ISRAEL DAY 2/DAY 3

We start in Jaffa, in front of a sculpture of a whale. Our guide Muki reminds us that this is the only Biblical reference in the entire city, an homage to Jonah, who fled from here on a ship, only to be swallowed by a "great fish." He says we lacked the imagination to think of anything but a whale, even though God could surely create a fish big enough to swallow Jonah without it being a whale.

Jaffa is beautiful, and it is a wonderful mixture of ancient and new. Walking the uneven streets with stairs everywhere, we are reminded of the throngs that must have crowded the alleys when Jaffa was a thriving port. Homes designed without running water, they now have all the modern amenities, just no more space than they ever did.

We move to the old port, once the gateway to Israel, now the most activity is an old man eating lunch. When technology changed and large boats could no longer dock in the shallower Jaffa Port, they moved north, as did many of the residents of Jaffa. Not much is left but the memory of its greatness, like the sculpture of the stone egg, out of which grows an actual orange tree. It remembers the birth of the nation out of Jaffa, but cannot sustain from Jaffa, as it hovers over the stone path, casting a shadow of its greatness, but unable to root.

We go from there to Tel Aviv, the birthplace of Israel, and on Rothschild Street we visit Independence Hall. Even though Jews recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the signing of the Declaration of Independence was in Tel Aviv in 1948 because Jerusalem was under siege. We talk about Herzl and his dream, the men who made it come to fruition, and the people who have a home because of them. We travel back in time, hearing voices that ring in those halls many times a day, but new to us, as we sit next to David Ben Gurion, Chaim Weissman, and Golda Meir. 

As Shabbat approaches, we make our way to Herzliya, to experience Beit Tefilah Yisraeli, a wonderful musical service by the bay. A nod to Herzl's Altneuland, we sing words that are 2000 years old, to melodies 20 years old, with modern equipment like microphones and speakers, and with a spirit that transcends time. Shabbat begins in the Holy Land, and we rest.

...

Shabbat ends with Havdalah, separation. We walk to the beach for our ceremony, and again I am struck by the mixture of old and new. A friend I have known for 37 years finds us in Israel. He joins us by the beach for Havdalah (a beautiful moment shared by the group), and we walk to get a beer. I have known him for so long that it is easy to step into the old banter, easy to marvel at how easy it is to find such connections in Israel. 

This is a miraculous place, and we aren't even halfway through yet.