Tots ma Goats and Sukkot

“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh new moon is the Festival of Sukkot for seven days to יהוה.” Leviticus 23:34

“And on the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work. And you shall celebrate a festival to יהוה seven days.” Numbers 29:12

A suka in the making

The third and final Fall Festival is the Feast of Sukkot. Typically the day or evening after Yom Kippur is when preparation begins for this Festival with the building of the suka. The suka is a booth which almost looks like a thrown together shed; the roof is slightly open so one can see the stars at night (traditionally the roof is made of palm branches). And this is where the family will be eating, sleeping, and living for the next 7 days.

The first day and the last day of Sukkot is celebrated as if it where Shabbat (as a day of rest with no work and such). This is also the holiday that Yeshua the Messiah was born…

…you know ‘little baby lying in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn’…sound familiar? Well, this was not “Christmas”, this was Feast of Sukkot, and the reason that there was no room for them was this: 3 times a year it is commanded for the men to go to Jerusalem (Bethlehem is only a few miles away from Jerusalem), and one of those times is on Sukkot. Even though it is required for everyone to sleep in a suka there was an exception for the old, sick, disabled, or pregnant ( 😉 ) to stay in the inn. But, being that there was no room in the inn (because of the old, sick, and disabled) the young couple had no choice but to stay in a suka.

“And the Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we saw His esteem, esteem as of an only brought-forth of a father, complete in favor and truth.” John 1:14 ISR2009

In other interpretations of this verse it will read that He “dwelt among us”, well this word’s root (skene in the Hebrew) signifies dwelling in a tent or a suka. That is why in the ISR (Institute for Scripture Research) translation it reads “pitched His tent” (the ISR is as close to Hebrew as it gets while still being in English). It also translates that He came and ‘tabernacled’ among us. (Feast of Tabernacles is another name for Sukkot)…you follow? Yeshua being born on Sukkot came and tabernacled/dwelt among us!

But what about Cesar’s census?? Wasn’t that why Joseph had to go to Jerusalem?

Yes, it was also because Cesar wanted to take a census, but being the politically savvy person he is, he knew the kind people in which he was governing…he knew that the men traveled to Jerusalem 3 times a year as a command from Yehovah…so he took this as his opportunity to take a census because the head of each household was going to be there anyways.

So where does Christmas come from?

Well…big big topic that I’ll touch in the coming months…

But please, test out this truth for yourself! 🙂

But for now, the goats.

These aren’t the milking goats, these ones are kinda more like pets

Waking up early in the morning to the beautiful sunrise coming over the desert Mountains is a sight that took my breath away every single day.

This is actually sunset, but still just as beautiful

We started our day off with feeding the animals, sharing a cup of coffee in our volunteer area, and then going to work in the dairy house where we went through the process of making milk into cheese. Here I learned how to pasteurize milk the safe way that gets rid of the nasty bacteria while leaving all the beneficial nutrients alone! And yes, everything from the milk to the cheese to the yogurt was absolutely delicious!

a small snapshot of what went on in the dairy

Not only was the work very interesting and enjoyable, but the people I met were very authentic and unique, each person stemming from a completely different background…in my room were 2 German girls, and as a result I now have a few German words to tuck into my vocabulary.

Here is a slide show presentation of the farm if you’re at all interested:

http://app.emaze.com/900949/idan-moshav#1

Well, tomorrow I finally start the program that I came here for (Voyage to Medicine)…this whole week will be dedicated to EMT training and it should be quite intense. Very excited for this next chapter to begin!

Yom Kippur and WWOOFing

“And this shall be for you a law forever: In the seventh new moon, on the tenth day of the new moon, you afflict your beings, and do no work, the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on that day he makes atonement for you, to cleanse you, to be clean from all your sins before יהוה. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you shall afflict your beings – a law forever.” Leviticus 16:29-31 ISR2009

In Israel on October 4^th no shops are open for business, no buses are available for transportation, and where there are no cars to occupy the streets, children, families, and your average joe take advantage of the cleared path by riding bikes in the middle of the road, doing away with the usual necessity of a sidewalk…this is a sign that it is Yom Kippur.

What is Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement, which is a holiday all about forgiveness…us forgiving others, others forgiving us, and us asking Yehovah to forgive us…it is also a time for us to recognize and care for those in need as well. So from sundown on Friday the 3^rd to Sundown on Saturday the 4^th the nation of Israel is fasting, praying, and crying out to our Yehovah for forgiveness of sins.

I must point out: Even though this holiday is being observed from sundown the 3^rd to sundown the 4^th, the actual biblical day for observation is from sundown the 5^th to sundown the 6^th (see the New Moon sighting for further explanation).

My favorite passage of scripture that talks about fasting and caring for the needy would be Isaiah 58.

“They say, ‘Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our beings, and You took no note?’….Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who cast out; when you see the naked, and cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light would break forth like the morning, your healing spring forth speedily. And your righteousness shall go before you, the esteem of YHWH would be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:3,8 ISR2009

Yom Kippur, along with the other 2 fall feasts, are within the month long ‘vacation’ we have from classes. We are now half way through the month long vacation, and I have something a little unusual and fun planned for the second half.

Just a lovely pic of Ha’Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. I’ve spent a lot of time here during the break 🙂

WWOOFing (Word Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms)

This organization is just that; providing volunteers with opportunities to live and work on organic farms all over the world! The idea around WWOOFing is quite simple; after one applies and is accepted on an organic produce farm, or wine vineyard, or animal farm, etc. the host farm and volunteer agree on a set date and duration of time for the volunteer to work on their farm (could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months). For volunteering several hours a day, 5 days a week, the host will provide free food and accommodation.

For the next two weeks I will be volunteering on a ‘Moshav’ (community farm) near Eilat and the Dead Sea where I will be working with organic produce and goats. Quite fancy, right? I’m super excited, and this opportunity will let me get my feet wet to see if agriculture is something I would like to make a part of my life in the future…I’ll let ya know how it goes!

Sooo….I needed to get a hat for wwoofing… 😀

New Moon Sighting part 2

“And in the seventh month new moon, on the first day of the new moon, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is Yom Teru’ah for you…And on the tenth day of this seventh new moon you have a set-apart gathering, and you shall afflict your beings, you do no work…And on the fifteenth day of the seventh new moon you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work. And you shall celebrate a festival to יהוה seven days,” Number 29:1, 7, 12 ISR2009

Photo credit: Lavinia Voelker Watching the western horizon from the Tel Aviv port

Remember about a month ago I wrote about the new moon sighting in Jerusalem? In that post I had mentioned the new moon sighting that would take place to determine the 7^th month of the Hebrew calendar, which would then determine the fall feast days (more on that). Well anyway, this sighting was scheduled for last night (September 25)…

Right at sunset…6:32pm

All over Israel there were observers watching and waiting for the new moon to appear minutes after sunset. From the Western Wall in Jerusalem to the port in Tel Aviv (where a friend and I were camping out) we had our eyes on the western horizon to get a glimpse of the moon. But it was so foggy that nothing was sighted, or the moon decided not to come out center stage yet…

15 minutes in and no moon…

Here is the report:

http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=3436769de447cbed81ad724ed&id=7c9037ced9

Final minutes of moon’s potential visibility

Ok, so why would we watch for the moon to tell us when to celebrate the fall feasts? Well, for the full in depth answer take a listen on this audio blog for the rundown (and a summarization of what was expected on Thursday night)…

http://bfainternational.com/audioblog-26-are-you-ready-nehemia-gordon-keith-johnson/

…but to put it in short terms: We are commanded in the Torah to celebrate the first fall festival (Yom Teruah) on the first day of the new moon (Numbers 29:1) and then celebrate the other festivals (Yom Kippur and Sukkot) on the 10^th and 15^th day after (Numbers 29:7,12). We do not know exactly when these days are until we sight the new moon that determines the first day. We have somewhat of an idea of when these feasts will take place (i.e. September 25^th or 26^th) but we can’t know for sure until we have 2 witnesses sight the new moon…comprendè?

It all boils down to the fact that Yehovah is in charge of the days, months, and seasons. Man does not set the calendar in place, but it is all controlled by Him…as it should be. He uses his signs (the sun, moon, stars, agriculture, etc.) to tells us when it is His time for His feasts and seasons to take place.

Because we did not see the moon last night Yom Teruah is set for sundown September 26th, Yom Kippur is sundown October 5th, and Sukkot is sundown October 10th and continues for 7 days. These are the biblical days for the feasts even though the Jewish calendar already determined the holidays prematurely. (As a people we have not all gotten back to the original biblical calendar and ,for a time, we have fallen away from His true Torah).

No moon…but still had so much fun with this lovely lady!! 😀

So tonight we are gonna give it another go at sighting the new moon, hopefully it is clear enough to be able to seen!

UPDATE:
We saw the new moon at 6:44pm

Caesarea and the program that got me here

It’s been a little while since I last posted and a number of things have happened since then. About 2 weeks ago we took a trip to Caesarea that was absolutely breathtaking. I went to orientation for the program that I actually came here for; and having completed 6 weeks of Ulpan I only have 1 week left! I feel like I just started! There is so much more Hebrew to be learned and I’m sad to see it end.

But first Caesarea…

I’ll admit, when we were planning to go to Caesarea I did not think that we were headed to one of the most beautiful places on earth. If nothing else Herod sure knew how to pick prime real estate.

Before coming to Israel I had an idea in mind of what the lay of the land would look like. I was not picturing a modernized city with shops, cars, and sky-rise buildings, but I was imagining ancient ruins, chariot carts and the works…something that looked a little bit more like Caesarea. I was not ignorant of Israel’s modernization (especially in Tel Aviv) it’s just that every picture, video, or story I heard of Israel, more often than not, portrayed Israel as this Holy Land that still looks like it did in biblical days…well at least our best interpretation of it.

Any who, upon arriving to Caesarea I took one look and thought “this is exactly what I thought the rest of Israel would look like”. The actual ruins and port of Caesarea are not very big, so we just took an afternoon after class to tour the area. But that does not diminish in any way the crazy history that is embedded in the amphitheater seats, the chariot race sand, or the port docks…and I’m sure there is much history still to be discovered.

The chariot race stands

It all kinda started with a crazy bipolar guy named Herod. He is the same guy who told the *magi in Matthew 2 to let him know where Yeshua was so he could too “worship” him, or rather keep him from being worshipped (by doing away with him before Yeshua could threaten his power)…He was so jealous of his power that he even killed his own family for fear of them taking over reign.
*No where in the original scripture does it say that there were only 3 magi; in fact there could have been many! This idea may have stemmed from tradition and the interpretation of the 3 gifts…but just like everything else in scripture, test it to find what is truth and what is tradition.

Although Herod was not a Roman born citizen he felt very connected to the Roman culture and the Roman society. This Roman identifier is very much depicted in his elaborate architecture. For instance the amphitheater is very much attributed to Roman culture, it being the “social media” of the times. The big name politicians and other well-known people would come here to get the scoop on all of the gossip and such. The polished leveled marble is not a part of the original construction, but the few ‘demolished’ looking stones are from the original construction.

Hardly any originality left, but there are still a few spots

And my best guess is that the plastic chairs are new also… 😉

One of the coolest sites was Herod’s personal bath. It was built in the sea but was made in a way that only fresh water springs ran into the pool/bath. It was also constructed behind the city of Caesarea so as to not freak anyone out

A little worse for wear, but check out that reflection! (located behind the city)

But I guess that doesn’t really mean anything if you check out the bathrooms…

Taking personal privacy to a whole new (or old…) level

The port seems kinda small now, but it used to be bigger before most of it was sunk in one of the many wars against this small but mighty city.

Pretty much like the rest of Israel, there is so much history here that I cannot possibly fathom much less summarize it all; but this place was definitely a happening ‘town’ in past eras and was often on the cutting edge of society.

Onto the program…

The program that I was accepted into at Tel Aviv University is a program called ‘Voyage to Medicine’. The gist of the program is that we volunteer with the Magen David Adom (the Israeli Red Cross) along with the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center all while taking classes at the hospital (with one optional elective taken at the TAU campus). The awesome part is that whatever area we are interested in volunteering that is where we will get placed…I’m a sucker for the nursery and labor/deliver ward, so that is where I will be spending a good majority of my time. We are actually a group of only about 13 students, and the 3^rd group to be going through this program. According to orientation we will be exposed to so much more in the hospital setting than we ever would be in the states at the our current education level (most of us have only taken basic science classes). Definitely an opportunity to get a foot in the door, but we’ll see what happens over the next few months…

I do however feel very official…

Which will pair quite nicely with my issued white coat 😉

With the end of Hebrew next week comes an entire month to tour around Israel and drink in the sights. I have a few plans to do some really cool volunteering that I will be writing about soon, as well as the ridiculously cool moon sighting on September 25. There is much adventure yet to come!

New Moon Sighting

Psalm 104:19 “He made the moon for appointed times;” ISR2009

Leviticus 23:24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying ‘In the seventh new moon, you have a rest, a remembrance of the Teru’ah, a set-apart gathering.’ ”ISR2009

I’ve got a story to tell…

But I need to set the stage before I dive in.

The Hebrew month runs on a cycle that begins with the sighting of the new moon. We are now in the 6^th Hebrew month, the new moon having been sighted on August 27 (a key detail to remember).

Next month, the 7^th Hebrew month, is the month that holds the Fall Festivals, or the Moadim (appointed times…Yehovah’s appointed times.) These include, Yom Teruah (The Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

These Moadim are laid out in Leviticus 23 which Yehovah gave to His people as a set apart time.

So, starting off with this basis brings me to my story.

It all started last Tuesday when I got a message from…Nehemia Gordon! Yes you read that right! 😀 I had sent a letter for Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson (a Methodist pastor who partners with Nehemia and seeks Yehovah’s truth) to Biblical Foundation Academy International only a few days before. It took almost no time for me to get a response from the Hebrew scholar.

In the message I was proposed with a challenge. As I mentioned before, next month is the new moon sighting for the 7^th month in the Hebrew calendar, and apparently it will be a difficult one to sight. Nevertheless, I was asked if I was up for the challenge to be one of the witnesses to sight the new moon…Uh, Yes!!

After my nerves were finished jumping through the roof I received a message telling me that there was going to be a practice new moon sighting on Wednesday in Jerusalem; which I realized was just the next day…

Being in a foreign country I didn’t know how I was going to get there, but I was absolutely going to figure out how.

After asking around for the best mode of transportation (my teacher explained directions to me in Hebrew…I’m not at that level yet) someone from my class said that I could join him and a couple of his friends because they happened to be going right after class. Sounded like a plan…a plan that Yehovah set up if I do say so myself…

So after class we made the trek to Jerusalem (with me just following in tow with the group). Having already been there the week before I did recognize some areas, but not enough to navigate my way.

I parted ways with the group (who were very gracious to show me where to go) and went to meet my contact to get the DL on sighting the new moon, and this is what I saw…

Ok, maybe not so plain as day in the picture. But it is a little above the flag and slightly to the left.

It was beautiful and breathtaking. It was hard to spot at first because it was so small, but once you see it, it is plain as day. I felt honored to witness this event that our Creator orchestrates for His people to know His times. This is the moon that I mentioned earlier that was sighted on August 27 to begin the 6th Hebrew month, If you want to read more specifics about this moon sighting and next month’s moon sighting you can check it out here:

http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=3436769de447cbed81ad724ed&id=b52abfbaed

Now it was time to find my way back to Tel Aviv (I still wasn’t 100% sure how to get back, but I at least knew how to get back to the central bus station…where I came in to Jerusalem).

After I found the station and what bus I was supposed to take, who walks up behind me but the group I came to Jerusalem with! Nothing I could have planned. So I just stuck with them on our way back to Tel Aviv and let them navigate how to get back to campus…needless to say, I now know how to travel to and from Jerusalem.

It was such a sporadic adventure that happened so fast that I had to catch my breath after it was over…but I guess it’s not over yet, because there is still next month to sight the new moon for the Fall Feasts! It is predicted to be a difficult one because of the cloudy weather forecast, but I am confident that Yehovah will make it visible so we may know that it is His appointed time. You can definitely expect a blogpost about this next month!

A little more visible in this picture…because it’s not mine. Photo credit to Yoel Halevi on August 27, 2014 at 7:50 pm over Kiryat Ata.

Jerusalem

Just posin’ in front of…all of Jerusalem!!

There is so much I could say about Jerusalem that I’m not quite sure even where to start. This city is drenched with history, war, and controversy, and no amount of summarization or explanation on my part will do it justice. But I’ll try! So I guess I’ll start with my experience in this ancient city and then say a bit about its role in the scriptures…which is A LOT!!!

The tour started at 9:30 am at the “Armon Ha’Nativ” site which overlooks the city of Jerusalem with an emphasis on the old city. See the Dome of the Rock (aka the Golden Dome)? (it’s the golden Muslim mosque smack dab on top of the temple mount.) Here we were given a brief history lesson on the conflict and division of the Jewish and Muslim people (back when Israel was Palestine), and because of the 6 day war in 1967 the Jews basically took back the nation of Israel as their homeland.

After this we bused our way through scenic parts of Jerusalem to get to the “Israel Museum”. Here we got to see a small replica of the entire City of David the way it was before the destruction of the second temple. We also toured the Shrine of the Book where there are housed extremely old biblical scrolls along with the Aleppo Codex. The Aleppo Codex is the oldest and most complete Torah scroll in existence and in our possession today. I know I have mentioned him several times, but it’s because I am a fan…the Aleppo Codex is the Hebrew manuscript where Hebrew scholar Nehemia Gordon located the complete Tetragrammaton of God’s name with vowel markings and everything! Which is pronounced Yehovah.

Side note: back in ancient times the Pharisees and such removed the vowel markings of Yehovah’s name so no one would know how to pronounce it…an attempt to keep it sacred, but this was not what Yehovah wanted. Yehovah himself said that he would make his name known (“Therefore see, I am causing them to know, this time I cause them to know My hand and My might. And they shall know that My Name is יהוה” Jeremiah 16:21 ISR)….so it is no accident that his name was rediscovered with the vowel markings. (Kinda ironic that my computer won’t let me add the vowel markings in the scripture passage.)

Double side note: The Hebrew language is usually read or written without vowel markings, so it is not uncommon to not have vowels, unlike English where there are always vowels; but the point still stands that the pronunciation of the name of Yehovah was lost because of the intentional removal of these vowel markings.

After trying to read at least one word from the ancient Hebrew text without any luck (at least for now…) our group headed down to the Machne Yuhuda Shuk (Market) for lunch. It is very similar to the Ha’Carmel Shuk in Tel Aviv, but this one has more sit down and eat places that accompany the ‘purchase your produce as you walk by’ aspect. It was pretty hot that day, so I was very excited when we walked by a stand selling iced coffee for only 5 shekels! That is very well priced considering that most iced coffees are anywhere between 14-18 shekels.

Only in Israel would a restaurant need a Kosher Certificate, made me smile though 🙂

Snapshot of the bustling Shuk

Mini lesson for traveling in Israel: There is iced coffee and there is cold coffee. Iced coffee is a blended coffee (kinda like a Starbucks frap, but with waaay less sweetener or sugar), and cold coffee is coffee with ice cubes. Backwards, I know…learned this lesson by experience. Good thing that both are very yummy and refreshing!

Ok, now we get to the meat and potatoes of the trip…The old city, the temple mount, and the western wall. Being here made me feel like I knew next to nothing about the amazing history and prophetic events that took place here, even though I have access to all of the texts and information…it’s almost like the more I learn the less I feel like I know, but it’s all a journey.

Old City enterance

We drove into the old city, walked to the western wall and went down through the western wall tunnels. In these tunnels we could see what would have been an entrance into the temple during biblical days (and will be an entrance again in days still to come). The Western Wall refers to the wall that runs along the west side of the temple mount, clever name right? This site is arguably the most sacred site because of its direct connection to the temple mount, this is the exposed part of the wall; this place is sacred in particular to many of the Jewish faith but also to all who believe in Yehovah. The Western Wall tunnels is the hidden part of the wall and is underneath the old city of Jerusalem. This wall was part Herod’s project in 19 BCE to expand the area of the temple mount. He had to build a platform in which to place the temple because the area (Mt. Moriah) was not big enough to support it.

The Western Wall

Right now on top of the temple mount sits the Golden Dome; only practicing Muslims are allowed inside this mosque. It won’t be like this for long though…this site was meant to praise the name of Yehovah and to be a place for his assembly to congregate and gather and keep His Torah.

Golden Dome view from inside the Old City.

Two of the last three stops on this day long adventure was the Jewish Quarter and The Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the place where Yeshua was allegedly buried…but really this is just a ‘shrine’ that Constantine’s mother set up saying she found the tomb and the ‘true cross’…a little sketchy to me how a pagan practicing politician claims to find the burial site of Yeshua.) There are other sites in Jerusalem that are considered more probable for being the burial site of Yeshua, but we didn’t visit them on this trip.

The last stop of the tour was dinner, and my was it delicious, especially after a long day parading around in the hot son. It started with several different Mediterranean appetizers (humus included, of course) and was followed by different arrangement of fish, chicken, beef, and lamb. Best meal I’ve had in Israel so far. After our fair share of yummy food we headed for the bus and back to campus.

Definitely a jam packed day leaving me with a lot of questions and very curious thoughts about a lot of the things I saw and heard on the tour. There was not enough time at any one place to fully appreciate the history and significance. Now to end this post…the role that Jerusalem plays in the scriptures…you honestly just need to read it for yourself. It is embedded all throughout the Torah, the Prophets, and the Brit Hadasha (the New Testament). I promise it won’t be a waste of time! 😉

Livin in Community

            During the past few weeks I have been able to meet and befriend people from many different parts of the world. From Israel to Russia, to China, to all over Europe, to the U.S., and back again. Every person and culture are definitely very unique in their own way.

We presented our dishes and enjoyed samples Indian style.

            Early last week many of the students participated in a Potluck event put together by the Madrichim (counselors) in our international program. The idea was to cook something that represents either your native roots or the place you live. Being from New Mexico I made a peach salsa dish and brought tortilla chips (or the closest thing I could find to tortilla chips…). Many of the students definitely showed up and showed out! Some of the dishes included crepes from the UK, shackshucka from Israel, several different kind of stir frys and spicy wraps from China, and Mac n’ Cheese from southern US. I was quite surprised by the culinary capabilities of my fellow classmates…(I must say, it is easier to cook stir fry then bake anything since there are no ovens in our dorms…a definite hindrance to creativity in the kitchen).

       

           Although I have met quite a few people so far, I have made a few close friends that share my faith and are seeking after Yehovah with all their hearts. On Shabbat I had the opportunity to attend a congregation with two of these girls and tour around Tel Aviv. It was hot, but it was beautiful. After walking around for a good majority of the day we met up with a group from the congregation to play none other than…Volleyball! Still dressed up in nicer than beach attire I was determined to play (it had been too long).

            On a more recent endeavor I went with a group of students to Beit Shemesh to drive ATV’s (All Terrain Vehicle), and I must say, I got the best of the terrain to drive in (we were switching off between several drivers). Rather than plain dirt road, I went through the mud, rivers, sharp turns, and big dips…yes yes, I’m quite happy with myself 😉

 

            All of these groups escapades ties into one thing. We were all meant to live in community. We aren’t supposed to go through this life alone but, Yehovah made us to share our experiences and our lives with each other. From the very beginning Yehovah saw that when he created man, but he was not meant to live alone (Genesis 2:19). Making friends from all around the world is a perfect example of how we all come together to form the assembly of Yehovah. I’ve learned just as much from the people I have met in Israel as I have learned being in Hebrew class everyday, maybe even more so…

Postcard snapshot of Tel Aviv on Shabbat

Yafo, a major section of Tel Aviv (the congregation on Shabbat was in this area).

 

 

 

 

Ani lomedet ivrit

Hebrew is read from right to left and the textbooks follow suit.

            Part of my 5 month duration in Israel is dedicated to learning the native language, which is Hebrew. Thus far I have completed a week of Hebrew Ulpan and gosh is it intense. We dedicate about 4 and ½ in class hours Sunday through Thursday to learn how to speak, read, and write in Hebrew; not to mention the hours after class doing homework and memorizing vocabulary. But, I have already been able to see significant results after just one week of class, not enough to hold a conversation with an Israeli passing by on the street, but enough to tell you where I’m from, where I study, what I study, and so on. I can ask a myriad of question that could be considered small talk worthy.

            The Hebrew language has been extremely fascinating to me for some time now. A lot of my interest stems from the role Hebrew plays in scripture. Before the New Testament was written there was the Torah (which is the first 5 books of the bible). This is what Yehovah gave to Moses (or Moshe – the Hebrew pronunciation) at the base of Mt. Sinai in Exodus. The Torah was written in Hebrew (the native tongue of the Israelite people). Over the centuries and through many translations from one language to another much of the meaning and understanding of the Hebrew scripture has been lost. It is my hope, dream, and goal to be able to read the scriptures in its purest original form. (I am told that reading the bible in Hebrew is like reading Shakespeare in English – but it can be done.)

            It is a popular notion that the New Testament was written in Greek; however, there was a version of Matthew that was discovered known as Shem Tov’s Matthew that is written in Hebrew and arguably predates the Greek versions. Karaite Jew Nehemia Gordon (a very very good source for Hebrew interpretation) has produced biblically founded and thoroughly researched material that advocates towards a New Testament that was originally written in Hebrew. Just throwing that out there to ponder and question as you wish.

            With one week down and 6 more to go I’m really excited to see how the Hebrew language comes to life as I make it my own. It would also help tremendously in grocery shopping so I can know what it is I am actually buying. I must say that I am not the first in my family to embark on this great adventure of studying Hebrew, my dear sis and dad have studied for a number of months before I had the chance. My decision and desire to learn Hebrew was heavily inspired by their studies and conversations in Hebrew; they’ve even gone so far as to begin reading and interpreting scripture in Hebrew.

            Our first test is tomorrow, and I feel ready for it. Maybe one these posts in the future I’ll attempt to write in Hebrew (translation provided 😉 ) Speaking of which, the title is translated: I am learning Hebrew. The Hebrew spelling looks like this: אני למדות ועור’ת

Probably the second selfie I’ve ever taken…And I’m really burnt from the beach yesterday

Ode to the Sea

Deuteronomy 11:22-24 “For if you diligently guard all these commands which I command you, to do it, to love YHWH your Elohim, to walk in all His ways, and to cling to Him, then YHWH shall drive out all these nations before you, and you shall dispossess greater and stronger nations than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads is yours; from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the Western Sea is your border.” ISR2009

Lovely blues where the sky and the ocean meet.

The Mediterranean Sea. So blue, so beautiful, so salty…like crazy, so salty that once you are dry you have to brush salt off of your skin. But the water is decently cool, the sand is soft, and the waves are peaceful. It is amazing to look out across the ocean and imagine the events that took place here over 2,000 years ago.

The backdrop…

Hebrew Ulpan classes started this last Sunday (the week goes from Sunday to Friday which correlates with the biblical work week and observes the Sabbath on Saturday…based on Leviticus 23:3) and classes go from 8:30 am to 1 pm. Definitely a lot of time in the afternoon, but it is for sure earned with the intensity of learning Hebrew for 4 and ½ hours a day; then there is the homework…but honestly, although it has been very challenging, it has been twice as much fun.

Anyways, come Monday morning we are told that there is no class on Tuesday because of Tisha B’Av, which is a day of mourning to commemorate the destruction of the first and second temple and the exile of Jews from the land of Israel. A day which is deemed intensely tragic and is observed by many Jews. Just like Memorial Day or Veterans Day, Tisha B’Av is not a requirement in the Torah, (see Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32) so it is not required to be observed, although one can observe it if they wish. So after a few hours of crazy Hebrew homework and studying on our day off from classes a ‘brain break’ was much needed, which can definitely be remedied by the beach.

The beach is about 1.5 miles from Tel Aviv University…a nice stroll to and from the beautiful ocean. The weather was gorgeous and the sun felt good (after all these years I am actually starting to tan instead of burn). It was a much needed study break and is definitely a leisure I will enjoy while I can. I would have to go a lot further than 1.5 miles to get to anything that resembles a body of water in New Mexico.

In scripture the Mediterranean Sea is often referred to as ‘the Great Sea’ or ‘the Western Sea’…hence Deuteronomy 11:24 (also because it is west of Palestine and considered the western border of Israel that was promised to the Israelites.)

The Mediterranean is only one of the 5 major bodies of water in Israel that I would like to step in…the others are the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, and the Jordan River…all of which are rooted in the stories of scripture with significant value.

After about an hour or so it was time to head back to keep at the books for the rest of the afternoon. But it was a peaceful time at the sea and next time I’m hoping to stay longer…maybe even for a Sabbath activity. 😉

Basking in His warmth and beauty…

The Shuk

Deuteronomy 8:7-10 “For YHWH your Elohim is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land in which you eat bread without scarcity, in which you do not lack at all, a land whose stones are iron and our of whose hills you dig copper.” ISR2009

At each booth you would put what you want in a bag, hand it to the market attendee to weigh it, then pay…very quick and super informal

 

I have a picture in mind of what I think the marketplace looked like in the time of Yeshua and his disciples, and if I had to guess at what it would have been like I would say that it is very similar to shopping at the Shuk Ha’Carmel. This is a picture of only one of the booths that stretched a number of blocks along both sides of the street; each booth was canopied by a tent, leaving room in the middle for the hot sun to shine through. They had everything from fresh produce stands to candy stands to fresh baked bread…my favorite booth was a spice, seed, and honey booth; according to the market attendee everything in the store came straight from the kibbutz (thanks Abby for teaching me that word). He let us sample the fresh dates, which were absolutely delicious! It was here that I bought fresh raw honey for 10 shekels (which is $2.92, I have been using the currency app like crazy!).

 

All of the fresh produce was inexpensively priced and was super fresh! (So fresh that I had to check every kale leaf for a friend I may have brought back with me.) The produce at the market was much cheaper then what can be found in the grocery store a block away from campus, the only downer is it takes a lot of effort to get to the Ha’Carmel…but definitely worth it!

I left the market with enough fresh food to last me awhile, I just hope it doesn’t go bad before I finish it! So in an attempt to get optimal use out of my bounty I made a rendition of the peach & cucumber salad from home.

Turned out pretty yummy!

Tying everything to Deuteronomy 8. Everything mentioned in this passage I saw in an abundance on the streets of Israel; everything locally grown and deliciously tasting. To this day the land of Israel is being blessed with the fruit of the land. However, this comes with keeping the commandments of Elohim that he gave to bless us and show our love to him.

Deuteronomy 8:11-14 “Be on guard, lest you forget YHWH your Elohim by not guarding His commands, and His right-rulings, and His laws which I command you today, lest you eat and shall be satisfied, and build lovely houses and shall dwell in them, and your herds and your flocks increase, and your silver and your gold are increased and all that you have is increased, that your heart then becomes lifted up and you forget YHWH your Elohim who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, from the house of bondage,” ISR2009

As we obey His perfect instructions he continues to lavish his people with blessings more than we can manage. But as blessings come we have to remember the one by whom they came.

A small fun fact to end this post…according to Nehemia Gordon on Truth2U, Deuteronomy 8:8 is essentially listing the staple crops of ancient Israel known as “the 7 species” which are the 7 main crops grown here. But one crop is missing (because wheat and barley are considered to be in the same category)…the date, which is native to the land of Israel. Apparently there was a date seed found on Masada from 2,000 years ago and was planted, it then produced a fruitful date tree because the seed was preserved by the dryness. It is suggested by scholars that the honey referred to in this verse is actually date honey…who woulda thought?

At the end of the day the trip to Ha’Carmel was definitely worth it, and I will most certainly be going again! 🙂