Mitzvah boy) came riding into the area on a camel. The Rabbi had arranged for a local Arab to give Ari a ride and soon, everybody wanted to give it a try.
After the reception, we all headed inside to change and rest. Roni was pretty tired and decided to take a nap. I went with some others, first to the old city for a quick cup of tea, then on into the new city, to Ben Yehuda street. After a quick look around, we headed home for dinner.
Day 4 - Tuesday
Tuesday morning we woke up, ate breakfast, then got on the bus for a short trip to tour the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. The Jewish Quarter is more modern than the rest of the Old City. In 1948 most of it was destroyed by the Jordanian Arab Legion after the Jewish residents for forced to leave. While the cease fire agreement between Israel and Jordan allowed for Jews to visit the Western Wall, Jews were never allowed to enter the Old City until it was liberated in June of 1967 during the 6 Day War. When the Jews returned, they found their synagogues destroyed, shops and houses looted and burned and the place a mess. Since 1967, Israel has rebuilt the Jewish Quarter and therefore it looks newer than the rest of the Old City.,
We entered through Zion Gate, the gate the Israel army entered to retake the city in 1967. You can still see the bullet holes in the walls from the gun fire. From there we made our way to the Cardo, and ancient Roman road, which was discovered on an ancient map of Jerusalem. The road has been excavated and some of the pillars restored. The road also leads into a shopping district, which we all spent a couple of hours in looking around and shopping.
We eventually made our way back outside of the city walls to a new archeological park, that was only opened up in the past few years. The amazing thing about this excavation is that they have uncovered the actual southern steps that led up to the Second Temple. These are the same steps that Yeshua (Jesus) taught on. We also saw the archways for the entrance and exit to the temple (these are currently blocked off). It was quite a treat as none of us that had been to Israel before ever saw these sites.
We eventually left the Old City and headed back to the hotel to rest and eat dinner.
Day 5 - Wednesday
Wednesday morning we again woke, dressed (for warm weather), ate breakfast and got on the bus. This day we were to head south. First stop - Ein Gedi.
Ein Gedi is the place where David had the chance to kill King Saul but didn't. He only cut off part of his garment while sleeping, then when he was far enough of away, called to King Saul to let him know what he did. Apart from the historical aspect, Ein Gedi was a beautiful oasis in the Judean wilderness. It was amazing driving through desert and then coming upon this cool, refreshing waterfall and pool. And since we had a pool of water, the Rabbi took the opportunity to perform a t'fillah service (mikva) for Ari (his son) and another lady in our synagogue.
Our next stop for the day was the fortress of Masada. This was the last holdout of Jewish zealots against the Roman army. They held off the Roman army for quite awhile, but when they realized they would not be able to hold off another day, the evening before the Romans were to break through, they committed a mass killing, so that none of them would be taken alive. You can read a little of the story here.
One of the special things that happened during our visit to Masada, was an impromptu wedding. A couple in our synagogue had only ever had a civil ceremony, and this was about 10 years ago. They had wanted a religious ceremony and Masada seemed like a good place to have it. So we schlepped a few tallits, our kippot (yarmulkas) and in the ancient ruins of the synagogue on Masada, we held a Jewish wedding for the couple. It certainly wasn't very formal (as we were all in tshirts and shorts) and there was no fancy reception, but it was one of the neatest weddings I have ever been to.
After leaving Masada, we headed to a spa on the Dead Sea. We needed some relaxation and Dead Sea is the place to do it. First, some of us soaked in a sulfur bath. Sure, it didn't smell that great, but it sure felt good. From there, we had a quick dip in a regular pool to cool off, then it was off to float and soak in the salty waters. While the ocean has a salt content of about 3%, the Dead Sea has a salt content of about 33%. This is what makes it possible to easily float in the water. The mud of the dead sea is rumored to be beneficial to the skin, so many caked their bodies with mud either before or after soaking in the Dead Sea.
Soon it was time to go, so we all went back to the lockers, took showers and headed back to Jerusalem.
Day 6 - Thursday
Thursday morning, after breakfast, we got on the bus and headed for the Mount of Olives. The view from this mountain is amazing and is one you usually see of the city of Jerusalem. A few things are easily spotted from this position. 1) The Dome of the Rock - This is Islam's third holiest site and stands on the Temple Mount, that is, where the second Temple stood. This is not a mosque per se. There is a giant rock in this building and this rock is where tradition says Abraham bound Isaac to sacrifice him. The Muslims believe it was Ishmael that Abraham went to sacrifice.
Another item of note is the sealed double gate on the eastern wall of the Old City. A couple of interesting things about this gate, 1) the Muslims believe this is the gate the Messiah was to go through to enter Jerusalem. That is why a) they sealed it and b) put a graveyard in front of it (believing that the Messiah would not walk on the dead). Their goal was to keep the Messiah from entering the city.
Looking down the mountain, you see a Jewish graveyard. This is an ancient graveyard dating back thousands of years. We spent an hour or so on the Mount of Olives enjoying the view and taking pictures. Then it was time to head out to our next destination.
You can't go to Israel without visiting a kibbutz and we visited Kibbutz Palmach Tzubah. This kibbutz was established around the time of the War of Independence by members of the Palmach. The Palmach was the "strike force" of the Hagana, the unofficial army of the Jews. One of the reasons we went to visit this kibbutz was because our rabbi knew one of the official founders of the kibbutz, Ya'akov Pozner.
Ya'akov took us on a guided tour of the kibbutz, which not only had agricultural products, but also made bullet proof glass for the Israeli army and security forces. Another treat we had was a question and answer session with Ya'akov. It's not every day when you get to talk to someone who fought in the War of Independence for Israel (Ya'akov fought in the Negev, on horseback).
Late in the afternoon, it was finally time to head back to the hotel, where we all took a nap, showered and got ready for a special party at the King David Hotel. The party was for our Rabbi who had just recently celebrated his 50th birthday. This was the "official" party and his wife and friends did a great job of organizing a wonderful night for all to remember.
Day 7 - Friday
Friday was our day off, for us to do whatever we wanted.
After breakfast, Roni and I decided to go visit the Old City by ourselves and I wanted to show the places I used to go when I was last in Israel (1986). Unfortunately, this day would not be a "good" one for me. While some days, I was able to go quite awhile without having to visit the loo, today was not one of those days. We walked to the old city and entered through Jaffa Gate. As soon as we got there, I had to go to the bathroom. Fortunately, the public bathrooms in the Old City are quite acceptable. Which was good for me, because I had to go about 4 times within an hour and a half.
We walked through the shouk (the Arab market), did some "window" shopping and tried to ignore the shop owners trying to get us to come into their shop. Yes, they can be quite pushy. We eventually made our way back to the Western Wall (haKotel) and took a few minutes to reflect on our trip, say a quick prayer and enjoy the experience. There is one thing that I did NOT enjoy about the "Wall". There are people who are there only to get people to give them money. One guy inparticular used this approach. He would come up to a visitor to the wall and offer to "bless" them. If they seemed to resist, he would push or pull them towards the Wall, where he would then place his hand on there head and start praying, usually for them to find a wife. Once done, he would then ask for a donation. I didn't hear what he told them, but he kept bugging them enough until they finally gave him some money. If it wasn't enough, he would let them know. It is people like that Yeshua (Jesus) would have driven out of the Temple. And they would have deserved it. In my opinion, they ruined the experience for many people.
After awhile, I wasn't feeling very good so we decided to head back to the hotel. We went to get a cab, and I realized again that many people are out to rip you off. We got in the cab and when the driver didn't start the meter, I asked how much. He said 25 shekels (that would be over $6). It wasn't that far to the hotel and I told him that was too much and that I would only pay 10 shekels. He said no and dropped it down to 20. I didn't feel like arguing and since it was hot, and up-hill, I agreed.
Later that day, we all met and as a group, we had a shabbat dinner in a beautiful room on the hotel grounds. Friday night is known as Kabbalat Shabbat and we spent it eating delicious food, singing shabbat songs and dancing. The way Shabbat should be welcomed.
Day 8 - Saturday
Some of our group got up early and attended services at a local conservative synagogue. Some of us (namely me and Roni), took this opportunity to sleep in. Which we did.
We spent the morning packing and getting ready to leave. In the afternoon, we boarded the bus again, this time with all of our luggage and headed towards Tel Aviv. The drive is about an hour's drive and it went smoothly. When we got to Tel Aviv, we just drove through it so we could see Dizengoff Street (the Main street of Tel Aviv), then made our way to Yafo.
Yafo is an ancient city. It is the city that Jonah left from to go to escape having to go to Nineveh. We spent the afternoon walking through the ancient street and looking at the shops that are now inhabited by artisans.
In the evening, we had dinner as a group, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. About 9:30 PM it was time to get back on the bus and head towards the airport.
We got to the airport about 3 hours before our flight, which is requested by El Al so you can go through their security and the airport's security. We also had to exchange our shekels back to US dollars and get our VAT refund. We all made it through with little problems, although some of us were cutting it pretty close. Our flight finally left about 1:30 AM.
Again, it was a very looonnnggg flight (about 10 hours) with no leg room and not being able to sleep. But we made it to JFK about 5:30 AM (local time). Got our luggage, caught a cab and finally got home about 7 AM. Exhausted. But we had a great time and can't wait to go again.
Kevin
