Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem-Good
byes-February 3, 2017
We have sunny skies & a warm-up for erev Shabbat. Had a pleasant stroll with our shopping cart looking much the natives. The temptations of the prepared foods were hard to resist, but we're at the point of having to count days & toilet paper rolls.
We met Terry on Emek Refaim, the shopping drag, & said our good-byes. She'll be away after Shabbat. She's done a great job helping us from finding our apartment to orientation to acting as emergency transport to the medical clinic. What a treasure.
We splurged at lunch and ordered a second cup of coffee. Of course we paid extra, but we were feeling wild. Lunch was so leisurely & extended that we scrapped our plans to take two buses to walk the Haas Promenade overlooking the Old City (Terry had taken us there for the view). Instead, we walked across Emek & explored the walking/bike trail that is all the rage.
In 1892, tracks were laid from Jaffa to Jerusalem opening up ease of access, commerce, & tourism. In 1998, train service ended. Some genius turned the terminal near us into the amusement venue I mentioned in other emails. Two other geniuses transformed the tracks into the 3.6 mile long trail linking a series of playgrounds & parks. It compares to the High Line in NYC as it passes through neighborhoods, is landscaped, & has spots to sit & absorb the tranquility of this refuge in the city. There's even a "Reading Station" with shelves of books that can be borrowed. Several features of the tracks are intact including the rocks and gravel alongside. We thought it would be appropriate to pick up some stones to take to our parents' graves in Florida next time we go. For those who are unfamiliar with the custom, when Jews visit a grave, they leave a stone on the marker.
Today we joined the pre-Shabbat walkers, bikers, skateboarders, baby carriages, & scooters preparing to separate from the week of work and transition to a day of peace & contemplation .
David went to services at the same synagogue where we went our first Shabbat here, Kol Ha Neshamah . He came home shell shocked. It was a healing service in a social hall, not the sanctuary. There were about 250 people in the room with those who couldn't get in outside looking in the windows. There were six acoustic guitars, a saxophone, two flutes, & a tambourine leading the music & stirring up a fevered frenzy akin to an evangelical tent revival. The participants lifted their hands and open arms to receive the love of God then lowered them to wash the spirit over their bodies. People swayed & danced in place. There was no room to move; a real fire trap. At one point David thought he'd leave but couldn't make his way out. He found it a happening & was fascinated by the fervor with which the crowd participated. He was, however, disappointed that they never did a Shabbat liturgy. Except for L'cha Dodi & Shalom Aleichem, both at the end of the service, there was no incorporation of Shabbat in the worship. None of our friends was there. David thinks this is a monthly happening & they knew to stay away.
Tomorrow we'll finish up the Israel Museum. Have to cab it.
Toby
We have sunny skies & a warm-up for erev Shabbat. Had a pleasant stroll with our shopping cart looking much the natives. The temptations of the prepared foods were hard to resist, but we're at the point of having to count days & toilet paper rolls.
We met Terry on Emek Refaim, the shopping drag, & said our good-byes. She'll be away after Shabbat. She's done a great job helping us from finding our apartment to orientation to acting as emergency transport to the medical clinic. What a treasure.
We splurged at lunch and ordered a second cup of coffee. Of course we paid extra, but we were feeling wild. Lunch was so leisurely & extended that we scrapped our plans to take two buses to walk the Haas Promenade overlooking the Old City (Terry had taken us there for the view). Instead, we walked across Emek & explored the walking/bike trail that is all the rage.
In 1892, tracks were laid from Jaffa to Jerusalem opening up ease of access, commerce, & tourism. In 1998, train service ended. Some genius turned the terminal near us into the amusement venue I mentioned in other emails. Two other geniuses transformed the tracks into the 3.6 mile long trail linking a series of playgrounds & parks. It compares to the High Line in NYC as it passes through neighborhoods, is landscaped, & has spots to sit & absorb the tranquility of this refuge in the city. There's even a "Reading Station" with shelves of books that can be borrowed. Several features of the tracks are intact including the rocks and gravel alongside. We thought it would be appropriate to pick up some stones to take to our parents' graves in Florida next time we go. For those who are unfamiliar with the custom, when Jews visit a grave, they leave a stone on the marker.
Today we joined the pre-Shabbat walkers, bikers, skateboarders, baby carriages, & scooters preparing to separate from the week of work and transition to a day of peace & contemplation .
David went to services at the same synagogue where we went our first Shabbat here, Kol Ha Neshamah . He came home shell shocked. It was a healing service in a social hall, not the sanctuary. There were about 250 people in the room with those who couldn't get in outside looking in the windows. There were six acoustic guitars, a saxophone, two flutes, & a tambourine leading the music & stirring up a fevered frenzy akin to an evangelical tent revival. The participants lifted their hands and open arms to receive the love of God then lowered them to wash the spirit over their bodies. People swayed & danced in place. There was no room to move; a real fire trap. At one point David thought he'd leave but couldn't make his way out. He found it a happening & was fascinated by the fervor with which the crowd participated. He was, however, disappointed that they never did a Shabbat liturgy. Except for L'cha Dodi & Shalom Aleichem, both at the end of the service, there was no incorporation of Shabbat in the worship. None of our friends was there. David thinks this is a monthly happening & they knew to stay away.
Tomorrow we'll finish up the Israel Museum. Have to cab it.
Toby
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| Walking Trail |
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| Reading Station |
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