Posted on 11/15/2007 3:57:24 PM PST by Alouette
Dear FReepers,
I returned last night from my visit to Israel. It was fantastic! We spent most of the time with my daughter and her family, who live in the North of Israel. My grandson turned 3 years old, which is celebrated by an "upsherenish" ceremony in which his hair was cut for the first time. We observed this festive ritual in Meron, at the tomb of Rabbi Simeon Bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, the mystical work of Kabbalah.
The reason for this custom, a child is compared to the fruit of a tree, which may not be harvested for three years from the time it is planted. The ritual signifies a child's transition from babyhood, when he stays at home with his mother, to boyhood, when he begins attending school. I asked my grandson what this event meant to him, and he said, "ugat yom holedet!" (Birthday cake!) My grandson refuses to speak any language except Hebrew. What a little Israeli!
We visited three of the four Holy Cities of Israel: Safed, Tiberias, and Jerusalem. We did not go to Hebron for reasons too obvious to repeat here.
In Tiberias, (also revered by Christians as the site where Jesus walked on the water), we prayed by the Sea of Galilee and enjoyed St. Peter's Fish at a waterfront cafe. The lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) was smooth as glass--not a ripple on the surface! Unfortunately, the water level is also extremely low, even more than usual. Hopefully it will soon rise as the rainy season has begun.
On our last night in Israel, we drove to Jerusalem and prayed at the Kotel. I took the prayer requests from FReepers, folded up the paper and tucked it between the stones, as is customary. May all your prayers be answered!
On the way back to the U.S. we had an 8-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany, and left the airport in order to visit the historic Westende Synagogue, a magnificent 19th-Century structure. Even though this was worth seeing, it was a bad idea because we were not prepared for the freezing weather in Frankfurt.
We are back home now, had a great time!
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
Thank you.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this wonderful account of your trip to Israel!
More than that, thank you for asking us if we’d like prayer...
I’ve pinged Logan’s Prayer Warriors, as I don’t know who all responded to you.
Alouette, G-d bless you and your family.
BG
Awesome. Gotta love those little children. Their little Israeli accents are cute. Sounds like a great trip.
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There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had
spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. (Joshua 21:45)
Letter To The President In Support Of Israel ~
'Final Solution,' Phase 2 ~
Warnings ~
The Nature Of Bruce ~
"The West has given more significance to the myth of the genocide of the Jews, even more significant than God, religion, and the prophets...."Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Holocaust Chronicle ~
" ... It's time we recognized the nature of the conflict. It's total war and we are all involved. Nobody on our side is exempted because of age, gender, or handicap. The Islamofacists have stolen childhood from the world."FReeper Retief
"Palestine is the wrong name for their State. It should be called Anarchy."FReeper sgtbono2002
"Then let's wait and see what the Arabs do after they take Gaza. There's nothing like Arab reality to break up a Jewish fantasy."FReeper Noachian
A student told his professor he was going to "Palestine" to "fight for freedom, peace and justice,"Orwellian leftist code words that mean "murder Jews."
Thank you for being our prayer messenger ..
I’m MOST grateful. I’m so glad your trip
was filled with wonderful family events
and most of all, that it was safe. God
bless you and your family.
Sounds like a wonderful trip!
(I darned near froze visiting Europe in April/May several years ago, can well imagine Frankfurt being cold)
What a wonderful report. I was in Israel in 1983 and plan to go back next year!
You’ll find that it has changed a LOT!
Thank you. Glad you are back safe and sound.
I am glad you are back.
May all your prayers be answered!
And may God Bless you with answered prayers too.
Thank you for the account of your trip — and for your prayers.
Thanks for telling us about your trip. Thanks for taking the prayer requests with you. I’d love to see some before and after pics of your grandson.
Toda Rabah!
Even I know Toda! :) :) :)
I COULD use some help w/Rabah....
Enjoyed your trip report.
May God continue to bless you!
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