Peacocks!

Ok, this is just for fun, and to lighten up a bit from the last post.










I recently had a short stay at the Ma’agan Kibbutz in the Galilee.  It was spectacular in so many ways and I highly recommend it. The food, the view, the surrounding sites that made scripture come alive, and then there were the peacocks.

You may have noticed, I am easily distracted by fuzzy creatures and lizards, but I’m also a sucker for birds who know that they are all that and aren't afraid to show off for an audience.

This guy makes a regular morning appearance outside the dining room, prancing and strutting, showing off his finery as well or better than any Paris runway model.  He knows what the ladies want, and the human visitors as well.

Aren't I lovely?

Peacocks have a reputation as great watch ‘birds’, and these were true to their calling.  They seemed annoyed by cars and buses driving onto the property, and were on constant guard

Watching guests check in

starting outside the lobby, from their roosts in the branches of trees, roofs, and generally patrolling the grounds.  When disturbed, the have a disconcerting shrieking, scream like cry, or they run at you and hiss, much like a goose.





I learned that peafowl (what a sad name for such a beautiful creature) are not particularly friendly with other birds, but they do like the company of other peafowl, and just for your trivia fact sheet, groups of them are called parties.  How fun!

Are we really safe anywhere? Random thoughts.

As I was watching Baltimore burn, I got an instant message from a friend who saw I was online and wondered if I was safe here in Jerusalem.  

I have shared some but not all of the incidents, many in my ‘neighborhood’ that have occurred since I arrived last summer, for many reasons.  One, I don’t want my friends and family to worry any more than they already do about my safety, and two, while they are hideous, these days, here and there, they are pretty common and in a way, unremarkable.  I’m sorry if that sounds hard.  It’s not that I don’t care about the injured and sometime killed.  I do.  It’s not that I think it is ok, I certainly don’t. But it begs the question, are we really safe anywhere anymore?

Remember when you could walk into a store and not see a display of missing children? Or when you could go for a walk at night and not worry about being mugged. I do. But times have changed.  We live in a dangerous, fallen world full of people with evil intent.

Several months ago, a terrorist ran his car into a light rail station, injuring several and killing a toddler. Now there are barricades on the road into the station making a recurrence impossible.  After that, a terrorist at the next station avoided the barricades for the road, hopped the curb with his car onto the tracks and careened onto the passenger platform.  Those intent on harm seem to find a way.



Last week, a terrorist turned across two lanes of traffic and plowed into a bus stop, killing one and injuring another, now we have these accessories appearing at the bus stops throughout the city.






Then there was this in my morning email: The Israel National Police advised the U.S. Embassy that a demonstration planned by members of the Ethiopian Israeli community is scheduled for today…This demonstration has the potential of drawing large crowds. A similar protest held in Jerusalem on Thursday lasted several hours and turned violent, resulting in injuries, arrests, and property damage. We advise U.S. citizens to avoid the area and to monitor local media for updates…Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.  You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations.

Right after I read that, I saw a news report about a May Day protest that turned violent on the West Coast of the United States.


And then from my little home town of just under 13 thousand, on May 7th, "..a 22-year-old woman was reported missing after she didn't return from an early morning walk Thursday, according to the Herrin Police Department."  Happily she was found uninjured, but what the heck?









So, thank you all for worrying about and praying for me.  Please don’t stop, either for me, or for the region or for the world.  I’m sure I've said it more than once, I covet your prayers.  I appreciate them and am sure I am safer for it.  




(The photos of the military and police are for a friend who asked for pictures of handsome Israeli men.  You know who you are, and you're welcome)

Warm and Fuzzy? Maybe.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Bethsaida; according to tradition the home of Peter, Andrew and Philip, Zebedee and his sons.  It is part of the ongoing archeological studies in Israel and an official national park site, so it is an interesting presentation both historically and spiritually.

The display includes (surprise) a spectacular vista, a home and synagogue and all kinds of interesting, valuable historic information but after a day of history and boulders and spiritual connections, what got my attention?

You got it, the local wildlife.  The Rock Hyrax.  Who can resist fuzzy little creatures?  Not me apparently.  And if I must relate it spiritually, I'm sure you will all remember that they are mentioned in scripture three times. 

 

Leviticus 11:5 (NIV) “The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.”

Deuteronomy 14:7 (NIV) “However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you.

And famously:

Proverbs 30:26 (NIV) “Hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags.”

Sadly, “...around Galilee the animals are no longer behaving in a "biblical way" - making their homes in the rocky hills and cliffs of the countryside.  "They're coming into the villages and eating everything they can find.”  Arik Kershenbaum, Haifa University Research team .http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/ )

Like cats, who I don’t remember seeing mentioned in the Bible, the Hyrax seems to be becoming a nuisance, but they are local indigenous residents, were cute and mostly posed for us, until we got too close, so I decided they needed a mention. 

A vista!

And a lizard. 

There are no Bibles on Bible Hill (Unless you bring one)

Right in the middle of Jerusalem, there is an open space that was designated by the Municipality as an Urban Nature Site in 2010.  It is about 8 acres, which include the St Andrews Scottish Presbyterian Church a little further up the hill.   It offers a stunning display of wildflowers throughout the year, save the hottest summer months which leave it “high and dry” (that’s a desert joke) and looking much like the rest of the vegetation throughout the country.

Just across from the First Station, just past the bus stop is a sign in English, Arabic and Hebrew naming the site Givat HaTanakh – Bible Hill.  Next is a precariously crude stairway that will take you to the top and a view worth the effort.  If you’ve come during any but those withering summer months, be ready for a visual feast.  The grassy mesa will be adorned by the appropriate seasonal offering, from Buttercups to Poppies, Anemones and Saffron.  (Keep in mind not to pick the wildflowers, all of which are covered by law as protected species)

photo Credit: biblewalks.com 

If you can stop looking at the floral show for a bit, you’ll see full circle the city on display. All the architectural beauty and diversity, the surrounding neighborhoods, if the weather cooperates, the Hills of Moab, and wait, I can see my dorm on Mt. Scopus from here!

But why is it called Bible Hill?

Some say because it is mentioned in Joshua 15:8, a Bible reference to the boundary of the tribe of the people of Judah: “Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem). From there it climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.”

Others suggest it is because excavations there uncovered the foundations of a Byzantine Church and tombs dating to the second Iron Age.

Whatever the reason, it’s a beautiful spot to spend some time in the middle of a crazy busy city in quiet contemplation, without the distraction of handouts, historic signs or shops, tour guides or chapels, just you and creation and what a view!   Open 24 hours a day (sunrise and sunset views also recommended) 7 days a week, 365 days a year with no exceptions and is free of charge.   It is not handicap accessible, so be warned, good shoes for sure, and some minimal climbing ability may be called for, and remember to bring water.

Right here in the middle of Jerusalem, who would have expected to find this little piece of paradise, or maybe, this is exactly where we should expect to find it.

Pantry Packers

In Israel, offices, schools and many businesses are closed on Election Day.  All day. Elections are taken very seriously here and with turnouts in the high 60’s and 70%, maybe we should consider a day off for our election process.  Maybe.

One of the benefits of being a Visiting Research Fellow here at the University, is that I am invited to a wide variety of academic and social activities and on this past Election Day, I took the opportunity to do some volunteer work with other grad students.  The invitation said simply, “Help Feed Hungry People”.  I had no idea what we were going to do or where it was going to happen, but I had a day free and love to feed people. 

Just after noon, a group of us piled onto a bus and headed into the Talpiot industrial district in the southeast part of Jerusalem.  Beyond the neighborhoods, past the auto dealers and malls, junk yards and empty lots, we turned down a dirt road that frankly looked a little spooky.  At the first gate, the bus stopped and the gate opened into a barren courtyard and a nondescript building with a simple sign identifying it as “Pantry Packers”. 

We were greeted by a delightful young man, originally from Houston, who took us through the introduction to the organization and their work with the hungry.  We watched a video that explained how the needy are screened, and helped with dignity.  Food is delivered to homes, no standing in lines for a hand out, and other services are offered to help depending on the level of the client’s needs.  Some get food, some food and a hand up, and many have graduated to self-sufficiency with the assistance they have received. 

Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, would be packaging rice for distribution.  Bags and labels, date stamped, measured, sealed and packed in boxes of 30 bags each for shipment.  It was really a pretty smooth operation, like they’d done this before.  We rotated through stations, either labeling or date stamping the bags, pouring rice into a hopper set to premeasure the rice for each bag, bagging the rice then delivering it to the person operating a little conveyor belt heat sealer, closing the top of the bag and finally packing the bags into boxes.

In the end, we helped provide food for 150 families, packing 20 boxes, each with thirty 500 gram bags of rice.  600 bags, about 661 pounds of rice. 

That’s a lot of rice, and a great way to spend a free afternoon.

 

For more information about Pantry Packers visit

http://pantrypackers.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pantrypackers/photos_stream

http://www.jpost.com/Videos/Chabad-Pantry-Packers-facility-opens-in-Jerusalem-328535

Pantry Packers | Charity Pure & Simple | Since 1788

The "parent" Ministry on site at the Western Wall.

The Hills of Judea

The tour guide told us in a month, these beautiful green rolling hills would be brown and dry.  But for now, the desert blooms.

We had rain, lots of rain during the winter, frequently floods, so much rain, that last week when the weather reporter the bus driver was listening to called for more rain, the woman in the front seat became terribly agitated, demanded in English and Hebrew, No! No more rain.

It’s raining today, and showers are expected tomorrow, likely the last until next winter.  Last weekend it snowed in the north, and rained everywhere else.  It rained again in the Judean Hills.

People ask me all the time if I feel closer to Jesus here in Israel.  I have to say, not in the way they seem to expect.  Maybe because it’s all so commercial in the Old City.









But here? This is different.  In this place, I can completely imagine Jesus and his disciples walking through the tall grass.  Stopping at a well, or under a tree.  When I think of Jesus the man, I don’t think of him so much at the end, I think of his whole life and ministry.

It’s not that I don’t ponder and appreciate the sacrifice that we just remembered, or rejoice for the Resurrection that we celebrate, but as necessary as his brutal death was, Jesus ministry was so much more than those three days.  For more than 30 years he walked these hills and valleys, wadis, deserts and mountain tops.






The Gospel is the whole story and I like the idea that he had comfortable times too.  Times when he could stand where I’m standing as I look on this panorama, and just appreciate the sun, and the breeze.  The colors and the fragrances.  Times when he could go to a wedding or teach in the Temple. Times when he was just like us.

I like the hills.  They remind me of the Kettle Moraine area where I grew up. Rolling, gentle and green, somehow lazy and comfortable.  I like to think of Jesus here.

Psalm 65:12 the grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.

Joel 3:18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias.

The Fifth Gospel

Last night I attended the Maundy Thursday Holy Communion Service & Hallel at Christ Church Jerusalem. 



Reading the Psalms that Jesus would have sung at his last Passover Seder, sharing the moments with my family here would have been enough, but then we left the church and walked down into the Kidron Valley, back up to the Garden of Gethsemane and on up to the Mount of Olives outside the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene; the best archaeological guess as to the location of Jesus passionate prayer to the Father, ultimate betrayal and arrest.

We walked, as Jesus and his Disciples walked, only about 2.5 miles, all dramatically down then uphill, mostly lit by the full moon. 

I found myself wondering, as we walked silently knowing from this side of history what was coming. Knowing Jesus knew what was coming. Remembering the disciples were still not exactly on board with the events that their dear friend and teacher had been predicting. I wondered what the conversations on the walk might have been that night. 

Comments about the meal they had just had? Wondering what was up with Judas? Pondering the love of G-d and his miracles bringing the people out of Egypt? I’ll leave it to you, but I’m thinking after four glasses of wine and a good meal, at the very least they must have been in a fairly good mood, and I understand why they would find it hard to stay awake to “watch and pray” as the master had asked.

And so we walked last night. 

Considering the days ahead. Quietly making our way through this portion of the story. Deep in our own thoughts. Down into the valley then up into the garden, where we could look back over the valley to the Old City of Jerusalem, the beautiful city on a hill.  

After a message from the Gospel of Mark and a time of reflection, the return walk.  Not under arrest, not betrayed by a kiss, but this time through the Lions Gate and along the Via Dolorosa, the "path he will walk later today".

Some Christians refer to Israel as the Fifth Gospel.  I think of it now as the illustrated version. However you perceive it, being here does add another, deeper dimension.  Everywhere you go, scripture is illuminated. Even with the expansion of the Old City outside the city walls, there remains a shadow, a whisper, a memory of the past, all of the past.  History is the economy here, so you can’t avoid it, but for those who are looking, there are traces of the past that feed the soul and make the heart glad. 

I am glad for last night and for today, knowing what came next.  

It would be easy to be overwhelmed, it’s Friday, but I know, Sunday's coming!

To all of you, 

Chag sameach,

Pesach kasher vesameah, Happy and kosher Pesach!!

And a Happy and Blessed Easter! 

To read more about the Mount of Olives and the Via Delorosa, visit:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-via-dolorosa

http://www.bibleplaces.com/mtolives.htm

For the Liturgy we used, visit:

http://www.cmj-israel.org/dnn/Portals/0/Images/CMJ/CMJMinistries/Christchurch/Congregation/Liturgies/Holy_thursday_flyer01.pdf

and if you’re wondering Hallel is Praise, a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113-118, which is used for praise and thanksgiving that is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays and their Christian cousins.

for a video of the event visit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XvLUROJjU8