Hurry to the Hula

As the afternoon fall sun begins its slow descent to the west, the storks, cranes, herons and other species of birds flock to their evening resting place on the Hula Lake in the northern Galilee situated within the Syrian-African Rift Valley, approximately 70 m above sea level. The numerous touring options available include walking, renting bicycles, an electrical golf cart (for up to 6 people), a safari bicycle (for up to 6), two seater bikes or an open air safari bus - an excellent choice for the night tours. Our group of six opted for four bicycles and a tandem and pedaled the 12 kilometre stretch in approximately two leisurely hours, stopping at numerous viewpoints along the way to observe the birds, animals, and surrounding views. The 800 acre reserve is located approximately 20 kilometres north of the Sea of Galilee, and was up until the early part of the 20th century, a vast swampland, but home to much wildlife. Early Jewish settlers to Israel worked hard clearing this area for agricultural purposes and many workers contracted the dealy malaria virus along the way. They only later realized that the valley offered less than ideal agricultural conditions, but unfortunately, by then that land had been cleared, and along with it much of the wildlife, fauna and flora disappeared from the landscape negatively impacting the ecosystem of the area. In the mid 1990's, approximately 250 acres were reflooded in an effort to restore the valley and bring back some of the natural habitat and improving the quality of the water flowing into the Sea of Galilee. During the migration seasons over 500 million birds will fly over Israel and tens of thousands will stop overnight in the Hula Valley during the peak late fall season. The Hula Valley visitor center, situated approximately three kilometres south of Agman Hula, has a new bird migration/movie experience called Euphoria which is also worthwhile. For More Information -http://parks.org.il/ParksENG/company_card.php3?NewNameMade=43&from=116&CNumber=422020

A Different Kind of Bethlehem -Bethlehem in the Galilee

Most pilgrims and Christian tourists will make it a point to visit Bethlehem when they journey to the Holy land. Few, however, have even heard of Beit Lechem HaGlilit, Bethlehem of the Galilee.

An idyllic town adorned with beautiful European-styled stone houses, set deep into the hilly countryside of the Galilee this quaint village is very reminiscent of Provence. Interestingly, some scholars have even suggested that this town might have been the actual birthplace of Jesus, due to its proximity to Nazareth, approximately 25 minutes away.

Its European roots stem from its establishment as a farming village by Christian Templars in 1906. Over the next two and a half decades the village atracted an additional 20 Templar families. Two oterh neighboring villages, Waldheim and Arnhem also attracted a Christian german population and together the three towns became the heart of what would later be during the rise of Hitler, a resident enemy population.

The village is easy to explore by foot or bike and the local historian, Kobi Fleishmann (04-953-2901), will gladly take around tour groups for a two hour stroll through the village by pre-arrangement. Kobi and his family live in a beautiful historic old Templar home and have converted a portion of it to a bed and breakfast as well as a local museum, chronicling the Templar roots of the village as well as the rise of the local Hitler Youth movement, which rose to prominence in this town during the 1930's. Photographs on display in the local museum chronicle this dark period of local history and provide visual evidence of the Nazi Youth parade that occurred in the village to mark Hitler's birthday. The museum showcases much of Kobi's collections of historic Nazi memorablia including flags, pictures and other artifacts, that were from the area.

During the war the British rounded up the local "enemy" German-sympathizing residents and put them into local interment camps where they remained until they were deported. Some 222 of the local prisoners were swapped with 222 Dutch prisoners of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. During our tour, Kobi showed us the actual list of the prisoners released from Bergen-Belsen and we, coincidentally, found the names of our relatives on the list.

Finding the right spirit in the Golan; a family reunion

Family reunions are not generally the reason d'etre for spiritual inspiration but hence, when selecting the Golan Heights as the venue for a celebration, it is so easy to transform the party into a biblical exploration of local produce as well as a culinary experience. The selected venue for our three night stay for 14 people was bikta belavan (http://www.biktabelavan.com/) , an Israeli guesthouse situated in Moshav Ramot overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

The guesthouse facilities included four large cottages, each offering a private master bedroom with a king size bed, flat screen television and oversized Jacuzzi, a large living room with a pull out double sofa bed, room for a third cot if needed, a television a fully equipped kitchen complete with an espresso machine as well as a large bathroom with a stall shower. The oversized porch overlook expansive grounds complete with large hammocks, a pool, chaise lounges, barbeque, all with the most tremendous view overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Our accommodations came complete with a homemade breakfast, served to us outside on fine Victorian-inspired china and linens. The tasty breakfast included a selection of fresh local cheeses, finely cut Israel salads, shakshuka (an Israeli morning specialty of eggs cooked inside a deep heavy skillet of sauteed onions and tomatoes), cheese borekas, danish, chocolate milk, lemonade and pancakes as well as the necessary local accompaniments of olives, jams and fresh butter. In addition to amenitizing our units with bottles of wine, Victorian-inspired appointments, milk, water and espresso, Michal, the owner, would keep a jar of freshly baked homemade rugelach (sweet pastry cookies filled with nuts and cinnamin) filled daily in each of our units. It would have been quite easy to just stay at the bikta all day long ounging by the pool and taking in the view, but our location put us so close to many interesting sites that we couldn't help exploring our surroundings just a little.

We made a number of local stops learning about wine production, olive oil production, shofar production, meats as well as biblical archaeology, all within a twenty minute drive of our base at Ramot. Please note that because of the high interest level in each stop, I profiled every visit in a separate entry on this site.

Having enjoyed so many unique experiences together brought us all closer together. Family reunions should be an opportunity to bond and find pleasure in each other and, amongst the olive trees, vineyards, antquities and seaviews found in the Golan, it was a simple, yet memorable experience.

Recreating biblical life in Nazareth Village

Almost all Catholic pilgrimages stop in Nazareth, widely considered the village where Jesus was raised during his childhood years. Most itineraries include stops at Mary's Well, the Church of the Annunciation, Joseph's House, etc and elaborate on Jesus's upbringing and childhood years.

Nazareth Village (www.nazarethvillage.com), situated outside the historical old city of Nazareth, is a relatively recent development, though constructed on the site where archaeological excavations revealed evidence of a first century farm and quarry. Based on New Testament writings, the site is a combination of archaeological, biblical and historical life of 2,000 years ago and provides visitors with a personal up close account of what Galilean life was like. Various outdoor displays showcase 1st century life while indoor displays highlight archaeological evidence gathered at the site.

We happened to be visiting Nazareth Village on the same day that the University of the Holyland was celebrating its 2008 graduation. Numerous invited family members, guests, faculty members and other onlookers like ourselves participated in the tour of the site and watched the graduation festivities which were complete in costumes worn by the University's founders, Dr. Steven Pfann and his wife Claire, an ordained pastor.

Baptism at Yardenit

It never ceases to amaze me how religious practices of different denominations are really quite similar. In Judaism, there are strict dietary laws, just as there are within Islam, and there are food restrictions for Seventh Day Adventists (vegetarians) and other denominations. Catholics observe lent and restrict themselves from certain foods, while Jews observe kashrut and will restrict themselves from meat items in the three weeks before the Tish A B'Av, excepting Shabbat. In Christianity, the baptism is symbolic of a cleansing and resulting renewal. Obviously, both religions are borne out of the Old Testament and clearly that common beginning of time certainly provides a strong basis of like rituals. But considering how religious differences have separated people for so many years it remains surprising when we are once again reminded by a simple baptism how all men are really the same. We all search for spirituality in one form or another. For some it can be a simple walk or a run, for others it's the church, or maybe its in a song or dance, or a hike or other activity. Or sometimes no activity at all but simple focused meditation. But whatever it is - it still remains a form of spirituality and we each need that in our lives. Today at Yardenit I had the privilege of witnessing several baptisms and seeing spiritual renewal first hand on the faces of so many people.

Yardenit remains one of the most celebrated sites within Israel for baptism. It doesn't really matter that Yardenit is likely a bit far to the north of the actual site where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. It is said that the real spot, a 100 or so kilometres to the south, is likely a bit unseemly, and so, Yardenit situated just south of the Sea of Galilee on the west side of the Jordan River, has long been considered the foremost location for baptisms in Israel. The Yardenit site, located within Kibbutz Kinneret, is quite modern in its facilities, with on site amenities including a large retail store, changing facilities, a restaurant, outdoor coffee shop, ample areas to relax along the river, and of course, several areas where one can easily enter the holy water to be baptised.

My incredible encounter began with two families from Australia, both Seventh-Day Adventists, who arrived to Yardenit after spending a few days in Egypt and Jerusalem. The two families, which had five children between them were traveling together on a three-country adventure that included Egypt, Israel and Jordan. The group was headed by Pastor Anthony R. Kent, an ordained minister that works at the General Conference World Headquarters of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Maryland. We first encountered Pastor Kent with his group in a private corner of the site overlooking the Jordan where he was ministering to the group, which happened to include his wife and two daughters. The group then ventured over to the changing room to change into their swimming clothes and baptism robes. Pastor Kent entered the water first and gave a brief sermon. Then, one by one, he baptised the children starting with the oldest son of the second family. It was extremely emotional - as the young boy of 14 or so was lifted out of the water he hugged the pastor so hard you could just feel how ecstatic he was. He had clearly lost the battle with tears but it didn't matter at all and he then ran to his father for a loving and emotional embrace. Next up was the Pastor's eldest daughter, a beautiful blonde girl, expectantly waiting her turn, walking towards her father as he motioned to her to make her way down the ramp. He then held her with one arm and waved his other arm over her head, and exclaimed in a uncharacteristically shaky voice as he fought back tears " it is because you have dedicated your life to Jesus". Then he fully immersed her in the water symbolising her rebirth in a new life now filled with Jesus. As she arose from the water father and daughter embraced so tightly, that each onlooker's heart could not help but skip a beat.

Later when I spoke with the families to get their email addresses so I could forward the pictures I had snapped, all the kids told me that the baptism experience had been the high point of the trip, by far. And it's no surprise. These children and their families had learned and studied for this moment for years and now this dream had finally come true. Looking at these children as they emerged from the water, one could sense somehow that they were already more mature, more sensitive and they were clearly rejoicing in their newfound connection with their Lord, Jesus.

There were other groups visiting Yardenit while we were there as well. One very lively Catholic group, comprising approximately 50 people, had arrived from Italy and came with two spiritual leaders. The group consisted mostly of individuals over 50 but there were a few younger people in the group as well as one very small baby of four months. We watched intently as the two priests entered the water and then individually baptised a few of the congregants. As these people underwent the Lord's blessing one could truly feel a deep spiritual awakening in the atmosphere. A guitar-wielding member of the church played festively for at least 15 minutes while everyone stood by excitedly witnessing the celebration. And what a rich celebration it was - as people sang and danced and clapped, you couldn't help but feel the heightened spirituality int the air. Each person emerging out of the river seemed changed somehow. Onlookers had to keep the newly baptised members steady on their feet as they got out of the water and then climbed a few stairs up to where their families awaited them. Finally, when all the congregants had completed their rituals it was time to baptise the new baby and what an incredibly memorable experience that was for all of us. While the mother held the baby forward the priest recited several blessings over the baby. We all clapped and cheered. Finally, the priest said a few words captivating the excited crowd and in closing asked each of us to care for our brothers and sisters and to kiss and bless each of our bretheren. You didn't have to know Italian to understand exactly what he said. Within moments, I was kissed on both cheeks by numerous people who I had never met before, each of them telling me in Italian "god bless".

There is no doubt that achieving a heightened sense of spirituality can be an incredible experience. Just seeing how people can change before your eyes, changes each of us in a way. No matter what our beliefs, life must be celebrated and it is that celebration that provides us with a sense of spirituality in our lives. Our lives our precious and it is our responsibility to find that spirituality, and it is often found where you least expect it.