Road Trip
By Gary Witt
Take the atlas from the shelf;
Map your trip toward happiness
Along a route that forks
And flashes on the page
Like lightning in the summer sky.
Let me tell you about the land of adventures, history and magic! Welcome to my Israel!!!
Day 1.
SKYWARDS
by Ganjar Sudibyo
To earth,Everyeyes fly over the sun
Everyone but him lies ahead
Cross the deep sea
Some say fire will freeze
Through the darkness land
And let the brightness
Descended from the sky
For the first day I had flight. I am afraid of hight a little bit. But its really doesn't matter. El-Al company is the best in Israel travel experience. I saw wonderful sky very close to me. Flight attendants were friendly with us, food was palatable and on the screens were translating funny film about schoolboys. So everything was on the high level.
Then I arrived to kibbuts near The Sea of Galilee, also known as Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias (Hebrew: ים כנרת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, Arabic: بحيرة طبرية). It is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. The lake has a total area of 166 km2 (64 sq mi), and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m (141 feet). A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ, קִבּוּץ, lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism. In recent decades, some kibbutzim have been privatized and changes have been made in the communal lifestyle. A member of a kibbutz is called a kibbutznik (Hebrew: קִבּוּצְנִיק). In 2010, there were 270 kibbutzim in Israel.
Day 2.
Part I
Jerusalem
Jerusalem History
What is the Western Wall?
We all know that the Western Wall, the Kotel, is the most significant site in the world for the Jewish people. We know that it is the last remnant of our Temple. We also know that Jews from around the world gather here to pray. People write notes to G-d and place them between the ancient stones of the Wall.
But did you know that…
Many important events took place on Mount Moriah, know later as Temple Mount.
Mount Moriah, according to Jewish tradition, is the place where many pivotal events in Jewish history took place. Traditionally, creation of the world began from the Foundation Stone at the peak of mountain. This is also where Adam, the first human, was created.
When Abraham was commanded to prepare his son Isaac for sacrifice, the father and son went up to “the place that G-d chooses” – Mount Moriah, and to its peak – the Foundation Stone – where the binding of Isaac took place.
Also Jacob’s dream with angels going up and down a ladder is linked to this mountain.
Later on, the Holy of Holies – the core and heart of the First and Second Temple - was built around the Foundation Stone.
The Western Wall is part of a big renovation project initiated by King Herod.
In the year 37 BCE, Herod was appointed king in Jerusalem and he soon initiated a huge renovation project for the Temple. He hired many workers who toiled to make the Temple more magnificent and to widen the area of the Temple Mount by flattening the mountain peak and building four support walls around it.
The Western Wall is the western support wall built during this widening of the Temple Mount Plaza.
What makes the Western Wall (and not one of the other three remaining support walls) the most special is its proximity to the location of the Holy of Holies in the Temple.
The Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 CE. Despite the destruction that took place, all four Temple Mount support walls remained standing. Throughout the generations since the Temple’s destruction, the Western Wall was the remnant closest to the site of the Temple’s Holy of Holies that was accessible to Jews. Therefore, it became a place of prayer and yearning for Jews around the world. When Jews expressed their longing for Jerusalem through song, Judaica, jewelry, and prayer, the image of Jerusalem was conveyed via the image of the Western Wall.
The Old City of Jerusalem, and the Western Wall within it, was not in Jewish hands from the War of Independence in 1948 until the Six Day War in 1967.
Even before 1948, the return of the Jewish nation to its land caused tensions around the Western Wall. The eruption of violence in 1929 was linked to a divider placed at the Wall. As a result of the violence, a British investigative committee was created that decided to maintain the status quo at the Western Wall. The chief rabbinate appointed a rabbi, Rabbi Orenstein, to oversee the happenings at the Wall.
In 1948, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City fell to Jordanian hands. The Jewish homes were destroyed. Among those killed was the Western Wall’s first rabbi who refused to leave the Wall or his home and was killed in the bombings.
During 19 long years of Jordanian rule, Jews were not able to reach the Wall and pray in front of its ancient stones. All that possible was to climb up to Mount Zion and glance at the Wall from a distance.
During the Six Day War of 1967, paratroopers led by Motta Gur broke through to the Old City through the Lion’s Gate. The Western Wall and Temple Mount were liberated, the city of Jerusalem was reunified, and the Jewish people were again able to come to the Western Wall to pray.
The exposed, outdoor section of the Western Wall is just a small part of the whole Wall.
The part of the Western Wall that we see at the Prayer Plaza is 57 meters (187 feet) long. The entire length of the Western Wall, however, is actually 488 meters (1,600 feet) long! Where is the remaining part of the Western Wall?
The first approximately 80 meters (262 feet) on the southern end were uncovered immediately after the Six Day War and can be seen at the Southern Excavations. The Prayer Plaza, expanded in the years after the Six Day War, is located in the adjacent 57 meters to the north. The remaining 320 meters (1,050 feet) continues underground beneath the streets and houses of the Old City of Jerusalem. Sections of the Wall were uncovered in ongoing excavations and can bee seen now within the Western Wall Tunnels.
The Western Wall is visited by millions of visitors a year – Jews and non-Jews alike.
Today, millions of visitors come to the Western Wall every year. Thousands of Bar and Bat Mitzvah children choose to mark this special event with their families at the Wall. Soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces swear loyalty to their nation and homeland at the Western Wall Plaza. People from all over the world pay their respects to the Jewish people’s magnificent history by visiting this special site.
The ancient, 2,000-year-old stones of the Western Wall have witnessed the Jewish people’s birth, exile, and redemption. This is where the Jewish nation’s past mingles with its hopes for the future.
The Western Wall is a living testimony to the strength and resilience of the Jewish nation.
Part II
Jerusalem
Jerusalem History
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| I also left a few notes |
We all know that the Western Wall, the Kotel, is the most significant site in the world for the Jewish people. We know that it is the last remnant of our Temple. We also know that Jews from around the world gather here to pray. People write notes to G-d and place them between the ancient stones of the Wall.
But did you know that…
Many important events took place on Mount Moriah, know later as Temple Mount.
Mount Moriah, according to Jewish tradition, is the place where many pivotal events in Jewish history took place. Traditionally, creation of the world began from the Foundation Stone at the peak of mountain. This is also where Adam, the first human, was created.
When Abraham was commanded to prepare his son Isaac for sacrifice, the father and son went up to “the place that G-d chooses” – Mount Moriah, and to its peak – the Foundation Stone – where the binding of Isaac took place.
Also Jacob’s dream with angels going up and down a ladder is linked to this mountain.
Later on, the Holy of Holies – the core and heart of the First and Second Temple - was built around the Foundation Stone.
The Western Wall is part of a big renovation project initiated by King Herod.
In the year 37 BCE, Herod was appointed king in Jerusalem and he soon initiated a huge renovation project for the Temple. He hired many workers who toiled to make the Temple more magnificent and to widen the area of the Temple Mount by flattening the mountain peak and building four support walls around it.
The Western Wall is the western support wall built during this widening of the Temple Mount Plaza.
What makes the Western Wall (and not one of the other three remaining support walls) the most special is its proximity to the location of the Holy of Holies in the Temple.
The Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 CE. Despite the destruction that took place, all four Temple Mount support walls remained standing. Throughout the generations since the Temple’s destruction, the Western Wall was the remnant closest to the site of the Temple’s Holy of Holies that was accessible to Jews. Therefore, it became a place of prayer and yearning for Jews around the world. When Jews expressed their longing for Jerusalem through song, Judaica, jewelry, and prayer, the image of Jerusalem was conveyed via the image of the Western Wall.
The Old City of Jerusalem, and the Western Wall within it, was not in Jewish hands from the War of Independence in 1948 until the Six Day War in 1967.
Even before 1948, the return of the Jewish nation to its land caused tensions around the Western Wall. The eruption of violence in 1929 was linked to a divider placed at the Wall. As a result of the violence, a British investigative committee was created that decided to maintain the status quo at the Western Wall. The chief rabbinate appointed a rabbi, Rabbi Orenstein, to oversee the happenings at the Wall.
In 1948, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City fell to Jordanian hands. The Jewish homes were destroyed. Among those killed was the Western Wall’s first rabbi who refused to leave the Wall or his home and was killed in the bombings.
During 19 long years of Jordanian rule, Jews were not able to reach the Wall and pray in front of its ancient stones. All that possible was to climb up to Mount Zion and glance at the Wall from a distance.
During the Six Day War of 1967, paratroopers led by Motta Gur broke through to the Old City through the Lion’s Gate. The Western Wall and Temple Mount were liberated, the city of Jerusalem was reunified, and the Jewish people were again able to come to the Western Wall to pray.
The exposed, outdoor section of the Western Wall is just a small part of the whole Wall.
The part of the Western Wall that we see at the Prayer Plaza is 57 meters (187 feet) long. The entire length of the Western Wall, however, is actually 488 meters (1,600 feet) long! Where is the remaining part of the Western Wall?
 |
| The Western Wall |
The first approximately 80 meters (262 feet) on the southern end were uncovered immediately after the Six Day War and can be seen at the Southern Excavations. The Prayer Plaza, expanded in the years after the Six Day War, is located in the adjacent 57 meters to the north. The remaining 320 meters (1,050 feet) continues underground beneath the streets and houses of the Old City of Jerusalem. Sections of the Wall were uncovered in ongoing excavations and can bee seen now within the Western Wall Tunnels.
The Western Wall is visited by millions of visitors a year – Jews and non-Jews alike.
Today, millions of visitors come to the Western Wall every year. Thousands of Bar and Bat Mitzvah children choose to mark this special event with their families at the Wall. Soldiers serving in the Israel Defense Forces swear loyalty to their nation and homeland at the Western Wall Plaza. People from all over the world pay their respects to the Jewish people’s magnificent history by visiting this special site.
The ancient, 2,000-year-old stones of the Western Wall have witnessed the Jewish people’s birth, exile, and redemption. This is where the Jewish nation’s past mingles with its hopes for the future.
The Western Wall is a living testimony to the strength and resilience of the Jewish nation.
Part II
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| The monument to the student that is always late |
The University has close to 100 research centers in which some 4,000 research programs are carried out in all areas of human knowledge. The University’s researchers are to be found at the forefront of world research and conduct wide-ranging work within the international scientific and academic communities.
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| The first floor corridor |
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| The standard audience |
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| Art-expression of students |
The University’s researchers receive approximately one-third of all of the competitive research grants awarded annually in Israel and are the leaders among recipients of prestigious international research grants.
Yissum, the University’s technology transfer company, has registered some 6,100 patents on more than 1.750 inventions by University researchers in all areas of technology and biotechnology. About a third of these patents have been converted into commercial applications.
An expression of the University’s high level and quality of its research can be seen in the top prizes and awards won by its researchers, capped by the Nobel Prizes and the Fields Medal in Mathematics won by graduates and staff members of the University.
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| Wall of Fame Nobel Laureates. Nobody knows who will be the next... |
Part III
Each day I sightseeing a lot of places of unbelievable beauty. So now look at the City of David!
The story of the City of David began over 3,000 years ago, when King David left the city of Hebron for a small hilltop city known as Jerusalem, establishing it as the unified capital of the tribes of Israel. Years later, David's son, King Solomon, built the First Temple next to the City of David on top of Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac, and with it, this hilltop became one of the most important sites in the world.
Today, the story of the City of David continues. Deep underground, the City of David is revealing some of the most exciting archeological finds of the ancient world. While above ground, the city is a vibrant center of activity with a visitor's center that welcomes visitors for an exciting tour to the site where much of the Bible was written.
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| The main entrance to the city of David. The harp. |
The story of the City of David began over 3,000 years ago, when King David left the city of Hebron for a small hilltop city known as Jerusalem, establishing it as the unified capital of the tribes of Israel. Years later, David's son, King Solomon, built the First Temple next to the City of David on top of Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac, and with it, this hilltop became one of the most important sites in the world.
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| The water level in the tunnel under the city can be measured on a wet trail on my jeans |
Today, the story of the City of David continues. Deep underground, the City of David is revealing some of the most exciting archeological finds of the ancient world. While above ground, the city is a vibrant center of activity with a visitor's center that welcomes visitors for an exciting tour to the site where much of the Bible was written.
The Night Spectacular
Sound and Light at the Citadel
The walls of the Citadel serve as a stage for a nightime show which is a celebration of sight and sound. Amidst the archaeological remains in the Citadel’s courtyard and to the sound of original music, the story of Jerusalem unfolds through giant breathtaking, virtual reality images.
The Night Spectacular uses trompe l’oeil technology – the stones of the walls and structures fade into the scenes and the screened images envelop the viewers and whisk them off to a one-of-a-kind multi-sensory experience.
Sound and Light at the Citadel
The walls of the Citadel serve as a stage for a nightime show which is a celebration of sight and sound. Amidst the archaeological remains in the Citadel’s courtyard and to the sound of original music, the story of Jerusalem unfolds through giant breathtaking, virtual reality images.
The Night Spectacular uses trompe l’oeil technology – the stones of the walls and structures fade into the scenes and the screened images envelop the viewers and whisk them off to a one-of-a-kind multi-sensory experience.
Innovative techniques and a sophisticated computer system operate 20 projectors, 10 video players, 14 computers and 14 loudspeakers. All this in addition to some 10 kilometers of cable and two projection rooms.
Creators: Skertzo company, France; original music: Etienne Perruchon; sound effects: Jean Goudier; curator of the show: Renee Sivan, Tower of David Museum.
The Night Spectacular, the first of its kind in the world, is for everyone – tourists from Israel and abroad, families, speakers of all languages and all Jerusalem lovers.
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| At the Bahá'í World Centre |
A Catholic religious order was founded on Mount Carmel in the 12th century, named the Carmelites, in reference to the mountain range; the founder was a certain Berthold (who died at an unknown point after 1185), who was either a pilgrim or crusader.Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery, Haifa.
Day 4.
Tel-Aviv
Part I
I don't want to show you the city of sightseers. Everyone can find it in the Internet. But I'll show smth that impressed me the strongest.
The theatre lights dim and the audience settles into their seats -- usually a cue for the actors to deliver their opening lines. Instead, the Nalaga'at troupe start pummeling and stroking each other's hands.
This is not a high-minded avant garde dance piece, but a group of deaf-blind actors, who are captivating audiences in Israel by blending touch, mime, sign language and music on stage in a cabaret-style show about dreams and disability.
Billed as the world's first professional deaf-blind theatre company, only three of Nalaga'at's actors can speak. One hears a little if you shout directly into her ear and a few still have some vision. But they all communicate primarily through touch.
To complicate matters, several of the actors are recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union and know only Russian sign language.
Rehearsals can be chaotic.
"It's crazy, it's a big challenge and it's fun," said Adina Tal, who inadvertently started the group in 2002 when she was asked to lead a deaf-blind acting workshop. "What it shows is there is no limit to the human spirit."
In just over five years, the troupe has turned professional, toured the United States and Europe and moved to a swish new home in Jaffa, just south of central Tel Aviv.
Nalaga'at is not the only organization to focus on the skills people with disabilities have to offer: in Belgium, a unit of blind policemen is reportedly using the men's acute hearing to help catch terrorists, drug traffickers and mobsters.
But such examples are rare, and the deaf and blind still struggle to get jobs in many countries, even though working life is often possible thanks to technologies including one to convert emails into braille.
"The biggest barrier is the attitude of employers -- they assume when they get a blind or deaf candidate that they can't do the job," said Sue Brown, campaign manager at Sense, a UK-based deaf-blind charity. "Often that simply isn't true."
"DO TOUCH"
At the centre, whose name means "Please Do Touch" in Hebrew, the idea is to turn "normal" life upside down by empowering deaf and blind people and pushing seeing and hearing customers beyond their comfort zone.
Visitors to the centre's cafe have to order drinks from deaf waiters in sign language, while the blind staff lead customers to their seats in a pitch-black restaurant.
"People with disabilities are usually in a position where they have to ask 'please help me and please give me' -- here it is exactly the opposite," Tal said.
Most of the Nalaga'at actors have Usher syndrome, which means they were born deaf and lost their sight later in life.
Here, the divide between Jews and Arabs that cuts so deeply through the rest of the region seems irrelevant, and young people with Usher syndrome from both sides of the conflict meet in support groups or work in the cafe.
Called "Not by Bread Alone," the play aims to inspire the audience by exploring the actors' dreams and ambitions, and showing how they push the boundaries of their disabilities.
"STUNNING BLONDE"
The actors bring dignity and a comic touch to their portrayals of lives lived in darkness and silence.
"If you told me a stunning blonde was around it wouldn't mean a thing to me," jokes Itzak Hanuna, who was born blind and went deaf at age 11 after falling ill with meningitis.
The troupe work as a unit on stage. Those who can speak translate for the mute, and those who can see guide the blind. Helpers tap the actors on the shoulder to indicate applause.
Bat-Sheva Ravenseri is deaf, mute and almost totally blind but steals the show despite never uttering a word.
"Before the theatre, I lived a regular deaf-blind life in darkness and silence. I didn't have a future," she told Reuters through a translator, who converted questions into sign language by stroking and squeezing her hands.
"I want to show that blind and deaf people also have a lot of strength and love to give," said Ravenseri, wearing an elegant purple dress and matching eyeshadow for the show, which has been sold out since it opened in December.
Audience members said they were humbled by the play.
"I liked the part when they talked about their dreams," said Yaffa Feldman, a student on holiday from New York. "It left me wondering what I would do if all I had were my thoughts and feelings."
Day 5.
Back to Jerusalem
The Holocaust History Museum
A decade in the making, the Holocaust History Museum combines the best of Yad Vashem’s expertise, resources and state-of-the-art exhibits to take Holocaust remembrance well into the 21st century .
The Holocaust History Museum occupies over 4,200 square meters, mainly underground. Both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, it presents the story of the Shoah from a unique Jewish perspective, emphasizing the experiences of the individual victims through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions.
Its 180 meters – long linear structure in the form of a spike cuts through the mountain with its uppermost edge – a skylight – protruding through the mountain ridge. Galleries portraying the complexity of the Jewish situation during those terrible years branch off this spike-like shaft, and the exit emerges dramatically out of the mountainside, affording a view of the valley below. Unique settings, spaces with varying heights, and different degrees of light accentuate focal points of the unfolding narrative.
At the end of the Museum’s historical narrative is the Hall of Names — a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished.
From the Hall of Names, visitors will continue on to the epilogue and from there to the balcony opening to a panoramic view of Jerusalem.
A decade in the making, the Holocaust History Museum combines the best of Yad Vashem’s expertise, resources and state-of-the-art exhibits to take Holocaust remembrance well into the 21st century .
The Holocaust History Museum occupies over 4,200 square meters, mainly underground. Both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, it presents the story of the Shoah from a unique Jewish perspective, emphasizing the experiences of the individual victims through original artifacts, survivor testimonies and personal possessions.
Its 180 meters – long linear structure in the form of a spike cuts through the mountain with its uppermost edge – a skylight – protruding through the mountain ridge. Galleries portraying the complexity of the Jewish situation during those terrible years branch off this spike-like shaft, and the exit emerges dramatically out of the mountainside, affording a view of the valley below. Unique settings, spaces with varying heights, and different degrees of light accentuate focal points of the unfolding narrative.
At the end of the Museum’s historical narrative is the Hall of Names — a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished.
From the Hall of Names, visitors will continue on to the epilogue and from there to the balcony opening to a panoramic view of Jerusalem.
Day 6.
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| Concert for all students groups from all over the world! |
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| With Brazil's friend |
Home, Sweet Home.....
by Ravi Sathasivam
There is no place like home in this world
Home sweet home where I always live so happily
A light from the sky seems to bless us there
and God's love is spread all over there
How happy when you sit with loved ones
and to see their faces full of love smile
How nice to sit near our parents and great parents
and listen to their old stories that bring us lessons too
Our garden full of greenery and the flowers are
bloomed to give us pleasure
All those birds on the trees singing gaily
to give us a peace of mind
Our pets run freely in and out of the house
and keep us busy to watch their naughtiness
When I look at the mountains in their great splendor
that blows with cool breeze that give us healthy life
Our neighbors are dear and so helpful without fear
An exile from home, bring nothing but sadness
Because home is sweet home.
