Israel 7.3

Today began in the Golan Heights and ended in Jerusalem. First we drove to t hesite of an excavated and partially restored Roman city, which I think was called Beit She'An. I love dwalking among the ruins, trying to imagine what life was like. we learned the Hebrew word for whorehouse, when Ido was showing us the different sections of the city. It is Beit Boshet, which means House of Shame. I also learned the word for prostitute. It's zona. It's funny that these are the words that I remember, and not the names of the places I visit. I can't even give the name of my hotel, but I can call someone a whore.

We then went to an excavated synagogue floor that was tiled in th eGreek style, showing many influences of the Hellenic period. There were the zodiac symbols and human figures.

We had lunch at a kibbutz and then headed to a natural pool made from undergound springs. The water was deep, very cool, adn a vivid blue. It was a gorgeous day, but hot, and it was such a treat to have a break from the heat and from the tours. I love learning, but it is very tiring to stand and listen to someone explain things to you all day. I need to take a break and move around and do something.

I slept on the bus as we drove to Jerusalem, using my new patented technique of lying with my torso on my two seats, stretching my legs across the aisle, and resting my feet on the seats across the aisle. Highly effective for napping.

I did wake up at one point to see Jordan on the left, and the West Bank on the right, with just a narrow strip of land that is Israel proper. As we drove, we passed Bedoin tents and settlements, and saw children herding sheep or goats. There were also hills made of limestone that seemed to flow like dunes. I mentioned to Josh that the landscape reminded me of Tatooine from Star Wars.

We stopped at a rest stop along the way that was something you could only find in Israel. Israeli soldiers sat on tables, smoking cigarettes and drinking coke. All of them had M-16s casually slung over their shoulders, both men and women, with grenade launchers attached. Alongside them were Arab families, Droos people, adn a small open air market. A camel rested on a rug in th eparking lot. It wore a brightly-colored saddle for rides.

A large load of M-16s sat in a metal cargo crate attached to a military truck. Roasted nuts, sesame candy, fresh fruit were for sale, along with iced coffee which is more like a coffee-flavored slushee.

We arrived in Jerusalem shortly before sunset. We drove up to an overlook near Hebrew University, to gaze over the city. The first thing I noticed before I saw the view was the Alpert's family name on a wall that acknowledged donors. I knew that it was Nina's grandparents, and took a picture to send back to Aleph Bet.

It was impossible to gaze on Jerusalem and not notice its power and beauty. Most of the buildings are white, and the city rolls across several small mountains. We sang the shecheyanu together and had a toast. Some people teared up or cried. I spent some time by myself, just taking it all in, trying to figure out what this experience meant to me, and what makes Jerusalem a holy place to me.