It’s been great having the kids in school in a routine. But the
short days on Tuesdays and Fridays alone don’t give us the time we want to
really explore. So we pulled them out of classes last week for a trip up north
to the Galil (Galilee).
We drove through the Jordan Valley north to Beit Shean. The heat
and the tight quarters in the rental car made for some cranky travelers. But, the sight of the city’s ancient,
impressive amphitheater finally pulled them out of their funk. (God knows it
wasn’t the picnic lunch which ended with Alexander and Esther finishing off a
bunch of half eaten sandwiches!) Pouring water down our backs made the midday
heat a bit more bearable as we explored the ancient ruins. The city, which dates to the 1st
century CE, has remains in relatively good condition due to an earthquake in
the 7th century that buried most of the city. This left it untouched by human or nature
until excavations began in recent times.
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| Micah overlooking Beit She'an |
Our afternoon dip in the nearby Ein Kibbutzim pools felt wonderful
before we continued on our way. We drove the scenic route through Har Gilboa
and made our way to the “metropolis” of Afula. We drove around until we spotted
the busiest restaurant in town and there feasted on shwarma and a wide
selection of side salads.
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| Koby, Amichai and Yonah cooling off at Ein Kibbutzim |
Our tzimmer (what they call B&B’s in Israel – only they hardly
ever include breakfast) in Yavne’al did not disappoint- the boys all piled into
the hot tub and blasted the Jacuzzi. We don’t understand how a country which
takes great pains to conserve water has allowed huge hot tubs to become
standard fare at B&B’s throughout the country.
We arrived after dark, so it wasn’t until morning that we saw the beautiful
view from the room- wheat fields, hills and distant towns of the Lower Galilee.
We quickly ate and made our way to the Lavi forest – currently the only active
tree planting center in Israel for visitors. We planted to the tune of
Alexander’s “Etz Hayim He” and the kids had fun placing their tiny saplings in
pre-dug holes and filling them in with dirt.
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| Planting trees at the Lavi Forest, Galil |
The fact that the boys went to bed late and woke up before 7am
came back to bite us on our short drive to Mt. Arbel. Two fell asleep. Waking
them up and trying to get them to the amazing view point and ancient synagogue-
well, let’s just say, we almost had another massacre the likes of which have
not been seen since Herod attacked the Zealots in 37 CE on this spot.
The promise of rafting on the Jordan River quickened the recovery
from the Arbel-melt-down and we made our way through Tiberias and then up to
Gadot. We anticipated a quiet day in the middle of the week, before tourist
season at the rafting place. Little did
we know that groups of all types were there – particularly a large and loud
group of Russian speaking men that made for great people watching. Koby steered us down the quiet Jordan River and
the “rapids” at the end gave everyone a thrill. All claim to be ready for some
serious white water rafting now.
With much planning, we had found a time to finally Skype with the
kids’ classes at HMJDS. Then we decided
to go away for a few days. Rather than
rejuggle schedules, we figured we could Skype from the road. So, on the balcony of a restaurant with the Jordan
River in the background (and pigeon poop all over), the three HMJDS boys were
able to chat with their classes. They
had been eagerly awaiting the chance to “see” and talk with their friends at
home.
From the rafting, we made our way down the east side of the Kinneret
(Sea of Galilee). A cherry vendor on the
side of the road turned out to be a very good salesman and Esther and Alexander
were swept up in the excitement of fresh local cherries. Only when we realized just how much we had overpaid,
we could’ve kicked ourselves. But boy
were the cherries good! We ate dinner at
a lovely fish restaurant on the banks of the Kinneret. St. Peter’s fish and trout while watching the
sun set over the Kinneret at Ein Gev was great way to end the day.
With
the promise of a tiyul (hike) involving water, we packed our bags and headed
out the next morning. Lest you think all
our adventures are seamless, the excitement was quickly tempered by:
a)
fighting in
the back seat because "he always sits by the window"
b)
"he read
the Kindle all day yesterday"
c)
taking a
wrong turn which nullified Alexander's promise that "we are almost
there."
Through
the windy roads of the Lower Galilee, we finally made our way to Nahal
Amud. And it was as everyone had told us
– a great tiyul. We hiked for three hours through forests, past old flour mills
and irrigation channels, orchards and along the stream. The anticipation of
dipping in the stream kept the boys moving accompanied by semi regular
complaints, "oy, are we there yet?" and "I hate this stupid
hike," by one particular child left to be unnamed. We eventually did have a dip. It was what they call "refreshing"
– another way to say cold! Those
gold plated cherries made great pit stops (pun intended) on the long hike back
up. Ami gets the prize for being the
best hiker – three hours of hiking and not one complaint.
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| Waiting to swim at Nahal Amud |
From
Nahal Amud, we drove to Tzfat. With
everyone tired, sweaty and hungry, we never-the-less set out to try to see some
of the city before sites began to close. And it was as you might expect – pretty much a
disaster. We got couldn’t find any of
the sites despite walking in circles. (Doesn’t Tzfat believe in street signs?) When we did find them, they were indeed closed.
You can picture the scene. We eventually gave up and spent another 20
minutes walking up and down looking for a Yemenite restaurant listed in a guide
book only to discover that we had passed it many times but it had changed
names. Refreshed from malawach, jachnun and unlimited lemonade, we walked a bit
more and were happy to discover the Sephardi Abouha and Ashkenazi Caro synagogues
were open again for minha. We also
went into a candle shop and found a 10’ tall havdalah candle, as well as Disney
characters shaped out of wax. An ice cream break gave us the necessary energy
to walk and walk and walk as we searched for our car. After a long day,
we drove an hour on windy roads (more "he sat by the window last
time" whining), made it to Kibbutz Hannaton and crashed.
Friday
was another full day. There was so much
we wanted to see we ran the poor kids ragged!
We visited Beit Shearim. Neither
Esther nor Alexander had been there and really enjoyed the site. This is where
Yehuda Hanasi (compiler of the Mishnah) and other Sages are buried. We had a wonderful (if a bit long) tour. As long as the two younger kids got to use
headlamps in the large burial chambers, they were engaged. Koby on the other hand
has become our expert in Greek mythology which was helpful in deciphering the
sarcophagi (yes, Greek images on graves of rabbis should raise an
eyebrow).
After
another picnic lunch ("more sandwiches, really? I hate sandwiches!”), we
rushed to Manof, a tiny moshav farther north to tour a small, chocolate truffle
factory. No complaints here. As Esther
said, not a bad life – live in a quaint town with an amazing view, work by and
for yourself making chocolate all day. The New Zealand born owner was great
with the kids and needless to say, we left with three bags of truffles. Yummmm…wouldn’t that justify anything else we
did that day??
From
the modern kitchen, back to ancient ruins at Tzippori, where we spent two hours
in the sun walking through the site. This town – known for housing the Sages
who fled Jerusalem when it was destroyed by the Romans – has wonderful
mosaics in incredible condition. The ruins date back to the Roman era (1st-2nd
century CE). Tzippori is unique in that
it’s a city where a clear Jewish presence lived side by side with the pagan
Romans. The site continues to be excavated, and there is likely so much more
that will be uncovered. Micah got sick
toward the end of our tour so he wasn’t such a happy camper. And another child (the
same one who shall go unnamed) was just plain miserable throughout ("who
cares about stupid mosaics anyways!").
It was definitely time for a pre-Shabbos nap!
We
spent a short time looking for the (supposed) grave of Yonah Hanavi in a nearby
Arab town but gave up when we literally ran out of road.
Shabbat
at Kibbutz Hannaton was a wonderful end to our Galil trip. Esther and
Alexander had been to this Masorti (Conservative) kibbutz years ago in the
early 90’s. Since then, it basically fell apart but a new core group of young families
is rebuilding the community. The first families arrived three years ago to an
existing, although run-down kibbutz infrastructure. Over the past two years they have absorbed
more families so the kibbutz is steadily growing in size and stability. There are big goals, ideas and dreams for all
the things this kibbutz can be.
Amazingly, next year there will be a mekhina program (one year post high
school, pre-army) on Hannaton with the goal of cultivating new leaders
for the Conservative movement in Israel.
A lot of exciting potential… Alexander and Esther enjoyed the spirited
davening and visiting with couples who recently relocated to the kibbutz. The
kids easily adapted to kibbutz life – that is, they felt free to play outside
with the other kids unsupervised.
We
wanted to be back in Jerusalem for Yom Yerushalayim and Israel's new and only
toll road made the motzei Shabbat (Saturday night) drive a breeze. Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) celebrates
the reunification of Jerusalem after the 1967 Six Day War. We enjoyed watching throngs of young people marching
with flags, dance and sing down King George Street and of course fireworks at
night. We also went on a tour of the
Jerusalem Municipality buildings, which was a fascinating lesson in the history
of the buildings, as well as the various characters that ruled and owned land
from the mid-1800s until today.
While
Jerusalem is under Israeli control, we continue to pray for the time when it
will live up to its name - “yiru shalem, they shall see peace.”
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| Yom Yerushalayim street scene |
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