Israel: Day 1

Sh'ma Yisrael: Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai echad! V'ahavta et Adonai Eloheyka b'khol levavkha, uv'khol naphsh'kha, uv'khol meodekha!...V'ahavta l're'akha khamokha!  D'varim 6:4-5 ; V'yikhra 19:18

Hear O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might!  And love your neighbor as yourself!  Deut. 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18

I suppose this is a fitting re-start to my blog posts which I have unapologetically been absent on for the last two years.  The above is called the 'Sh'ma', which is a jewish prayer said at the beginning and end of every day.  

Heidi and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary in Israel with our friends, Donny and Cynthia Weld and friends from a tour group called Travel The Text (www.travelthetext.com).  

We started our day in Negev at The Wilderness of Zin (Ein Avdat) where the Israelites wondered, documented in Numbers 20 and in Exodus 17.  

Observation: God always seems to meet with people in the wilderness - think Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus.  

Application:  God uses the wilderness to let us know that he LOVES us massively, deeply, and more intimately then anyone.

Our second stop was Tel Arad - historic buildings and civilization dating back to the early Bronz Age (2850 BC) and again in the late Iron Age (589 BC).  Picture below is a temple slightly reconstructed from that time period.

Observation: Israelites were called to worship only 1 god, the only true God. However, in addition to God, they also worshipped others. Also, in the Jewish culture, hospitality was/is a central component.  The stranger was to be protected even more than their own family when threatened.

Application: God is a jealous God and wants all our whole heart (Sh'Ma) because he wants to do great things through us.  Also,  I need to be more welcoming in my life - support the poor, champion the weak, give my life away for others.

Bedouin shepherd.  Mostly Islamic and nomadic people dating back centuries in Egypt and the middle-east. 

 Ancient wine vinyard, where we briefly lost Heidi's glasses but were found by Cynthia.  Heidi happy.

It's the end of the day, 6:00pm and the end of Sabbath.  Tonight we eat and shop! 

Sh'ma Yisrael: Adonai Eloheynu, Adonai echad! V'ahavta et Adonai Eloheyka b'khol levavkha, uv'khol naphsh'kha, uv'khol meodekha!...V'ahavta l're'akha khamokha!

PLW