Mount Of Olives Jerusalem

... can tanks from the War of Independence right up to the massive modern Merchava tanks produced in Israel. While we were there the place was filled with soldiers, gearing up for an evening graduation ceremony. In some indefinable way - between all the running, climbing, exploring, and watching the hundreds of young soldiers about to be formally issued their first “neshek” (weapon) - we knew the boys were absorbing something very deep and special. A sense of how ...

... we dus vrij snel al de Klaagmuur, waar de Joden in trance staan te bidden, onder toeziend oog van duizenden toeristen, en vergezeld door een hoop groepen pilgrims met lelijke petjes. Blijft bizar hoe dicht al die heilige plaatsen bij elkaar zijn; Klaagmuur is soort van de buitenmuur van de Temple Mount met de Al Aqsa dr op. <br><br>Later op de dag vonden we de Via Dolorosa, De Echte Kruisweg! Een lieve man sprak ons aan, en wilde ons wat uitzichten wijzen ...

... were taking us to the best places to take photos of the settlements, which are built over the Palestinian streets, and telling us of how stones, rubbish and sewage are rained down on the from above. Wire mesh hung over the market street, scattered with litter and the calls of &#8220;welcome! welcome! 20 shekels!&#8221; echoed off the many shut doors of shops closed with lost business. Some of the Palestinian volunteers took us round though I think it was a bit stressful for them ...

... the shops I took up a conversation with an Israeli-American on his bicycle who was talking to a Chinese man who had been robbed on the Mount of Olives. He was originally from Pennsylvania and had lived in Jerusalem for I think 20 years. He explained that his last name was Cohan and that he came from a priestly family and had never visited the Mount of Olives because it was unclean as a graveyard. Then Sarah came out and he asked us if we ...

... bekehren zu wollen. Da ging es dann gestern hin, um genau zu sein zur Paternosterkirche, zur Kirche aller Nationen, zum Grab Maria Magdalenas, zum riesigen juedischen Friedhof und natuerlich zu diesen beruehmten Olivenbaeumen, die schon ueber 500 Jahre alt sind und deren Fruechte direkt zum Papst in den Vatikan geschickt werden (wer's hat!). Dabei gabs auch einen klasse Ausblick auf den Tempelberg.<br><br>Heute war dann Westjerusalem, die Neustadt, dran. Wirklich so viel zu sehen ...

... sleepaway camp, a Brown education and college experience, quenching my curiosity for knowledge and exploration instead of serving in the army until the age of 21, and other things as well. Currently, I do not see myself doing aliyah to Israel, as I love America and my role in it, but I will always feel a strong connection to the state of Israel. As evidence, I still find myself checking the Haaretz news site just as I do for ...

... explanations and personal stories on a winding path, with was full of groups of tourists and young Israeli soldiers. It was a relief to finish the museum and to walk around the large outdoor grounds, full of various memorials (to partisans, children, "righteous Gentiles," etc.). The most impressive was the Valley of the Communities, a seemingly endless maze of rock two stories high, inscribed with the names of hundreds of cities and towns touched by ...

We headed south today, following, somewhat, the route that pilgrims in Jesus' day would have likely followed: down the Jordan. Apparently, they would cross to the east side of the river for much of the journey. So to get a sense of that, we visited a Roman bridge from that time. We then visited the town of Bet Shean where the ancient Greek city Scythopolis (one of the ten cities of the decapolis, mentioned in Mark 4:25, 5:20, and 7:31) is ...

... the next two nights here as well. It was surprisingly fun baking challah, although mine didn&#8217;t turn out quite as nice as the others'.<br><br>Shabbat at the Belzbergs<br><br>While the Luries were having a family dinner, Ricki Bornstein invited me over to the home of Marc and Chantelle Belzberg, whose daughter Michal was working at Moriah and is good friends with Brendan. Marc, originally from Canada, is the most humble and warm man, and you&#8217;d never know from ...

... at the places we read about in the church last night. We don't have a guide book and haven't found any place to buy one so we are doing it all on research on the www. Enough walking for today so we go back to the hotel. Len has the computer and is getting caught up on pictures, I rest my eyelids. Out to the local restaurant next door for dinner. We get some oranges and peanuts for tomorrow, we are doing a day trip to Bethlehem.