Bulldozer terrorism again

I just got home from Jerusalem. At 2:00 pm there was another bulldozer rampage, this time on and near King David Street. But this time no one was killed. Some wounded and some in shock.

Mary Magdalene, her feast-day and church

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Mary Magdalene's feast day is celebrated tonight and tomorrow by Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Anglicans. No question, she is one of the New Testament's most important and interesting women. 

The Church of St. Mary Magdalene graces the slopes of Jerusalem's Mount of Olives. 

It was built by Czar Alexander III and was inaugurated in 1888. Seven gilded cupolas stand atop a monumental Muscovite-style body. 

The iconostasis is a work of art. The prayer hall has wondrous icons, relics, art, two sarcophagi, history, -- and special people too. 

Several native-English-speaker nuns man the gift shop and are helpful and friendly. They offer religious objects and books and CDs of their own singing (I bought the Russian Christmas carols and a CD of liturgy).

If you enlarge this last photo you can see how the tall gilded Russian Orthodox crosses are tied down. I always like to imagine this is to keep them on earth and to curb their natural desire to take off into heaven.

My pastor friend in Arkansas, preaching a sermon on Christ the King Sunday, revealed to us that the onion-shaped domes like these on the Church of St. Mary Magdalene are like crowns, meant to remind Christians of the Kingdom and of the kingship. 

Appreciating life

One last vestige of color tenaciously hanging on to life in our otherwise tan, white, and gray and thoroughly excavated archaeological site.

Today a cat came to meditate on the flower.

To see what other animals have been posted around the world this weekend, have a visit at Camera-Critters.

Ruminate on this!

We discovered a sealed burial cave from 4,000 years ago.
While sifting the earth that we dug out of the cave, something popped up in the sifting screen. . .

. . . something which immediately caused me to think of Louis la Vache.

Quelle chance--a cow's tooth from one of his Bronze Age ancestors!

Juke Skywalker

I am presently doing archaeology on a site that is literally in the shadow of these giant cranes. Yesterday we diggers looked skyward, fascinated, as one crane built a second crane. In the first photo the arm is being moved into the proper slots of the tower. In the second, the heavy counterbalance weights are being put on the other end.

But our fascination turned to disbelief verging on horror when we saw a man scampering clear to the end of the long arm without any harness or safety anything! Then a second man was climbing up above the operator's cabin, dragging cables to put into place! Oi oi oi! The men were shouting to, or maybe at, one another. One of our dig staff who was born in the U.S.S.R., burst out laughing when she heard the guy's juicy Russian curse. She was not ready to repeat or translate it.
There is actually a man (or two) here in the photo; you will just have to believe me. The man looked so small up there that I call him Juke Skywalker. "Juke" is the Hebrew slang for a little cockroach.
Thank God the men did their job and returned to earth safely.

Sky Watch Friday has its own site now. To see hundreds of other skies and learn of the new people behind the growing group of Sky Watchers, click here and enjoy. Thanks to all who help make it fun.

Zal in Zion

Zichronam livracha--may their memory be for a blessing.
Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser z"l, the reserve soldiers who were wounded and kidnapped by Hizbullah on the northern border two years ago, came home to Israel today--in coffins. For two long years the families and all of us supporting them knew nothing of their fate.
Today's prisoner swap was painful too to the Israeli families who lost loved ones killed by the five terrorists who were released from prison and returned to Lebanon to a hero's welcome.
These are not the Z words I had planned to post for ABC Wednesday. But it would seem frivolous to do so under the circumstances.
Tomorrow will be another difficult day, with two funerals. To the families we say the traditional "May God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."

Work in progress

Filling and stacking sandbags to this height is one of the less fun things of archaeology.
Here's where strong tall men save the day.

I'm digging again after two months at home being a blogger bum.
Archaeology is fun but for me it means getting the first bus at 5:50, eight hours on the job, and two hours (total) commuting every day.
It leaves little time for anything else in the evening.
So I ask your patience and understanding if I have fallen behind on blog visiting and comment answering. Hope to catch up with you all this weekend. Thanks for all your stimulating comments!

An eggplant??

:)

Balaam's talking ass

(You might want to click on the second photo!)

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Today was Shabbat Balak. This means the Torah portion for the week is Parashat Balak, which is roughly Numbers 22-24, one of my favorite Bible stories. It deserves a read or reread. You will enjoy it, I promise.

Balaam, a non-Jewish prophet, is hired to curse the Israelites by Balak, the Moabite king. Balaam gets on his donkey and rides off to curse the People. Three times the she-ass tries to avoid a confrontation with an angel, who is holding a drawn sword and blocking their way. The man's eyes have not yet been opened and he is angered by his donkey's erratic behavior.

"When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down [refusing to budge] for Balaam. Balaam's anger was kindled and he struck the ass with his staff." (Numbers 22:27)

"THEN THE LORD OPENED THE MOUTH OF THE ASS

and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you that you beat me these three times?' 'You have been playing games with me!' shouted Balaam at the donkey.  'If I had had a sword in my hand just now, I would have killed you!' The donkey replied to Balaam, 'Am I not your ass, upon which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so to you?' And he said, 'No.' "

"Then God opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way. . . and he kneeled and prostrated himself on his face."

Finally Balaam reaches his destination and opens his mouth to curse, but blessings come out instead.

 In fact, the words of Balaam are to this day sung or recited in our daily morning prayers. "Ma tovu--how good are your tents, Jacob, your tabernacles, Israel."

To see other animals visit Misty Dawn at Camera-Critters this weekend.

Awards and rewards

Sincere thanks to the D in D & T of Athens [Perspective] daily photo blog and to Catherine in Paris, at The Five of Us, for giving me this nice award created at the Arte y Pico blog.
Their words moved me very much. D wrote that her five chosen recipients "do a wonderful job of contributing to the blogging community and help to keep this blogger going with their kind comments and friendly visits. Thanks guys!"
Catherine wrote: "Dina at her blog Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo for giving me a real vision of Holy Land. A daily modern vision, an historical vision since Dina works in archeologic searches, the vision through her pictures, a vision of all comunities."
If Jerusalem Hills has succeeded in these good works, this mitsva, it gives me quiet joy!

The transmitted rules are these:
1. Recipients must pick 5 blogs they consider deserving of this award for creativity, design, interesting material, and for contributing to the blogging community in whatever language.
2. Each of the 5 selected blogs must include the name of the author and a link to his/her site to be visited by readers.
3. The recipient must show the award and indicate the name and link to the blog of the one that handed it to him/her.
4. All award recipients must include a link to the Arte y Pico site to inform all readers about the origin of this award.

The best part of receiving an award is the opportunity to pass it on, to play matchmaker between you and some of my favorite bloggers. I'll include some rather unusual and diverse ones.
And the award goes to
1. Natan Slifkin, the Zoo Rabbi, for Zoo Torah, Judaism and the Animal Kingdom
2. Sister Hildegard, Contemplative Woman, for Contemplative Horizon
3. AUHgal of Abu Dhabi/UAE Daily Photo
4. Tipper for Blind Pig & The Acorn
5. Eki Qushay Akhwan for Bandung Daily Photo

Thanks to all five for sharing their worlds (both inner and outer) in such a captivating and friendly way. Mazal tov!

Fastening the pegs

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Friday night--the quiet Sabbath night which leads into the Sabbath day has settled over Israel.
Shabbat shalom to you all, Sabbath peace.
From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman:

Ways of Peace
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Our mission in life is not to shake up the world but to fasten its pegs. Not to climb to the heavens and holler and roar, but to walk softly on the ground. Not to create a storm but rather a dwelling, an earthly home for the essence of G-d.
If a storm is needed, so it shall be. As for us, we will continue on our path, the path of Torah, solidly planted on the earth. A path of pleasantness and peace, bringing order to chaos step by step, until all the boundlessness of the Infinite Light is arranged firmly in our world.

Riding into the setting sun

Since we have been on the subject of Israel's shrinking lakes for a few posts, thought I'd share this sunset. We drove from Tiberias, altitude -210 meters below sea level where the city meets the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The road southward goes through the Jordan Valley, part of the Great Rift Valley. From the road you see the Kingdom of Jordan and sometimes the river itself. Just after passing Jericho and just before reaching the Dead Sea (whose water is now down to -421 meters below sea level, you turn west toward Jerusalem, whose elevation is +800 meters.
This photo is the view from the desert. The sun set as we made our way up to the Holy City and then home to the Jerusalem Hills.
In Hebrew one never walks or rides TO Jerusalem. It is always aliyah, a going UP to Jerusalem, both a physical and a spiritual ascent.

N.B. "Sea level" of course means the level of the Mediterranean, the only "normal" sea we have.

Many more Sky Watchers share their favorite sky over at Wiggers World. Take a look!

Sea level clarification

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Here is a satellite image of Israel's two lakes.
The normal level of the Sea of Galilee is 209 meters below sea level. I should have said that in yesterday's post about the shrinking lake. It is in the Great Rift Valley, as is the Dead Sea. The surface of the Sea of Salt, as the Dead Sea is called in Hebrew, is 421 meters below sea level.

This fisherman sits on rocks that were under water last year near Tabgha and the Church of the Multiplication of Fishes and Loaves. We need another miracle now to refill the two lakes!

Y for today's ABC Wednesday

Yam Kinneret is the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee. The picture was taken just after we drove out of Tiberias. It looks eastward to the Golan Heights. The southern part of the Yarden, the River Jordan, begins here.
After five winters with not enough rain, the lake today reached a dangerously low level. The water surface is now 213 meters below sea level. Some 27% of Israel's water needs are supplied by Yam Kinneret. But soon we are going to be in big trouble.
For a short video about the water crisis click here.

Yafia, near Nazareth in the Lower Galilee, was a large fortified city in the time of the Jewish revolt against the Romans and was destroyed in 67 CE. This section of mosaic floor was found in its synagogue. A golden eagle is perched on a Medusa mask. Or, the portrait may be of Helios, the sun god.

The sign in the Rockefeller Museum is interesting: "The depiction of human and animal figures on a synagogue floor, despite the explicit biblical prohibition against producing graven images, is surprising, particularly given the pagan nature of the subjects. However, the remains of ancient synagogues discovered to date indicate that this was actually quite a widespread practice in Byzantine times. It seems that classical and Hellenistic decorative traditions were used in synagogue art to convey Jewish beliefs and that the sages found ways to reconcile this custom with Jewish law."

Aha! That means another Y --the Yiddishe Kopf was at work in Yafia.

On a lighter note, here is a lovely Yiddishe Kopf (literally this time) with a Spiderman yarmulke. Yarmulke is the Yiddish word for Hebrew kipa. YOFI! (Hebrew slang for Nice!)

For clever Y words and photos visit Mrs. Nesbitts Place for ABC Wednesday.

Livnot ulehibanot

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This was the action in our little village yesterday. The old public building, long abandoned and roof caving in, has been fixed up in order to become a home for handicapped people.
I stopped to greet the gardeners and thank them for making the place beautiful and to ask permission for a photo. (Of course they found this rather strange.) This is where my little bit of Arabic comes in handy.

Yes, it is the Palestinians and the Israeli Arabs and the foreign Gastarbeiter who build the State these days. They build our houses, operate the earthmoving bulldozers, landscape the gardens, dig in archaeological excavations, plant and pick our crops, shepherd our sheep and goats, etc. etc. etc.

I walked on, thinking how sad it is that so many Israeli Jews no longer know the joy of physical labor, of getting the hands dirty, of sweating.

A.D. Gordon, who died in 1922 in Kibbutz Degania, must be turning over in his grave at the situation today. He was a Zionist ideologue who believed that physical effort on the land would bring about the redemption of the Jewish people. He attributed pioneer work a semi-religious status, arguing that it created an organic interrelationship between man, the land and culture.

A. D. Gordon: "Tolstoy in Palestine" - Poem - by Steven P. Schneider . .

Like Tolstoy, you longed to connect your life
to the soil.
You turned your back
on property, family, the high culture of Russia-
to live with peasants,
to work the vineyards and orange groves of Rishon Le-Zion.
Your stamina stunned the younger men
and women who worked beside you.
Your labor connected you to the land of your people.
It made you free.
Turning your back on the occupations of the Pale--
Talmudic scholar, money lender,
peddler, victim of pogroms--
You wanted to remake the Jew into a farmer.
Your weapon against history was the hoe--
Your work in the fields a new kind of worship.
With each digging of the hoe--
you discovered a new rung upon which to climb to heaven.
The sweat bathed your white beard.
Your eyes burned with the fire of holiness.
Tolstoy in Palestine,
you scribbled "Some Observations"
by candlelight in the predawn hours--
"our people," you wrote, "can be rejuvenated
through labor and a life close to nature."
At night, under the moon of Zion,
beside the campfire,
you preached your religion of labor
to all who would listen.
And when the dreamers of Israel
sang and danced,
you joined them
in the hora of the body reborn.

Here today, gone today

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I lived once in Switzerland, surrounded by farm fields and vineyards. [sigh . . .]
 Walking to Lake Neuchatel, I was delighted to see a lone sunflower left in the field after the farmer had harvested his crop (forgot what crop, something green).
The lake was lovely and the Alps were shimmering on the horizon like a mirage. On the way home, full of joy at the glory of Creation, I suddenly realized that the sunflower had been taken.


It was devastating! Who could do such a thing?
Where was this poor sunflower's Little Prince?!

"If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself: 'Somewhere, my flower is there...' But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened...And you think that is not important!"      -- The Little Prince, chapter 7
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Bioluminescence

Tiny but awesome, eh? For three nights in a row this creature (actual size) was glowing in exactly the same place on the concrete steps outside. The last few nights it was on the wall next to the step.
Any of you nature mavens know what this bioluminescent insect might be??

I go out walking in the cool of the evening and often return after dark. Hope this doesn't sound pathetic, but it IS nice to have someone waiting for me with the light on. LOL!

Other animals, bigger ones, are waiting for your visit this weekend at Camera Critters.

Flowers for Shabbat

Hey shy sunflower, show us your pretty face.

An icon of liberty and justice

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HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, DEAR AMERICA !

In honor of America's Bicentennial, Jerusalem created the Liberty Bell Garden in 1976.
A replica of Philadelphia's Liberty Bell is mounted in the center of the park.
But without the crack.

"Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof . . ." is part of the inscription on the bell and is taken from Leviticus 25:10.

Happy 4th of July to Americans and Shabbat shalom, Sabbath peace, to everyone.
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Red, white, and blue on blue

Happy Independence Day to the United States of America, land of my birth, and to all you Americans out there.
Long may the flags of America and of Israel, land of my choice, wave together in harmony in blue skies. And may the dreaded mushroom cloud never darken our sky, amen amen.
Immediately upon hearing about the victims in the bulldozer rampage yesterday, the American Ambassador lowered the Stars and Stripes to half-mast at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. Tonight the Fourth of July reception is underway at the Ambassador's residence. Sorry, no pictures--I wasn't invited. That's OK.
The third flag here, at Hadassah Ein Kerem campus, is of the Hadassah Medical Organization.

Sky Watch Friday bloggers come together at Tom's blog, Welcome to Wiggers World.