Interesting day and evening last night. Shabbat last night at Or Hadash was wonderful. Temple Micah was transported to Haifa and we were at home. Even though the entire service was "in the vernacular" - entirely in Hebrew - we understood it all as the songs were Micah-esque and the Rabbi was Danny's clone. Actually his singing voice is better than Danny's. Danny gave the sermon entirely in Hebrew to their congregation, but knowing Danny's speech patterns, I could follow along. We also met the parents of Tal, our visiting teacher. Afterwards, we had dinner with the congregation as well as a Boston delegation that also supports this synagogue. They have been instrumental in consolidation and integration the Ethiopian community. It was very moving to see and hear the Ethiopians speaking fluent Hebrew and becoming part of Israeli society, despite the obvious difficulties.
Shabbat was a late morning, and we headed for Mt. Carmel. This is where Elijah fought the representative of Ba'al to prove whose god was stronger. Obviously, we know who won.
Next was a bus ride to Zippori, a Roman town at the time of the 2nd Temple, which became an important center for the rabbis after the destruction of the Temple. There were numerous mosaics on the floors, but most spectacularly, a synagogue from about 2-300 CE. The mosaics represented an amalgam of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew/Aramaic, with depictions of biblical scenes, but also a zodiac. It was obvious that Judaism was evolving and the rabbis of that time were trying to incorporate "modern" thought into their beliefs. Sort of like the Reform Movement.
The rest of the afternoon was spent napping.
Shabbat was over and the town came alive again. A bunch of us went to a seafood restaurant. The St. Peter's fish was good, but not as good as I remember in Tiberias.
Tomorrow we go south. Heading for Sderot and a more politically-oriented day.
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