Lehitra'ot
Two days from now, I'll be heading toward the airport to fly to Istanbul. I know it'll be hard to leave, but I'm grateful to God for the time He's given me here.
This last weekend I've experienced some very unique and cool things. On Friday night I enjoyed Erev Shabat with Baruch, my dad's friend and colleague, and his wife Ella. We went to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and listened to the prayers, which were led by a Yemeni Jew who had a beautiful voice and a very Arab style of singing. (It made me think, "Of course Jews and Arabs can get along! Why, this guy is getting along fine with himself!") I enjoyed a wonderful dinner afterwards with them and with friends from their community.
Saturday I went with a couple friends from the college to Hebron. It was a little bit depressing for me to see the Old City of Hebron, much of which has been closed down because of a couple hundred settlers that have set up shop right downtown, complete with lots of armed soldiers, razorwire, etc. We walked through part of the settler area downtown and saw all the yeshiva students, teenagers, walking proudly through the streets with M-16's slung across their backs. We visited the Christian Peacemaker Team people downtown, and went through Kiryat Arba (a big settlement just outside the Old City), a little less obtrusive and yet still a world away from the Arab parts of Hebron. It was clear to me why Hebron is always described as more tense than Bethlehem, which really has nothing like this kind of aggressive settler activity. One bumper sticker on a settler car at Abraham's tomb read in Hebrew and English, "No Arabs, No Terrorists." (This was in the same place where Dr. Goldstein opened fire some 15 years ago and massacred dozens of worshipers in the mosque.) I wonder if the car's owner would have the guts to say that to the Yemeni who led prayers on Erev Shabat. Or if he would have the guts to say it without his M-16 and the hundreds of IDF soldiers guarding him.
Sunday was easier, went to church and then met with two friends in Jerusalem. One, named Daniel, I hadn't met yet but had a very good and fruitful time talking with him about his experiences and various things. He's grown up in Israel, and has seen a lot of things that I haven't seen, so it was good to hear his stories. Then I met up with another friend of mine from Hebrew classes later on, whom I'll miss.
Finally, last night I went to visit another friend of my dad's (now a friend of mine) named Alik in Tel Aviv--we walked down the beach, ate an extremely yummy dinner, and talked a lot about Israel, the Middle East, culture and life and religion. I'm very glad I met him, and hope to see him again here or in the US.
Tomorrow I'm giving tests to my students (and then grading all afternoon while doing laundry), and tomorrow afternoon I'll go to the airport. It'll be good to see my friends in Istanbul, and in Kosova next week. But I know that I'll miss being in Palestine and Israel.
I'm really grateful to God for allowing me to be here this time, for keeping me here long enough to get to know and understand things a little better (though one thing I've learned talking to so many people in the last week is that I really know almost nothing). It's good to leave wanting to come back. And inshallah, be'ezrat haShem, I will be back in two or three years. I'll have to find a way to keep my Arabic and Hebrew up in the meantime.
Sad news in Lebanon; may the Lord bring good things from the tragedy. And may the tragedy of the intifada and the occupation here, the fighting and the hatred and the distrust and pride and everything else, be the bitter seed that brings forth the sweet renewal of the Spirit to this land and to the whole region.
Love you all. Pray for the people of Israel and Palestine. God loves 'em, despite all the mess.
This last weekend I've experienced some very unique and cool things. On Friday night I enjoyed Erev Shabat with Baruch, my dad's friend and colleague, and his wife Ella. We went to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and listened to the prayers, which were led by a Yemeni Jew who had a beautiful voice and a very Arab style of singing. (It made me think, "Of course Jews and Arabs can get along! Why, this guy is getting along fine with himself!") I enjoyed a wonderful dinner afterwards with them and with friends from their community.
Saturday I went with a couple friends from the college to Hebron. It was a little bit depressing for me to see the Old City of Hebron, much of which has been closed down because of a couple hundred settlers that have set up shop right downtown, complete with lots of armed soldiers, razorwire, etc. We walked through part of the settler area downtown and saw all the yeshiva students, teenagers, walking proudly through the streets with M-16's slung across their backs. We visited the Christian Peacemaker Team people downtown, and went through Kiryat Arba (a big settlement just outside the Old City), a little less obtrusive and yet still a world away from the Arab parts of Hebron. It was clear to me why Hebron is always described as more tense than Bethlehem, which really has nothing like this kind of aggressive settler activity. One bumper sticker on a settler car at Abraham's tomb read in Hebrew and English, "No Arabs, No Terrorists." (This was in the same place where Dr. Goldstein opened fire some 15 years ago and massacred dozens of worshipers in the mosque.) I wonder if the car's owner would have the guts to say that to the Yemeni who led prayers on Erev Shabat. Or if he would have the guts to say it without his M-16 and the hundreds of IDF soldiers guarding him.
Sunday was easier, went to church and then met with two friends in Jerusalem. One, named Daniel, I hadn't met yet but had a very good and fruitful time talking with him about his experiences and various things. He's grown up in Israel, and has seen a lot of things that I haven't seen, so it was good to hear his stories. Then I met up with another friend of mine from Hebrew classes later on, whom I'll miss.
Finally, last night I went to visit another friend of my dad's (now a friend of mine) named Alik in Tel Aviv--we walked down the beach, ate an extremely yummy dinner, and talked a lot about Israel, the Middle East, culture and life and religion. I'm very glad I met him, and hope to see him again here or in the US.
Tomorrow I'm giving tests to my students (and then grading all afternoon while doing laundry), and tomorrow afternoon I'll go to the airport. It'll be good to see my friends in Istanbul, and in Kosova next week. But I know that I'll miss being in Palestine and Israel.
I'm really grateful to God for allowing me to be here this time, for keeping me here long enough to get to know and understand things a little better (though one thing I've learned talking to so many people in the last week is that I really know almost nothing). It's good to leave wanting to come back. And inshallah, be'ezrat haShem, I will be back in two or three years. I'll have to find a way to keep my Arabic and Hebrew up in the meantime.
Sad news in Lebanon; may the Lord bring good things from the tragedy. And may the tragedy of the intifada and the occupation here, the fighting and the hatred and the distrust and pride and everything else, be the bitter seed that brings forth the sweet renewal of the Spirit to this land and to the whole region.
Love you all. Pray for the people of Israel and Palestine. God loves 'em, despite all the mess.
posted by Seth | 5:55 AM
1 Comments:
I can't wait to go to the Holy Land, I pray for Israel every day!
God Bless you!
Steve
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