Thursday
February 4, 2010
20 Shevat 5770
As predicted, weather conditions at Misgav Am and at Metullah prevented us from going further north from our kibbutz, due to snow on the road. According to Itzie, the driver, he doesn’t mind dancing on the road, but not with a full bus! We also were informed that the natural grottos at Rosh Hanikra, the only place where the border is open to Lebanon, was closed due to high winds. Our guide had heard of Rosh Hanikra closing when the seas were rough, but he had to check it out with us, and that is what we did. What a glorious sight to see the Mediterranean Sea so wild! We were lucky not to lose some of our hardiest of photographers who were intent on leaning over the railing to get as close as we could to the action, even if it was at the top of a cliff. What a view of the coastline it was!!!
Since we got a late start and rain had slowed the driving tremendously, our altered plans took us to lunch at in Nahariya at a restaurant known as The Penguin. Everyone enjoyed the unusually large portions. Reinforced by a heavy meal, we then set out for Akko, which was where Napoleon met his match in his campaign to take over Judea. The citadel and ancient walls is indeed impressive given how much was protected by debris of various occupiers of the property over the centuries when it was first built by the Crusaders. Our day ended by visiting a local artist who does pieces in copper. He does magnificent work. I have a Shalom sign hanging in my office from my trip this past summer.
Supper, and then a surprise visit to the kibbutz synagogue which can be used as a shelter in case of attack. We noticed that the door was more than six inches thick with a dead bolt that seals the door so that it is air tight. One could say that it is used to keep people in the room until services are completed. I used a Sefardi siddur with mystical annotations embedded in the evening prayer service. The words are not completely the same as the siddurim that we use. What an interesting way to daven, being surrounded by both new and old friends as our trip begins to wind down. Several people mentioned that they looked forward to my introduction to a new blessing for each day. This morning I shared with everyone the blessing for a rainbow which we saw from our bus as we headed towards Tzefat. I also introduced everyone to the blessing for seeing lightning and hearing thunder, both of which occurred as we went to breakfast, and the blessing that we recite each weekday morning for the continual creation of the wonders of the world that surprise us each day – Mah rabu ma’asekha Adonai, kulam b’chochmah asita,mal’ah ha’aretz kinyanekha… (Consult your siddur at home for a translation. It is part of the first blessing that is recited right after the Barekhu!) And lastly, we recited a blessing for the wisdom and insight shared to us by our guide, Mike, who has truly been a blessing to each one of us with his knowledge, and his patience, and his guidance. We will indeed miss him and the many lessons that he taught us in his passion for us to know more about what lures us to this place that is so unlike other “vacation” spots around the globe. We all felt “at home” in Israel this past week.
Tomorrow we leave for Tel Aviv, Shabbat and then the long journey to our other home in the States.
