Journey to Tel Aviv Israel: July 15, 2011

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

July 15, 2011

My dad and I went to visit my Aunt Carol and her husband Jim in Columbia this weekend. I took some pictures of their dog DUKE - I could not believe how HUGE he is!! I've never seen a dog that big. And he was so gentle and sweet. What a lover!!

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Our Decision

Roly had been wanting to take his career to another level for some time. I have been very hesitant, however, when the opportunity for a short term temporary assignment came along for Israel, I thought "why not?". So Roly applied for the job and three days later was offered the position. I was a little shocked to say the least. We spent many hours talking ourselves out of it, thinking of reasons not to go, but we could not find many. So Roly accepted the position and about 3 months later we found ourselves in beautiful Tel Aviv, Israel. We feel "there are no accidents" and there is a reason for us to be here. Actually, we have found LOTS of reasons for us to be here and we are living a dream now.

Security

Perhaps one of the most striking elements found in the daily life in Israel is the amount of security. Although this country is safer than most major cities in any country, the threat of terrorism is always present. As a result, you will find Israeli soldiers on buses, in shopping centers and in many other public locations. You will most likely see or encounter a member of the Israeli army on a daily basis. Expect each soldier to be armed, but do not be alarmed as these soldiers are there for your protection.

All foreign nationals should carry their passports and their visas with them at all times, and whenever possible cooperate with all security personnel. Your health and welfare will not be jeopardized, but you must be aware of current situations, and take the necessary precautions in your daily life.

Culture

Thousands of years of history, the ingathering of the Jews from over 70 countries, a society of multi-ethnic communities living side by side, an unending flow of international input via satellite and cable have contributed to the development of an Israeli culture which reflects worldwide elements while striving for an identity of its own. Cultural expression through the arts is as varied as the people themselves, with literature, theatre, concerts, radio and television programming, entertainment, museums and galleries for every interest and taste. The official languages of the country are Hewbrew and Arabic, but in the country's streets many other languages can be heard. Hebrew, the language of the Bible, long restricted to liturgy and literature, was revived a century ago, accompanying the renewal of Jewish life in the land.

Climate

Israel's climate ranges from temperate to tropical. Two distinct seasons predominate: a rainy winter period from November to May; and a dry summer season for the next six months. Hot, humid summers and mild, wet winters on the coastal plain; dryk warm summers and moderately cold winters, with rain and occasional light snow, in the hill regions; hot, dry summers and pleasant winters in the Jordan Valley; and semi-arid conditions, with warm to hot days and cool nights in the southern Negev desert.

Greetings

A handshake is expected by all Israelis upon meeting and departing. Handshakes should be firm, as weak or limp handshakes are regarded as insincere and portray an individual as vulnerable. It is polite to look into the other individual's eyes when conducting a greeting, and Shalom is a typical verbal greeting. This is also tre when Israelis answer the telephone, but Alo is also a popular telephone greeting. When meeting members of the same sex, men slap their hand on the other's shoulder. Unless the person is religious, physical contact is acceptable. Although saying bye is a common way of departing, many Israelis will say Shalom or le hitra'ot (see you later).

History

....Remember the days of old, consider the years of ages past...Deuteronomy 32:7

The birthplace of the Jewish people is the Land of Israel. Israel is a land and a people. A significant part of the nation's long history of which the first thousand years are recorded in the Bible was enacted here; the history of the Jewish people, and of its roots in the Land of Israel, spans some 35 centuries. In this land, its cultural, national and religious identity was formed. Here, its physical presence has been maintained unbroken throughout the centuries, even after the majority was forced into exile. During the many years of dispersion, the Jewish people never severed nor forgot its bond with the Land. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish independence, lost 2000 years earlier, was renewed.

Fast Fact: Kosher Laws

In brief, the kosher laws prohibit the consumption of port, seafood, and the mixing of dairy products with meat. In religious households, meat and cheese products are never served at the same meal. Therefore in some Israeli homes, you should expect two sets of dishes and utensils. Kashrut or Jewish dietary laws, have an important influence on dining habits. These habits extend from private home into public restaurants. A rabbinical certificate deems most food Kosher and establishments or products usually display such a certificate in order to notify all potential customers.

Main Cities

Jerusalem, Israel's capital (population 773,000) has stood at the center of the Jewish people's national and spiritual life since King David made it the capital of his kingdom some 3000 year ago.

Tel Aviv (population 384,000) which was founded in 1909 as the first Jewish city in modern times, is today the center of the country's industrial, commercial, financial and cultural life.

Haifa (population 266,000) a known coastal town since ancient times, is a major Mediterranean port and the industrial and commercial center of northern Israel.

Be'er Sheva (population 185,000), named in the Bible as an encampment of the patriarchs, is today the largest urban center in the south. It provides administrative, economic, health, education and cultural services for the entire southern region.

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth about 1,300 feet below sea level lies at the southern end of the Jordan Vally. Its waters, with the highest level of salinity and density in the world, are rich in potash, magnesium and bromine, as well as in table and industrial salts. The Dead Sea's natural pace of recession has been accelerated in recent years due to a very high rate of evaporation and large-scale diversion projects undertaken by Israel and Jordan for their water needs, causing a 75% reduction in the incoming flow of water. As a result, the surface level of the Dead Sea has dropped some 35' since 1960. A project to link the Dead Sea with the Mediterranean Sea by means of a canal and pipe system, which may help restore the Dead Sea to its natural dimensions and level is under consideration.

Yom Kippur-October 8, 2011

Yom Kippur, Also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and Mincha, the afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have four prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Mussaf, the additional prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins and a unique prayer dedicated to the special Yom Kippur service of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

As one of the most culturally significant Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews attend synagogue on Yom Kippur—for many secular Jews the High Holy Days are the only recurring times of the year in which they attend synagogue, causing synagogue attendance to soar.

Yom means "day" in Hebrew and Kippur comes from a root that means "to cover or hide"; a secondary meaning is "to obliterate (sin)" and hence "to expiate". Some say there is a link to kapporet, the “mercy seat” or covering of the Ark of the Covenant. Abraham Ibn Ezra holds that the word indicates the task and not just the shape of the ark cover; since the blood of the Yom Kippur sacrifice was sprinkled in its direction (Lev. 16), it was the symbol of propitiation.

Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in the modern state of Israel. There are no radio or television broadcasts, airports are shut down, there is no public transportation, and all shops and businesses are closed. In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur and radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria that launched the Yom Kippur War.

In 2008, 63% of the Jewish people of Israel said that they were intending to fast on Yom Kippur. This may be the reason that it is very common in Israel to wish "Tsom Kal" ([an] easy fast) or "Tsom Mo'iil" ([an] efficient fast) to everyone before Yom Kippur, even if one does not know whether they will fast or not.

It is considered impolite to eat in public on Yom Kippur or to drive a motor vehicle. There is no legal prohibition on driving or eating in public but in practice such actions are frowned upon, except in emergency services.

Over the last few decades, bicycle-riding and inline skating on the empty streets has become a new “tradition” among secular Israeli youngsters, especially on the eve of Yom Kippur.

Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, empty of cars on Yom Kippur 2004

ONE OF THOSE TALL BUILDINGS IN THE BACKGROUND IS OUR BUILDING!

Erev Yom Kippur (lit. "eve [of] day [of] atonement") is the day preceding Yom Kippur, corresponding to the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. This day is commemorated with two festive meals, the giving of charity, and asking others for forgiveness.

Leviticus 16:29 mandates establishment of this holy day on the 10th day of the 7th month as the day of atonement for sins. It calls it the Sabbath of Sabbaths and a day upon which one must afflict one's soul.

Leviticus 23:27 decrees that Yom Kippur is a strict day of rest.

Five additional prohibitions are traditionally observed, as detailed in the Jewish oral tradition:

No eating and drinking
No wearing of leather shoes
No bathing or washing
No anointing oneself with perfumes or lotions
No marital relations

A parallel has been drawn between these activities and the human condition according to the Biblical account of the expulsion from the garden of Eden. Refraining from these symbolically represents a return to a pristine state, which is the theme of the day.

Total abstention from food and drink usually begins 20 minutes before sundown (called tosefet Yom Kippur, lit. "Addition to Yom Kippur"), and ends after nightfall the following day. Although the fast is required of all healthy adults, it is waived in the case of certain medical conditions.

Virtually all Jewish holidays involve a ritual feast, but since Yom Kippur involves fasting, Jewish law requires one to eat a large and festive meal on the afternoon before Yom Kippur, after the Mincha (afternoon) prayer.

Wearing white clothing, for men a Kittel, is traditional to symbolize one’s purity on this day. Many Orthodox men immerse themselves in a mikva on the day before Yom Kippur

Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshippers gather in the synagogue. The Ark is opened and two people take from it two Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls). Then they take their places, one on each side of the Hazzan, and the three recite (in Hebrew):

In the tribunal of Heaven and the tribunal of earth, by the permission of God—praised be He—and by the permission of this holy congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with transgressors."

The cantor then chants the Kol Nidre prayer in Aramaic, not Hebrew. Its name is taken from the opening words, meaning “All vows”:

All personal vows we are likely to make, all personal oaths and pledges we are likely to take between this Yom Kippur and the next Yom Kippur, we publicly renounce. Let them all be relinquished and abandoned, null and void, neither firm nor established. Let our personal vows, pledges and oaths be considered neither vows nor pledges nor oaths.

The leader and the congregation then say together three times “May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault.” The Torah scrolls are then replaced, and the Yom Kippur evening service begins.

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, (literally "head of the year"), is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe") which occur in the fall. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the first two days of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. It is described in the Torah as Yom Teru'ah, a day of sounding [the Shofar]). Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar and eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey.

Rosh Hashanah
A shofar, symbol of the Rosh Hashanah holiday

Laws on the form and use of the shofar and laws related to the religious services during the festival of Rosh Hashanah are described in Rabbinic literature such as the Mishnah that formed the basis of the tractate "Rosh HaShanah in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. This also contains the most important rules concerning the calendar year.

The shofar is blown in long, short and staccato blasts that follow a set sequence:

Teki'ah (long sound) Numbers 10:3
Shevarim (3 broken sounds) Numbers 10:5
Teru'ah (9 short sounds) Numbers 10:9
Teki'ah Gedolah (very long sound) Exodus 19:16,19
Shevarim Teru'ah (3 broken sounds followed by 9 short sounds)

Rosh Hashanah meals usually include apples and honey, to symbolize a sweet new year. Other foods with a symbolic meaning may be served, depending on local custom, such as the head of a fish (to symbolize the "head" of the year).

The Sephardi and Mizrahi communities hold a "Rosh Hashanah seder" during which blessings are recited over a variety of symbolic dishes. The blessings start with the phrase "Yehi ratzon," meaning "May it be thy will." In many cases, the name of the food in Hebrew or Aramaic represents a play on words or pun. The Yehi Ratson platter may include apples (dipped in honey, baked or cooked as a compote called mansanada); dates; pomegranates; black eyed peas; pumpkin-filled pastries called rodanchas; leek fritters called keftedes de prasa; beets; and a whole fish with the head intact. It is also common to eat stuffed vegetables called legumbres yaprakes.

Some of the symbolic foods eaten are dates, black-eyed peas, leek spinach and gourd, all of which are mentioned in the Talmud. Pomegranates are used in many traditions, to symbolize being fruitful like the pomegranate with its many seeds. The use of apples and honey, symbolizing a sweet year, is a late medieval Ashkenazi addition, though it is now almost universally accepted. Typically, round challah bread is served, to symbolize the cycle of the year. Gefilte fish and Lekach are commonly served by Ashkenazic Jews on this holiday. On the second night, new fruits are served to warrant inclusion of the shehecheyanu blessing.

Rosh Hashanah jams prepared by Libyan Jews

Shavuot (June 8, 2011)

Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah (first five books of The Bible all written by Moses) at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah).

Besides its significance as the day on which the Torah was revealed by God to the Jewish nation at Mount Sinai (which includes the Ten Commandments), Shavuot is also connected to the season of the grain harvest in Israel. In ancient times, the grain harvest lasted seven weeks and was a season of gladness. It began with the harvesting of the barley during Passover and ended with the harvesting of the wheat at Shavuot. Shavuot was thus the concluding festival of the grain harvest, just as the eighth day of Sukkot was the concluding festival of the fruit harvest. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, an offering of two loaves of bread from the wheat harvest was made on Shavuot.

The period from Passover to Shavuot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavuot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. Shavuot is also sometimes known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day. The counting reminds the Jews of the important connection between Passover and Shavuot: Passover freed them physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavuot redeemed them spiritually from bondage to idolatry and immorality.

It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that the Jews are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that they receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant.

Shavuot is not tied to a particular calendar date, but to a counting from Passover. Because the length of the months used to be variable, determined by observation, and there are two new moons between Passover and Shavuot, Shavuot could occur on the 5th or 6th of Sivan (May to June). However, now that we have a mathematically determined calendar, and the months between Passover and Shavuot do not change length on the mathematical calendar, Shavuot is always on the 6th of Sivan (the 6th and 7th outside of Israel).

Work is not permitted during Shavuot.

It is customary to stay up the entire first night of Shavuot and study Torah, then pray as early as possible in the morning.

It is customary to eat a dairy meal at least once during Shavuot. There are varying opinions as to why this is done. Some say it is a reminder of the promise regarding the land of Israel, a land flowing with "milk and honey." According to another view, it is because our ancestors had just received the Torah (and the dietary laws therein), and did not have both meat and dairy dishes available.

The book of Ruth is read at this time. Again, there are varying reasons given for this custom, and none seems to be definitive.

The Holocaust

The Holocaust also known as The Shoah, was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany throughout Nazi-occupied territory. Approximately two-thirds of the population of nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust perished. Some scholars maintain that the definition of the Holocaust should also include the Nazis' genocide of millions of people in other groups, including Roman (more commonly known in English by the exonym "Gypsies"), Soviet prisoners of war, Polish and Soviet civilians, homosexuals, people with disabilities, Jehovah's Witnesses and other political and religious opponents, which occurred regardless of whether they were of German or non-German ethnic origin. Using this definition, the total number of Holocaust victims is between 11 million and 17 million people.

The persecution and genocide were carried out in stages. Various legislation to remove the Jews from civil society, predominantly the Nuremberg Laws, was enacted in Nazi Germany years before the outbreak of World War II. Concentration camps were established in which inmates were used as slave labor until they died of exhaustion or disease. Where the Third Reich conquered new territory in eastern Europe, specialized units called"Einsatzgruppen" murdered Jews and political opponents in mass shootings. The Third Reich required Jews and Romani to be confined in overcrowded ghettos before being transported by freight train to extermination camps where, if they survived the journey, the majority of them were systematically killed in gas chambers. Every arm of Nazi Germany's bureaucracy was involved in the logistics that led to the genocides, turning the Third Reich into what one Holocaust scholar has called "a genocidal state". Opinions differ on how much the civilian population of Germany knew about the government conspiracy against the Jewish population. Most historians claim that the civilian population was not aware of the atrocities that were carried out, especially in the extermination camps, which were located outside of Germany in Nazi-occupied Europe. The historian Robert Gellately, however, claims that the government openly announced the conspiracy through the media, and that civilians were aware of every aspect of the conspiracy except for the use of gas chambers. Significant historical evidence points to the idea that the vast majority of Holocaust victims, prior to their deportation to concentration camps, were either unaware of the fate that awaited them, or were in disbelief of the information that they had received; they honestly believed that they were to be resettled.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, though not internationally recognized as such. If the area and population of East Jerusale, is included, it is Israel's largest city in both population and area, 48.3 square miles with a population of 763,800 residents. Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern edge of the Dead Sea, modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the boundaries of the Old City.

Jerusalem is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In Judaism, Jerusalem has been the holiest city since, according to the Biblical Old Testament, King David of Israel first established it as the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel in 1000 BCE and his son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city. In Christianity, Jerusalem has been a holy city since, according to the New Testament, Jesus was crucifiedin c. 30 CE and 300 years later Saint Helena found the True Cross in the city. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city. It became the first Oibla, the focal point for Muslim prayer in 610 CE, and, according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years later. As a result, and despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometres (0.35 sq mi), the Old City is home to sites of key religious importance, among them the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Churck of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millenium, BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world. The old walled city, a World Heritage site, has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today—the Armenian, Christian, Jewish and MuslimQuarters—were introduced in the early 19th century.

Today, the state of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflice. After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel annexed East Jerusalem (which was controlled by Jordan following the 1948 war) and considers it a part of Israel, although the international community has rejected the annexation as illegal and considers East Jerusalem to be Palestinian territory held by Israel under military occupation Israel, however, considers the entire city to be a part of Israel following its annexation of East Jerusalem through the Jerusalem Law of 1980.

According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 208,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, which is sought as a future capital of a future Palestinian state.

All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President, and the Supreme Court. Jerusalem is home to the Hebrew University and to the Israel Museum with its Shrine of the Book. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's top tourist attraction for Israelis.

Passover/(ש"ע) חג הפסח

The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. It commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. And, by following the rituals of Passover, we have the ability to relive and experience the true freedom that our ancestors gained.

The Story in a Nutshell

After many decades of slavery to the Egyptian pharaohs, during which time the Israelites were subjected to backbreaking labor and unbearable horrors, God saw the people’s distress and sent Moses to Pharaoh with a message: “Send forth My people, so that they may serve Me.” But despite numerous warnings, Pharaoh refused to heed God’s command. God then sent upon Egypt ten devastating plagues, afflicting them and destroying everything from their livestock to their crops.

At the stroke of midnight of 15 Nissan in the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE), G‑d visited the last of the ten plagues on the Egyptians, killing all their firstborn. While doing so, God spared the Children of Israel, “passing over” their homes—hence the name of the holiday. Pharaoh’s resistance was broken, and he virtually chased his former slaves out of the land. The Israelites left in such a hurry, in fact, that the bread they baked as provisions for the way did not have time to rise. Six hundred thousand adult males, plus many more women and children, left Egypt on that day, and began the trek to Mount Sinai and their birth as God’s chosen people.

Passover is divided into two parts:

The first two days and last two days are full-fledged holidays. Holiday candles are lit at night, and kiddush and sumptuous holiday meals are enjoyed on both nights and days. We don’t go to work, drive, write or switch on or off electric devices. We are permitted to cook.

The middle four days are called chol hamoed, semi-festive “intermediate days,” when most forms of work are permitted.

NO CHAMETZ

To commemorate the unleavened bread that the Israelites ate when they left Egypt, we don’t eat—or even retain in our possession—any chametz from midday of the day before Passover until the conclusion of the holiday. Chametz means leavened grain—any food or drink that contains even a trace of wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt or their derivatives, and which wasn’t guarded from leavening or fermentation. This includes bread, cake, cookies, cereal, pasta and most alcoholic beverages. Moreover, almost any processed food or drink can be assumed to be chametz unless certified otherwise.

Ridding our homes of chametz is an intensive process. It involves a full-out spring-cleaning search-and-destroy mission during the weeks before Passover, and culminates with a ceremonial search for chametz on the night before Passover, and then a burning of the chametz ceremony on the morning before the holiday. Chametz that cannot be disposed of can be sold to a non-Jew for the duration of the holiday.

MATZAH

Instead of chametz, we eat matzah—flat unleavened bread. It is a mitzvah to partake of matzah on the two Seder nights and during the rest of the holiday it is optional.

THE SEDERS

The highlight of Passover is the Seder, observed on each of the first two nights of the holiday. The Seder is a fifteen-step family-oriented tradition and ritual-packed feast.

The focal points of the Seder are:

Eating matzah.
Eating bitter herbs—to commemorate the bitter slavery endured by the Israelites.
Drinking four cups of wine or grape juice—a royal drink to celebrate our newfound freedom.
The recitation of the Haggadah, a liturgy that describes in detail the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Haggadah is the fulfillment of the biblical obligation to recount to our children the story of the Exodus on the night of Passover.

The Seder Plate

Traditional arrangement of symbolic foods on a Passover Seder Plate

The Passover Seder Plate (ke'ara) is a special plate containing six symbolic foods used during the Passover Seder. Each of the six items arranged on the plate have special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal—a stack of three matzot—is placed on its own plate on the Seder table.

The six items on the Seder Plate are:

Maror and Chazeret: Two types of bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. For maror, many people use freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root. Chazeret is typically romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting. Either the horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.
Charoset: A sweet, brown, pebbly paste of fruits and nuts, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt.
Karpas: A vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley but sometimes something such as celery or cooked potato, which is dipped into salt water (Ashkenazi custom), vinegar (Sephardi custom), or charoset (older custom, still common amongst Yemenite Jews) at the beginning of the Seder.
Zeroa: A roasted lamb bone, symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.
Beitzah: A roasted egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and was then eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

Caesarea National Park

Situated on the Mediterranean coast in northern Sharon, between the Crocodile and Hadera River mouths. It lies alongside bays and shallow inlets that were formed by wave erosion in the "kurkar" range. These bays were utilized throughout history for the anchorage of sea-going vessels.

Caesarea was a planned city, with a network of crisscrossing roads, a temple, theatre, amphitheatre, markets and residential quarters. It took 12 years to build and great festivities were held to mark it's completion in 10/9 BCE. The city transformed rapidly into a great commercial centre and by the year 6 BCE became the headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine.

Purim

I had never heard of Purim. I was wondering why all the malls were selling costumes, like we do in the US for Halloween. Well, Lisa and I did some research and had the guys ask around and found out that Purim was coming up. In quick terms, it is a time for everyone (including adults) to dress up in costumes and celebrate. However, here are the true historical facts (if you are a bible reader, check out Esther):

Purim is a festive Jewish holiday recounting the deliverance of the Jewish people from extermination plot by Haman the Agagite. It is an annual celebration held every 14th of Adar, or Adar II in leap years, which is a month in the Hebrew calendar. In walled cities that existed during the time of Joshua, like Shushan and Jerusalem, it is celebrated on the 15th and is called Shushan Purim.

The story behind Purim can be found in the Biblical Book Of Esther. Esther is a Jewish orphan girl who was raised by her cousin Mordecai. She grows into a beautiful woman that is crowned queen by the King Ahasuerus.

The king loved Esther most among all of his wives, but was unaware that she was Jewish. Esther and Mordecai further gained favor under the king's eyes when Mordecai successfully revealed a plot to assassinate the king. Because of this, Haman, the king's advisor, harbored a great hate for Mordecai, which finally came to a head when Mordecai, on one occasion, refused to bow down to Haman. Haman later on learned that Mordecai was a Jew, which is why he resolved to kill not only Mordecai, but also Esther and all of the Jewish people under the Persian rule.

Being the king's advisor, Haman gets the king to approve of his plan. Esther learns of this, so she fasts for three days with all of the Jews in the land in her preparation to approach the king to ask him to spare her and her people. In a spectacular turn of events, Ahasuerus recalls the time Mordecai saved him from death through the court records and instead, welcomes Esther, honors Mordecai and saves the Jews. Haman and his ten sons are then hanged on the gallows that were intended for Mordecai.

Purim is treated more as a national holiday, like Hannukkah. Work is even allowed in most places but it is encouraged that the occasion be prioritized and celebrated in a joyous manner. Jewish mitzvot dictate that Jews observe these four activities during Purim:

K'riat megillah - listening to the readings of the Book Of Esther in the evening and again in the following morning
Mishloach manot- giving food gifts to friends
Matanot la'evyonim - giving charity to the poor
Se`udah – partaking in a festive meal

Since Purim is meant to be a merry occasion, Jews are actually encouraged to be boisterous when attending readings of the Book Of Esther in the synagogue. Booing, hissing, stamping of feet and rattling of noisemakers called gragers is customary and welcome

Traditional Jewish food items prepared include the hamentaschen or “Haman's pockets”, which are triangular cookies filled with prunes or poppy seeds said to represent Haman's three-cornered hat. A festive meal is also eaten, along with heavy drinking. The Talmud even states that a person should drink until he is unable to distinguish between "cursed be Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai", although this is highly discouraged nowadays.

Purim is also a day when the Jewish people perform various merry-making activities like plays, pageants and masquerades. Wearing masks and various costumes are popular and some communities even allow cross-dressing, seeing it as in spirit with the jovial theme of the holiday.

Shabbat

Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath. The Sabbath begins late Friday afternoon and ends after sundown on Saturday. Most banks and businesses are closed during this time period, as is most public transportation. In observant circles, all weekday work like cooking, shopping and traveling is suspended and in many instances radios and televisions will not be turned on. Business typically begins to slow down arounmd 3:00 pm on Fridays, and you should try to purchase any necessary supplies, including gas, before markets and shops close on Friday. If you plan on driving your own car, it is advised to avoid very religious areas such as B'nei Brak or in Jerusalem from Friday to Saturday night. Some cities in Israel close certain streets out of respect for religious residents and some community settlements close their gates during the Shabbat. If you come to a place where there is closed gate or a barrier in the street, do not attempt to enter. In some locations, including those in Behtlehem, Nazareth, Gaza and other Arab centers, the Sabbath is not particularly enforced. Sunday is a regular working day for Israelis, and begins the week.

Journey to Tel Aviv Israel

Our Journey to Israel