Sybil Ludington Rides Again

Politics, Freedom and Farm Life

Category: Israel (page 2 of 4)

Day 2-The Salt Sea

Day 2 So today was the day we went to Yam Melech, Salt Sea or you might call it the Dead Sea. The bus ride was fabulous and I even grabbed a few snap shots of my beloved Masada from the bus window as we went by.

מצדה Masada

מצדה
Masada

Alas, this year I did not get to see any Gamalim (camels) en route. But I did get to see goats being herded. Not for the tourists, but for a living.

But NOT Camels!

But NOT Camels!

I should take that back. We did get to see two gamalim. When the bus took a 15 minute rest stop on the way a couple of Arabs had a couple of camels saddled up over at the side. They would allow tourists to ride the camels. And no, I didn’t. Once we got to the Dead Sea the first order of business was to find Cafe Cafe. We NEEDED coffee. You understand of course, right? Well, and a bathroom. With the most pressing items on the list taken care of we headed down to the beach. We walked around until we found a shelter with some empty space and ask the young girl there if we could sit there. There were 4 other people coming, but we left room and it worked out great. The rest of the day was spent taking turns going and floating on the water and guarding our stuff.

The Salt Sea, as you can see, not dead.

The Salt Sea, as you can see, not dead.

Lunch was fabulous, Deb had packed us a good lunch. After each dip in the sea you could go rinse off in fresh water showers. There were things that were different than any other body of water. Don’t rush into it, like you see people running into the ocean, because you don’t want to fall. The buoyancy can float your feet up. Having your head under salt water is bad. But the floating is awesome! I floated on my back a lot, I liked looking at my cheerful orange toenails pop up out of the water. You can also float vertically, you don’t need to paddle or anything. You just let go, of everything and float. It’s also an excellent place to just let go and pray. I also spent some time reading my book while Deb took her turn in the water. About 1630 we changed and headed to Cafe Cafe for dinner. Huge, fabulous salads! With cafe ha fouk after. Then we went and hung out at the bus stop and caught the bus for Beer Sheva so we could pick up the train to Tel Aviv. While we were on the bus we went by the apartment where we lived last year. I got to see my beloved Etz Tamar (palm tree). The train ride back to Tel Aviv was quiet, we got back around 2212 and then we grabbed a bus back to the apartment. Got home, showered & shampoo and no more salt crust. A cup of coffee, some roof time and a prayer of thanks. Bed time.

Night Sky in Tel Aviv

Night Sky in Tel Aviv

Day 1

Ahh, home!

Ahh, home!

 

Day 1–Yafo, the Hagana and Etzal Museums It turns out that June 1st is a very appropriate day to visit the Hagana and Etzal museums and originally the Irgun was to have been disbanded on June 1st. The first item on the day’s menu though (literally) was breakfast. Which we enjoyed at Benedict’s. It’s won the best breakfast in Tel Aviv for 5 years running. Not only does the food look beautiful, it tastes beautiful! The eggs Florentine were fantastic, as was the salad, breads and the Cafe. Ha Fouk required two cups. Just to be sure it was as wonderful as it seemed. It was.

HaHagana Museum

HaHagana Museum

From there we just walked a few buildings up to the Hagana Museum. This is an awesome museum! As it turns out, they have a monthly pass deal which we bought! It covers not only the Hagana museum but the Etzal museum and if I need to go back to double check something? No problem! We were met outside the Hagana museum by the very pleasant security man. I liked. Him despite the fact he wouldn’t let me have the ginger tabby that was hanging around outside the museum. It reminded me so much of Macabee. He said no doubt the cat would love to go with me, but it was the museum’s cat. The first floor of the building had the part that originally been the Hagana commanders home set up as it had been at the time. I loved looking at the furniture, the wallpaper and ceilings, all of it was intact as it had been. The museum was wonderful, and I felt like I learned alot! The next stop for the day was the Etzal museum by Yafo, and it was at that point I realized that Sheila in Israel without a writing pad was never going to work well. Lucky for me that Deb had a small notebook in her purse and I cabagged a couple pages for notes. Memo to self, acquire steno pad STAT!!! From there we had a very pleasant walk up the beach of the Medeterrainian to Yafo. Have I mentioned I adore Yafo? I adore Yafo!!!! We prowled the old streets of Yafo, did some shopping and then had dinner at Dr Shakshuka’s. Have I mentioned I adore Dr. Shakshuka’s? I do. The very nice waiter treated us to dessert with our kafe after dinner.

Dr Shakshuka

Dr Shakshuka

And, the age old question of potatoes in shakshuka or no? YES!

 

Potatoes clearly belong in shakshuka

Potatoes clearly belong in shakshuka

 

From there we kind of wandered around trying to find a bus home. We finally ended up walking home to Tel Aviv. It was a beautiful night for a walk, and it gave me a chance to get a photo of this tower. If you want the story behind that, you can read about it when I get it up for The Zelman Partisans. All in all? A fabulous first day back!

The Disconnect– At TZP

Does it just drive you nuts when Hollyweird hypocrites open their mouths and the junk just pours out? Not to mention their total disconnect with how reality works? Harvey Weinstein having recently shown his butt, dissecting his remarks seems useful.

Head on over to TZP

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The Watchmen (and women) on the wall–on TZP

G-d appoints some people to be Watchmen (and women) and they have a serious responsibility. Especially when you consider some of the other types of people. The Watchmen (and women) on the Wall.

 

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Purim Reflections- From TZP

My first Purim celebration brought the realization that there are many interesting events going on today that fit into the ancient Purim story.

Purim Reflections

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I Am A Student

אני תַלמִידה

The deeper a Christian’s faith, the deeper it’s roots will run in Judaism. ~~From my class notes.

Yep, in my advanced years I have decided to go back to college. I didn’t really intend to. I was just going to take a couple classes. I was going to take Introduction of Jewish Roots and Jewish Culture I (which I believe covers the Second Temple period). The program I’m in offers you the chance to just take the classes for audit, or you can go for a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree. I got to looking at what was going to be offered as classes. Hmmm, Women of the Bible, Bedouins, Apocalyptic literature, The Bible and the West Bank, Israel Today, Biblical Feast days and The Holy Days of Israel. Then I checked what was required for the Bachelor’s. Well, there are the required courses and you need 33 electives. I looked at the list. Without much thought I found 29 that I wanted to take just for the knowledge, like the ones I just listed. That means that if I take just 4 more classes than the ones I already want I would have a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle East Studies. WOWZA! It fits. It suits, and I want to do it. I signed up to take the classes for credit.

One of the things that came up during my first night at class was that Jesus was a Jew, the Bible was written by Jews. The early church was Jewish.  In my lifetime I’ve been a Southern Baptist, a Presbyterian, I attended a Methodist Church for awhile, a member of a Evangelical Church and Orthodox Cowboy. The Bible was written in the Middle East, I’ve lived in the midwest all of my life. It was written over 2,000 years ago. I am NOT that old! I said advanced years, not relic. So the Bible, which I believe to be G-d’s inspired word to us was written by a culture I am unfamiliar with, by a people who’s beliefs I’ve not been that familiar with in a long ago age.

So what you ask?

Well, I was visiting with my boss about this the other day. I asked him if he would be mildly offended if I said to him “You seem very gay today!” He only startled a little (why yes, I have worked there a while, why do you ask?) when he replied “Knowing you, no, I really wouldn’t”. I told him I remembered it as a line from a text book 154 years ago when I was in first grade. Then I told him a line from a Campfire girl pledge I had to learn.

As faggots are brought from the forest Firmly held by the sinews which bind them, So cleave to these others, your sisters, Whenever, wherever you find them. Be strong as the faggots are sturdy; Be true to your…‎

I told him that just conjured up a mental image I didn’t even want to think about.

My point? You know there is one. Look at how much things have changed in just the last 145 years since I was in Campfire Girls. I feel to really understand the Bible more fully I need to understand more about Israel and Judaism, more about the Hebrew thought process.

I’ve also come to realize how inadequate my knowledge is of the Old Testament. I’m tired of getting into discussions about things in the Old Testament and getting my butt kicked (not literally).

Which brings up another really good point. Why do we call it the Old Testament? The point was made in class while some think that the New Testament supersedes the Old, especially those that think incorrectly that the Christian Church has replaced the Jewish people that G-d chose as his, it doesn’t. Suggestions made were “First Testament” “Original Testament” “Older Testament”, but for me, my choice, I think I shall stick with calling it the Tanakh. The Tanakh is the “Old Testament”, if you choose to call it that, and Tanakh (תַּנַךְ) is a acronym for the first Hebrew letters of Torah (first 5 books, the books of Moses) Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).

I’m grafted into to a fabulous Olive Tree root, wow, how awesome is that? But to know what Olives do and how Olives think, I believe that a bit more education could aid me on my journey. Someone described the Bible as a Hyphen between Heaven and Earth, between G-d and his people. I choose to walk on and in that hyphen, and hopefully in the process will move closer to what G-d hopes for me, what he has planned for me.

G-d has put me on an amazing path, one that nothing in my life has qualified me to be on. President of a Second Amendment Organization, Member of a Board of Directors for a State Organization, Director of Public Relations for JPFO, and now one of the people behind the formation of The Zelman Partisans, a Jewish Second Amendment rights group. I assure you, nothing has prepared me for any of it. But I suit up and I show up. And I bless G-d for the chances he has given me, and I will do my best to be an asset. And perhaps more important, to move closer to who he created me to be.

My patient boss asked me what I was going to do with my degree. Well, we’re talking 12-20 years from now, but I told him a saying my Dad used to have “That and a dollar will get me a cup of coffee”. But, what would be a dream? Watch for me on the news. I’ll be on a panel with Moshe Feiglin, Danny Danon and Yehuda Glick. We will be explaining the events that led to Jews and Christians now being allowed back on the Temple Mount to pray, whenever they want, however long they want and however they want, without fear of attack by people intolerant of those two religions. I’ll be the one with the sparkly barrette and the fabulous earrings from Yafo.

 

Set to Study

Set to Study

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No Calls for Knife Control? –Over at TZP

On 21 January a man armed with a 8 inch knife managed to perpetrate a horrific attack. Twelve people were wounded in the attack, of which three who were in serious condition, four in moderate condition and five who sustained light injuries. Another seven people were treated for shock.

I take a look at the security measures in place that failed. And what the result of that failure was. There is one politician that is calling for citizens to be armed. Some good videos too. No Calls For Knife Control–over at The Zelman Partisans

 

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Resolve

The latest from The Zelman Partisans.  Resolve. What part does it play in your life? Not just in your life personally, but if the leaders of your county, state and country do not have resolve, it will affect you. Believe it.

http://zelmanpartisans.com/?p=600

And, I’ll even throw in a bonus video for ya’ll. This is resolve, and I think this lady is wonderful!  Might want to hear her out, if you aren’t familiar with the koran, you might learn a thing or two.

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The Politics of Power-From TZP

Not content to just weigh in on American Politics, I have decided to foray into Israeli Politics.  Not claiming to be an expert, but I do love learning about the topic. It’s over at The Zelman Partisans, and there are a couple of really good videos to go along with it. You should watch them both, they are Crackerjacks!

I hope you like “The Politics of Power

 

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From TZP-It’s The Most MACCABEE Time of the Year!

I know, I know, I keep saying I’m going to get something up just for Sybil, but she has had a lot of balls in the air to juggle lately. This would work better if she actually KNEW HOW to juggle gracefully at all.  But, it IS the Maccabee time of the year. And if you are a Christian and think that Hanukkah is just a “Jewish thing” or the Jewish version of Christmas you are sorely mistaken. Now, more than ever Christians need to know about Hanukkah, they need to know the lessons it gives, and I think we should be celebrating it as well. I LOVE the Maccabees.

So, I’m going to send you over to the Zelman Partisans to read the column  on the Maccabees. To entice you to do so I will post a picture of my most handsome ginger cat Maccabee hy”d. I still miss this handsome boy, every single day. He was really something.

 

Happy Hanukkah

Merry Christmas!

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Maccabee

The most adorable Maccabee Cat

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