Category Archives: Conversation

Friday February 5, 2010 22 Shevat 5770 Time to leave Kibbutz haGoshrim.  I forgot to mention in yesterday’s itinerary a very important stop along the way.  The women especially had a great time picking out shoes at the Naot factory.  My wife swears an oath that the shoes from this kibbutz factory are the most comfortable that she has ever worn.  Given how many pairs that were purchased by the other members of our tour, I think that they might agree…  Looking northward from the dining room window, it is quite evident that the low clouds have lifted to reveal a wonderful sight, a clear view of snow on Mount Hermon. What a spectacular view we had!  Unfortunately, the clarity of the weather up north did not hold up as we traveled southwest, back down to the Mediterranean Seacoast and the city of Haifa.  The major attraction of this modern port city is the Bahai Shrine and its magnificently manicured gardens.  However, the shrine itself is covered in a tarp as it undergoes renovations.  What remains is more like a “cookie jar” than anything itself, according to our guide.  Enough!  We move on to Ceasarea, the ancient port built up … Continue reading →

Wednesday February 3, 2010 19 Shevat  5770 Lynn and I rejoined the group after a long evening in the emergency room in a hospital in Tel Aviv.  By the time that we had joined them they had already had their history lesson of the region and why this area is so vital to Israel’s existence, not just strategically since it sits along both the Lebanese and Syrian borders, as well as Jordan, but  more so for its agricultural reasons after our pioneers built it up from swamp land as well as it being the source of water in the region that feeds all the way down to the Dead Sea.  The first stop of the day was to an Olive Oil factory not too far from the Kibbutz where people learned how olives were pressed into olive oil, a major industry in the northern part of Israel.  Another important industry was located across the road at the Golan Wine factory.  Lynn and I arrived just in time to sample the first wine of the day, a most exquisite dry white wine which is good to make any steak taste all that much better.  I promise you, that it was past … Continue reading →

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.  … Continue reading →

Tuesday Morning February 2, 2010 18 Shevat 5770 Today we leave Jerusalem for our new home in the far northern region of Israel, Kibbutz Hagoshrim, with its picturesque view of Mount Hermon. Mike warned us that the fine weather that we were enjoying in Jerusalem is not expected t o be with us in the Galilee. However, we will do our best to see as much as we can as long as the rains and the low lying clouds will allow. When we left Jerusalem, we headed straight into the morning commuting traffic to Tel Aviv. We arrived at our first destination, however, earlier than expected due to Itzie’s driving skills. Our first stop of the day was Independence Hall, the place where the first Jewish home was built in Tel Aviv, by its first Jewish mayor. Dizengoff asked that his house become an art museum following his death. It was here that David ben Gurion announced that the Jewish state would be known as the State of Israel. The guide that we had for the tour of the facility was most thorough in painting for each of us a picture of the tension that existed on May 14, 1948 … Continue reading →

Sunday Evening January 31, 2010 16 Shevat 5770 “Tu b’Shevat heegee’a, chag ha’ilanot…” These are the opening words to a song that celebrates Jewish Arbor Day, which was officially yesterday.  It is customary in the Jewish tradition to go into the fields and to plant, as well as to eat many different types of fruits in celebration of the many blessings that trees offer us.  Since it was Shabbat on the 15th, the planting would have to wait.   As for the fruits, Lynn and I visited a friend in Jerusalem on Shabbat afternoon who treated us to candied etrog, which is only available in the stores in limited quantities at this time of the year.  What a true delight to celebrate the holiday! I will have more to say about the trees shortly! Our day began early, as usual.  Our first destination was the Western Wall and the Rabbinic Tunnels.  We are familiar with the sight of the Wall as being the closest point at which a person can come in regard to the Holy of Holies that once stood on the Temple Mount above.  The Wall itself has no intrinsic holy value, other than its proximity to the Temple.   … Continue reading →

Thursday Evening, January 28, 2010 13 Shevat 5770 “Shalom Yerushalayim…” is one of many songs that have been written over the ages that try to describe the significance of this place to the Jewish people and their experience with God and nature.  It is on the Temple Mount that Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac.  It is in this same place that the Holy of Holies once stood.  It is here that our ancestors once gathered to celebrate the three pilgrimage festivals.  Today, it is the seat of Israel’s government, the place where Israel buries her fallen soldiers, and the place where we remember the victims of the Holocaust and the stories of its survivors, as well as honoring the righteous gentiles who risked their lives for the souls of a Jewish person. The first comment that our guide, Michael, made was that Jerusalem is a city of contrasts.  There is the heavenly Jerusalem and then there is the earthly one, the one of of our hopes and dreams and the one that is a reality.  It brings together the holy and the secular.  It is both ancient and vibrantly new.  Yet, throughout it all, it brings the Jewish people together in … Continue reading →