As in most full days in an Israel pilgrimage, this day was packed! So packed that I fell asleep with blog in hand trying to chronicle it all - so it's the next morning here by the time this posts...
Day 2 began in Jaffa, learning history of Jewish immigration from eastern Europe, relationships within Jaffa, and of a movement to create a new city just to the North - Tel Aviv. The city building began in 1909, so this entire urban and suburban sprawl - the heart of Israeli secular culture and innovation (and beach culture) - all cropped up between Cubs World championships!
The group in front of a skyline of Tel Aviv
A Bill M. #selfiewiththerabbi in Jaffa
From there, a haunt over to Independence Hall to hear about Israel's declaration if Independence. Sorry to Aaron Burr, but we made it to the room where it happened, where David Ben-Gurion did not throw away his shot (Hamilton reference for those who have not seen it).
Outside the Dizengoff museum in which the State of Israel was declared
While inside Independence Hall, we listened to Israel's origin together with an incredible birthright group - a trip designed for 18-26 year olds with special needs.
Happy to be here!
All around Tel Aviv, gay pride flags are still flying from lat week's 200,000+ person gathering for Tel Aviv' s pride weekend
Caesaria is an incredible archeological park that gives a great understanding of the layers of history in this region. We saw Roman ruins, Crusader ruins, Ottoman ruins, ruins from various Christian and Muslim periods, all in one site, the natural harbor of Caesaria.
At this site, we also learned about Hannah Shenesh, the freedom fighter who parachuted into the Nazi empire to fight during WWII, only to be captured and killed. Before this fate of hers, she lived near Caesaria, and she wrote a famous poem, "A Walk to Caesaria," otherwise called "Eli, Eli," that has been put to song - one of my favorite prayers. We sang this prayer together, a prayer of hope and of marvel at the glorious site of a beautiful sea.
At the Roman theater, where they still hold performances today.
My God, My God
I pray that these things never end:
The sand and the sea
The rush of the waters
The crash of the heavens
The prayer of the heart
By the way, if you told me we'd be in Caesaria at noon (after many trips to Israel, I know there is NO shade in this site), I'd have changed the itinerary. But the weather was mild and wonderful!
At lunch in a mall ... Jocelyn declared that her ice cream spoon is like "a shovel for a grasshopper." Apt description, indeed.
After lunch where some found a kosher McDonald's that has a meat side of the counter and a dairy side of the counter, we were off again to an ancient acuaduct that brought water to Caesaria. Connecting to a natural underground source, the Roman builders carved a tunnel through the hilly terrain, always sloping down, leading to the acuaduct system that brought fresh water, hence life, to Caesaria. With flashlights in hand (every other hand ... long story), and teamwork in our hearts, we spelunked through part of this underground water passage. Experiencing water slightly above our knees (and at other times, way more than slightly above), we learned about ancient engineering first hand.
Passing through one of the shafts leading down to the waterway... we started singing the Indiana Jones theme song
Deep in the tunnels ... we started singing, "Hi hi, it's off to work we go."
I forced everyone to look into the sun, trying to get a shot of the shaft we climbed out of
And then it was on to the North, my favorite scenery in Israel, to the kibbutz from which I am writing you, Kfar Blum. Another day of adventure, of learning, of connecting and of great food in tow.
And of course, it was a special day ... it was Sallie's birthday! If you haven't yet done so, please go to her Facebook page and wish her a happy birthday!
A birthday #selfiewiththerabbi for Sallie - it was a memorable one!
On a personal note: I have a goal of running every day of the trip (except maybe Masada day, when I might save energy for a hike up and/or down). I'm using this blog as an accountability source, to help motivate me to stick to the goal ... so far, 2 for 2!
I paused on my run to take a shot of the site on the beach where we joined together for a Shabbat morning service during my last trip to Israel
My phone wouldn't rotate the pic, but here's the view from my run this morning in the North
I found it, Shel Siverstein ... where the sidewalk ends.
Maybe it the most flattering picture, but this was a total accidental selfie, which is incredibly framed!
Phew! Busy day - and a run to boot! Enjoy, everyone!!
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