Shabbat

Today is Saturday, November 5. At sundown last night, Shabbat began. The customs associated with Shabbat are many and varied. First and foremost, it is a day of rest, on which all productive work is forbidden. According to Jewish law, any activity connected with fire is forbidden, and religious Jews do not turn electricity on or off on Shabbat and do not travel. Turning the lights on before sundown and leaving them on throughout Shabbat requires no work. Many Jews spent the night with their families in the hotel for Shabbat. It was quite noisy at dinner and into the night. There is a special Shabbat elevator that is used on Shabbat. The way it works – it stops at all floors so you don’t have to push a button.

Our morning began with a wake up call at 7 a.m. followed by breakfast. We were off at 8:30 a.m. There was a bicycle race near the hotel so we were able to leave 30 minutes later.

Leaving Tiberias we made our way to Cana. In Cana, we visited a Franciscan church commemorating Jesus’ miracle of turning the water into wine. At the church was a small chapel where Phill led in a service of renewal of vows for three of the couples (Bob and Ellen Strickland, Bill and Betty Loy, and Terry and Jean Smith). It was a touching service. We even had a “you may kiss the bride” moment at the end. Following the renewal of vows service we got to see a stone jar like one would have looked like in the miracle story. Leaving the church we had a wine tasting in one of the local shops. Wine from Cana! There was a choice of non-alcoholic and alcoholic. There have been some that have purchased wine here as a wedding present for someone getting married.

Leaving Cana, we traveled to Nazareth and visited the Church of the Annunciation. The Church is a Byzantine church built over the place where it is believed that the angel Gabriel announced the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. In 1966 the Roman Catholic church began constructing a new basilica over these remains and today this church is the largest church building in the Middle East. The church was beautiful! The front of the church illustrated the five elements of life (earth, fire, air, water, and love). “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us!”  (There is a great message here.  Google it by looking up the Church of the Annunciation.) In Peter’s (the tour guide) comments, he spoke of the “upper room” (Greek – Katalooma (check spelling – internet not available while typing this) and his comments were very informative and opened many minds. We spent a good amount of time looking inside the church before going back to the bus to make our way to Bethlehem. It was quite a drive traveling along the west bank on Highway 6. We could see some of the Jewish settlements especially around Jerusalem.

On the ride to Bethlehem, Peter shared a good deal of information regarding the history of Palestine/Israel – and how the division of the country came about. He shared the information but stressed, “you must make up your own mind.” I was deeply disturbed when we passed through the WALL that surrounds the west bank in order to enter Bethlehem.

Once in Bethlehem, we ate lunch (about 2:30 p.m.). We had falafel or grilled chicken in a pita pocket. It was delicious! The chicken was cooked on a gyro looking device.

Following lunch we drove to Shepherd’s Field. There is a church located there and the basement of the church is a cave very much like a cave that would have been present in the time of Jesus’ birth. We heard the Christmas story and sang Christmas carols in the “cave” church. It was a touching moment to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” in Bethlehem – which isn’t so little anymore.

Leaving Shepherd’s Field we went shopping (ughh!). The shop had items made of olive wood and mother of pearl as well as jewelry of various kinds.

We then made our way to the Church of the Nativity only to discover it closed right before we got there. We’ll have to schedule for another day while we are in Jerusalem.

We did receive some disappointing news when it was discovered that the Temple Mount would not be open from Sunday through Wednesday. (we leave on Thursday) So, we will not be able to go on the Temple Mount. We’ll see it from the Mount of Olives but we will not set foot on it.

Since the Church of the Nativity was closed, we went to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). Women went in the right entrance. Men entered on the left. Men who didn’t have on caps or hats picked up yamakas on the way to the Western Wall. After a time of prayer at the Wall we made our way back to the bus and on to the hotel!

Arriving at the hotel at 7 p.m., we had dinner at 8 p.m. (a wonderful selection of salads, meats and desserts). Then, off to bed!

Shalom!