May 10, 2017 - Filling in the Gaps

First, I want to apologize to my travel groupies who were anticipating an action filled blog stuffed full of local color. This trip has been difficult physically and I've sat out a lot of the excursions. I promise future trips will get us back to normal ... after I've had a couple more joints replaced. Right now I'm in my room at the Ruth Rimonim Hotel in Safed (or Tzfat or Tsfat or however you wish to spell or pronounce it ... Joni tells us that the Hebrew spelling doesn't translate well so anything goes). After having had breakfast with...

May 8, 2017 - An Authentic Shabbat, Reuniting With Cousins and Wheelchair Touring

We spent from Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning at Aaron and Joni's home in Efrat. They're Modern Orthodox so this was the real thing ... a real Shabbat! (I can see my cousin Aaron smiling as he's reading this.) It was wonderful. Total relaxation. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Just relax and catch up with family. His oldest daughter, Yoella, and I discovered that we share a lot of DNA. We both attract insects. We both don't drink enough water because we're never thirsty. We both have low blood pressure. And here's the weirdest thing...

May 5, 2017 - Gush Etzion and Yad Vashem

We started today with a tour of the new museum at Gush Etzion. This is close to our hearts because our cousin Aaron and his wife Joni lost their son, Uriel, around 7 years ago when he was serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The tank that he was commanding fell off a bridge and overturned on top of him. Joni spent years raising the money required to dedicate the lobby of the new museum in memory of Uriel. Gush Etzion is a very special place because it was originally established as a defense post for Jerusalem. The people who lived...

May 4, 2017 - Oh, my aching feet, knees and hips!!!!!

Today was brutal!!! Our first stop was a tour of the City of David. I had been looking forward to this particular site because it's soooo fascinating. Bill and I first visited the City of David several years ago and I fell in love with it. Imagine walking through the ruins of the city that King David walked through. Imagine seeing the ruins of King David's palace. Imagine standing in the midst of one of the great stories of the Bible!! I love this stuff. Well, Bill and I sat and waited for the rest of the group to take the tour while we...

May 3, 2017 - Day 1, Jerusalem and Masada

Finally! After months of creating and tweaking itineraries, discussing what to see and what we don't have time to see, whether or not Erika can walk ..... here we are. And Erika can walk. For now. Thank you, Hedy, for suggesting walking sticks. Our tour guide is Joni Liwerant, my cousin Aaron's wife. She just recently became a licensed tour guide in Israel. You can tell she's fresh and new because her enthusiasm is abundant! As we rode from Jerusalem to Masada she talked nonstop. We learned so much about the history of this miraculous...

Mar 4, 2017 - Israel Beckons!

I have longed to go to Israel for a very long time. It probably started in Sunday School class as a child in the inner city of New York learning the Bible stories that one does in Sunday School. The adventures of David and Goliath as well as Jesus and the Apostles (sound like a band) all whet my appetite for a journey near the cradle of civilization. As a Clintonian in high school (DeWitt Clinton HS) I interacted with a number of Jewish peers as part of the yearbook staff. In 1967, I remember being extremely excited when Israel defeated the...

Nov 16, 2016 - Reflections on the Holy Land

Our trip to Israel gave us insight into the ancient history of the land, the psyche of the Israeli people, and the origins of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Israel resides at the crossroads of civilization and has since the Egyptian and Assyrian cultures. A land marked by conflict and competing beliefs and cultures. At many archaeological sites, we saw layers of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Mameluke, and Ottoman construction. This ongoing conflict helps illuminate the Israeli mindset of defending their territory and independence. From the...

Nov 10, 2016 - More Jerusalem

Went to the City of David, the oldest Jewish settlement in Jerusalem. They are still excavating and have found remains of David's Palace. Then we returned to the Old City's Jewish and Armenian Quarters. The Zion Gate entrance has A Mazuza made of bullets from the 1967 War. We saw a Bar Mitzvah celebration in the Jewish Quarter with drums and the sounding of the Shofar. On an overlook, we saw the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aksa Mosque. We had a shopportunity in the ancient Cardo market place and later we went to a...

Nov 9, 2016 - Old City Jerusalem

We began today at the Western Wall, the surviving wall of the Second Temple sacred to the Jewish people. Women pray in a separate area from men. Since it was after the election, I prayed for our country. John danced the Hora with an Israeli and two other tour members on their side of the wall. Next we tested my claustrophobia in the tunnels next to the foundations of the Western Wall. We ended up at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, Christ's walk to his crucifixion, the site of the crucifixion, death and burial. The Church of the Holy...

Nov 8, 2016 - Jerusalem

We began today by visiting the birthplace of St John the Baptist commemorated by a church being built on the cave where he was born. There seems to be a pattern here. Religious event, build a church where it happened. It is a small church with beautiful blue and white tiles. Then we went to the Holocaust Museum designed by Moshe Safdie. It's design is meant to be confining and prison like with narrow dark halls and rooms, evoking a feeling of despair. Pictures, videos, and artifacts tell the story of man's inhumanity to man. We also visited...

Nov 7, 2016 - Tiberias to Jerusalem

From one holy city to another we followed the Jordan River. Our first stop was the disputed baptismal site of Jesus . There are at least two possible sites, the more traditional one is located near Jericho. Then we saw the ruined city of Bet Shean, which was Greek, Roman,and Byzantine--another multi historied city of 30,000 until it was destroyed in 749 AD. Again I am amazed at the level of development of ancient cities with spas, running water, theaters, shops. On to Jerusalem, the Holy City of three monotheistic religions. A city made of...

Nov 6, 2016 - Upper Galilee

Our first stop was at the site of the 2,000 year old boat discovered in the 1980's on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It's often called the "Jesus Boat" because it is from the time of Jesus. Next we went to the Church of the Beatitudes where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. Once again a church has been built on the site to commemorate a place Jesus preached. The scenery is beautiful and is a natural amphitheater with a hill above the Sea of Galilee. On to Nazareth where we saw the Church of the Annunciation where the Archangel...