Well I realize it's been forever since I last updated this (3 months). I have no good excuses, I just haven't done it. As of this writing, I'm in Chicago with my family. After all the medical stuff that happened in Israel, I'm here getting some rest and trying to get some health coverage so I can get things taken care of.
Israel was of course amazing and I can't wait to go back! Once I returned to the U.S. I spent a month in Richmond (part of that time was having lots of meetings) and then made my way to Chicago. On the way here I got to participate in The Call in Nashville. This was a gathering of 100,000 believers who joined together to seek G-d, repent, and call for revival in the U.S. It was a really fantastic time and I'm glad I went.
A few days after I arrived in Chicago we had our family reunion, and that was really nice. It's always great seeing everyone. And this past weekend was the UMJC (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations) conference, here in the Chicago area, and I got to attend.
While there I got to see people I know from California, people from my congregation in Richmond, even people I met in Israel. And more importantly, I got to see G-d's provision in some amazing ways. I didn't have the money to pay for the conference, but I figured I had enough to pay for just one day. So I went out there planning to spend a day and our base director from Richmond, Jaime flew in for the conference as well. Well as it happened, Jaime had sprained his ankle while playing soccer and couldn't get around very well. So I got him a wheelchair from the hotel where the conference was held and pushed him around to his meetings. And though I couldn't pay for the whole thing, since I was serving as his personal assistant, one of the conference organizers decided to let me attend the whole thing for free, rather than just a day. And since I had to drive Jaime around to find food, he paid for all my meals. It was funny because there were also a few other times that I was given free stuff. So it was all a wonderful reminder of G-d's provision and His love for me.
Well that's it for now. I'm supposed to be going to India next month with a team of 6 from the JWO, however my money hasn't come in yet and my health issues are still up in the air, so we'll see what happens. Please keep me in prayer-
Until next time...
Blessings to you all,
Monica
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Ruins of Roman City "Scythopolis", part of the "Decapolis"
Somewhere north...
On the Sea of GalileeDENIAL
I’ve been trying to deny that I’m actually getting older, however my body will no longer let me. For those of you who don’t know, I turned 45 this past January. Now of course my college friends know this, and they never let me forget it. I went to school late, so I’m the oldest of our group by far…But when it comes to meeting new people, I’m generally not terribly forthcoming with this particular truth. And as I’ve always looked younger than my actual biological age, it’s never been a problem-I just let people think what they want to think, or if directly asked I’ll generally say something like “29 and holding”. And I still act young, so why not? However, now that I am 45, my body has started to say “You’re definitely getting older!” Actually I noticed maybe 2-4 years ago that losing weight is no longer as easy as it once was-I would go on a diet (especially in college), drop those unwanted pounds, and be content (for a while-until they started to come back on). But a few years ago I started noticing that taking them off was not so easy anymore, although putting them on was a piece of cake!
Then I started noticing more *gray hairs. I’ve had a few here and there since my early 30s (more in times of stress, like graduate school, but those usually went away). I realized a while back that I could no longer pluck them-unless I wanted to have bald spots-but it was nothing a simple $6 rinse couldn’t handle. Until this year. I put in a rinse just before coming to Israel, and within a couple of days, the *grey was showing through again. So a couple of weeks ago I tried a natural henna color-I went for black to be sure everything was covered-and nope, that didn’t work either.
But that’s the minor stuff. Back in December while driving home from Chicago I managed to hurt my foot, and it turned out to be “plantar faschiitis”. Well it can have several causes, but one of the things you’ll notice when you look up information is that is generally occurs during “middle age”. So an age related health problem-that was new.
But it doesn’t stop there-I went to the doctor about the foot problem, and he checked my blood pressure, just as a routine, and it was a little high. Nothing to be too concerned about (around 140 over something)-he just told me to monitor it, and cut out extra salt. Well I did more than that-I went back to the gym, did a cleansing fast, and started taking natural supplements to lower it. And it went down-it was within normal range before by the time I left for Israel. And once I got here, with all the walking and the healthy foods (fresh fruits and veggies all the time), I thought I’d have nothing to worry about.
But recently asthma has been a problem, and I decided to see the doctor today to get that under control. When he finished, I noticed the blood-pressure monitor and asked if he would take my blood-pressure, just as he was asking my age (wondering if he needed to take my blood-pressure). Well it was so high he didn’t even tell me the figure right away-he just asked me to relax and after a few minutes he took it again. He still didn’t want to say what it was, and had me wait a bit longer-asked if I was nervous about coming in for the first time-(and I wasn’t). So the third time he took it, it was down to 170+/105! (It was at 190 when he started!)My blood-pressure has never been that high in my life!!! In college and even into my 30s, it was generally around 110/70 and lower. Back then they would look at me strangely because it was so low--Well those days are apparently over! He put me on medication for it (he did not want to hear about natural remedies and supplements), along with aspirin to thin my blood, and I have to walk an hour a day and give up salt. Well, I’ll take the drugs (reluctantly), and I’ll start walking (some days may only be 45 minutes), and I’ll cut back on the salt-But I’m also going to restart my natural supplement regimen and have all of you pray for me because I do not want to be on these drugs long-term! You know I was celebrating finally being “drug-free” after coming off of 20+ years of asthma meds-and now this!
But as I said, I can no longer deny that if nothing else, my body is in fact getting older. As for the asthma, he put me on almost the same course of meds I was on for the last 5 years (until last summer). However he also wants to do blood work, check my cholesterol, my glucose, several other things, and he’s even talking about an ultrasound on my kidneys to see if a clogged renal artery is causing the high blood-pressure.
Was I just being naïve? I wasn’t even considering dealing with any of this stuff yet-isn’t this for people who are in their 60s or older???
Actually, with the history of strokes in my family (on both my mom and dad’s sides), I should be very grateful that I went to a doctor who’s willing to take this seriously and deal with it aggressively. I know I told some of you that a cousin of mine last year had a stroke at the age of 45. So I do realize the need to be cautious.
Well I guess that’s it for now-next week I plan to post pictures from the New Age Festival I’m going to this week, and hopefully some from Pesach (Passover) as well. (And I’ll also have to find time to write about my tour of Israel and show more pix of that as well!)
Please pray for my health, and that things go well at the Festival-
Blessings from Jerusalem!
Monica
*both spellings are correct and I can never make up my mind which to use, so I decided to use both-
I’ve been trying to deny that I’m actually getting older, however my body will no longer let me. For those of you who don’t know, I turned 45 this past January. Now of course my college friends know this, and they never let me forget it. I went to school late, so I’m the oldest of our group by far…But when it comes to meeting new people, I’m generally not terribly forthcoming with this particular truth. And as I’ve always looked younger than my actual biological age, it’s never been a problem-I just let people think what they want to think, or if directly asked I’ll generally say something like “29 and holding”. And I still act young, so why not? However, now that I am 45, my body has started to say “You’re definitely getting older!” Actually I noticed maybe 2-4 years ago that losing weight is no longer as easy as it once was-I would go on a diet (especially in college), drop those unwanted pounds, and be content (for a while-until they started to come back on). But a few years ago I started noticing that taking them off was not so easy anymore, although putting them on was a piece of cake!
Then I started noticing more *gray hairs. I’ve had a few here and there since my early 30s (more in times of stress, like graduate school, but those usually went away). I realized a while back that I could no longer pluck them-unless I wanted to have bald spots-but it was nothing a simple $6 rinse couldn’t handle. Until this year. I put in a rinse just before coming to Israel, and within a couple of days, the *grey was showing through again. So a couple of weeks ago I tried a natural henna color-I went for black to be sure everything was covered-and nope, that didn’t work either.
But that’s the minor stuff. Back in December while driving home from Chicago I managed to hurt my foot, and it turned out to be “plantar faschiitis”. Well it can have several causes, but one of the things you’ll notice when you look up information is that is generally occurs during “middle age”. So an age related health problem-that was new.
But it doesn’t stop there-I went to the doctor about the foot problem, and he checked my blood pressure, just as a routine, and it was a little high. Nothing to be too concerned about (around 140 over something)-he just told me to monitor it, and cut out extra salt. Well I did more than that-I went back to the gym, did a cleansing fast, and started taking natural supplements to lower it. And it went down-it was within normal range before by the time I left for Israel. And once I got here, with all the walking and the healthy foods (fresh fruits and veggies all the time), I thought I’d have nothing to worry about.
But recently asthma has been a problem, and I decided to see the doctor today to get that under control. When he finished, I noticed the blood-pressure monitor and asked if he would take my blood-pressure, just as he was asking my age (wondering if he needed to take my blood-pressure). Well it was so high he didn’t even tell me the figure right away-he just asked me to relax and after a few minutes he took it again. He still didn’t want to say what it was, and had me wait a bit longer-asked if I was nervous about coming in for the first time-(and I wasn’t). So the third time he took it, it was down to 170+/105! (It was at 190 when he started!)My blood-pressure has never been that high in my life!!! In college and even into my 30s, it was generally around 110/70 and lower. Back then they would look at me strangely because it was so low--Well those days are apparently over! He put me on medication for it (he did not want to hear about natural remedies and supplements), along with aspirin to thin my blood, and I have to walk an hour a day and give up salt. Well, I’ll take the drugs (reluctantly), and I’ll start walking (some days may only be 45 minutes), and I’ll cut back on the salt-But I’m also going to restart my natural supplement regimen and have all of you pray for me because I do not want to be on these drugs long-term! You know I was celebrating finally being “drug-free” after coming off of 20+ years of asthma meds-and now this!
But as I said, I can no longer deny that if nothing else, my body is in fact getting older. As for the asthma, he put me on almost the same course of meds I was on for the last 5 years (until last summer). However he also wants to do blood work, check my cholesterol, my glucose, several other things, and he’s even talking about an ultrasound on my kidneys to see if a clogged renal artery is causing the high blood-pressure.
Was I just being naïve? I wasn’t even considering dealing with any of this stuff yet-isn’t this for people who are in their 60s or older???
Actually, with the history of strokes in my family (on both my mom and dad’s sides), I should be very grateful that I went to a doctor who’s willing to take this seriously and deal with it aggressively. I know I told some of you that a cousin of mine last year had a stroke at the age of 45. So I do realize the need to be cautious.
Well I guess that’s it for now-next week I plan to post pictures from the New Age Festival I’m going to this week, and hopefully some from Pesach (Passover) as well. (And I’ll also have to find time to write about my tour of Israel and show more pix of that as well!)
Please pray for my health, and that things go well at the Festival-
Blessings from Jerusalem!
Monica
*both spellings are correct and I can never make up my mind which to use, so I decided to use both-
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
THE MIRACLE OF ISRAEL
Today while coming home on the bus I was really struck by what an amazing miracle the Land of Israel really is…Of course you all know about the Exodus and all the mighty works the L-rd did in bringing the descendents of Jacob out of Egypt. They had been there for 400 years, members of one (large) family-there had to be at least 2 million of them leaving Egypt at the time (based on the number of men who were counted, and adding in minimal amounts of wives and children). Pretty incredible, right? But the rebuilding of Israel is I think even more amazing. The children of Jacob this time were expelled from their land, dispersed to the four corners of the earth (literally), and after 2000 years they’re coming back!!! There have been known settlements of Jewish people in most parts of the world-throughout Europe, South America, all of the Middle East. But also China and other parts of Asia. However in recent years the descendents of Jacob have also been discovered in North East India, and parts of Africa. But remember, this time it wasn’t just for 400 years in one location (like Egypt)-they were scattered EVERYWHERE, expelled from one country after another after another—and yet managed to maintain a sense of cultural identity, and after all this time, THEY’VE COME HOME!!! To the Land G-d promised them as an ETERNAL POSSESSION!! Also, the Land was desolate, and now it’s AMAZING!! He really has caused it to bloom in the desert!!! And the cities have been rebuilt!
Imagine for a moment that somehow the U.S. was conquered, taken over by some other people group, many of us murdered, the rest forced to flee, expelled from our land, dispersed first to Canada and Mexico, then we might migrate farther, to Central and South America, and eventually to Europe and parts beyond. Now as an American, we all have ancestors who came from someplace else, right? England, France, Germany, Italy, etc. And maybe you have some family traditions that have been passed down for a few generations? How strongly do you really identify with those countries? Do you speak the language? And maybe your family has only been in the U.S. for 3-6 generations, right? How much of the cultural identity will your descendents have in another 100 years? What would happen to us as Americans if we were gone from our land 100 years? 200 years? 500 years? I believe that initially there would be groups of us who would want to rally together, try to take back our land, etc. But after 500 years? I imagine we would be just a memory…
But the Jewish People have come back after almost 2000 years!!! And the thought of that just really touched me…G-d is true to His Word-He preserved the People, and even though many thought He had forgotten about them (both Jewish and Christian), He has called them back home-from “all the nations of the earth”, back to the Land He promised them, back to the Home He gave them-What an amazing miracle, and what an Amazing G-d we serve!
Today while coming home on the bus I was really struck by what an amazing miracle the Land of Israel really is…Of course you all know about the Exodus and all the mighty works the L-rd did in bringing the descendents of Jacob out of Egypt. They had been there for 400 years, members of one (large) family-there had to be at least 2 million of them leaving Egypt at the time (based on the number of men who were counted, and adding in minimal amounts of wives and children). Pretty incredible, right? But the rebuilding of Israel is I think even more amazing. The children of Jacob this time were expelled from their land, dispersed to the four corners of the earth (literally), and after 2000 years they’re coming back!!! There have been known settlements of Jewish people in most parts of the world-throughout Europe, South America, all of the Middle East. But also China and other parts of Asia. However in recent years the descendents of Jacob have also been discovered in North East India, and parts of Africa. But remember, this time it wasn’t just for 400 years in one location (like Egypt)-they were scattered EVERYWHERE, expelled from one country after another after another—and yet managed to maintain a sense of cultural identity, and after all this time, THEY’VE COME HOME!!! To the Land G-d promised them as an ETERNAL POSSESSION!! Also, the Land was desolate, and now it’s AMAZING!! He really has caused it to bloom in the desert!!! And the cities have been rebuilt!
Imagine for a moment that somehow the U.S. was conquered, taken over by some other people group, many of us murdered, the rest forced to flee, expelled from our land, dispersed first to Canada and Mexico, then we might migrate farther, to Central and South America, and eventually to Europe and parts beyond. Now as an American, we all have ancestors who came from someplace else, right? England, France, Germany, Italy, etc. And maybe you have some family traditions that have been passed down for a few generations? How strongly do you really identify with those countries? Do you speak the language? And maybe your family has only been in the U.S. for 3-6 generations, right? How much of the cultural identity will your descendents have in another 100 years? What would happen to us as Americans if we were gone from our land 100 years? 200 years? 500 years? I believe that initially there would be groups of us who would want to rally together, try to take back our land, etc. But after 500 years? I imagine we would be just a memory…
But the Jewish People have come back after almost 2000 years!!! And the thought of that just really touched me…G-d is true to His Word-He preserved the People, and even though many thought He had forgotten about them (both Jewish and Christian), He has called them back home-from “all the nations of the earth”, back to the Land He promised them, back to the Home He gave them-What an amazing miracle, and what an Amazing G-d we serve!
Israel Week 4
First of all, I finally got to see the Old City, the Temple Mount, and the Western (Wailing) Wall!!! I was so great! I don’t know when my next tourist thing will be-I have some friends looking into going to Cypress for a weekend, and depending on the cost I might consider it-but it would be better for me to do something like this when my visa is about to expire so that I could get it renewed. (A friend just spent 4 days in Switzerland and France on a “visa run”-only cost $250 for a round trip ticket-wow!). I am planning to go up north the end of this month with CFI (the organization I’m volunteering for) and that should be fun. I’ll take lots of pictures (which means I have to replace the battery charger I burned out my first or 2nd night here-the electricity here is 220 v so my appliances don’t work. : (
This week I started my volunteer work at CFI-a really great organization. I’ve been working on thank you letters to the people who send clothing donations-and on Fridays I’ll be with the “Doors of Hope” program giving out clothing to the new immigrants who come in. We receive a lot of Russian speakers, so with them I can only smile and attempt to look friendly, and hand out the Tanakh (Jewish Bible-no New Testament).
We did have a girl from Peru my first day, so I got to speak a little Spanish with her. Then this Friday a young soldier from the U.S. came in, so that was nice-I got to tell him about CFI, gave him his gift basket (it comes with a sheet, a towel, a pot and a skillet, and a “challah cover”), and I helped him pick out a few items of clothing. His name was Shmuel (think Samuel)-so if you remember, please pray for his safety.
My first week at CFI was very nice, but I was really, really tired-(my brain get’s very full during Hebrew class in the morning and studying a new language makes me physically very tired)-I’m going to try to manage my time better and get a little more rest, which will mean not goofing off on the internet (I do a lot of that-in addition to spending quality time with all of you).
Well that’s it for this week- Blessings from Yerushalayim!!
Challah cover-used to cover the “challah” (special bread below-served on Shabbat and other special/Holy Days).
First of all, I finally got to see the Old City, the Temple Mount, and the Western (Wailing) Wall!!! I was so great! I don’t know when my next tourist thing will be-I have some friends looking into going to Cypress for a weekend, and depending on the cost I might consider it-but it would be better for me to do something like this when my visa is about to expire so that I could get it renewed. (A friend just spent 4 days in Switzerland and France on a “visa run”-only cost $250 for a round trip ticket-wow!). I am planning to go up north the end of this month with CFI (the organization I’m volunteering for) and that should be fun. I’ll take lots of pictures (which means I have to replace the battery charger I burned out my first or 2nd night here-the electricity here is 220 v so my appliances don’t work. : (
This week I started my volunteer work at CFI-a really great organization. I’ve been working on thank you letters to the people who send clothing donations-and on Fridays I’ll be with the “Doors of Hope” program giving out clothing to the new immigrants who come in. We receive a lot of Russian speakers, so with them I can only smile and attempt to look friendly, and hand out the Tanakh (Jewish Bible-no New Testament).
We did have a girl from Peru my first day, so I got to speak a little Spanish with her. Then this Friday a young soldier from the U.S. came in, so that was nice-I got to tell him about CFI, gave him his gift basket (it comes with a sheet, a towel, a pot and a skillet, and a “challah cover”), and I helped him pick out a few items of clothing. His name was Shmuel (think Samuel)-so if you remember, please pray for his safety.
My first week at CFI was very nice, but I was really, really tired-(my brain get’s very full during Hebrew class in the morning and studying a new language makes me physically very tired)-I’m going to try to manage my time better and get a little more rest, which will mean not goofing off on the internet (I do a lot of that-in addition to spending quality time with all of you).
Well that’s it for this week- Blessings from Yerushalayim!!
Challah cover-used to cover the “challah” (special bread below-served on Shabbat and other special/Holy Days).
Sunday, March 04, 2007
PURIM 2007!
Tonight was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at any church or synagogue service! Today and tomorrow mark the celebration of Purim, the holiday that commemorates the events in the book of Esther-in case you’re fuzzy on the details of the story, here’s a quick synopsis:
A Jewish girl named Esther (Hadassah) is raised by her relative Mordecai, as her parents are deceased. The King of the region (which reaches from Ethiopia to India) is Achashveros (that’s the Jewish spelling and it’s easier to remember than the other ones!). The Queen is Vashti, and one day she doesn’t come when the King calls here, so she is dethroned. After loneliness sets in, the Kings advisors suggest he hold a “beauty pageant” to find a replacement for Vashti. Enter Esther and Mordecai-Esther enters the pageant, Mordecai tells her to keep her background a secret, she wins the pageant and becomes the new Queen. Enter the Evil Haman-he is pompous and arrogant and wants all the subjects of the King to bow down to him, however Mordecai doesn’t because he is Jewish, and this infuriates Haman. Haman devises a plan to kill Mordecai (on a 75 foot gallows he has built for him), and also convinces the King to have all the Jewish people in the kingdom put to death.
During Haman’s scheming, the King is reminded that Mordecai foiled a Royal assassination attempt and was never rewarded. So while Haman is devising evil against Mordecai, the King has Haman help honor Mordecai. The result is Haman is even more enraged. Mordecai learns of Haman’s plans, tells Esther, and after a couple of private banquets for Haman and the King, Esther tells King Achashveros of Haman’s evil plan to destroy all of her people-the King is horrified, Haman is put to death (on the gallows he built for Mordecai), and a new decree is issued, saying that the Jewish people throughout the kingdom may now kill all of their enemies, including anyone who was planning to kill them. So the Jewish people are spared (and infact, many of the gentiles in the kingdom converted as a result of the whole thing) and the whole event ends with feasting, festivities, and giving of gifts to friends and food to the poor. It is also decreed that the Jewish people will keep this festival forever, throughout their generations. And so they do.
However today a few newer costumes have been added-I’m not sure how common it is for people in the U.S. to dress in costume for Purim, but here in Israel it’s a BIG DEAL!!!I think I started seeing people in costume as early as Thursday (think Halloween but without the scary, evil, or gory stuff), and the official holiday is today and tomorrow, so by this evening EVERYONE on the street was in some sort of costume-and I imagine tomorrow will be much the same.
Another newer addition is the “Hamentaschen”, a type of cookie that is made for this holiday and is said to represent either Haman’s ears, or his hat (you’ll hear both explanations). And there are fireworks-I haven’t really seen any displays, but we here random things being shot off throughout the neighborhood-and no, it’s not gunshots, rockets, or anything else. I’ve even seen a few kids giggle and run by just as they’ve dropped one-are very harmless fun.
Also, as part of the festivities, the story of Esther is read in the synagogue-however this is not some austere reading of a serious story-people are encouraged to make lots of noise during the reading (which is read from an actual scroll, or “Megillah”)-specifically cheering whenever Mordecai’s name is mentioned, and booing, using “noisemakers”, or anything else to make a racket when Haman’s name is read (and there may be a designated sound for Esther or King Achashveros as well). Check out the book of Esther, their names are mentioned a lot!
So tonight I was at the United Conservative Synagogue here in Jerusalem with my Italian friend Leah. They had a guy playing guitar, drum, & harmonica, and he had re-written several older pop songs to fit the occasion, and he provided a good portion of the entertainment. But that’s not all-the Chazan, the man who chants the Hebrew prayers in the synagogue also added his own Purim flair. He did each prayer to the tune of some once popular song, like “Oklahoma!”. Other examples included: Phantom of the Opera, an Elvis Presley selection, a few Italian tunes, and other things like that. It was HILARIOUS!!! (Although I found it very hard to be reverent during this service.) And at the end of each chapter, the “one man band” would play another one of his hits-the whole thing was tons of fun!
Well service ended and we were all invited to stay for a party downstairs-And the Rabbi specifically mentioned that there would be beverages to “warm the heart”. Oh, I forgot to mention-another custom on Purim is to get drunk. In case you are unaware, celebrating and drinking wine are important in Jewish culture (so I’ve had a lot more wine in the last 2 ½ years than I’d probably had in the previous 15-20 yrs! According to the Rabbis, one should drink so much that “one doesn’t know the difference between Mordecai and Haman”. So I was expecting to see some wine down there. Well there were lots of snacks, and of course pita and hummus (eaten all the time here in Israel), and soda, and beer, a little white wine, and lots of Vodka! I didn’t know Vodka came in so many flavors-lemon and strawberry and mixed berry-it was very interesting. I get fooled by fruity sounding drinks-I tried so-called raspberry flavored beer a few years ago-this did not taste like raspberries-it tasted like beer! I’ve never liked the taste of beer, so I was highly disappointed. Well I thought surely berry flavored Vodka would taste at least similar to berries, and even be sweet, right? OF COURSE NOT!!! It tasted like VODKA! So again, I was disappointed-but at least I’ll know next time! (And in case you’re wondering, this was a miniscule amount of vodka, I think it was probably less than the amount in half of a shot glass, and I diluted it with lots of water!-I was never planning to follow the custom of getting drunk-And next time I’ll just stick with my one glass of Mogen David kosher sweet wine on Shabbat, thank you very much!)
But despite being reminded that I still don’t like hard liquor, I HAD A GREAT TIME!!! There was so much laughter and fun, and the costumes were fantastic-really creative, funny, outrageous-I wish I’d had a camera-I just thought we were going to synagogue-it never occurred to me that I would find what I did. Well I think someone from the synagogue was taking official photos, so I’m hoping they’ll be up on the website soon-and if so, I’ll be sure to share them with you.
Well that’s it for now-PURIM SAMEACH!!! (Happy Purim)
Blessings from Jerusalem!
A Jewish girl named Esther (Hadassah) is raised by her relative Mordecai, as her parents are deceased. The King of the region (which reaches from Ethiopia to India) is Achashveros (that’s the Jewish spelling and it’s easier to remember than the other ones!). The Queen is Vashti, and one day she doesn’t come when the King calls here, so she is dethroned. After loneliness sets in, the Kings advisors suggest he hold a “beauty pageant” to find a replacement for Vashti. Enter Esther and Mordecai-Esther enters the pageant, Mordecai tells her to keep her background a secret, she wins the pageant and becomes the new Queen. Enter the Evil Haman-he is pompous and arrogant and wants all the subjects of the King to bow down to him, however Mordecai doesn’t because he is Jewish, and this infuriates Haman. Haman devises a plan to kill Mordecai (on a 75 foot gallows he has built for him), and also convinces the King to have all the Jewish people in the kingdom put to death.
During Haman’s scheming, the King is reminded that Mordecai foiled a Royal assassination attempt and was never rewarded. So while Haman is devising evil against Mordecai, the King has Haman help honor Mordecai. The result is Haman is even more enraged. Mordecai learns of Haman’s plans, tells Esther, and after a couple of private banquets for Haman and the King, Esther tells King Achashveros of Haman’s evil plan to destroy all of her people-the King is horrified, Haman is put to death (on the gallows he built for Mordecai), and a new decree is issued, saying that the Jewish people throughout the kingdom may now kill all of their enemies, including anyone who was planning to kill them. So the Jewish people are spared (and infact, many of the gentiles in the kingdom converted as a result of the whole thing) and the whole event ends with feasting, festivities, and giving of gifts to friends and food to the poor. It is also decreed that the Jewish people will keep this festival forever, throughout their generations. And so they do.
However today a few newer costumes have been added-I’m not sure how common it is for people in the U.S. to dress in costume for Purim, but here in Israel it’s a BIG DEAL!!!I think I started seeing people in costume as early as Thursday (think Halloween but without the scary, evil, or gory stuff), and the official holiday is today and tomorrow, so by this evening EVERYONE on the street was in some sort of costume-and I imagine tomorrow will be much the same.
Another newer addition is the “Hamentaschen”, a type of cookie that is made for this holiday and is said to represent either Haman’s ears, or his hat (you’ll hear both explanations). And there are fireworks-I haven’t really seen any displays, but we here random things being shot off throughout the neighborhood-and no, it’s not gunshots, rockets, or anything else. I’ve even seen a few kids giggle and run by just as they’ve dropped one-are very harmless fun.
Also, as part of the festivities, the story of Esther is read in the synagogue-however this is not some austere reading of a serious story-people are encouraged to make lots of noise during the reading (which is read from an actual scroll, or “Megillah”)-specifically cheering whenever Mordecai’s name is mentioned, and booing, using “noisemakers”, or anything else to make a racket when Haman’s name is read (and there may be a designated sound for Esther or King Achashveros as well). Check out the book of Esther, their names are mentioned a lot!
So tonight I was at the United Conservative Synagogue here in Jerusalem with my Italian friend Leah. They had a guy playing guitar, drum, & harmonica, and he had re-written several older pop songs to fit the occasion, and he provided a good portion of the entertainment. But that’s not all-the Chazan, the man who chants the Hebrew prayers in the synagogue also added his own Purim flair. He did each prayer to the tune of some once popular song, like “Oklahoma!”. Other examples included: Phantom of the Opera, an Elvis Presley selection, a few Italian tunes, and other things like that. It was HILARIOUS!!! (Although I found it very hard to be reverent during this service.) And at the end of each chapter, the “one man band” would play another one of his hits-the whole thing was tons of fun!
Well service ended and we were all invited to stay for a party downstairs-And the Rabbi specifically mentioned that there would be beverages to “warm the heart”. Oh, I forgot to mention-another custom on Purim is to get drunk. In case you are unaware, celebrating and drinking wine are important in Jewish culture (so I’ve had a lot more wine in the last 2 ½ years than I’d probably had in the previous 15-20 yrs! According to the Rabbis, one should drink so much that “one doesn’t know the difference between Mordecai and Haman”. So I was expecting to see some wine down there. Well there were lots of snacks, and of course pita and hummus (eaten all the time here in Israel), and soda, and beer, a little white wine, and lots of Vodka! I didn’t know Vodka came in so many flavors-lemon and strawberry and mixed berry-it was very interesting. I get fooled by fruity sounding drinks-I tried so-called raspberry flavored beer a few years ago-this did not taste like raspberries-it tasted like beer! I’ve never liked the taste of beer, so I was highly disappointed. Well I thought surely berry flavored Vodka would taste at least similar to berries, and even be sweet, right? OF COURSE NOT!!! It tasted like VODKA! So again, I was disappointed-but at least I’ll know next time! (And in case you’re wondering, this was a miniscule amount of vodka, I think it was probably less than the amount in half of a shot glass, and I diluted it with lots of water!-I was never planning to follow the custom of getting drunk-And next time I’ll just stick with my one glass of Mogen David kosher sweet wine on Shabbat, thank you very much!)
But despite being reminded that I still don’t like hard liquor, I HAD A GREAT TIME!!! There was so much laughter and fun, and the costumes were fantastic-really creative, funny, outrageous-I wish I’d had a camera-I just thought we were going to synagogue-it never occurred to me that I would find what I did. Well I think someone from the synagogue was taking official photos, so I’m hoping they’ll be up on the website soon-and if so, I’ll be sure to share them with you.
Well that’s it for now-PURIM SAMEACH!!! (Happy Purim)
Blessings from Jerusalem!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
3rd week in Israel
So what have I been up to you ask? Trying to learn Hebrew, and adjusting to life in Israel. I really like it here! I think I could stay! (Well, you know me, so that means 2,3, maybe even 5 years!) The funny thing is that I've been here now almost 3 week and I haven't seen the Temple Mount, any of the "Old City", or any of the other tourist places-yet-- I'm just living here like an Israeli-it's nice, I'm experiencing what life is like for a new immigrant. I'm in Hebrew school with new immigrants, and 1 of my 2 roommates is a new immigrant, so she's still furnishing the apartment and getting herself settled in as well-both roommates are from the States, so they're still learning Hebrew too.
And most people take the bus here-there are lots of cars, but the bus is very, very common-so in the mornings I take the bus to school and then I walk home afterward--about a 30 minutes walk. I might start walking to school, but I tried it one day last week and there's a pretty steep hill I have to go up and I had been sick (really bad chest cold, the cough hasn't completely gone away yet) and I just couldn't do it. So I think I'll give myself another week and also leave earlier in the morning to give myself more time (so I can tackle the hill slowly) but I would like to try walking to school when the weather's nice.
Next week I start my volunteer work with the organization Christian Friends of Israel (http://www.cfijerusalem.org/ check 'em out!)-It’s a great organization that does all kinds of stuff for the people of Israel, and I'll be working with them maybe 18-20 hours each week. They help victims of terrorism, they visit Holocaust Survivors, and they work with a lot of new immigrants (giving out clothing and basic necessities to move into a new place, like sheets and towels and pots and pans, etc.-those can be from anywhere, and they also have a special program to provide school supplies for the children of Ethiopian immigrants-they tend to be poorer than many of the other immigrants). They even have a bridal center where the immigrants can come and get designer wedding gowns and accessories if they're getting married and can't afford the stuff on their on. I first met with them last week and I was really impressed. I start on Monday, so I'll be busy, but it will be good.
Oh, and this Thursday I finally get to have a tour of the Old City. I'll probably have to wait to see more of Israel-but I have 2 friends from Richmond who have both immigrated (it's called "making Aliyah) and they live in Tel Aviva and farther north, and I'm hoping to get together with them soon and maybe we can see more stuff.
And I made a friend-a girl in my class from Italy-her name is Leah and she's really sweet and she's already cooked pasta for me twice and she lives really close by-we're planning to go into the city on Sunday for the Purim Festivities. Purim is supposed to be about the story of Esther-well it is, but they've added in dressing in costume-so I'm thinking that Sunday here will be similar to LA/Hollywood at Halloween, but less extreme-Anyway, it should be an interesting time-and you're supposed to drink lots of wine at Purim (and we seem to have plenty of wine around the apartment, so...).
Well that’s it for now-Lehitraot!
Blessings from Jerusalem!
And most people take the bus here-there are lots of cars, but the bus is very, very common-so in the mornings I take the bus to school and then I walk home afterward--about a 30 minutes walk. I might start walking to school, but I tried it one day last week and there's a pretty steep hill I have to go up and I had been sick (really bad chest cold, the cough hasn't completely gone away yet) and I just couldn't do it. So I think I'll give myself another week and also leave earlier in the morning to give myself more time (so I can tackle the hill slowly) but I would like to try walking to school when the weather's nice.
Next week I start my volunteer work with the organization Christian Friends of Israel (http://www.cfijerusalem.org/ check 'em out!)-It’s a great organization that does all kinds of stuff for the people of Israel, and I'll be working with them maybe 18-20 hours each week. They help victims of terrorism, they visit Holocaust Survivors, and they work with a lot of new immigrants (giving out clothing and basic necessities to move into a new place, like sheets and towels and pots and pans, etc.-those can be from anywhere, and they also have a special program to provide school supplies for the children of Ethiopian immigrants-they tend to be poorer than many of the other immigrants). They even have a bridal center where the immigrants can come and get designer wedding gowns and accessories if they're getting married and can't afford the stuff on their on. I first met with them last week and I was really impressed. I start on Monday, so I'll be busy, but it will be good.
Oh, and this Thursday I finally get to have a tour of the Old City. I'll probably have to wait to see more of Israel-but I have 2 friends from Richmond who have both immigrated (it's called "making Aliyah) and they live in Tel Aviva and farther north, and I'm hoping to get together with them soon and maybe we can see more stuff.
And I made a friend-a girl in my class from Italy-her name is Leah and she's really sweet and she's already cooked pasta for me twice and she lives really close by-we're planning to go into the city on Sunday for the Purim Festivities. Purim is supposed to be about the story of Esther-well it is, but they've added in dressing in costume-so I'm thinking that Sunday here will be similar to LA/Hollywood at Halloween, but less extreme-Anyway, it should be an interesting time-and you're supposed to drink lots of wine at Purim (and we seem to have plenty of wine around the apartment, so...).
Well that’s it for now-Lehitraot!
Blessings from Jerusalem!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Shalom from Israel--Read Psalm 122:6 (then do it!)
How is Israel? Well, what I've seen is great, but the truth is I've seen NOTHING!!! Not yet anyway-not being a part of a tour, I haven't been anywhere-my roommates are busy so they haven't taken me anywhere yet-
I go to class in the morning, and after class I come home-surf the internet, do homework, and that's about it.
I did go to a 24 hr house of prayer last Wednesday night and got lost trying to find it, but I could see the Old City in the distance, so I prayed for it while I was there. But I haven't been into it yet. I do have a new friend, Kipp (no, absolutely strictly platonic) a friend of my roommates, who offered to take me around and show me stuff, but we haven't gotten together yet-he lives outside of Jerusalem...
I was invited to Haifa for this coming weekend, but I have absolutely no money so I had to turn it down--The school I'm attending used to do a city tour, but now they're restructuring their program, so I don't know if that will happen.
But the rest of the city (not the historical parts) is really nice-it's weird, I have such a feeling of peace being here. I'm not afraid or worried to go out by myself-I take the bus to class every a.m., and I've just started walking back. And I mentioned going to that house of prayer last week-that was after dark, and again by myself-and I never do stuff like that in foreign countries, and certainly not on foot.
While I was in Brazil I only left the ministry alone to go to the bank, grocery store, and video store each week, and usually I combined those errands into one trip, so I'm feeling pretty adventurous here. J
You figure I've been here less than 2 weeks and I'm already starting to make friends, so once I know some people I should start seeing the fun stuff. But I guess this way is good because I'm experiencing what it's like to live here-I have no idea what it's like to be a tourist here-perhaps that's what God wants for me for now?
But I love it-I could live here if they'd let me-of course I'd miss you guys, but I think I could be happy here if God ever wanted to send me here long term.
My roommates are pretty cool, a guy and a girl. Both American, but she lives here now, and he's just "hanging out" like me.
My class is amazingly international, even more than the base in Richmond. We have students from: Sweden, England, Italy, France, Lebanon, Germany, Holland, the U.S. of course, and several Latin American countries. The people are great, and so are my two teachers.
The only bad thing is that I've been sick-which is unusual-I've usually been pretty healthy when I've traveled. My roommate stained some furniture and that irritated my lungs, and 2 days later I came down with a chest cold. I haven't been able to sleep horizontally since Thursday night (too much coughing and wheezing)-but maybe I’ll be able to tonight-I'm feeling a little better.
Well I've probably rambled on long enough-write to me, okay? Until my volunteer work starts, I have lots of time on my hands!
Remember to pray for my health-and for my finances!!
Blessings from Jerusalem!
I go to class in the morning, and after class I come home-surf the internet, do homework, and that's about it.
I did go to a 24 hr house of prayer last Wednesday night and got lost trying to find it, but I could see the Old City in the distance, so I prayed for it while I was there. But I haven't been into it yet. I do have a new friend, Kipp (no, absolutely strictly platonic) a friend of my roommates, who offered to take me around and show me stuff, but we haven't gotten together yet-he lives outside of Jerusalem...
I was invited to Haifa for this coming weekend, but I have absolutely no money so I had to turn it down--The school I'm attending used to do a city tour, but now they're restructuring their program, so I don't know if that will happen.
But the rest of the city (not the historical parts) is really nice-it's weird, I have such a feeling of peace being here. I'm not afraid or worried to go out by myself-I take the bus to class every a.m., and I've just started walking back. And I mentioned going to that house of prayer last week-that was after dark, and again by myself-and I never do stuff like that in foreign countries, and certainly not on foot.
While I was in Brazil I only left the ministry alone to go to the bank, grocery store, and video store each week, and usually I combined those errands into one trip, so I'm feeling pretty adventurous here. J
You figure I've been here less than 2 weeks and I'm already starting to make friends, so once I know some people I should start seeing the fun stuff. But I guess this way is good because I'm experiencing what it's like to live here-I have no idea what it's like to be a tourist here-perhaps that's what God wants for me for now?
But I love it-I could live here if they'd let me-of course I'd miss you guys, but I think I could be happy here if God ever wanted to send me here long term.
My roommates are pretty cool, a guy and a girl. Both American, but she lives here now, and he's just "hanging out" like me.
My class is amazingly international, even more than the base in Richmond. We have students from: Sweden, England, Italy, France, Lebanon, Germany, Holland, the U.S. of course, and several Latin American countries. The people are great, and so are my two teachers.
The only bad thing is that I've been sick-which is unusual-I've usually been pretty healthy when I've traveled. My roommate stained some furniture and that irritated my lungs, and 2 days later I came down with a chest cold. I haven't been able to sleep horizontally since Thursday night (too much coughing and wheezing)-but maybe I’ll be able to tonight-I'm feeling a little better.
Well I've probably rambled on long enough-write to me, okay? Until my volunteer work starts, I have lots of time on my hands!
Remember to pray for my health-and for my finances!!
Blessings from Jerusalem!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Israel
Ok, you may not believe me, but I just attempted to update this after 5 long months, and just after creating this beautifully crafted piece of prose, I lost it all while trying to spellcheck! And I don't have the motivation to try to recreate it (I'm sitting in a motel in Youngstown, Ohio, having stopped for the night on my way back to Chicago). So I'll just say that I'm really excited about going to Israel next week, and hopefully I'll do a better job of updating this thing while I'm there.
Blessings!
Monica
Blessings!
Monica
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