Monday, February 2, 2015
So I arrived in Israel to find out that the Patriots won the Super Bowl in what may have been the biggest nail biter in football history! I am hoping someone recorded it for me!
As exhausting as the travel here was, today was an amazing day. We started off by heading to a small goat farm. It is a family owned business, that is part goat farm, part restaurant, and part tourism. We had the most delicious meal with several varieties of goat cheese (and I LOVE cheese!). Then we got a tour where we saw baby goats and some VERY pregnant Mommas. While we were there we learned some insightful things about the seven original crops of Israel and their connection to various holidays (more to come on this when I get home!). We then headed over to the site where David fought Goliath. The view was amazing! There was something almost surreal about knowing that you were standing in the same place that your ancestors stood on some 3,000 years prior! The site was blessed with an early spring gift of gorgeous wild flowers and mild temperatures- combined with the spiritualism of the site; it made for an amazing afternoon.
We then loaded the bus to head towards the kibbutz where we are staying for the next few days. On the way, our guide pointed out the border fence between Israel and Gaza. I couldn’t ignore the overwhelming feeling of sadness that invaded me. I watched a beautiful sunset dance across this ugly wall and thought of all that it represents- on all multi-faceted sides of the issues. From all fronts, ugly seems to be the right word, and yet there was this beautiful vibrant sunset on both sides of the fence….
So I am pretty tired, but want to close with two more thoughts. Our tour guide Avraham asked us “who owns the land of Israel?” The answer being the Jewish people. I couldn’t help but draw the parallel between our community being the owners of our JCC. The other insightful thing I connected with today was that the three symbols and blessings for Shabbat (the wine, challah, and candles), each represent one of three of the original crops of Israel: grapes, wheat, and olive (oil). In now knowing this, I realize that as we celebrate Shabbat each week in Asheville, we connect ourselves to Israel. Pretty cool right? Or as they say in Hebrews: sababa.
Lilah tov (Good night).