After the exam I joined a group to go do a volunteer job, organizing meals to be delivered before Shabbat. We were quite excited to get involved in the community and “give back” as it were, but unfortunately by the time we got there, they had finished! We stood around for a bit, a little at a loss for what to do, and then, yay! Six of us were set to work on a large bin of onions that a factory had donated, picking out eight un-rotting ones per bag, and trashing other inedible ones. And it seems the other twenty or so volunteers were given some other job across the courtyard, so I guess that planned work had been finished, but they found something needing doing. We weren’t there long at all, though. I may look into finding a weekly something like this in the area for the long run.
Since we got back so early, I gave my friends a call. They had invited me out, but I’d thought I would be volunteering longer. We met up in town and head down toward the beach where a Thai Festival was being held outside a mall there. It was great fun with good food and music, dance, and boxing performances, some art, and good conversation and laughter.
After eating we wandered through the mall and I noticed pomegranates in the art over and over. As I’ve always associated pomegranates with Greek mythology, but did not see any other references to those stories, I asked about their significance here. My friend told me that the story goes that each of the fruits has 613 seeds, representing each of the 613 laws of the Old Testament. (She also claimed to have counted them, and declared this to be inaccurate.) I think I’ll take her word for it. Additionally, each has what looks like a worn crown atop it, referencing the royal priesthood, and how Israel, though battered, still maintains her beauty and identity. And finally, we usually eat the flesh of most fruits, but we eat the seeds of the pomegranate, which symbolizes the idea of passing on the goodness given to us, to grow others up around us. Very nice. :-)
I also saw some post cards with “Giraffees” and took pictures I knew my family would appreciate:
We admired the art around the mall—which was so full of art in its center that it is more of a gallery than mall, and then had tea and coffee, and head home since a couple of us would be up early Friday morning.
Friday I went on a hike in the Golan Heights—northwest of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Kinneret, in Hebrew). I think in my post about my hike earlier in the week I forgot to mention that I’d seen this sign about protecting vultures in Israel:
Under the sun the heat beat down on us, but once we were within a few meters of the river, we could not even see through the trees to the yellow and brown fields beyond.
As we arrived at the first pool and our guide began taking off his shoes, I was astonished. “Is this where we’re going to swim?” I looked dubiously at the water which appeared less than a foot deep beneath the gentle waterfall. Could you call it a waterfall? It was beautiful, but more of a trickle than roaring magnificence. “Oh yes, this is Israel. We’ll take what water we can get,” he answered smiling as he changed into his trunks. Well, I thought, he must know what he’s talking about, and anyway, the cool water would be nice on our feet. I asked if perhaps he meant “wade” rather than “swim” and then was a little at a loss to define “wade” as we both waded in…and further in…and, well look at that! It’s a full blown pool! It was deliciously cool, maybe four feet deep in the deepest spot, and complete with rocks to climb beneath the falls (which were a bit more than a trickle, but near their lowest now at the end of Summer). After lots of splashing about for about an hour, we all head back to the trail and out under the sun again.
Under an olive grove we rested as our guide explained to us the water situation in Israel. There were many statistics, but basically the outlook is dim if we do not become more environmentally conscious. (Meat is a big water waster.) The largest source of fresh water is Lake Kinneseret, but its levels are steadily decreasing. On top of simply running out of water, the danger lies in that below the lake, the ground holds other waters which are not fresh. The weight from the lake water holds those salty reservoirs down, however, so they do not spoil the precious fresh water. As we use up the lake, those may begin leaking in, not only drastically depleting the water available to Israelis, but also to the wildlife of the lake region. Gasp. Although, it is hard to move people’s gasps into personal life change. Not only turning off the facets while washing hands, brushing teeth, showering, etc., but considering the water used in producing meat, creating **and recycling** disposable plastic bottles, making the clothes we wear, etc. Farmers can make wise choices, like using drip irrigation, and builders can install water-saving technology, like a sink/toilet unit that uses water down the sink drain to flush the toilet, but it comes down to individuals to make regular choices (until they become habit) which will add up to significant water conservation. Maybe give up meat one day a week, or once meal a day. Buy one of those snazzy, popular reusable water bottles that are all the rage now. Turn off the shower while you soap up, shave, etc. (if your water heater is broken, you’ll see how little icy water you really need to get clean. ;-)) If you relish in your showers, chose a day a week to relish—it will make that one even more delightful.
The second swimming hole was much larger--under a more prominent waterfall which had dug out a pool of about 16 meters. Phew! The water was so cold I had to get out after not too long! (But of course after lunch I was right back in there. Just had to keep swimming around to keep warm. And the water from the falls was very warm, having traversed the shallow stream above on the rocks.)
After our hike, like all good guides, he took us to an ice cream shop to cool off and “rehydrate” before the drive back to campus.
After a nap and shower, I joined some friends for a potluck Shabbat dinner. I’ve seen Shabbat dinners on movies before, but this was the first I got to attend. It was fun to have another gentile there with me, and we did our best to follow along and not, you know, mix our meat with our cheese or something (we’re actually both vegetarians, and the meal—and people, were very casual, certainly not rigid, and explained the proceedings to us before and after). It was a great dinner, and cool to see what Yeshua grew up with weekly, and referenced often. :-)
This Shabbat getting to church was a breeze (flip, flip). Walked up to the bus stop just as the bus was arriving, and listened to my book on tape while we meandered down the mountain to the final stop. I wore practical shoes this week and decided to just walk from the last stop to the church, since there was plenty of time. The service was great, and we even sang a couple songs from the praise CD I bought last time I was here—so I already knew the melody, and kind of knew the words, though I was thankful for the English phonetic spelling and the translation below. My ear piece worked today, so I was able to understand the whole sermon about the completion of the old covenant and the freedom given to us under the new covenant. The speaker told a cool story about a slave woman bought by a man who fell in love with her. They got married and on their anniversary were back in the city and he wanted to buy her a surprise. So she waited outside the store for him, and her old master saw her and called out to her by name. Out of the habit of all those years obeying that voice calling her name, she turned. Her husband had just exited the shop and she saw him. He smiled calmly and reminded her, “You are free. You are free to go back to him. Or you are free to stay here, with me. But know that you are free.” Choices. They’ve been given to us to make.
A few of us went to lunch after, and then I returned to my room to finish up “A Letter of Mary”. My friend texted, so I called her back and we went for a walk in the park across the street and had some lovely girl talk as the sun set and the evening grew dark. Back to campus to catch up with emailing and blogging, and the start of a new week. :-)
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