I'm cramming in as many trips to places I somehow still haven't been yet and as much interesting stuff as I can in my last bit of time here. It has been and continues to be an amazing experience in so many ways, for which I am truly grateful.
So, this is yet another lengthy post - hope you enjoy though. : )
Over the past few weeks, I have had occasion to get to know some of the people at the kehilah here a bit better, which has been a real blessing. I was kindly welcomed into a couple of homes, and met with another for lunch - all lovely, godly people. It's been both comforting and fun to have had a lot of friends in Israel even from before arriving, and it's a joy and an honor to be leaving with even more.
Jerusalem
Anyone who has been jealous of the clement weather here during these winter months can stop now. Temperatures in the 40s plus high winds are not particularly pleasant, especially not when rain joins the mix. I like the cold and rain too, so this is saying something.
Last Tuesday, JAMD (The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance) had its orchestra concert at the Jerusalem YMCA. The performance was quite good and the program consisted of several opera excerpts concluded by Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. There were quite a few impressive singers, and the orchestra really nailed the evening's bombastic conclusion.
The Jerusalem YMCA resembles nothing that comes to mind when I picture a YMCA. The whole place is very pretty and fancy, definitely more of a cultural center than a place you go to use the pool. The performance hall itself is housed in an at least ancient-looking, beautiful, domed building.
Yesterday I went to the Hurva Synagogue, a beautiful building with an intriguing history. I prayed most of the Minchah service, read some Torah and Talmud, and had a friendly orthodox guy gently try to convince me to make aliyah. ; )
It's ironic that you can go a bit North or South of Jerusalem and find much nicer weather, which proved to be the case on both of my recent trips to other cities. In each the weather was absolutely perfect - so thankful for that.
Kinneret
There are so many things one could do in the areas surrounding Lake Kinneret (aka the Sea of Galilee) it was hard to choose. Eventually though, I decided to see a bit of all those areas by doing something I hadn't yet done in Israel: biking! So, took the bus to Tiberias and rented a bike (along with helmet, lock, pump, and spare inner tube) from the Aviv Hostel.
I'm glad I did so much riding at home over this last summer, it prepared me and inspired me for biking the perimeter of the whole lake. Still, it was just under 40 miles, about twice as much as I had ever biked in a single day previously. To be honest, there were a few times I questioned whether I had the energy to finish and to do so quickly enough to return the bike on time.
There is so much I could say, but I'll let the pictures I took speak for themselves. I should mention, though, that the whole area is absolutely gorgeous and not even the best of the pictures really come close to doing it justice.
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| A very pretty orthodox church in Capernaum. |
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| Not sure what this interesting building is. I would have gotten closer, but it was on private property and I didn't really want to become an outlaw in two different countries . . . ; ) |
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| Funny, I don't remember having passed the first 14 letters. ; ) |
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| Bees! : ) |
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| Bamboo! : ) |
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| Pit-stop + caffeine/carbs intake. |
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| Loosely: "What are you looking at? Come in and say hi!" |
The Yigal Alon promenade in Tiberias is basically a fancy boardwalk along the Kinneret:
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| Scotland, huh? |
Masada
Today, I finally went to Masada. Aside from the depressing nature of visiting a site tied to brutal wars and suicidal tragedies, it's an amazing, beautiful, and inspiring place. Again, I'll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves. Forgive me for not editing them down to fewer and, as you'll notice, the temptations of selfies taken with a camera on timer proved very real once again. ; )
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| Neat model of the mountain inside the visitor center. |
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| Some artifacts found at Masada. |
I was still a bit sore from the Kinneret trip and the cable car looked fun, so I took it up to the mountain and walked the Snake Path back down at the end of the day.
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| The have bathrooms basically camouflaged into the ruins - very cool! |
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| Coca-cola really is everywhere - this cooler here is only for storage though. |
The large water cistern may have actually been one of the coolest parts:
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| I guess they bring this out for Chanukah. |
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| It's always moving to see groups of soldiers praying. |
One of the neat things about traveling by bus throughout Israel is getting to watch all the incredble scenery go by. It's always cool to look out the window and see another country across a sea: (Jordan and the Dead Sea in this case.)
As my departure date quickly approaches, I am increasingly excited to come home, but also increasingly grateful for the truly blessed, life-changing time I have been privileged to spend here. I have had so much opportunity to learn and grow, and experience and exposure abounded. Looking back, I think my favorite days here have been those I spent outdoors, in a synagogue, or hearing live music. That and the Shuk - the Shuk is just a really neat, fun place. Thankfully, there has been plenty of all of that.
L'hitra'ot,
Noach
