We started our trip in Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv is very similar to European cities. It was a religious holiday, and the hotel displayed all the breakfast meals all day. Since our hotel was on the beach, every time we were hungry, we returned to the hotel for a bite or two.
The next stop was Jerusalem.
A place in Jerusalem’s cemetery is very expensive since (they say) those buried there are the first to wake up on judgment day.
To be near the temple’s wall, you pass security like in an airport, and the places for men and women are different.
When I was there, a rabbi came to me. “Do you want to have a nice life?”
“Yes,” I said.
He stretched his hand and turned his palm up. “Twenty dollars.”
I gave him twenty dollars.
“Come with me,” he said, and we entered a tunnel near the wall.
About 20-30 meters further, there was a library with a big book on a table outside the library. The book (probably a Torah or Talmud), was already opened somewhere in the middle. The writing was in Hebrew (as I could understand).
“Put your hand here,” and he pointed to the page on the right.
He put his left hand over my hand and read from the other page, his index finger from the right hand following the lines.
After about half a minute, all was done, and he said, “Now you will have a nice life from now on.”
When I was there, a rabbi came to me. “Do you want to have a nice life?”
“Yes,” I said.
He stretched his hand and turned his palm up. “Twenty dollars.”
I gave him twenty dollars.
“Come with me,” he said, and we entered a tunnel near the wall.
About 20-30 meters further, there was a library with a big book on a table outside the library. The book (probably a Torah or Talmud), was already opened somewhere in the middle. The writing was in Hebrew (as I could understand).
“Put your hand here,” and he pointed to the page on the right.
He put his left hand over my hand and read from the other page, his index finger from the right hand following the lines.
After about half a minute, all was done, and he said, “Now you will have a nice life from now on.”
I was shocked to see the last road taken by Jesus before being crucified, Via Dolorosa. It is crowded like any other street in that part of the city. The guide seemed very bored to tell the same story again and again.
At the end of it is the Church of Holy Sepulchre.
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (built in the 4th century) is the place where Jesus was crucified (top of Golgotha hill) and the cave where His body was laid to rest before the resurrection. The line to go through that cave was so long that I gave up. I doubt that the church is indeed built on those biblical places, just saying, a feeling.
It is something very interesting about that church, that very few know. From jerusalemexperience[dot]com site:
“In 1192 after Salah A-Din recaptured Jerusalem he assigned the roll of opening the Doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to 2 Muslim families, the Nuseibeh as the Door Keeper and the Joudeh as the key keeper. So for more than 800 years, every time the doors are opened a member of the Joudeh family bring the Key and a member of the Nuseibeh family use the key and open the doors. Just as we are going to watch today.”
At the end of it is the Church of Holy Sepulchre.
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (built in the 4th century) is the place where Jesus was crucified (top of Golgotha hill) and the cave where His body was laid to rest before the resurrection. The line to go through that cave was so long that I gave up. I doubt that the church is indeed built on those biblical places, just saying, a feeling.
It is something very interesting about that church, that very few know. From jerusalemexperience[dot]com site:
“In 1192 after Salah A-Din recaptured Jerusalem he assigned the roll of opening the Doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to 2 Muslim families, the Nuseibeh as the Door Keeper and the Joudeh as the key keeper. So for more than 800 years, every time the doors are opened a member of the Joudeh family bring the Key and a member of the Nuseibeh family use the key and open the doors. Just as we are going to watch today.”
Eilat is a nice city on the Red Sea. Back then, accessing the beach was $20 per person, but it was worth it. Corals and fish were right near the beach.
We wanted to visit Egypt for a few days and asked the hotel if they wanted to keep our luggage. They were very kind and did it, and upon our return, they offered us the same room with a nice view.
We visited the Holocaust museum, the guide insisted. I truly feel bad every time I hear about the Jewish tragedy during WWII. The tragedy that happened in those extermination camps should never happen again. But I was on vacation and wanted to feel good or learn something new. Besides, I saw something that was not true, in my opinion. Romania started the war alongside Germany because the ruler of the time was a German sympathizer. The article in the museum said that Romania handed over Jews to Hitler to have Transylvania as an award. Or, Transylvania belonged to Romania since 1918, after WWI - when the Austro-Hungarian empire disintegrated. I also know that some Jews were handed over, but many were sent to work in the mountains to save them.
Now, there are hard times in Israel. But when good times come on those lands, I would like to visit again. All in all, it was a nice vacation.
Now, there are hard times in Israel. But when good times come on those lands, I would like to visit again. All in all, it was a nice vacation.
Eliade Moldovan
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In THESE LIVES, daily Cold War existence under the despotic dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, is vividly documented. Drawn against a chaotic background of hardships, horrors, and hilarity, story after story depicts every imaginable aspect of that era: from cold, brutal murders and betrayal, to the abiding love between a husband and wife.
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