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JERUSALEM I
2005

March 27, 2005

Now here's a tough call--Pastor Russ from Lutheran Church of the Redeemer here in Jerusalem has asked me if I could come back and serve as a supply pastor for June and July.  I could stay in his house and use their vehicle (though to be honest, I would feel much safer biking around Jerusalem than trying to navigate in a car).  There would also be a small stipend for living expenses.  I explained to him that I am committed to the Giro d'Italia Bike Tour in May and a tour of Germany in early June.  I have until Friday to think about it.  So please keep me in your prayers while I try and figure this one out.

The Easter Vigil at Ecce Homo and the Sunrise Service at Mount Scopus were both impressive.  The scripture readings for the Easter Vigil were better than what I remember from other Easter Vigils.  The Sunrise Service started half an hour earlier than I had expected, which explains why my friends from Redeemer insisted on us meeting them at 4:30 AM. 

My camera acted up again, so I don't have any picture from sunrise itself.  But I am attaching a picture of a view of the Old City with Redeemer Lutheran and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but not the Dome of the Rock from on top of Mount Scopus from the Easter Breakfast there.  It was wonderful--with all of the familiar hymns, the Easter Gospel, and a sermon fairly early in the service.  The sun rose as we were having Communion.

We had a "second breakfast" back at Tantur which featured "Easter Bread" with colored eggs nested in the bread dough.  It was really quite festive.  And I understand that we have lamb with a lot of special Easter fixings for supper tonight.  Meanwhile, it's time for a nap and maybe a bike ride to work up an appetite this afternoon.

Again, a Blessed Easter to you All!
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

March 26, 2005

It's been a warm, beautiful and quiet day so I decided to go out for two bike rides today.  I have to admit that I've gotten a bit tired of the Old City.  Frankly, I'm just as glad that our Easter Sunrise Service is up on Mount Scopus and not actually inside the city walls.  I'm attaching a picture of me with the bike in front of the inner gates to Tantur.  Yes, that is the beast--a Trek 800.  I've logged 622 miles while I've been here in Jerusalem.

I was tempted to attach a picture that I took of a father biking with his son, but they were both on the sidewalk (which is common here in Israel).  I think that it's better biking in the streets--especially on Sabbath days when so many people are out walking.  It is actually against their religious laws for Orthodox Jews to drive cars or operate any electrical appliances on the Sabbath, and they have strict rules as to how far they are allowed even to walk.  So they walk very slowly with a decidedly relaxed attitude.

We're down to the last observances for Holy Week:  There's an Easter Vigil from 9:30 - 11:30 PM that most of the students here are attending over at Ecce Homo, which is run by the Sisters of Zion, a group of nuns dedicated to Jewish-Christian understanding.  I didn't sign up because frankly, it isn't really a part of my tradition.  I have attended Vigils before and I find them to be long, drawn out affairs with long readings that help pass the time.  Between the torches (there's the lighting of the Easter Fire just before the service starts), the incense, and the late hour, I find that I don't have much voice left by the time we get to Easter Sunrise.  And especially with a 5:30 AM Sunrise Service, I'm tempted to skip it.

I'm still working out the logistics of a place to stay up in Galilee for my bike riding outing next week.  Father David is trying to line up a room at a Religious Guest House for $25 per night that includes breakfast.  It looks like I'll be able to stay up there with meals and renting a bike for about $200 for four days.  Not bad!

Now that things are winding down here, I'm starting to think about my bike trip to Italy in May.  I don't know if anyone else is interested or able to go, but I would encourage you to check out the web site of Cycleventures:  www.cyclecvi.com  I won the trip at a drawing at El Tour de Tucson last Fall and am planning on going to their Spring Training during the Giro d'Italia from May 17-28.  After that, I'm planning on a two week tour of Germany in early June.  You can e-mail me if you have any questions.

A Blessed Easter to You All,
Bob Jones, on Holy Saturday in Jerusalem

March 21, 2005

My friend Mark from Cottonwood had asked for biking pictures.  I should point out that a lot of the pictures I share are from bike rides in and around Jerusalem.  I bike alone here so there aren't that many pictures with bicycles in them.  I also have to be somewhat careful because it is against Jewish Custom here to take photographs on the Sabbath which also happens to be one of the best biking days here in Jerusalem. 

I took some pictures on my bike ride this afternoon around West Jerusalem on my way back from the Central Bus Station.  I am amazed at how often I get asked for directions when I'm biking here.  People definitely expect you to know the area better than they do, and after over 550 miles here, it often is the case that I do.

I'm attaching a picture from the park system that runs along one of the major freeways in West Jerusalem.  They have extensive bike trails that extend east towards the Old City.  The trails cross under the freeways so that a cyclist or pedestrian does not "have" to cross a street for many blocks in this part of town.  It does "go somewhere"--connecting the government center, museums, botanical gardens, and quite a few neighborhoods and business districts.  West Jerusalem is considerably more "bike friendly" than Hebron Road and to the east and in the Old City, which is also much older.

It is Holy Week, so I'm expecting that things will be getting much busier later in the week--especially from Maundy Thursday on.  That means that I'll be trying to squeeze in longer rides through Wednesday.  I'm also working on lining up a place to stay up in Galilee for Monday through Wednesday or Thursday after Easter.  Four of our "short term guests" at Tantur will also be going up to Galilee, but I doubt that our paths will cross that much--they will be driving, I intend to be biking and hiking.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call during Holy Week in Jerusalem

March 13, 2005

Another fairly low energy day, but I am feeling better.  I biked over to St. Andrew's Scots (Presbyterian) Church for worship this morning at 10:00 AM instead of fighting the traffic over to Lutheran Church of the Redeemer for 9:00 AM worship in the Old City.  St. Andrew's is actually closer and so I could start quite a bit later and even as it was, I was early so I took a walk over in the park in front of the Begin Center.  The ride was bracing--almost as cold as back in January, but without the wind.  The traffic through Beit Zafafa and Talpiyyot was not bad. 

I'm attaching a picture of an archeological dig from the 6th Century BC.  It's a grave site immediately behind St. Andrew's in the alley.  The heads of the bodies were laid in the round indentations in the rock just left of center.  They found an amulet in a bone box there which includes the blessing of Aaron from Numbers 6:24-26.  It's actually one of the earliest examples of writing of the Scriptures outside of the Bible itself.

I may pick up another ride this afternoon, but I definitely want to get some more rest.  I'm thinking about heading into Jerusalem for the last of the Taize Lenten Services over at the Swedish Theological Institute.  Part of it, is that I haven't been over there yet.  Part of it is that I'd like to get some pictures of the Walls of the Old City when they have the lights on after dark.  It is really quite dramatic.  On the other hand, there is one more concert that I could catch at the Mormon Center in East Jerusalem tonight.  There will also be a concert at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer next weekend.

We haven't discussed Holy Week in Jerusalem here at Tantur.  The schedule from St. Andrew's for Palm Sunday looks interesting:  They are planning a procession at 1:00 PM up to the top of the Mount of Olives and back into the Old City and then walking back over to St. Andrew's.  I believe that the Franciscans will be starting at Bethany in East Jerusalem, but I don't know if they have timed them to coincide or not.  I definitely want to take park in one of the Palm Sunday Processions and also the Via Dolorosa (way of sorrows) on Good Friday, though they have that scheduled for 6:00 AM. 

I'm beginning to realize that my time here is starting to wind down.  At this point, I'm definitely planning on heading back to Arizona after the program.  The dollar has fallen in value rather dramatically while I've been here and frankly, I don't have the money to stay abroad until the Giro d'Italia in mid-May.  I also need to get back into more serious biking for the training program there and it is simply easier to bike in Arizona than it is over here, though I can definitely see doing more biking up in Galilee before I leave.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

March 9, 2005

I think I've figured out where I would stay here in Galilee--unfortunately, I'm coming down with a pretty bad cold so I don't think I will be able to this weekend.  It wouldn't really make any sense to stay up here and spend the extra money and then not be able to really do the biking that I would want to do.  Bikes run 50 shekels a day, which amounts to $12 and that's for a fairly decent road bike.

The irony is that I have definitely found a pretty nice place to stay about 10 miles north of Tiberias at a Benedictine Guest House for $25 per night including breakfast.  I'll have to see how I feel after next week.  Oh well!

Today was another amazing day--we rode over to the Mount of the Beatitudes--where tradition has it that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.  We then hiked down to a site that our tour guide really believes is the actual site.  It doesn't matter, really.  It's enough to walk through the country and get the sense of it.  That's the photo I'm including.

And then we walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee for another half an hour, before we went into Capernaum, which was both wonderful and terrible at the same time:  The wonderful part again was walking near where Jesus must have walked at one time or another.  The terrible part was the sort of walled-in theme park that the Franciscans have turned the place into.  It was striking that the later synagogue was made out of imported marbel and the homes of the people were made out of black basalt. 

We had a great lunch and then rode over to the Benedictine Guest House that I had mentioned--it was at a church that included some wonderful mosaics.  And then we headed over to the Primacy of Peter, what I would call the Second Call of the Apostles, and then on to Bethsaida, and then finally to Kursi and around the far side of the lake.  It is definitely manageable.  The question is, will I feel up to it by Friday, or would it be better to keep it for my "week off"?  We shall see.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call, in Galilee

March 6, 2005

Attendance at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer was rather light--it didn't really surprise me as most of the ELCA staff and clergy (my specific denomination) were at a conference on Cyprus.  And most of the Tantur residents had other commitments.  Still, it was very enjoyable and meaningful for me, and hopefully for those who did attend.  I'm attaching a picture of the church from Mauristan Road--the streets in the old city are so narrow that it's difficult to get a front-wise picture of any of the churches here.

One of the members of the congregation really appreciated my comments about problems at the Bethlehem check point from my sermon.  I think it's really sad--it presents endless delays for Palestinians who have to get into Jerusalem to work, and it presents barriers for Israelis who are not free to go to religious sites that are important for them as well--like Bethlehem, or Hebron or Jericho.  Frankly, it forces both Palestinians and Israelis to hunker down and lower the horizons of their neighborhoods and who they consider to be their neighbors.

We managed to get out to Ramallah this afternoon.  I had really wondered if it was going to work out.  And once we were there, I was really wondering if we were going to be able to get back.  The check point here at Bethlehem is really minor compared to the one outside of Ramallah,  And then we had to go through another check point in East Jerusalem.  What a pain!  Ramallah is the current "headquarters" for the Palestinian Authority and it is where Arafat is buried.  It is actually a very lively city.  We had dessert and Arab coffee at a very nice garden restaurant and we visited with a Palestinian couple who works with Non-government Organizations. 

I am really looking forward to getting up north to Galilee where things are a bit more relaxed.  Frankly, I'm afraid that can really understand how Jesus could get crucified here.  There are so many hidden barriers here and lines that can easily be crossed without you even knowing it. 

I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep up with e-mails in Galilee as I have here in Jerusalem.  Internet service is available at the hotel where we're staying, but I understand that it is rather expensive.  There are "internet cafes" in Tiberias, which charge about half as much as in the hotel.  I will try to get at least one e-mail out this week, but don't be surprised if it isn't until late in the week. 

Well, do take care and keep me in your prayers!

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

March 5, 2005

Things were worse at the Pool of Siloam than I remembered from before--I biked over there after our orientation for the trip to Galilee.  I figured that it would be appropriate to have an update on the site since it figures so prominently in our Gospel Reading for tomorrow from John 9 and the healing of the man born blind.

Sad to say the pool is entirely covered with loose earth now and there is a large pipe where the bull dozers were going before.  I asked some tourists who were coming back from it if they knew what had happened.  They didn't speak English, but they seemed to understand Spanish (I think they were Portuguese).  But they didn't seem to know and when I checked at the entrance to the "City of David", an Archeological Park, the guard at the gate said that he didn't know and he really didn't care--great attitude.

My guess is that they covered the floor of the pool with loose dirt to protect the site.  When they're done with the pipes, I'm sure that they will unearth the steps and the floor of the pool again.  But right now, it must be very disappointing for tourists and pilgrims.  I didn't bother to take a photo this time.  I'll take one after I get back from Galilee (hopefully a before an after picture). Instead, I'm attaching a picture of the sheep on the grounds of Tantur.  They stopped me as I was biking back up after my second ride today--there must have been over 100 of them.  The weather was so beautiful and the situation over at Siloam left such a bad taste in my mouth that I decided to take a second short ride over by the zoo.  Traffic was light as usual for the Sabbath, and it was very nice.

The video that we had to prepare for the trip is excellent--I'm going to have to see if it's available in DVD or only in VHS.  My timing was pretty good:  The video was hosted by Father Bargil Pixner, the author of the book that I'm reading right now--WITH JESUS THROUGH GALILEE ACCORDING TO THE FIFTH GOSPEL.  The "fifth gospel" is the land itself.  Father Pixner is the theologian who figured out where the site of Bethsaida in Galilee is, probably one of the most important Biblical Archeology Sites of the late 20th Century.  I had hoped to "work on" this site with a team from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, during a trip that I had planned to Israel back in the late 1980's when I still lived up in South Dakota.  The trip never worked out, but the site is now a major destination for folks going to Galilee.  Pixner died about three years ago, but he is still a legend in archeology circles even today.

The book is very easy reading and the video is very scenic--very lush and green, and centered, of course, with the Sea of Galilee--a lake about 7 miles from east to west at the widest and about 14 miles from north to south.  In short, a perfect easy bike ride.  Father Michael suggested that I simply skip one of the day's programming while we're up there.  I'm more inclined to add a day or two at the end, since we don't have any classes scheduled for Saturday or Sunday of next weekend.

Well, I'd better get going.  We have evening prayer in a few minutes and the business students from Notre Dame should be back.  I'm interested in what they think, since they're supposed to work on a promotional strategy for Tantur and for tourists and pilgrims to the Holy Lands. 

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

March 4, 2005

It's hard to believe that my second month here is almost over.  We're having our orientation for heading up to Galilee tomorrow, though I'm very tempted to skip it and drive up there with the son of a former rector here who wants to bike around the lake tomorrow.  He's only going to be here for the week and it would be very nice to be able to ride with someone.  I have to admit, but riding with friends is something that I miss a lot from Cottonwood.  Riding the city is fine, but it would be a lot more fun to do it with friends.

It was windy and wet in the morning, but things started to calm down later in the afternoon, so I did my traditional Friday afternoon loop of the Old City--out on Bethlehem Road, back on Hebron Road.  It's only 10.5 miles, but takes you through an enormous variety within the city--from a fairly grimy business district to an upscale neighborhood, through an aging city center, around the historic district, by the Muslim business area, by the cemetery by the Mount of Olives, and then finally back out to the south of town by the straightest way possible.  I'm attaching a picture of the business district of Talpiyyot from a sunnier day to give a sense of the diversity of the place.

This evening was interesting--the priest from India finally arrived.  He's been trying to get here for the past two months but he had problems getting a visa.  There is also a group of Business Students from  Notre Dame who are here for a week working on a field project on promoting Tantur.  They're especially interested in getting more Protestants--so as the only Protestant pastor here, guess who they're particularly interested in interviewing.Yes, I did explain to them how I found out about Tantur and the challenges that were involved.  On the other hand, I was also able to get across some of the great things about this program--like getting out to Biblical sites, like the valley where David fought Goliath, or the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

I'm also attaching my sermon notes for this Sunday, since it will be the only sermon that I preach here in Israel.  Tomorrow will either be a preview of Galilee, or getting ready for Galilee.

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

March 3, 2005

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed--we had planned on going to Tel Aviv today, but it didn't work out.  To be honest, I don't know how the other students here manage without biking.  Bethlehem is in fairly reasonable walking distance, once you get past the check point and the gauntlet of Taxi Cab Drivers trying to get you to ride, it's about 2 miles to the market place down there.  The market down there is fairly lively, but it looks like a war zone between here and there, which is probably fairly accurate given the siege that took place there a couple of years ago.  It's much quieter now.

Tomorrow is supposed to be chilly and windy so I may walk down there instead of heading out on the bike.  After class today, which was led by an iconographer from the Mount of Olives, I rode out to the Mall to get some toothpaste and zinc tablets.  The Jerusalem Mall is much like any other mall anywhere in America except that it is built with the parking garage surrounding it so that you can walk outside on any of three levels.  I rode in from the south and east through the big parking lot and pedestrian ramp from the stadium to the east.  No, I'm not including a picture of the Mall.  It looks way too familiar to waste pictures on that.

What I am attaching as a picture today is a little shop in Beit Zafafa, a little Palestinian neighborhood at the bottom of the hill from Tantur just before the road starts to follow the railroad tracks into Jerusalem.  I think it's interesting that the little shop is at the foot of the minaret to the mosque.  I haven't asked if the imam (worship leader) of the mosque owns the shop, but I was struck by how nice the neighborhood looks. 

Not all Palestinians are in poverty.  In fact, many of the people who walk through the grounds of Tantur to avoid the Israeli checkpoint have cell phones, as do some of the shepherds watching their flocks.  Some of the people who avoid the checkpoint are professional people simply trying to save time--they catch a bus on the other side of the property.

And not all of the Jewish neighborhoods are well off either.  One Jewish neighborhood that we visited on the north side of the Old City is grimy and crowded.  I hate to say it, but it looks very little better than pictures that I've seen of Jewish Ghettos in Eastern Europe.  That particular group of Jews does not believe in photographs and they view westerners like us as an obnoxious intrusion.  They do believe in computers, though.

Well, I'd better run.
--Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

March 2, 2005

A fairly quiet day, all-in-all.  We had our second presentation on Palestinian Liberation Theology, which was very interesting.  The challenge as Dr. Naim Ateek put it, is to engage Religious Zionism on issues of the Land in terms of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  The problem, of course, is that it's very easy to read this part of the Bible at a surface level and come to the conclusion that the Jews have a simple, God-given right to the land of Israel period and that they have two options with reference to other people who may own land here:  Either to drive them off of the land or to exterminate them.

A more careful reading--especially of the Jubilee passages from Leviticus 25:23 brings one to the more thoughtful conclusion that God owns the land, and that people are stewards of the land.  It's a slender thread to hang a theology on, but of course, it broadens out considerably when you look at passages from the prophets and lively debates concerning inclusiveness and responsibility that range through much of the scripture and on into the New Testament and the Talmud.

I finally caved in and bought a couple of "Jerusalem" polo shirts for $15 each at one of the other religious hostels just outside of the Old City.  It's a small place with only about a dozen rooms called St. Peter Gallicantu (commemorating Peter's denying of Jesus and the rooster crowing during his trial).  It's just below Mount Zion with a wonderful view of both the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, and the Kidron and Hinnam valleys.  I'm attaching a picture from there.  The only disadvantage is that it is quite a climb up and down stairs to their chapel, dining hall, and parking lot.  Still at $30 a night which includes breakfast, they are very clean and reasonable.

It was a beautiful, warm day with a high temperature in the low 80's.  I tried biking south of Jerusalem on a road parallel to the railroad towards Gush Ezyon, but turned around at the check point at right around 4 miles.  I carry my passport when I bike, just in case, but I really didn't feel like being questioned about where I'm going.  So I went by the zoo and then back up to Tantur.  Only 10.5 miles. 

It's supposed to be cooler by Friday.  But hopefully it won't get too cold.  We're talking about heading up to Ramalla on Sunday and then it's off to Galilee on Monday.  Busy, busy.

--Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

March 1, 2005

I have to admit, I was shocked.  I wasn't expecting the Haram Esh Sharif, what we call the Temple Mount, to be as beautiful and park like as it was.  What a contrast to yesterday!  With all of the color and the noise and the confusion of Bar-Mitzvahs and men in their black robes rocking back and forth facing the wall, on a plaza that had been cleared from a Moroccan neighborhood in the Old City.  The setting of the two mosques is peaceful, beautiful, and park-like and deceptively simple.  The picture that I'm attaching captures a little of the sense of openness and charm, given the fact that the Dome of the Rock is also under repairs.

But looks can be deceiving--at 10:15 AM we were firmly directed to leave the area by the Israeli security, because the Muslims would be praying at the mosques and Christians and other tourists needed to leave.  Technically, Christians are permitted by the Jewish authorities, but because there are Muslims in Jerusalem who would not be allowed into the mosques, the Islamic authorities do not allow Christians inside either.  They don't want to be in the position of having to explain to their own people why Christians could go inside while many Muslims could not.  It is an awkward situation, to say the least.

I tried again to bike up to Anat, the ancient home of Jeremiah the prophet, but wound up on a road going west of the airport towards Beit Jammim instead of east.  The problem is that there is security on the road towards the airport and the traffic is challenging.  I tried finding a secondary route, but got lost in the process.  I found my way back to the Center of the City past two of the neighborhoods that we visited yesterday and back along King David Road towards Gilo and Tantur.  One is actually north of the Old City.  The other is west of the city and east of the Knesset. 

Ironically, a young man in a truck asked me if he was going the right way to get to Talpiyyot, an industrial section just past the neighborhood where we were.  I told him, yes, that I was heading past that to Gilo.  It's amazing to be familiar enough with south and west Jerusalem to actually be able to help people out with directions.  I wish I could say the same thing about north of Jerusalem.

One thing that Father Michael was pretty clear about next week, is that I won't be able to take the bike up to Galilee with me.  I didn't really expect to, but it does mean that I need to be checking on options for renting a bike while I'm up there.  I found out that it would cost $50 per day to stay at the hotel where we're staying at Tiberias for the weekend.  And that would include all of the meals.  I also need to check on busses back to Jerusalem from Tiberias.  I figure that by Tuesday I should know whether I want to stay and what my options would be for biking around the lake and getting out and about if I did.

Well, I'd better clean up for the evening.  We have evening prayer in about half an hour and supper after that.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 28, 2005

We visited the Western Wall of the Temple Mount today--what is often called "the Wailing Wall".  There is so much to think about when it comes to visiting one of the most holy places in the world.  There were Bar-Mitzvahs going on, with Jews blowing shofars and dancing and proud fathers video-taping their sons as they read and commented on very valuable and elaborate copies of Torah Scrolls (provided by the Israeli government).  And of course, there was complete segregation of men and women both at security and right at the wall. 

There were hundreds of men and women dressed in all of their distinctive garb, rocking back and forth at prayer.  At one point, I had to step out of the way--a man had completed his prayers and was walking backwards so as not to turn his back on God as he was leaving the wall.   Meanwhile two groups of Korean Christians arrived--one group in red hats and another in blue hats, obviously from a religious tour.  The mix of strange and familiar can be overwhelming.

I'm attaching a picture from inside the security at the Wall of the Temple Mount, but I have to admit that no picture can really do it justice.  I had looked at this scene from a distance quite a few times since I have been here in Jerusalem, but this was the first time that I had actually walked through the security perimeter and seen it up close. 

Daniel Rossing, our presenter and guide for this occasion pointed out that the large plaza at the foot of the wall where we were standing had been a Moroccan neighborhood since the 14th Century.  But after the 1967 War, their homes had been cleared out and they had been forcibly removed to Anat, (Anathoth in the Bible) the home of Jeremiah, the prophet--a place that I had wanted to visit on bike last week. 

Well, here's a problem--which is the most appropriate national symbol for the Jewish State of Israel?  Where should the Israeli Army go to swear it's allegiance--at the Western Wall or at the National Cemetery?  That was more-or-less the question that Daniel presented to us today as he led us from the Temple Mount, through a couple of Ultra Orthodox and an upper class more "westernized" Jewish Neighborhood, and finally out to Mount Hertzl and the World Zionist Organization National Cemetery. 

He was pushing fairly hard against the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and for the Cemetery.  And I would generally agree with him about that.  There is simply too much history and conflict at the Wall and given how diverse our experiences may be, way too many variables.  On the other hand, there is something uncomfortable with the term, Zionist which was on the gate where we entered the cemetery. Frankly, given the treatment of the Palestinians (including Christians), I would say that Zionism smacks of racism, which is what the UN has declared. 

We took a break at Independence Park for lunch and had some coffee at a sidewalk café in one of the pedestrian walkways near Ben Yehuda Street.  But I have to admit, that I couldn't help but wonder, who else had been forcibly removed from their homes to provide the pleasant public spaces that we were enjoying?

Back at Tantur, I was also responsible for evening prayer.  One of the assigned daily readings was from Jeremiah 7, where the prophet stands at the gates of the Temple and asks what the temple means if we fail to treat each other with justice and compassion. 

After all of that, I called it an early night.  Tomorrow will be equally stressful and meaningful--we're going up on top of the Temple Mount to visit one of the two Mosques up there.  It will be another early day--we have to get out of the mosque before 10:30 AM so that they can get ready for noon prayer.

--Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

February 27, 2005

I have to admit that I've been getting a bit worn out by the tension on the border here.  There were some strangers on the rooftop right next to the dining hall this morning.  One of the other residents here told me, "It's the Israeli Soldiers."  At breakfast I went and told Father Michael.  It turned out that it wasn't soldiers, but rather undocumented Palestinians who were hiding from the soldiers.  What the other resident meant was "they're here because of the Israeli soldiers". 

In a sense it didn't matter whether it was soldiers or Palestinians--they didn't belong there and Father Michael immediately escorted them out of the building.  The tension has been pretty high since the bombing at the Night Club down in Tel Aviv and frankly, I'm looking forward to getting away from it for a while up at the Sea of Galilee which will be next week beginning on March 7.

Ironically, I took a Palestinian bus into the Old City to go to church today and we didn't get pulled over and "carded" by the soldiers as happens so often.  I walked  back to Tantur from church this morning, and I'm including a picture of the Old City from that walk from a pretty neighborhood across the Hinnam Valley.  The walk back on Bethlehem Road is much more peaceful than on the Hebron Road, even though they're only a block apart and they run in the same for direction for much of the 3 miles from Tantur to the Old City.  Hebron Road is a four lane boulevard with a lot of traffic and quite a bit of noise and construction.  Eventually, it will have a light rail service down the middle.  Bethlehem Road is the old road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem that runs through the neighborhoods and by the shops and restaurants between the two towns.  Personally, I also like biking on the Bethlehem Road. 

I had something of a headache this afternoon, so I decided not to go to the Lenten Taize Services, even though Redeemer Lutheran is hosting today.  I also shortened my bike ride to just over 6 miles here in the neighborhood of Gilo.  I have mixed feelings about Gilo--it is actually one of the Settlements that is under dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, but it is where Tantur is located (though Tantur predates the settlement), and it is actually fairly quiet and it has some great views of the south side of the Jerusalem and on into Bethlehem.  So many things here in Jerusalem and throughout Israel are both good and bad mixed together like that.  It's probably true in the US as well, but we're so used to them that we don't really notice it.

I felt better after supper and went with a group over to a free classical organ concert at the Mormon Center of the Mount of Olives.  They finally had their main auditorium with the picture windows repaired, but they also had people seated on the stage overlooking the Old City.  It was "a packed house".  The music and the view were spectacular.  There is only one more concert there that I will be able to attend before I leave in April.

Tomorrow looks busy and interesting.  We're touring "Jewish Jerusalem"--as if we hadn't been dealing with that reality for the past six weeks.  Actually, we're heading over to the Western Wall in the Old City, the site most sacred to Jews around the world, we'll also be visiting an "ultra-orthodox" Jewish neighborhood--the folks who wear the long black coats, the black hats, and have long locks of hear in front of their ears (about 50% of the Jewish community in Jerusalem is considered orthodox and the ultra-orthodox portion of the population is growing), and finally we'll be visiting an Israeli Jewish War Memorial (by the Jerusalem Forest where I like to bike).  It's one of the two final "official tours" here in Jerusalem before our trip to Galilee.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 26, 2005

Another very interesting day--we had our final lecture on Islam this morning which was very interesting as one of our Anglican Guests who attended the session was a Persian Expatriate who had converted from Islam to Christianity.  It wasn't the most comfortable situation for the presenter since she had some rather pointed questions about whether Islam as a religion was really open to equal rights for women. 

The gist of his response was that the ayatollahs of Shiite Islam have too much power and that they abuse their power when they interpret Islam and apply it so civil society, but that Sunni Islam is much more diverse and decentralized in the way that interprets the Koran.  The problem with that, of course, is precisely the fact that Sunni religious authorities are decentralized and diverse--there is not centralized authority to reform and the current religious leaders lack the courage to challenge cultural values that really have no basis in Islam like the fact that in Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive cars. 

One interesting thing that happened that I'm going to have to think about, is that our Persian, Anglican Guest invited me to stay in England during the month between the end of our class here at Tantur in Jerusalem in April and my Bike Tour in Italy in May.  One major logistical problem is that I would have to either file my Income Taxes or arrange an extension.  It is a tempting thought, though.  By the way, if anyone is interested in joining me on the bike tour with Cycle Ventures International in Italy, the dates are May 17-28 and the web site is www.cyclecvi.com

Speaking of biking--I rode 21 miles today, out to the Kennedy Memorial south and west of Jerusalem.  It's an interesting memorial on the top of a mountain with great views in every direction.  It symbolizes the trunk of a tree that has been cut down in its prime.  The narrow dark stripes are actually metal and they include the seals of each of the States and Territories of the United States.  Kennedy was instrumental in advancing the alliance between Israel and the US which is a large part of why the commemoration.

Tonight is the last night for the Seed of Peace group that has been meeting here at Tantur.  They invited us to attend the evening session that included having the young people (Palestinian--Islamic and Christian, and Israeli Jews) share a personal item and story about themselves, and a story about a time when they witnessed someone standing up against prejudice or violence.  The stories really were inspiring.

Well, tomorrow looks like a rather busy day--there's church in the morning at Redeemer Lutheran and a Lenten Service there in the evening as well.  And then the Mormons are having another concert at their center.  It's organ music, and it's supposed to be in the auditorium with the wonderful view of the Old City with huge picture windows.  It will probably be the last concert for quite a while.  But it does make for a very full day.  We shall see.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 25, 2005

Wow!  It's been a remarkable day.  We went from "studying" Eastern Orthodox Christian Spirituality by reading and discussing a very short ancient text called "Mystical Theology" by Pseudo-Dionysus with an expert  on Patristic Studies to attending a "Progressive Orthodox Jewish" Synagogue Service to sharing a Shabbat Meal at a Jewish home, with all of the Hebrew Prayers and Psalms and Chants and rules that are involved there.

In between, I also managed a bike ride connecting together the two parts of Jerusalem that I usually do on separate rides:  Riding from the newer parts of the city to the West to the oldest parts of the city about 3 miles north and east of Tantur, through the middle of the Old City itself.  The challenge has always been finding a more-or-less direct route--even the major streets east and west meander terribly.  I'm attaching a picture of the Jaffa Gate into the Old City.  It is the closest access into the "Christian Quarter".

The contrast between the two approaches to worship is striking:  The "Mystical Theology" was about a form of silent meditation that involves withdrawing from everything that would distract from the pure contemplation of God by negating what God is not.  It isn't just a theological abstraction, like some medieval mind game, but an actual form of meditation that orthodox priests and monks and some lay people exercise while they are engaged in daily life--even while they are in conversations, or driving a car, or doing mundane tasks.

The worship at the Progressive Orthodox Synagogue was almost exactly the opposite of that.  It was very lively, with men on one side of the synagogue, women on the other, and children running around all over the place, and the responsive singing of many Psalms, prayers, and blessings--just about all in Hebrew.  The "sermon" was also in Hebrew and seemed to be talking at length about the Knesset, the Israeli government, though we didn't discuss it with the family that hosted us for the Sabbath Meal after the service.

The food was excellent--chicken and breaded steaks, and breaded tofu, marinaded potatoes, salads, pasta, and "sweet and sour" vegetables.  Two of the four children and the wife were vegetarians, the father and the two younger children and a couple of their friends who were also there for the meal were not--so I'm sure that was not for religious reasons.  The candles had already been lit before we arrived, but there were lengthy prayers and blessings involving hand washing, the bread, the wine, and then a long sung blessing after the meal.  The songs both at the Synagogue and at the meal were very rhythmic and in beautiful harmonies.  And there were song books and pamphlets at both places--though none of it included musical notation, so I don't know how they learn or teach the songs. 

They provided us with bilingual, printed copies of everything, but the Hebrew went way too fast for me to follow, other than the famous "Shema'"--the "creed" of the Jewish people from Deuteronomy 6:4  "Hear o Israel:  the Lord our God, the Lord is One."  Frankly, it seemed that at both Synagogue and at their home, they preferred to sing their prayers rather than saying them.  The whole thing struck me as very festive--a kind of celebration that would be difficult to have on a weekly basis.

We talked a lot about the rules involved in the observance of the Sabbath--and especially about the challenges of preparing and serving such an elaborate meal without turning on or off stoves or ovens or even lights after the Sabbath had actually begun.  Anything electrical--TV, radios, telephones, computers, turning on or off lights, even operating cars, buying or selling, even writing something down--these are all forbidden for Jews on the Sabbath which begins at sundown on Friday and continues until an hour after sunset on Saturday.  They are even restricted on the distance that they are allowed to walk on the Sabbath.  But they really seem to see it as a way of making sure that people really rest from their work and interact personally with family and friends. It was fascinating and very enjoyable.

Shabbat Shalom!
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 24, 2005

Well, it's been an interesting day.  Our Orthodox Jewish Speaker this morning basically told us that there is a debate going on in the Jewish Community here as to whether or not Christians are really pagans and as such have no real status in Israel as far as human rights are concerned.  I have to admit that it's pretty clear that Tantur doesn't restrict its resource people to tolerant and "like-minded" members of different religious communities.  Frankly, I wouldn't want it to, but it is a bit startling when you hear such disagreeable attitudes about my faith as a Christian expressed directly to my face.

On the positive side, it was a really pretty day for biking--I biked up to the little Mall on Pierre Koenig Street to do some shopping and then around the Old City.  And the Anglicans had a very good day trip to Galilee, which they said was very pretty.  I'm really starting to look forward to that during the week of March 6.

Beyond that, Tantur is hosting a group of about 50 young people, half Palestinian and half Israeli in a program called, "Seeds of Peace".  They bring together young people from the two differing sides to get better acquainted and to start building some mutual understanding.  I had heard of this group a few years before, but back then, they would actually take young people out of the war-torn country and have them stay and a Camp in the United States or in Canada.  .  I'm attaching a picture from supper in the big dining hall here.  It's a good sign that they were actually able to have the program here in Israel.  But I wouldn't be overly optimistic.  There was some confrontation at the check point here this morning, so I decided not to go over to Bethlehem today. 

Tomorrow should be interesting, we will be going to Shabbat Services at a Progressive Orthodox Jewish Synagogue and having supper with Progressive Orthodox Jewish families.  Unlike our presenter this morning, these folks are strongly committed to human rights for all people, including Christians.  Our presenter this morning said that he wasn't really at home in that synagogue.  It sounds like we'll probably get along better.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 23, 2005

Well, I guess you could say that I was a part of "the news" today--at least here in Israel:  I sat in on a Press Conference hosted by Tantur that involved Tzipi Livine, the Israeli Minister of Justice and Hisham Abdul Rizeq, the Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoner Affairs, concerning the Release of Prisoners.  The issue was primarily one of terminology.  Should they be called "freedom fighters" or terrorists?  And much more substantively, which ones should be released?   Both sides recognized the fact that there had been suffering on both sides which is important.  Still, there wasn't much "give" on either side, yet it was an interesting "starting point" for dialog.

You can't cover over the fact that Palestinian terrorists intentionally killed innocent persons and lift them up as heroes.  But the Israelis are not so pure either.  Some of the Israeli massacres of Palestinian villagers in Lebanon should also be admitted on the part of the Israeli military.  Lebanon really was Israel's "Vietnam".

In any case, I guess you could say that I had a good reason not to go biking today.  What I did do, was to go for a walk down into Bethlehem earlier this afternoon, before the Conference.  Frankly, I feel better about walking than biking over there-mainly because they give me less problems at the border..  I walked to the International Center, which is operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan.  I didn't get to talk with any of the pastoral staff, but I made a quick stop in the "Gift Shop" to find out what their glass angels ($7.00) and what their embroidered stoles ($50.00) cost.  Frankly, things are a bit cheaper at St. Andrews.

The story of the glass angels is striking--during the Siege of Bethlehem, when some of these "terrorists" or freedom fighters were pinned down at the Lutheran Church and Community Center in Bethlehem, between the combatants and the Israeli tanks, they nearly demolished the building.  There was broken glass everywhere.  What they decided to do after the siege, was to take the pieces of broken glass and make decorative glass angels which they now sell around the world.  They actually used all of original broken glass from the siege some time ago and are now recycling bottle glass and any other broken glass from the area (which is common enough).  They have entirely rebuilt the center and church and along with the Lutheran School, they are the second largest employer in Bethlehem.  Talk about rising up from the ashes!

I'm attaching a picture of a painting from the dining room at the Lutheran Center in Bethlehem.  It's a vision of the Lord's Supper as a Palestinian meal.  It was done by a Palestinian artist.  As you can see, art is a major focus at the Center.

What I also noticed was that the business district in Bethlehem was much livelier today than I had seen it before.  It was early afternoon (typical siesta time at the smaller stores closer to the check point), but here, people were coming and going and there was a lot of shopping going on.  The strawberries looked particularly good.  I imagine that the same season is probably starting in Arizona and California, but it's something to see the fruit stands and roadside vendors.  I didn't take a picture because I'm sure that I would have drawn quite a bit of attention, which was bad enough as it was.

As an American with light brown hair and blue eyes, I'm always being approached for money when I head over to Bethlehem or into any of the Arab neighborhoods.  It reminds me a lot of the children begging in Mexico.  And I have to admit, that it's one of the reasons that I don't go down into the Occupied Territories all that often.  There are a few beggars in the Old City, but not that many.  Certainly not as many as in Bethlehem.

Well, it does look like I'm committed to going over to Bethlehem again.  One of the Anglicans asked me to get her a glass angel.  I should probably check and see if anyone else from the group would be interested.  I could pick some up before I leave.  It is a good cause!

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem (and sometimes in Bethlehem)

February 22, 2005

Not all that much to say today--probably because I did too much politics yesterday.  Actually, the internal politics here at Tantur itself is interesting--currently four different rectors are here.  It's something hearing them swap stories from their various tenures here--going back about 20 years.  I was surprised to hear the name, Paul Minear mentioned--apparently the great New Testament scholar was a rector here early in its history as well. 

It's surprising--the different presenters (all 14 of them) give us sizable bibliographies, but there are no actual assigned readings, and very light expectations.  We show up for lectures, if we are physically able, go on field trips, and we are expected to be at evening prayer, if we are on the grounds.  And we take turns planning and leading those services.  The Catholic Priests also do masses for some of the local parishes, and I will be leading worship and preaching at Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in the Old City on March 6--probably the only time that I will be serving as a "supply pastor" while I am here. Our Redeemer is the tall narrow tower in the middle of the picture I've attached.  The church of the Holy Sepulcher is on the left and the Russian Orthodox Church is on the right.

I think about what I will do with what I'm learning here.  In some ways my e-mails and the web site that Mark is putting together for me is a part of it www.luffman.us/bob.htm   But as one of the Anglican Visitors--a Persian Expatriate who is serving as an Anglican Priest--put it, what we can do, is to tell the stories of what we see.

Daniel Rossing was our presenter today--he is the director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations, but he served as the Director for Christian Communities in the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs.  He told a fascinating story of a dilemma that he faced when the Romanian Orthodox Church in the Old City wanted to put up two crosses that had been donated for the occasion of the visit of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarch.  Unfortunately, the church sits directly across from a Ultra Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva in line of sight of the Western Wall.  These Jews really objected because when they did their prayers, they would be facing two crosses.  On the other hand, the Ministry couldn't exactly tell the Romanian Orthodox that they couldn't erect a cross or even two crosses on top of the domes of their own church building in the Old City.

What he did was actually rather ingenious--he told the Jews that he was negotiating with the Romanians, which he was.  But he wanted to make it seem to them like it was going to be a major compromise for the Romanians, so he took several weeks going back and forth between the two groups.  In the end, what he proposed was for the Romanians to simply turn their crosses sideways, so that they would appear as two poles when the Jews turned to pray towards the Western Wall.  It was something that everyone could live with.

The challenge often seems to be simply a matter of negotiating and perspective.  If we could get the politicians and the religious leaders away from the sacred sites (metaphorically speaking) and over to the bazaars and markets, I think it would really help.  They are all--Jews, Moslems, and Christians--notoriously good at bargaining and they really seem to love it.

Speaking of bargains--I found the address of a very reasonable electronics store here.  Actually, I had found it some time ago, and had bought a memory stick as a back-up for my digital photos.  One of the students from Australia heard that I had paid 210 shekels, the equivalent of $47 for a 256 meg memory stick and insisted that I get the address of the shop.  I don't know how it compares with prices in the US, but it was the cheapest that I found here so far. 

The challenge was really one of transliterating the names of streets from Hebrew to Latin Script so that he could actually read the address and find it on a tourist map.  I biked over and wrote down the address which was on the side of the building and transliterated it.  It was an enjoyable excuse for biking through a nice neighborhood on a nice day.

--Pastor Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 21, 2005

A small group of clergy and spouses from the Church of England is visiting Tantur for the week.  Normally, they wouldn't integrate a group like this into the three month program, but since there are so few of us here, they have decided to mix the two programs for the week.  It's only a four hour flight from England to Israel and some of these folks have been here before.  So their reactions to what is happening give me a new perspective on the situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis here.  The road blocks and checkpoints into Bethlehem are particularly troubling to them.

This past weekend, a member of our group tried to go over to Rachel's Tomb, a religious site near Bethlehem within walking distance of Tantur and he was turned away.  The soldiers said that only Jews are allowed on the site.  I hope that he was mistaken and that the soldiers didn't know what they were doing.  Rachel's Tomb is a site that is important to all three religions and should be open for all of us.  I may contact the American consulate about this.

Looking at the facts on the ground, there are some policies here that present real ethical problems for the US support of Israel.  It isn't a simple "black and white" situation, of course.  A working relationship between our two governments is necessary to deal with issues like terrorism, which is a real problem here.  The reason why the soldiers at the check points are tense is because it is genuinely dangerous--terrorist attacks have happened at the borders between the Palestinian Territories and Israel over the past five years and longer.  Some of the Israeli busses are armored because they have been bombed.  On the other hand, tearing down more Palestinian homes in order to build a security wall between the two groups is not improving relations either.  I'm attaching a picture of a part of the security wall between Israel and the Palestinian territory towards Bethlehem.  The Israelis don't like calling it a wall, but that is what it is here.

I would say that this is part of "the other side of history"--the stories that aren't generally known.  Tantur hosts groups of Israelis and Palestinians to listen to each other's stories.  Most Israelis here don't know that 400 Palestinian villages were destroyed in the Israeli occupation, which is why there are so many Palestinian refugees.  Many of their homes were bulldozed to build the Israeli "settlements" that you hear about.  Many of the Palestinians of this generation don't realize that during the War in 1967 the President of Egypt did indeed threaten to drive the Israelis into the Sea or that the PLO charter was originally committed to the destruction of the State of Israel. 

One of the great challenges for Father Michael, the rector here, is to keep Tantur neutral and unarmed.  The Israeli soldiers are welcome here, but they cannot bring their weapons onto the grounds.  He has gently, but firmly told the soldiers as much.  This morning was particularly busy as armed Israeli soldiers were chasing down undocumented Palestinians on the grounds.  Personally, I wouldn't want to trade places with Father Michael.  Things definitely calmed down by the afternoon.

Today Vivi, the house matron, took the group over to the Palestinian shop at St. Andrew's Scottish Presbyterian Church.  They sell beautiful handcrafts from Palestinian women who live in the Gaza Strip--including some very fine embroidered stoles for only $30.  I'll probably buy a couple before I leave.  It was a pretty day so I biked over, and then headed on up towards the airport several miles north of the Old City, but I didn't bother to go past the security which is several miles south of the airport.  I had hoped to bike over to Anathoth, the home town of Jeremiah the prophet.  I'm sure that there is a way to get there without having to go through airport security, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.

Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

February 20, 2005

A good friend challenged me in an e-mail on how I was using the terms "myth" and "history" in my comments on my second visit to the Israel Museum.  And it is a valid point--history is the version of the story of and by the winners.  And myth doesn't automatically mean "falsehood" or fabrication.  And frankly, if there was ever a place where history has been rewritten again and again and again, it is here in Jerusalem.

When I speak of Judaism and Christianity as emphatically "historical religions", I mean that the physical evidence that supports truth claims about some of the events and persons in their founding narratives are very compelling.  Things like the dedicatory stone of Pontius Pilate, the ossuary of Caiaphas, and the seal of Baruch the son of Neriah are pretty compelling evidence that these were real persons who actually existed and not simply fictional characters.  They are certainly more compelling than claims about the stone that Jesus used to climb up on the donkey for Palm Sunday or the stone bearing the last footprint of Jesus prior to his ascent into heaven or any of the burial places for the Virgin Mary.

I realize, of course, that there is a huge difference between archeological facts and archeological inferences.  As our guide pointed out at the archeological Tel of Arad, on the edge of the desert south of Hebron--the archeological fact is, there is a line of stones on this site.  The archeological inference is that they appear to go together to form an altar from the time of King Solomon.  There may be consensus about that inference or not, but the conclusion is still an interpretation of facts and not a fact itself.

The same distinction needs to be made concerning the items from the Israel Museum:  The dedicatory stone, the name on the ossuary, and the seal of Baruch may all be forgeries.  There have been many in the Israel Museum over the years, and we all know about the relatively recent disclosure of the "Ossuary of James the brother of Jesus", which was found to be a fake. 

There are disputes and questions and differences of opinion about many archeological sites that I have seen--including the claim of Mass Suicide at Masada, the claim that the ruins adjacent to the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found at Qumran had been occupied by a group of religious ascetics called the Essenes, or that any of the olive trees on the Mount of Olives might actually have been alive during the time of Jesus.  The consensus on the last claim is that Hadrian had the olive trees cut to the ground after the second Jewish revolt in 135 AD, but the roots may have survived.

Tonight, we went to a Taize Lenten Prayer Service at the Ecce Homo Convent next to Hadrian's Arch in the Old City.  Below that are Roman Paving Stones that were grooved to prevent the horses from slipping on the roadway.  The stones were reused by Hadrian after the second destruction of Jerusalem in 135 AD.  The site is on the northwest edge of the Temple Mount on the traditional Via Dolorosa in an area believed to be the Antonia Fortress from the time of King Herod. 

What is particularly compelling about this site is that archeologists also found markings on a stone that may reflect a game played by the Roman soldiers that involved mocking, crowning and beating prisoners prior to crucifixion.  I am attaching a picture of the stone.  There is an interesting dilemma here--current archeological thought is that the trial of Jesus before Pilate did not take place at the Antonia Fortress, but rather at "David's Tower" (actually constructed by Herod) in another part of the city closer to the Jaffa Gate.  Still, the scene of the soldiers mocking and beating Jesus from the Gospels seem to reflect this same game.

Of course, the narratives in the various Gospel Accounts tell the story of Jesus in different orders and at different locations.  It is really impossible to reconstruct the actual order of events and their locations--especially after 2000 years.  They weren't trying to tell "history" in that sense.  Each Gospel tells the story from a distinctive perspective, making particular points, and omitting others.  They are no less "true" because of that, but you can't reconstruct a continuous historical narrative or a biography in the western sense that accounts for all of the stories we have.  That wasn't what they were trying to do anyway.

Well, it is getting late, and I don't know if I have satisfied anyone with my comments here--including myself. 
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 19, 2005

I have to admit that the second visit to the Israel Museum today was really worthwhile.  Our first visit was exactly a month ago--and frankly, there were a number of things that I simply didn't know were there at the time.  Several of our presenters had pointed them out since then.  I still wasn't permitted to take photographs, so you'll have to bear with commentary.

Actually, I'm going to attach a picture from a while back of the Roman Milepost inside the Old City.  That was from a while back, but is connected to one of the items I saw today:  Namely a dedicatory stone from Pontius Pilate when he was governor of Judea 2000 years ago. I also saw the ossuary (the bone box) of Caiaphas, who was High Priest when Jesus was tried and I looked again at the "seal" of Baruch, the son of Neriah--the prophet Jeremiah's secretary.  This amounts to the signature of one of the authors of the Bible.  I'll also attach a picture of the seal that I found on the internet.  It's not a photo that I took.  Frankly, the seal is a lot smaller than you would think--about the size of your smallest fingernail.

I didn't take the time to look at the pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls that are there.  I had done that last time.  It was interesting, though--the top of the "Shrine of the Book" is actually a fountain.  The last time we were there it was cold and they didn't have the water running.  Today it was very warm and they did. 

It's striking when you think about it, but Christianity and Judaism are emphatically historical religions.  There is more to them than history, but you can't pretend that they are based on myths or are merely a matter of personal opinion.  Pontius Pilate, King Herod, and Caiaphas, the High Priest of the Temple during the time of Jesus are all historical figures.  And frankly, the same thing is true about Jesus.  What is a matter of faith and opinion, is the answer to the question that Jesus asked, "Who do you say that I am?"

It sounds like the stretch of warm weather is coming to an end.  It allowed me to get in just under 97 miles of biking this past week, which is nice.  The amazing thing, is to realize where I have been biking this past week, and for the past five weeks--in and around the Old City of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, King Herod's fortress, the fields south of Bethlehem where the shepherds still keep watch over their flocks, the Jerusalem forest, zoo, and Mall, the Knesset and the Israel Museum.  Jewish, Moslem, and Christian neighborhoods, businesses and places of worship.  It is amazing.

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on leave from call in and around Jerusalem

February 18, 2005

Another very warm day--it actually got up into the mid-70's here, which means I finally was able to get out and bike in my shorts and jerseys.  Actually, dressing for biking is a bit more complicated here than in the States.  Of course, I realize that most folks probably think that the gear that cyclists wear in the US is weird to begin with.  Most of the cyclists that I've seen here in Jerusalem dress very conservatively--I see very little spandex and a lot of long pants and wind breakers.  Things may change now that the weather is warmer.

Although Israel is overwhelmingly Jewish with something like 80% of the population.  Of that 80%, about 80% is secular.  That is, they are Jewish by ethnic tradition, but they are not practicing Jews.  With the massive immigration of Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe, there are many Christian spouses of Jews who are still being counted as Jews.  On the other hand, the practicing Jews are more concentrated in Jerusalem than anywhere else in the country.  And they are very conservative in dress and behavior.  The saying goes, "Jerusalem prays, Haifa works, Tel Aviv dances."

The Palestinian population which is the other 20% is overwhelmingly Muslim and also very conservative.  Only about 2% of the overall population is Christian and the majority of Christians are also Palestinian.  So Christians in Israel are a minority within a minority and you can really tell it when you fight against the workday traffic to get to church on  Sundays. 

I'm attaching a picture of a dedicatory stone just outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.  The Hebrew Lettering at the top is the same inscription as the English words below.  It comes from the Psalms (122:2-3).  Frankly, it isn't strictly true--Jerusalem is not compact and built together, though it was true at one time of the Old City. 

Friday afternoon is always interesting here because the Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday.  Last Friday I was over at the Jerusalem Mall at 3:00 PM which is closing time.  I was in a grocery store when a voice came over the speaker system "Shabbat Shalom", and they started to dim the lights.  The traffic on the streets also slows down dramatically.  You will still encounter Palestinian taxi cabs and Arab busses, but most of the traffic simply stops and the streets are quiet.  Personally, I like biking on Friday and Saturday afternoons the best here.  You can go basically anywhere and you have the street to yourself.  Of course, the stores and restaurants are almost entirely closed, but you have the streets to yourself.  The closest thing I can compare it to, is Christmas Day.

Given that tomorrow is also the Sabbath, I'm thinking about biking up to the Jerusalem Airport tomorrow.  It's about as far north of the city as Tantur is south of the city, but given how quiet I expect the traffic to be and how warm it should be, it should be quite pleasant.

"Shabbat Shalom!"
Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 17, 2005

The walk down the Mount of Olives was interesting.  We stopped at half a dozen different churches and shrines along the way, including a "Moslem" holy site that is supposed to be the place where Jesus ascended to heaven, which is something that the Moslems believe too.  There is a rock there that is supposed to be the last stone that Jesus stood on before he ascended.  Moslems believe that Jesus ascended to heaven--they simply don't believe that he died on a cross for our sins.  With a little imagination you can see a foot print--I think it's supposed to be his right foot, but I have my doubts.  I'm attaching a picture and I leave it for you to judge.

Among other sites were the place in Bethphage where Jesus mounted a donkey and rode into Jerusalem, the cave where he stayed and taught the disciples the Lord's Prayer, the spot where Jesus stopped and wept over Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemanie where there are olive trees that date back to the time of Emperor Hadrian around 140 AD.  The Romans chopped the trees down after the second Jewish Revolt, but the roots of the trunks of the trees may have survived, so the roots of the trees may actually go back to the time of Jesus.  Finally, we also stopped at one of the spots where the Virgin Mary was buried.  Along the way, we also stopped at a Russian Orthodox Church dedicated to Mary Magdelene. 

Frankly, the claims about all of these places tax my imagination.  I doubt that we can really know the exact location of any of these places after 2000 years except in very general terms--in other words, I walked down the Mount of Olives which is the same hill that Jesus walked down on his way to Jerusalem.

It really was a pleasant walk, but I have to admit that I was pretty worn out--more from yesterday than today.  In any case, I laid low today after the Mount of Olives.  And frankly, I needed to take it easy.  It sounds like the weather will stay nice for the next couple of days, which is great!

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

February 16, 2005

I guess you could say that today I faced my first real disappointment here in Israel--I had hoped to be able to bike down to Tekoa, the birthplace of Amos, one of the earliest prophets of the Old Testament.  It's about 15 miles south of Jerusalem between Bethlehem and Hebron in the Occupied Territories.  Theoretically, US citizens are welcome there, but not Israelis.

Aside from the fact that the Israelis have put a major road block on the main street into Bethlehem, and you have to backtrack to find a way through, I found that the soldiers at the check points seem to be very nervous and that makes me nervous too, since they're the ones with the machine guns.

I made it south of the Herodian--an impressive fortress built by King Herod back in the first century, but found that there is an Israeli settlement with barbed wire and a gate with a soldier with a gun.  He told me that I could go through the settlement and see the valley of Tekoa, but that I "can't get there from here".  I'm attaching a picture of the view from the top of the Herodian from an earlier visit.

On the way back, I got lost east of Beit Sahour, the traditional location of the shepherds' fields.  And to be honest, I could have used an angel who spoke either Hebrew or English to redirect me back to Bethlehem.  The little Palestinian kids there spoke only Arabic, and many of the road signs which are in Hebrew and English have been defaced.  So I wound up climbing a number of winding roads that dead-ended where the road was supposed to go.  I have since found out that the road is going to go there, but that it doesn't yet.  I did some cross country riding on a stony field with a shepherd and some sheep and finally made it back to the main road, only to be stopped at the check point into Jerusalem with another couple of nervous soldiers.

The total trip was just short of 30 miles, most of which was in the country, but it was a much less enjoyable ride than the equivalent would be in the Verde Valley.  I know that Father David here likes riding bike in the Occupied Territories, but I find it depressing and a bit unnerving.  I may try it again later.  We shall see.

Tomorrow looks much more promising with a hike over the Mount of Olives, following the path that Jesus took (more or less) as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  We'll be doing the same thing on Palm Sunday with many Pilgrims, but Father Michael, our director here at Tantur, wanted us to experience it without the crowds.

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 15, 2005

Well, I don't know what to think--two very nice days in a row.  We had a very nice Hebrew Scholar who went over the first three chapters of Genesis from a Jewish point of view, which was interesting, though I have to admit not really anything new or earth-shaking. 

Predictably, he had a much more positive view of the Temptation and Fall than Christians generally would take and there are some points to be made there--God never actually curses either Adam or Eve in the story, even though they disobeyed him and he had clearly threatened death as the punishment.  God does directly curse the snake and the ground (Gen. 3:14 and 17), but neither the man nor the woman.  I have to admit that I had never looked at it in quite that light.

With such a beautiful day, I went out for a longer ride than usual:  27.3 miles--out to the Jerusalem Forest and down to the Reservoir west of town and then back through the middle of town though west of the Old City.  There are some nice parks and bike paths over near the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, but frankly, the traffic was not really that bad on the streets either.  It was the middle of the afternoon and before the "rush hour", which is a slower time of the day. 

It was also nice not having to wear a wind breaker and to actually break out the shorts again.  It sounds like the next couple of days may be even warmer.  We shall see.

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 14, 2005

We finally had a sunny, warm day and were really able to take advantage of it:  It was our last "touring day" as a group with Allen, one of our hired tour guides from here in Jerusalem and we headed west from Bethlehem and visited the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath (I Samuel 17:19).  But the most striking things that we saw today were actually caves--man-made caves started at the time of the Exile about 2500 years ago, when the Jewish people were in Babylon and the Edomites had moved in to fill the vacuum. 

Some of the caves contained pigeon coops, others had olive presses for making oil, still others were quarries for lime that would be used for plaster, and still others were burial caves.  The burial caves also doubled as rendezvous points for lovers--an appropriate thing to see for Valentine's Day, along with the beautiful red poppies that seemed to be everywhere.

I'm attaching a picture from the Sidonian Funeral Caves that features a Greek-influenced drawing of a three-headed dog, and a lover's note.  The gist of the note is an apology from a lover for missing an occasion to meet together because he had to be with his wife.  It is scrawled in Greek above the three-headed dog. 

We took two hikes--one at a National Forest called the British Park, overlooking the coastal plains west of Jerusalem, where we ate our lunches.  And the other was at a traditionally restored set of terraced groves--these included fig, almond and olive trees and grape vines, not far from the Hadassah Hospital where I had biked earlier. 

This area west of Jerusalem towards the coastal plains looks very promising for biking.  I spotted a number of cyclists out enjoying the road and I hope to join them soon.  The roads are amazingly winding, but not that busy on weekdays.  I asked our tour guide about biking towards Haifa along the coast and he said that the old two lane highway still connects the small towns and villages along the coast and that it runs parallel to the four lane freeway.  This all sounds very promising.  Well, it has been a long day and I am very tired.

Take care!  And a Happy  Valentine's Day!
--Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

February 11, 2005

It's gotten a lot colder here, but at least the wind hasn't picked up.  That allowed me to go out biking yesterday, after I had bundled up enough.  I rode yesterday out to Mount Herzel again--quite a ways west of Tantur, but not into the Jerusalem Forest this time.  Instead, I rode past that and up to the Technical Institute west of the Center of the City and then back through the Industrial area just below Tantur.  The 13 miles took me a little over an hour which is typical for the Trek 800. 

I'm debating about buying or renting a different bike when it comes time to go up to Galilee next month.  This is partly so that Father David will be able to use the Trek here at Tantur while I'm gone as he has done in the past, and partly because I don't know about transporting a bike up to Galilee when we go up there as a part of the program next month.  I also have to admit that the average amount of time that I spend and the distances that I travel are a lot shorter than I'm used to.  On average, I'm biking about a third of what I did last year and about a third less than I did the year before that.

Part of it is the challenge of biking in a strange and unfamiliar place, but a significant part has to do with biking in a city that really doesn't have much infrastructure for cyclists.  My hat's off to the brave cyclists here who brave the challenges of  insensitive urban traffic here every day.  We may complain about the lack of infrastructure for bicyclists in the Verde Valley which is a serious enough problem.  But biking in a city where the choice is between sharing narrow, winding streets that were originally designed for goat carts, and sharing four and six lane freeways with cars that are simply not used to bicycles in traffic.  The tradeoff is also between freeways that are relatively level and secondary roads that wind steeply up and down.  Half of the time the secondary roads are not paved at all, but are made of brick--yes, I said brick.  In the Old City, the roads are made of squared-off stone.  There is no doubt that Jerusalem is old, very old.  I'm attaching a picture of some of the paving in the Old City from about 350 AD--the time of Emperor Constantine.

The oldest parts of the city of Jerusalem are on the tops of the hills here and the major roads seem to run along the higher ridges that connect them together.  The poorer parts of town are in the valleys and canyons (they call them wadis) that are the spaces between the higher parts.

The city is on the spine of a mountain range that runs north and south through the country.  These smooth out into the coastal plains to the west along the Mediterranean, and drop dramatically in the Wadis between Jerusalem to Jericho and the deep valley or "rift" of the Jordan River that winds up at the Dead Sea about 900 feet below Sea Level.  Since Jerusalem itself is at about 2800 feet above Sea Level, that makes the 15 mile drop down to Jericho very dramatic.

One option that I have to consider for the week of Spring Break, would be east and south back down to Jericho and the Dead Sea.  The two lane road from Jericho along the Dead Sea looks fairly quiet, but quite scenic.  It is very much a "desert road" slowly climbing up towards Sea level.  It is 81 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Jericho to Newe Zohar at the south end of the Dead Sea.  And it is about 180 kilometers (about 110 miles) from Newe Zohar to Eilat on the Red Sea.  I don't know about biking from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea--there aren't many towns along that stretch.

I could swing around and climb up to Beer Sheva and back towards Jerusalem.  It's 66 kilometers (40 miles) from Newe Zohar to Beer Sheva and then about 90 kilometers (55 miles) back up to Jerusalem.  Turning the Negev into a 160 mile loop wouldn't be bad.  It would involve some climbing, but nothing compared to climbing up from Cottonwood to the top of Mingus or up Oak Creek Canyon. 

Father David strongly recommends heading over to Makhtesh Ramon in the desert 97 kilometers (60 miles) south of Beer Sheva.  It's a geological wonder much like the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. 

The other option would be to wait and see what things look like up in Galilee.  We'll be heading up there as a class from March 7-13.  I hear that northern Israel is the really "bike friendly" part of the country so I may want to go back up there for Spring Break which is from March 28-April 1.  Holy Week falls in between and I do have some free time then.  We shall see.

Today turned out to be fairly nice after all, even with the predictions of snow.  I biked down to the Jerusalem Mall which is only 3.22 miles away.  I know that sounds short, but it is chilly and it took a while for the streets to dry off.

Well, that's it for now.  Take care!
Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

Ash Wednesday, February 9, 2005

Well, it's been a quiet couple of days.  No field trips for the rest of this week and so far, uncooperative weather for getting out and about--windy, cold, and wet.  We had some snow yesterday, but none that stuck on the ground. 

I'm attaching a picture from the balcony outside the window of my room from a few weeks back.  The housing in the background is part of the local suburbs south of Jerusalem.  The story of the surrounding suburbs--Gilo and many of the other Israeli "settlements" in and around West Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank and along the Gaza Strip, are a lot of what the conflict is about here.  Most of the new homes in these communities belong to Israeli immigrants who pay contractors to build, but the land is in dispute because the Palestinians owned and lived on it prior to the war and the uprisings. 

I won't go into too much detail about the conflict, partly because I am still learning.  And partly because there is so much hope for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians right now.  Much of what is happening right now,  is that both sides have simply gotten tired of fighting.  Connie Rice said something very helpful during her visit here earlier this week--she mentioned that it would be helpful if the Israelis did not tear down the settlement houses if it turns out that they agree to abandon some of them.  Apparently, the last time there was an Israeli pull-out, they actually bulldozed the houses, which is a terrible waste, given that so many of the Palestinians are currently in refugee camps.

There was a break in the weather so I did manage to get out and do some biking this afternoon.  No new territory, just around the Old City; partway up the Mount of Olives and around Gilo:  17.35 miles altogether.  It isn't that much, but it felt great to get out and see the sun again.

Take care,
Bob Jones, in Jerusalem

February 7, 2005

Well, we managed to get in and out of Hebron without causing an international incident.  It is one of the "hot spots" where there is quite a bit of tension between Jewish Settlers and the Palestinians and we had to go through several check points in order to get into both the Mosque and the Jewish Memorial at the Tombs of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs.  And for once my Hebrew from college paid off--I was able to identify them:  The signs read:  Abraham, our Father; Sarah, our Mother; Jacob, our Father; Leah, our Mother.  Rachel's Tomb is much closer to Tantur in Bethlehem and I think that Isaac and Rebecca's Tombs were entirely in the Mosque, but I couldn't read the Arabic.

They have arranged them so that you can approach the four of them (Abraham, Sarah, Jacob and Leah) from two sides in the Jewish Memorial and from two sides in the Mosque.  Frankly, I suspect that as Christians we were some of the few people who are actually allowed into both sides.  There were Muslims preparing to pray in the Mosque and Jews praying and (believe it or not, dancing and singing loudly) on the Jewish side.  Sadly, I suspect that it had less to do with piety and more to do with provocation--the Islamic hour of prayer fell just as we were on the Jewish side.

For a strange counterpart, we also went to the Russian Orthodox Church and Monastery that is the traditional site of the "Oaks of Mamre" where Abraham pitched his tent and entertained the angels who told him that Sarah would have a son in the Spring.  The tree is actually a Terebinth, but it looks old and decrepit enough.  And the Muslim caretaker kept chasing after a wayward camel and asking for 15 shekels to show us the inside of the church, which had marvelous icons but was a terrible color of orange on the inside.

We wound up our visit of Hebron with a visit to a Glass Factory.  I took a picture of a young man blowing some glass in front of a glass furnace that I'm attaching to my note today.  The prices were very, very low--a hand painted ceramic mug runs 15 shekels--less than $4.00 and a hand painted ceramic wall clock runs 20-40 shekels--$5.00 - $10.00.  Sadly, the roof was leaking like crazy and there was no-one else there shopping at all.

The trip to Hebron by taxi ran us $15 each, which seemed expensive at first, but as I think about it--it was really worth it.  Though I'm hoping that we will get a chance to go again to see what some of the church related programs are doing there.

Take care!
Bob Jones, on Leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 6, 2005

Wow!  I thought that it was cold before, but it really got cold today and it sounds like the forecast is for much colder the rest of the week.  It still isn't bad by Cottonwood standards.  Though a five mile walk in the rain after church yesterday wasn't a picnic.  It rarely goes below freezing, but it sounds like it definitely will this week.  And when they give the weather forecasts in centigrade, it always sounds so much colder:  Minus 5 degrees really means 22 degrees above zero, Fahrenheit.

I am attaching a picture from the Mount of Olives looking at the Old City at night.  If you look carefully, you can see the Dome of the Rock as a faint golden semi-circle in the middle of the picture.  Otherwise, the few pictures I took after the concert simply didn't come out right.

The Concert over at the Mormon Center was delightful:  Schumann's first violin quartet and a piano quintet.  The performers were all Israeli, but most were trained in either America or Germany.  The main concert hall with three glass walls overlooking the Old City was leaking, so they had the concert in their "forum room" which had a seating capacity of over 300.  It was quite comfortable and the acoustics were excellent.  Unfortunately, we didn't get the great view of the Old City there.  Hopefully, they will get the main hall repaired and the next concert will be back in the glass pavilion.

The other piece of interesting news is that I have been asked to preach at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer on March 6.  The regular pastor is going to be at a conference in Cyprus and he asked if I could substitute for him.  I have to admit, it is quite an honor, being asked to preach at the Lutheran Church in the Old City of Jerusalem.  I'll have to start looking at the lessons more carefully, I guess.

Well, it is late, and I am tired.

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 5, 2005

I'm attaching a picture from the Mount of Olives looking south across the Kidron Valley.  It's not a typical Jerusalem Picture because it isn't really looking at the Old City.  The Old City would be on your right.  I like it because it captures something of the stormy weather that we've been having lately.

The wind sounded a lot worse rattling the windows around here at Tantur than it really was out on the streets.  The morning was actually sunny as we sat in lectures on Islam and it clouded up in the afternoon, but it only misted a little, it didn't really rain.  On the other hand, the Muslim Market over at the Damascus Gate of the Old City was pretty quiet--people just weren't that interested in standing out in the cold wind, so I decided to bike on up onto the Mount of Olives by a route that I hadn't tried before. 

It wasn't as steep as the road that goes between the Franciscan Church of the Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations that I had tried biking when I first got here, but I still had to get off and walk the last part.  I think it may have more to do with the weight of the bike and problems getting into the lower gears than the actual steepness of the hills.  It may also have to do with the fact that I'm not getting out on the bike the way I like to--I barely rode three hours this past week.  In any case the roads were quiet as is usual for the Sabbath.

We're talking about going over to the Mormon Center for a Schubert Concert tomorrow night.  Believe it or not, the Mormons have promised not to proselytize and they actually host some pretty nice classical concerts.  Their campus is up on the Mount of Olives and it commands an impressive view of the Old City.  I'll probably take my camera along to see if I can't get some "night shots" with all of the lights on the old city walls. 

Otherwise, I'm planning on going either to Our Redeemer Lutheran for their English Services again--or possibly over to Christ Church, the Episcopal Church right next to Jaffa Gate on the very edge of the Old City.  It's the oldest Protestant Church in Jerusalem and their services are also in English.  St. Andrew's Presbyterian is even closer--it's south of the Old City, off of Hebron Road.  In any case, it looks pretty good for Sunday.

Take care,
Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 4, 2005

The weather is miserable for biking and photography so I'm attaching a picture of the beautiful shoreline of the Dead Sea from yesterday.  The shelter in the foreground is part of the Qumran site.  I get the feeling that the weather there is always quite a bit warmer than it is up here or in Galilee.

It's been raining off and on with a lot of wind and it looks like it will do the same for the rest of the weekend as well.  I shouldn't complain--they have been in a six or seven year drought cycle just as we have down in Arizona.  I did manage to slip in a 9.9 mile ride between the drops--went up to the Old City and found the University of Jerusalem for Biblical Studies and rode through the Old City from Jaffa to the Dung Gate.  I tried riding on the stone pavement in the Old City and it was very slick so I can see that my riding in the rain will be restricted to newer parts of town.  I also stopped in and found out the room rate for the "Ariel", a four star hotel across the Hinnam Valley from the Old City.  It runs $88 for two including breakfast now and will go up to $109 in March. 

This morning we had lectures with Dr. Paul Wright, a biblical cartographer--a map maker.  It's an interesting field.  He was trying to get us to understand the parochial mind-set common in the Old Testament period.  At the same time, he was also trying to help us to grasp the geo-politics of the time, and how incomprehensible this would have been to the "people of the land". 

I was able to get some interesting map web sites off of him, though I think that they are still more "print oriented" here than we are in the US.  One interesting fact that I learned was that the grades between Eilat at the far south on the Red Sea and Dan, in the far north are fairly gradual.  The elevation change between the Red Sea, the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee would be something like 2000 feet in about 300 miles.  That's a lot flatter than anything we have in Arizona, except possibly going from Tucson to Yuma.

He advised against biking from Eilat to Dan or Mount Hermon up the Jordan River Valley, though.  Mainly because of the political situation in the occupied territories.  It's an interesting contrast--Father David argues almost exactly the opposite.  He strongly prefers biking in the Palestinian Territories because there is far less car traffic than in Jerusalem or elsewhere.  The real problem, of course, is crossing through Israeli and Palestinian Territories.  Most of the violence and conflicts is at the check points between the jurisdictions..

It's much like the dilemma that Jesus and the disciples faced going through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem.  Most Jews in his day would rather go from Galilee to Jericho on the east bank of the Jordan and then climb up to Jerusalem on the pilgrim road.  The Palestinian Controlled West Bank is much like ancient Samaria with the same animosity between Samaritans and Jews in ancient times as there are between Palestinians and Jews today.  Jesus' answer was to go through Samaritan country anyway and to tell stories like "The Good Samaritan".  Frankly, it would be a shame to miss out on all of those biblical areas out of fear.

It may not be a good idea to go directly up from Jericho to Galilee, up the Jordan River Valley, but it might be interesting to go through ancient Samaria, around Galilee, and then back down along the Mediterranean to Jaffa and then back into Jerusalem.  I'm not sure about roads along the coast--personally, I would not really want to ride the length of Israel on 4 lane highways if I can help it.

Well, I think I've thawed out after my ride.  I may see about a little nap before evening prayers.

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

February 3, 2005

I'm attaching an "I was there" picture from two caves where they found some of the Dead Sea Scrolls back in 1948.  These are some of the oldest copies of the Bible ever found--dating literally from the time of Christ.

Yesterday was a very full day down at the Dead Sea:  It was actually too cool to go "floating", though Pat did it.  Personally, I found the water to be so slimy that I had to wash it off of my feet from wading.  I picked up some salt that had caked onto rocks at the beach south of Ein Getty.  It really is something--only 25 miles from Jerusalem and over 900 feet below sea level and 15 times saltier than the ocean.  The resort was a very pleasant break after the complex mixture of feelings from Masada and before the ecological park at Ein Getty and the wonders of Qumran. 

I have to admit that as a bicyclist, I am very tempted to return down here during my week of "Spring Break" in March.  The road is very scenic and runs from resort to resort along the Dead Sea for many miles going from Jericho to Eilat on the Red Sea.  But I also want to give Galilee a good look before I make up my mind.  I'm sure that either option would be a good change from the heavy city traffic of Jerusalem.

Masada is a challenge.  The story of the Jewish Revolt and the final siege from the first century Jewish historian, Josephus has some serious holes in it.  The Roman Siege Ramp that he writes about is still there and so are a lot of other details of daily life including a synagogue where fragments of the book of Ezekiel concerning the Valley of the Dry Bones were found, but there is no evidence of the fire that the Romans were supposed to have set to the gates of the fortress, and less than 30 sets of bones have been found from over 900 Jews who were supposed to have killed themselves there. 

The way that the Israelis treat Masada is troubling--members of the Israeli military come there to swear that it will never happen again, and yet virtually every tour group that visits this part of Israel will go there, and groups of Jews will come to hold religious services at the remains of the synagogue there.  It would be like people gathering to hold religious services at other sites of religiously motivated mass suicide like Waco or Jonestown.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which makes some sense, but I can't see turning it into either a national pilgrimage site or a religious shrine.

Ein Getty is an interesting site from an ecological as well as a "Biblical" point of view.  It is where David hid out from King Saul prior to becoming King of Israel and it is where all kinds of wildlife gather because of four natural springs that form waterfalls year-round.  The name is Hebrew for "Spring of the Goat" and there are lots of wild goats there and there.

Our final stop was at Qumran, which was a remarkable experience.  The "story" that they present there is still the traditional view of the Essenes as the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls with a few qualifications given some of the controversy that has arisen in the past few years.  Our tour guide, Allen Rabinowitz was pretty good about presenting the problems--including the fact that some of the Dead Sea Scrolls reflect very different attitudes concerning the Temple in Jerusalem and some of the most recent archeological evidence in Jerusalem indicates that the Essenes actually lived near the temple in Jerusalem for some time.  The other theory is that the ruins at Qumran are a Jewish military outpost that protected a depository where scrolls from much of Israel were collected after they became too old to be used anymore.  That would account for the fact that the scrolls are written by so many different hands and that they all reflect "finished products" with almost no mistakes or "practice sheets".

All in all, it was a very few day with a lot to think about. 

--Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Israel

4:30 PM February 2, 2005

I'm attaching a picture of the inner gate to Tantur.  It sets high on a hill so it's fairly easy to spot from a distance, whether you're in Bethlehem or on the way from downtown Jerusalem on the Hebron Road heading south.

It definitely helps my mood to be out and about on the bike--even if it's only for a few miles.  I found a secondary route to downtown that avoids a lot of the traffic:  It starts right out in front of Tantur and drops down to the old Rail Road right of way and follows it all of the way to Pierre Koenig Street which takes you either up to Old Jerusalem or down in the middle of a business and industrial district where I've been doing a lot of shopping anyway.

Part of the problem is the weather--it has been very windy.  The rain seems to hold off until night, but it isn't exactly pleasant riding.  And then I have to admit that the bike is older and heavier than I'm used to with knobby tires on it that keep it from going all that fast.  On the other hand, I can definitely take off just about any time I want--Father David, the priest who also uses the bike, rides in the early morning over to the YMCA in Bethlehem for a morning swim.  I tend to ride in the afternoon mainly because we have classes in the morning.  Afternoons are a lot warmer, but a lot windier too.

Today's class was on Jewish Holidays.  Dr. Deborah Weissman, from the Hebrew University here in Jerusalem did a very interesting presentation.  Religiously, she's a very interesting person--she's a "Progressive Orthodox Jew", which means she takes the Oral and Written Torah as authorities in her life, but she does so in a way that tries to address contemporary life. 

The question that I had for her was why Jews observe the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) in September when the Bible says that the beginning of the year for them is at Passover (Exodus 12:2ff)?  She pointed out that for Christians the New Year begins on the first Sunday of Advent--four weeks before Christmas, while the school year in North America begins in September.  In the end, she admitted that it was probably because Christians observe Easter in the Spring and that for us it is a time of new life. 

We'll be visiting her synagogue on Feb. 25 for worship and share a meal with Jewish families that evening.  It will be the first time that I've worshipped at an Orthodox Synagogue.  I've worshipped at a Reformed Jewish Temple in Sioux City, Iowa, but never to an Orthodox Synagogue.

Tonight we entertain a delegation from the National Council of Churches.  It's the same group that was at Redeemer Lutheran on Sunday.  They want us to promote Tantur, which is not really a problem, except that our director is on vacation in the Alps and the emeritus director is not feeling that well.  To food here is outstanding.  It reflects the local culture and it's pretty healthy.  Some of the meals are actually vegetarian.

Tomorrow we go to Qumran, Massada, and the Dead Sea.  Our guide warned us to bring bathing suits or shorts and shoes that we don't mind getting wet.  He says that swimming in the Dead Sea is like swimming in a bowl of warm chicken soup.  It should be very interesting.  I doubt that I'll have time to go biking tomorrow.  We shall see.

Take care!
--Bob Jones, on Leave from Call in Jerusalem

3:15 PM February 1, 2005

I guess I am something of a coward--I haven't been comfortable with hiking over to Bethlehem, but I finally went with Pat this afternoon--she goes over often to buy medications from the Pharmacy which is very nearby.  We hiked through the "Gate of Compassion", a break in the stone wall of the Tantur Campus that skirts the Israeli Checkpoint going into Bethlehem.  The "front gate" of Tantur is open during daylight hours, of course so that students can freely go on and off campus.  A lot of undocumented Palestinians use these gates to go to work and to see family on the Israeli side of the border.  You can see the official checkpoint about 200 yards from the entrance to Tantur. 

Only a small fraction of Palestinians have the right papers to go freely in and out of Israel.  They can get the right papers if and when they gain employment in Israel, but they are still often stopped and detained at the checkpoints either to have their documents checked or if they fit a particular profile for which the Israeli security forces are on the alert.  The Israeli security forces can and do stop Palestinian busses on the streets of Jerusalem.  And, sadly, Palestinian Terrorists have bombed Israeli busses within about 2 miles of Tantur, though not for the last couple of years.  Israelis and Palestinians do not ride each other's busses, so you could say that instead of integrating their busses as we did 40 years ago, they have taken segregation a step further and provided separate bus systems.

I have ridden Israeli busses only once.  The Palestinian busses cost about half as much, but they don't usually stop for non-Palestinians.  Tantur provides transportation for all of the official "field trips" that we take.  We can also hire the staff of Tantur to take us places that are not on the schedule (like Jericho and Hebron, where Israelis are not allowed to go by their own security forces).  American, Canadian, and Australian visitors are welcome anywhere in either Palestine or Israel.  In fact, they would very much like for us to come and visit, as long as we keep track of who is driving us where.

With the Israeli "crackdown" on the Palestinian Territories since the most recent Palestinian uprising, very few visitors go into Bethlehem, the shops are nearly empty, and unemployment is over 50%.  It is actually very quiet in Bethlehem. 

As far as ethnic identity is concerned, I am usually mistaken for being German, not American.  People--even shop owners will ask me questions in German on the streets.  They don't expect Americans, but there are German and French speaking neighborhoods near the Old City of Jerusalem and actually more church services in German or French than in English.  A lot of this is because of the Warnings from the State Department in the US. 

In some ways, biking makes a lot of sense here and you see quite a few bicyclists out--some who can't afford cars, some who are afraid of public transportation because of the terrorists, some who have discovered (as I have) that you can actually beat the car traffic during the rush hours and some who like to bike recreationally.  There are four bike shops in the neighborhood around Pierre Koenig Street near the old Railroad Right of Way about 3 miles from here.  And people here like to bike the loop around the Sea of Galilee--about 40 miles all the way around, which takes about 6 hours at an easy pace.  In fact, a tour guide told me that he and his son did that just a few weeks ago.

The terrain around Jerusalem is incredibly hilly:  The Old City is perched on top of a fairly high hill--Mount Zion, though the highest hill is actually Mount Scopus east of the Old City above the Mount of Olives.  Augusta Victoria--the Lutheran Hospital and one of the Campuses of the Hebrew University share the upper part of Mount Scopus.  There are two deep valleys just south of the Old City--the Kidron Valley, which holds the Garden of Gethsemanie (where Jesus prayed just before he was crucified), and Gehenna--which used to be the city dump.  Jesus used the image of the smoldering piles of trash in Gehenna describe the fires of Hell.

The major streets here run along the ridges between the hill tops which form the nicer neighborhoods of Jerusalem.  The secondary streets quickly drop into the Wadis--the steep valleys where the poor people live. 

The Old City is surrounded by a wall that was built by the Ottoman Turks about 500 years ago.  It's about 3 miles to bike around the old city, though the streets of the newer parts of the city don't exactly run beneath the city walls.  It's also possible to bike through the Armenian and Jewish Quarters of the Old City (I have), though it's not so easy to bike through the Muslim and Christian Quarters.  The problem there is that there are many stone steps along the narrow corridors and many shops display their goods in such a way that people crowd into the middle of the "streets" which are actually walkways.  The Armenian and Jewish Quarters actually have paved streets that can accommodate cars.  These run along the inside of the city wall from the Jaffa Gate on the northwest, past the Zion Gate to the West, to the Dung Gate on the South. 

There is a narrow paved road the runs sharply up the Mount of Olives from the Garden of Gethsemanie to the top.  It joins a road that runs along a ridge to the top of Mount Scopus.  I tried biking it once, but found that I had to walk the last part.  There is an easier and more roundabout way that goes through the middle of the Cemetery on the Mount of Olives and through some Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

The best biking is actually in West Jerusalem through a series of Parks and neighborhoods that wind up at the Israel Museum, the Jerusalem Zoo, and the Jerusalem Forest.  It is easy to make a 20 mile loop from the south part of town, where Tantur is, north along Bethlehem Road (the old pilgrim route to the Old City) and then west towards the West Campus of the University, and south towards the Jerusalem Forest, and south again to Gilo and Tantur.  I'll see if I can find a scanned map to show the routes that I'm trying to describe.  I would say that the secondary roads around here are much like biking from Cottonwood up to Clarkdale and Jerome or over Mingus and not as easy as the roads from Cottonwood to Sedona, Cornville, or Camp Verde.  On the other hand, the main roads--Hebron Road and Bethlehem Road, and Herzog and Begin Roads have easier grades but they have outrageous traffic--except on the Sabbath, of course.

I didn't do any biking today.  It's a cold and blustery day--no rain, but a very sharp wind.  But I figured that I would share a bigger picture of the biking and political situation on the ground here.  It is actually fairly safe for non-Israelis and non-Palestinians as long as you don't get in the way when they're killing each other.

I'm attaching a picture of an almond tree in bloom.  They are really quite pretty and quite common.  One of the priests here says that they're the first tree that blooms in the Spring and a hopeful sign.

Well, take care and keep warm!
--Bob Jones, in Jerusalem

9:00 PM January 31, 2005

It's hard to know where to begin with a day like today.  It started out foggy and cold and I would say that the air never did get that warm, even though we went down into the real desert of "the Biblical Negev".  The ride through the Judean countryside was fascinating--both for seeing the extent of terracing in the orchards and vineyards and for the interesting attempts that the Israelis are making at reforestation.

I have some questions about this, as these "forests" are not native tress--olives, cedars, or oaks--but they are pine trees instead.  They seem to be trying to create European style forests on the mountain tops in Israel.  Along with the "settlements" on the Palestinian territories, which are these blocks of condos with tile roofs surrounded by huge barbed wired fences, I can't help but wonder what the Israelis are trying to build here--and I can see why the Palestinians are feeling as though a "western colony" from Europe or America is being imposed on them.

The three sites that we stopped at are all national parks here--one was Arad, a 10th Century BC fort from the time of King Solomon right next to a 25th Century BC Kenite village.  The Kenites were allies of the Israelites in their wandering in the Wilderness and in their struggles with the Canaanites (Judges 1:16).  The cistern for the Kenite village was amazing.

This was followed by a Nabataen trading center--Mumshit (make sure to pronounce the last syllable as a long "e" or you may be saying something that you don't want to say). These were the same folks who built the incredible fortress carved into the narrow canyon walls of Petra in Jordan which was used as the desert setting for the Holy Grail in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE.  This second site included some striking Greco-Roman secular frescos and a beautifully decorated mosaic in a sizable Byzantine Chapel from the mid-300's AD.  I'm attaching a picture of a fresco that is actually on site with today's note.

The Nabataens were a remarkable people.  They were desert traders who lived on the trade routes between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean and the sea lanes on the Gulf of Akaba on the Red Sea facing the Indian Ocean.  They were not conquered by the Romans until after the second fall of Jerusalem in 135 AD, and had wonderfully eclectic tastes--mixing Greco-Roman art work with spices and silks from India and China.  They knew that the Romans liked their horses, even though they were really unsuitable for life in the desert, so they built incredible horses' stables for the Romans and still managed their own camels which were much better adapted to travel in the desert--talk about cosmopolitan!

And then finally, we visited the Tel of Beer Sheva--the traditional southernmost boundary of ancient Israel (Judges 20:1) and the basic "home" for the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs (Gen. 21, 22, 26, 28, 46).  The water system there was the most amazing of all--a set of cisterns fed by a spring hundreds of feet below ground level that was accessed by hundreds of stone steps.  I could imagine the people carrying huge jugs down the steps to access the water.  Of course, this was all much nearer ground level at first, but was carefully maintained and went deeper and deeper into the ground as the ground-level of the city slowly built up over time. 

It was a long day and now I'm exhausted.  I shouldn't have any problems sleeping tonight!

Take care!
Bob Jones, on leave from Call in Jerusalem

Dear Family and Friends,
January 30, 2005

It would have been a great day to bike, but I wound up walking instead.  I have mixed feelings about biking to church in Jerusalem.  People do dress up to go to church or to synagogue and even at 8:00 AM in the morning, it is possible to build up a sweat on the hills around here.  So I rode into the Old City in a taxi along with two other students.  That ran us 31 shekels or about $2.50 each. 

There was a delegation from the National Council of Churches visiting at Redeemer Lutheran today.  Almost everyone at the service was either a student or a volunteer for a Non-Government Organization.  Because there were fewer of us today than a week ago, we worshipped in the smaller "crusader chapel" right next to the main chapel.  Still, it was a comfortable fit.

I ran around in the Old City quite a bit after church--had lunch in a small park overlooking the Western Wall of the Temple and the two Mosques on the Temple Square.  I'm attaching a picture of the view.  It was still fairly quiet in the Jewish Quarter.  Business doesn't really pick up until well into the afternoon.

Actually, it was quite a day for shopping--I ran into another bike shop only a block from the one that I have been frequenting for repairs and parts for the bike from Tantur.  This one featured Giant Bikes.  The other carried Specialized.  Both shops are right next to the old railroad right-of-way which has been made into a multi-use pathway through a large part of West Jerusalem.  Unfortunately, a lot of cars park on the pathway, even though the far end is intentionally blocked from car traffic.  Frankly it's a lot like back in the US.  I got some chain lube and a water bottle--20 ounce water bottles are just about unheard of around here. 

I also wandered around in the business district off of Pierre Koenig Street--a couple of blocks west of Bethlehem Road and about three blocks west of Hebron Road, the street that Tantur is on.  I priced some memory sticks for my computer and wound up getting a 256 meg for 210 shekels--about $47, which may sound high, but is a lot lower than many that I saw in the area.  Israel may have high tech, but it's not cheap.

The forecast is for rainy weather the rest of this week.  It has started to cloud up, but it is still very mild with the almond trees blossom.  One of the priests who lives here says that it's a sure sign of Spring.  If I remember correctly, there are Biblical references to almond blossoms, and I believe that traditionally, Aaron's rod was made of almond.

Well, I'd better get going--it's the last night of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity here in Jerusalem and we're heading for St. George's Anglican Church over in the City Center, outside of the Old City walls.  Last night's was especially memorable--it was the Ethiopian Orthodox, which featured the men chanting behind the Iconostasis and the women singing and dancing with drums out in the courtyard.  I resisted the temptation to bring my camera as I have for all of these services, but on that one, I almost regret it.

A Special note, I'm starting to send these notes to a "Chat Group" on Ecunet called Bike Talk.  Unfortunately, I cannot send picture attachments to that group.  A good friend of mine, Mark Luffman from Cottonwood is putting together a web site with my notes and pictures.  Members of that group (and anyone else) who is interested in seeing my pictures should go to the following web site:  http://www.luffman.us/bob.htm  Special thanks to Mark for doing that.

Bob Jones, on leave from call

Just a quick note to let you know that the Internet Service had been down for about 36 hours here at Tantur. They just got the computers back online now and I don't have my lastest entry available. But I decided to go ahead and sent a quick note anyway.

I'll send a more complete note later.
Bob Jones, on leave from call in Jerusalem

January 26, 2005

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with my bike ride today:  I had thought that there was another access to the Pool of Siloam, but there wasn't.  The view that we had after the City of David Tour is it.  I couldn't walk down to the actual steps where Jesus sent the man who was born blind to be healed (John 9:7).  There was a bulldozer working right next to it.  I'm wondering, though, if there might be another view when we go through Hezekiah's Tunnel--something I'm planning on doing when the weather gets a bit warmer.  I'm attaching a picture of the pool from my earlier visit. 

I rode through Abu Tor, and the kids there and around the Mount of Olives gave me a hard time--begging for shekels.  It reminds me of the same sort of thing in Mexico.  The wealth and poverty situation is so similar.  The ride back was also a bit frustrating--traffic was terrible.  I think I can see why Father David likes to bike in the Palestinian Territory instead.  At least I got nearly 20 miles.

I ran into a fairly nice book co-authored by Dr. Carl Volz from Luther Seminary--THE BOOK AND THE LAND.  He gives Biblical and current names for various sites of interest both in and around Jerusalem, and then he describes them along with the Biblical references.  It was great to see a familiar name, and frankly, it looks very applicable to our touring situation right now.

The service at the Latin Catholic Church was pretty, but it was mainly in Italian.  They had a candle-light service with the Vesper Service.  We didn't stay for refreshments this time.

Tomorrow, we go to the Herodian and a couple of Greek Orthodox Monasteries in the Palestinian Territories.  We may have time to do a little shopping--they say that prices are quite a bit cheaper over there because they don't have the same taxes that they have in Israel.  On the other hand, the unemployment is terrible--well over 50%.  I'm always a bit more cautious about going over there--we'll need our passports. 

Take care!
--Bob

January 25, 2005
Family and Friends,

It's been quite a day. We went down to St. George's Monastery in Wadi Kelt, a steep desert canyon that drops way down below sea level to the city of Jericho and we hiked down to Jericho. This would be one of the traditional ways that people would travel from Jerusalem to Jericho, and possibly a way that Jesus and the disciples would have made their aliya, their ascent into Jerusalem.

St. George's is a Greek Orthodox Monastery that is at one of the traditional caves where the prophet Elijah stayed by a spring and was fed by ravens during a three year drought that was described in the Old Testament.

The hike down to Jericho was amazing--the canyon walls were very steep, much like the Bell Trail near Sedona in Arizona, but there were a few places where it wasn't at all clear where the trail was supposed to go and we found ourselves at narrow and rather frightening dead ends. On the other hand, the hour and a half that we spent walking down from the Monastery really felt like the kind of walking the people have been doing since Bible times. Stories like the Good Samaritan which Jesus set on the way from Jerusalem to Jericho really come to life.

Jericho is one of the lowest cities on earth--around 800 feet below sea level. And it is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth--dating back at least 10,000 years. We wandered around a tel, a pile of archeological debris that dates back to at least 2500-2900 BC, but first we took a cable car up to the Monastery of the Temptation. No luck getting in, but we had an interesting visit with a couple of guys from Bethlehem who had biked down to Jericho. They were spending the night and then biking back up to Jerusalem tomorrow.

We also stopped at the traditional sycamore tree associated with the story of Zaccheaus. Not that I really believe that the tree was really 2000 years old. It didn't even look like a sycamore tree, though they certainly can be different here than in Arizona.

And finally, the service at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer was very good, though they didn't heat up the building. The attendance was the best that I had seen and it actually ran less than an hour with readings, hymns, blessings, and prayers in English, German, Arabic, Swedish, Finnish, and Danish. Not bad!

Do take care!
--Bob Jones, pastor on leave from Call

January 23, 2005

Family and friends, I have to admit, it was great being able to worship on a Sunday morning in English.  The Roman Catholics in our group have been having a hard time finding a Mass in English.  Last Sunday, I went with them to the Crusader Church at Abu Gosh, which is at a French Benedictine Monastery and so the Mass was in French.  Today they went to another French Mass.

Today, I went to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem.  I thought about taking the bike, but I wasn't certain since I couldn't lock the bike up.  So I took the bus instead and walked back.  It was very close timing--but there was a group of 14 Lutherans from Michigan who came in just as the service was beginning.  It was an official visit so they brought greetings from their Bishop which were read in both English and Arabic.

Actually, the entire service was in both English and Arabic.  They combined both congregations for the occasion and they had refreshments afterwards so we could visit and become acquainted.  It was great--their was a female priest from the Church of Sweden, a Quaker couple, some Mennonites, folks from World Vision, and the English Speaking and Arabic Speaking Congregations, along with the delegation from Michigan.

I will probably attend this service on most Sunday mornings, since there are no other English language Lutheran Services here.  I may also visit the Presbyterian and Anglican Churches on occasion, but I left with a good feeling about the place.  It helps to have something familiar in the midst of all of the strange and unfamiliar experiences here.

Speaking of strange and unfamiliar--tonight we begin attending a week of services of Prayer for Christian Unity.  In the US we observe this from Jan. 18-25--from the Feast of St. Peter to the Conversion of St. Paul.  Here, they wait until after the Armenians are finished celebrating Christmas, on Jan. 19 (more or less, depending on the year).  Tonight we'll be attending a Greek Catholic Church in Old Jerusalem.  Tomorrow, we'll go to St. Mark's Syrian Orthodox Church, Tuesday we'll be back at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and so on.  It should be very interesting, but I'm afraid that I won't have many pictures since we will be at worship services, and most of the churches don't like people taking pictures during the service (frankly, neither do I).  I do have a fairly nice picture of the cupola (inner dome) of the Greek Catholic Church that I took from our first visit to the old city, which I'll attach to this note.

Take care and keep in touch!
--Bob Jones from Tantur in Jerusalem

January 21, 2005
Family and Friends!

Yesterday, we took a cab over to the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book where they display parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls and artifacts from the Qumran Community.  They also have some wonderful mosaics dating from the Hellenistic through the Byzantine Periods (300 BC - 600 AD).  In addition to the archeological exhibits, the Museum has a wonderful art collection, including several Rembrandts that I hadn't seen before, including a wonderful small work entitled "St. Peter in Prison" which also features him carrying the "keys of the Kingdom".

It's going to be hard to pick just one picture to send "home" for today.  The "Second Temple Tour" in Old Jerusalem was incredible.  Beginning with the Jaffa Gate which was the same for all of the stages of the city; Herod's Towers; the Central Street from the time of Constantine, and then finally the foundations of Herod's Jerusalem and the outer court of Herod's Temple and finally the steps where Jesus walked.  The pictures simply do not do it justice.

My bike ride this afternoon was one of the best yet--the weather was perfect so I was able to go in shorts.  I rode over to Baqa neighborhood again, found the Mall and Bike Shop, and then rode over to Kiryat Moshe and back to Ein Kerem and the Jerusalem Forest.  The road through the Jerusalem Forest is very pretty.  Sadly, it ends at Yad Hashem, the Holocaust Memorial.  Altogether, the ride was just over 18.5 miles.  But so much is in such a small space!

At least now I can tell everyone where that mini-mall is!  General Pierre Koenig Street and Po'ale Zadeq Street.  What horribly long names!  No wonder the street signs are so hard to read!

Well, I\'d better close, I can hear the Muslim Call to Prayer and that means that it's less than an our to our Evening Prayer Service here at Tantur.

--Bob Jones

January 19, 2005

Just a quick note to let you know that the weather has turned rather cold here with freezing rain and hail.  But not before we got a chance to go over to some of the most interesting archeological sites in all of Jerusalem:  The outer wall of King Herod's Temple and the site of the original City of David including the tunnel system that provided the city with water from the Spring of Gihon.  I found that the water in the spring was surprisingly warm, given how cold the day was.  When I put my hand in the water of that spring, I felt as though I was literally touching history!

The traditional walls of the Old City of Jerusalem are actually only about 500 years old and date from the time of the Ottoman Turks.  The original City of David lies partly within and partly outside of those walls and it is over 3000 years old.  The most visible part of the City of David was actually outside of the city walls.  This was really some of the most exciting stuff that we've done yet! 

I'm attaching a picture of one of the archeological digs of the City of David outside of the Old City walls that was actually in the middle of a parking lot!

Take care!
--Bob Jones

January 18, 2005

Just a quick note to go with a picture of the Market at the Damascus Gate of Old Jerusalem.  The Damascus Gate is one of the 7 traditional gates into the old city.  It faces north-east, towards Damascus.  I biked around the Old City again today with a new odometer.  It is actually 12.88 miles from Tantur around the Old City and back again, though I took a slightly longer route back through an Arab neighborhood in the Kidron Valley immediately south of the Old City.

Tomorrow, we get a view of Old Testament sites around the Old City--starting with the Spring that started the city over 3000 years ago.

Take care!
--Pastor Bob Jones

January 18, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,

Sorry about the defective pictures--a number of you mentioned that the last two pictures I sent didn't come through correctly.  It turns out that my lap top is having some technical problems with one of the programs and isn't copying them onto disk completely.  Also, Ecunet has a 1 meg limit on space for attachments per mailing.

Today is a quiet day here.  It's chilly and breezy out and we have no program scheduled until this evening.  A number of us are talking about going over to the Israel Museum this afternoon to see "The Shrine of the Book", where the original Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed.  I'll let you know if we pull that one off.

I've attached the picture of the carved block of stone from the Roman Watering Hole that was built into the Crusader Church at Abu Gosh.  Let me know if you're still having problems getting the picture.

Thanks again for your patience.  Take care!
--Bob Jones

Sorry to hear that you've been sick, Mark.  It's chilly and windy here today.  I'm hoping that the afternoon will be warmer for biking, but there are heavy, broken clouds.  I shouldn't complain--they desperately need the water.

You're probably right about a GPS.  Unfortunately, electronics are very expensive here.  The opposite of the situation with bike equipment.  I just spent 100 shekels--the equivalent of nearly $25 for a set of 4 rechargable batteries for my new digital camera.

I think I've figured out the problem with the pictures and e-mail--it isn't really the disks, but rather there's something wrong with the program that saves the JPEG files directly to disk on my lap top.  I've switched to using the "copy program" on the Windows Picture - Fax Viewer.  That one seems to work alright.

Also, Ecunet has a limit of 1 meg of space for attachments.  So I'll have to send pictures one at a time.

Anyway, here's one of the pictures--the one from the Crusader Church at Abu Gosh.

--Bob

Thanks for the note, Mark.  I'm still learning how to use the camera.  I may also be having problems with the floppy disk that I've been using to transfer the picture from my lap top to the PC that has the internet connection at the library here.  I'll check with the office secretary here about getting some new floppy disks to see if that helps.  Otherwise, I may use a portable memory device that connects to a usb port.

BTW, Biking here is interesting.  I don't have a bike calculator on the mountain bike that I'm using so I can't figure exact miles--I may pick one up today at a little bike shop that I found over on Bethlehem Road on the way to the Old City. 

I was wondering about GPS readings and whether you could show me a web site where I could try figuring distances and roads here in Jerusalem.  Frankly, the maps here are not very good.  One problem, of course, is that I have to slow down to read the road signs in Hebrew Script--only some of them are in English.  Most are in Hebrew and Arabic.

I biked over to Mount Scopus and the Hebrew University campus yesterday and the Lutheran Hospital there.  It was quite a climb.  I hope you're able to do some biking, yourself, even with the flooding.  Gary e-mailed that it's been pretty bad.

Well, I'd better get going.  We have to exchange our bed linens on Tuesdays at a specific time or we will be stuck with dirty linens for the next week.

Take care!
--Bob

January 16, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,

Just a quick note to remind you that bombings and reports of attacks in Gaza are a long way from Jerusalem or any part of the country that I'm visiting during my stay here in Israel.  I attended a beautiful service at the old Crusader Church in Abu Gosh, one of the traditional sites for the story of the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24.  The service was mainly in French, but there were a number of Gregorian Chants as a part of it.  I'm attaching a picture of a first century stone marking a Roman Soldier's watering hole that was put into the side of the old Crusader Church.

I also found a very nice bike shop and a discount mall in an Anglo-Jewish part of Jerusalem about halfway between Tantur and the Old City.  I picked up a bike helmet for 70 shekels--about $18.  Getting an inner tube including mounting was only 20 shekels--less than $5.  Don't tell the guys at Absolute Bikes, but prices are a lot cheaper here in Jerusalem than in Sedona!

The weather has been outstanding.  We're planning a trip to Jericho on Thursday--including a walk at the bottom of Wadi Kelt, part of the traditional pilgrimage road from Jericho to Jerusalem and I may even look into climbing a sycamore tree in Jericho in honor of old Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10).

Take care and don't worry, but also remember to pray for peace in this part of the world!
--Bob Jones, on leave in Jerusalem

January 15, 2005
Dear family and friends,

Just a quick note to reassure you that the violence that's been in the news from Israel lately is a long ways from where I am, here at Tantur in west Jerusalem.  It's way down in Gaza, which is over a hundred miles from here in the south.  That isn't to say that the Israeli guards at the checkpoints aren't a bit on edge. 

Actually, I didn't go out today--we had a lecture this morning on the role of Pilgrimage in each of the three western religious traditions.  It's been rainy and cool and we had no scheduled outings.  We'll be going to Sunday worship services at an old Crusader Church on the far side of Old Jerusalem tomorrow morning.

Frankly, it's been a wash day for me, so not everything in Israel is that exciting..

Take care and keep in touch!
--Bob Jones

January 14, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I did it--I biked from Tantur around the Old City of Jerusalem and back again and to be honest, I have had worse rides in and around Cottonwood.  It helped that I rode into town on a quieter suburban street about a block off of the main road, but once you get up to the walls of the old city, you really don't have that much of a choice.  It also helped that it was mid-afternoon on Friday--between the Muslim and Jewish "Sabbaths". 

I would put the whole ride at something around 16 miles, but I intend to get a better map of the area and see what I can do with GPS coordinates.  I'm using an older Trek 800 mountain bike that belongs to a priest who is storing it here but who is currently out of town.  He should be back next week.  I had to work a bit on the brakes, air up the tires, and figure out the gears which are off a bit from the settings on the handle bars.  It felt great to be back on a bike again!

It's been quite a day:  Our study group visited the Shepherd's Grotto near Bethlehem, where tradition says that the Shepherds watched their flocks when the Christmas angels appeared to them.  We also saw a remarkable program called the Lutheran International Center which was nearly destroyed during the siege of Bethlehem a couple of years ago.  They literally took the shattered glass from the building and made decorative angels out of them which they now sell to help finance their projects  which are closely tied to teaching children and working with families--both Christian and Muslim.  We also visited a Syrian Orthodox Church where the old priest showed us prayer books that are literally hundreds of years old.  He also "chanted" for us the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic--the actual language that Jesus used.  He gave each of us an olive wood cross and a copy of the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. 

We concluded our visit of Bethlehem with a walk through Manger Square and into the Church of the Nativity.  According to tradition, this is where Jesus was born.  I wound up being whisked away by a vendor to a little shop where they served me mint tea and showed me the difference between different kinds of olive carvings.  I'll probably wind up getting some sort of mementos from there before I leave.

I'm attaching a picture from outside of the city walls of Old Jerusalem. 

As they say here, Sabbat Shalom! 
--Bob Jones

January 11, 2005
Dear Family and Friends,

The first complete day here at Tantur has been very busy.  We spent the morning with a quick view from Tantur itself, which overlooks Bethlehem, toured the facilities, and then took a quick trip around Jerusalem.  We also headed down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (we stopped short of the town of Jericho), visited the Church of St. Lazarus in Bethany, and stopped for sunset at the Jewish Cemetery near the Mount of Olives looking back towards Old Jerusalem.  I'm attaching a picture of the sunset from there.  If you look to the right you will see the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount.  The composition is not the best--I'm still learning my new digital camera.

The food here is excellent, but very regional, so it's taking some adjusting.

More later!
--Bob Jones

Dear Family and Friends, there will be a slight delay in my e-mails, especially now at the beginning of my stay here at Tantur.  I have attached a document from yesterday evening as I was relaxing from the trip.  I wanted to make sure that you knew that I was fine and that everything was going well, despite the travel advisory. 

We have already driven around the old city of Jerusalem, about half-way to Jericho, and to Bethany where I climbed into the traditional "Tomb of Lazarus".  I have my doubts, but it was way deep inside the side of the hill above a church dedicated to Lazarus.  I'll go into much more detail later.  The way from Jericho to Jerusalem does look very winding and treacherous, even today.  I'm talking about hiking it with some other guys from our group--we shall see!

Take care!
Bob Jones

Family and Friends, this is my final planned e-mail before I leave for Israel on Sunday morning.  The sale on my house is complete and I will be picking up my check this morning (Friday).  I'm staying at the Luffman's until Saturday afternoon when leave for Phoenix.

Thanks to everyone who helped with my move--especially Bob Formhals, Al Abbot, Randy Victory, and to the Luffmans for their kindness. 

My next group e-mail should be from Israel.  Keep me in your prayers!
Bob Jones

December 29, 2004
Hi family and friends!

I've attached an article from Haaretz, one of two major Israeli papers.  It has to do with the much lower number of deaths related to the Palestinian Conflict recorded in 2004 as compared to 2003.  I don't have equivalent information for Arizona, but I do know that the number of violent crimes in Arizona in 2004 is over 8000.  If you run into an article on the violent death rate for 2004 in Arizona, I would really appreciate seeing it for comparison purposes.

Thanks,
--Bob Jones

Last Update: 29/12/2004 13:21 - Number of Israeli intifada casualties down 44% from 2003 - By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service According to Israel Defense Forces figures presented Wednesday, the number of Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks and the number of troops killed in battle in the territories dropped by 44 percent in 2004, from the previous year's figures. In 2004, a total of 118 Israelis were killed as part of the ongoing Palestinian uprising, down from 212 in 2003. The IDF attributes the drop in casualties to improved terror-fighting methods, mainly the erection of the separation fence, greater cooperation between the military and the Shin Bet security services and the IDF's improved operational abilities, mainly in the West Bank. Two soldiers wounded in West Bank ambush Gunmen opened fire early Wednesday on a jeep traveling near the West Bank border village of Baka al-Sharkiyeh, lightly wounding two Israel Defense Forces soldiers riding in the vehicle. IDF forces mounted a dragnet for the gunmen, but they apparently succeeded in fleeing to the densely populated area of the village, near the West Bank city of Tul Karm and close to the Green Line border with Israel. The jeep was accompanying Israeli civilian vehicles traveling toward Israel. A Yesha settlement council official said that one of the soldiers was a reservist who was a resident of a settlement near the site of the attack.