All Aboard?

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then click the back button to return to the post)

He will cover you with His feathers,
   and under His wings you will find refuge;
   His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:4

A lot has happened in the last few days.  It began with the terrorist attacks near Eilat on Thursday, and continued with more than 100 rockets being fired into Israel this weekend.  But in Jerusalem, a little over 50 miles from the incoming rockets, Friday was a momentous day.  The Jerusalem Light Rail that began construction over 10 years ago has finally begun transporting passengers.  Israel's first urban light-rail line is 14 kilometers long stretching from Pisgat Ze'ev in the north, down Jaffa Road to Mount Herzel in the west.  It's been noted by Israelis that it took only 7 years to build the original Temple, and they didn't even have modern equipment...

There is much controversy about the train - many Arab people in eastern Jerusalem do not want the train connected to their neighborhoods because they are planning for the eastern part of Jerusalem to be the capital of the new state they are hoping for next month.  There are also many who question the safety of the train, even more so than the buses, with it's many doors to enter and with it being a larger target.  We have chosen to use the same discernment we have been implementing with the buses -  if God says don't get on, we don't.

For a long time, it was just a picture on a building.

It's a little before 8 am - and here comes our first train ride!  Note the security man - security men were at each stop, and most assuredly on each car as well.

A sign on the train.

A look down the inside for the first time.

Riding over the bridge for the first time (we have walked over it). 

The bridge was built specifically for the train 

and has a pedestrian path as well.

 We reached our destination.  This is the closest station to Ben Yehuda Street.

Looking at the train as it continues down Jaffa Road.

Oh, boy! The trip home is going to be a little more crowded.  Not only is it Friday afternoon (before the beginning of Shabbat there's always heavy traffic), but also the train is free for 2 weeks. Not only that, but  of course everyone wants to ride the first day, and to bring all of their children!

Wow!  We thought it could be crowed on the bus!  

Since the train is more spacious, you can fit even more people on it :)

The signs on the train are in Hebrew, Arabic and English.  It lists the final destination, so you know which direction the train is headed, and the name of the next train station.  As we noticed, sometimes there would be an announcement when arriving a the next station - but only if they remembered to press the button :)

This picture was previously taken from one of our bus rides (with dirty windows) 

while driving under the bridge.

Riding back over the bridge again.

Like with the buses, after the Central Bus Station stop, there are usually less people.

And even a dog got to ride the train the first day.

Here's a short video after we got off as the train pulls away.

In thinking about writing this blog about the Jerusalem Light Rail, and our first experience riding it, my thoughts began to travel back in time - some 70 years ago - to other trains that held scores of Jewish people. As I closed my eyes, and remembered being tightly in the midst of this people Friday afternoon, I began to consider what it would have been like to be riding on one of those trains....

There were many who helped the Jews and stood by their side during the Holocaust, whom the Jewish people call righteous gentiles - Oscar Schindler, Corrie Ten Boom and Anne Frank are the most well known.  Anti-semetism is currently at an all time high, it just has a new name attached to it: anti-Israel.


Do we have the strength and the courage to do what's right?   Although we don't always agree with or support every government decision, we choose to cast our lot with the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel.  How about you?  God did....

"This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD Almighty is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,”declares the LORD, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.” This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the LORD."  Jeremiah 31:35-37

....when He chose the Jewish people beginning with Abraham to be a set apart people
     for Him ~ Deuteronomy 7:6


....when He spoke through them to record the Scriptures that we still read today ~
     Luke 24:27,44


....when He gave to them His Land ~ Genesis 26:3, 48:3,4; Deuteronomy 32:48,49


....when He sent His Son to earth as a Jew to save all the people of the world ~
     Matthew 1:1-16


....when He chose to use Peter, Paul and other Jewish men to preach the Gospel to all
     the world  ~ Acts 3:12,13; Romans11:1


....when He promised them they would one day return to the land He gave them and
     they have ~ Isaiah 11:11,12; 66:8


And it doesn't end there - Jesus has promised to return to set up His Kingdom on earth. Where?  In Jerusalem!  He hasn't abandoned His people, He is longing to hear them say, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord" and then as He has promised, they will see Him again.  "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"  Matthew 23:39

Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai! 

(Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!)

An Anniversary To Remember

We recently celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary.  Because the actual date was on a Thursday, we celebrated that day by going to a simple dinner in the Old City and a walk to the HaKotel - The Western Wall.  But simple doesn't mean it wasn't special!  It was our first anniversary celebration in Israel - what better way to spend the evening than in the Old City of Jerusalem?  Walking the ancient, narrow streets and eating local Jewish fare?

We made our way through the Jaffa Gate, down the narrow streets of the Armenian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter to a now favorite restaurant of ours.  We first visited it one evening in December 2009 when we were looking for some local food to eat.  The neon red sign outside the restaurant says "B.B.Q." Not sure what that meant, we checked it out, and found out it was shwarma!  Lamb meat that is served in a fresh pita or laffa and "all the trimmings" like an Israeli Subway.  This is where we had our anniversary dinner :)

The restaurant is located in the courtyard next to the Hurva Synagogue (the largest building in the center of the picture below).  We sat in this courtyard at a table and enjoyed our meal together before continuing for a "stroll" through the rest of the Old City.

On Saturday morning, about 6 am, we began our anniversary adventure to the North.  We had been blessed with an "anniversary check" from Jim's parents with instructions to "do something special".  We were also blessed with the use of a car for the weekend to be able to see more of Israel.  We hadn't had the funds to go away, but God provided for us to be able to enjoy His special Land, so we packed a picnic lunch and LOTS of water and were on our way.

Reminder - the pictures look better when viewed larger, just click on the picture to make bigger, then click the back button to return to the blog post.

Jerusalem bridge on left.

The drive through the Jordan Valley is amazingly beautiful and majestic. 

To travel north to the Galilee there are mainly 2 options - drive west toward Tel Aviv, around the "West Bank" and then east again toward Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) or drive a little east of Jerusalem on Route 1 to the top of the Dead Sea and turn north on Route 90 and drive through the "West Bank" which is the beautiful Jordan Valley.  We choose to do the latter following the Yarden (Jordan River).  On this portion of the route, you can see the fence that separates Israel and Jordan.  

The road just the left of the fence is for military use only.

On Route 90 heading North toward the Galilee.  

Ancient Jericho still exists today as an Arab city under Palestinian control.  

Sheep herding on a hot summer morning.

Notice the date palms & vineyards in the background.

We have arrived at our first destination in about 2 1/2 hours.  We have chosen to go hiking for our anniversary, since this is one of the things we both love to do together.  We love being outside and enjoying God's creation.  This is something we began in the States when we lived near the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway with its many hiking trails.  

As our anniversary gift from Jim's parents, we chose to purchase a one year pass to visit Israel's National Parks - 66 in all!  Since Israel is only the size of New Jersey, we will be able to visit many within the next year.  These also include many in the Jerusalem area, Caesarea, En Gedi, Megiddo (Armageddon), Masada, Qumran and many more!  What an opportunity for adventures!  

So today we are hiking ancient Gamla - less than 10 miles from the Syrian border.  It is known as the Masada of the north.  The Jewish city of Gamla joined the revolt against the Romans in 66 AD.  When the fortress was destroyed in fierce battle in 67 AD, Josephus (the historian of the time period and leader of the revolt in the Galilee) writes that 9,000 Jews lost their lives.  In 1968 the city was rediscovered and excavated with findings of the battle from 1900 years ago.

The National Park is also a Vulture Reserve and the largest nesting colony of birds of prey in Israel.

We saw several of these Agama lizards about 30 cm in length.

Our first view of the hike we will make today.  The pictures really don't do it justice :)

An ancient catapult representing the battle that took place.  

Many catapult arrowheads were found in the synagogue.

Also a ballista showing how the Romans were able to break through the city wall.  

Hundreds of ballista balls were found.

Standing in the tower looking back at the mountain we had just descended - 

from the highest point to the paved area was quite steep.  

We are now climbing up again across the ridge of the mountain where the city lies.

We took one last picture before putting the camera away.  

We would need both hands to cross this section of the hike 

across the steep ridge of the mountain.  

This was a little "off the trail" but is a much more "adventurous" path.  

Back on flat ground for a short time :)

Going up the last part of the hike before reaching the tip of the mountain peak.

Can't go any farther than this!!  We sat for a time to enjoy the breeze and a snack with plenty of water.  The view from the peak of Gamla was amazing!  The Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is in the background.

Heading back down the "path" :)

We stopped on the way back to look at the city remains that were excavated.

The Jewish "mikveh" is where Christianity gets the "baptismal".  This mikveh is 2,000 years old.

The synagogue is the center of city life.  

This synagogue is one of the oldest discovered in Israel.

Looking down into a dwelling place.  There were even 2 story homes in this city, 

built during the Second Temple period.

Standing in the city looking out the breach that the Romans entered the city through.

Standing outside the city looking towards the breach the Romans "created" to enter the city.

It's now time to go back up the steepest part of the hike, 

looks like once upon a time they had a shuttle....

But not today...today we climb (slowly) back to the entrance of the park - knowing 

there is an ice cream stand waiting for us :)

Looking back at the what we had just climbed - all the way to the very peak of the mountain!

View of the city of Gamla - destroyed in 67 AD, found again in 1968 - 1900 years later.

After taking our time to reach the last portion of this hike - the entrance to the park, we refreshed ourselves with ice cream.  After a bit of rest, we decided to have our picnic lunch under a shade tree.  When we finally got back in the air conditioned car, we were quite surprised to see the temperature!  We began the hike around 9:00 am so we would be done before it got too hot.  It was 29 C (84 F) when we started, but it was not 40 C (104 F) at 1:17 pm!!  Because of the low humidity, it doesn't feel quite that hot, so.....we continue to our next adventure......

We had a couple more adventures on our anniversary getaway, but we'll share them next time.....

Thank you for sharing our special anniversary with us.  

May each of us take the time to open our eyes 

to all the wonders around us.