Trail": a reminder landscape between religious feelings and fascinating discoveries in the "Holy Land" photos to enlarge!

"Israel" - Worringer pilgrims in the footsteps of the Lord 
pilgrimage in the homeland of Jesus under the guidance of the parish vicar Gerhard Dane The "Jesus - Trail": a reminder landscape between religious feelings and fascinating discoveries in the "Holy Land" photos to enlarge!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 14.05 clock (local time), Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv (Israel): arrival of 38 participants in a springtime pilgrimage in the homeland of Jesus under the guidance of the parish vicar Gerhard Dane. He served as pastor (later as dean) 1975-1993 in the Worringer parish of St. Pancras).. In the Arrivals Hall, an employee of the Agency Awad of already waiting "German Association of the Holy Land", who accompanied us to the waiting bus After loading the luggage our pilgrimage led on the first day in the Negev Desert.Quartier reference for two nights in the Kibbutz Mash`abbé Sade, near the city of Be'er Sheva (Heb. Be'er = fountain, Shewa = seven).The next day we went to Mitzpeh Ramon. Here we expected SUVs to a several-hour drive to the Ramon Crater, one of the most impressive geological window on our planet. We read in the Bible from the time of origin of Israel in the desert (Mk 1.1 f and Isaiah 35,1) and were strengthened with an oriental picnic. On the way back we visited the grave of David Ben Gurion, who was born in 1886 as David Gruen in Poland. On 14 May 1948 he called the first Prime Minister of a provisional government of the independent state of Israel. On the third day the bus driver drove us through the Negev desert (to the south a hilly landscape, which reaches 1,035 meters above sea level in Mount Ramon) am covered with crusts of salt the Dead Sea shore past (With today 420 m asl marks the surface of the lowest point on earth. percentage decreasing, because the water level goes through the constant water extraction from the Jordan annually by one meter back.), to the oasis En Gedi on the edge of the Judean Desert. In local nature reserve a hike took place to the David-waterfalls; in the afternoon we have the opportunity to bathe in the Dead Sea. Due to the high evaporation at about 40 degrees daily temperature, the salinity is approximately 34%, almost ten times as high as that of the Mediterranean, which is why the waters also the Hebrew name Yam Hamelah (salt sea) contributes. The Dead Sea water is oily and tastes bitter, no habitat for animals. It causes the human supine drives without swimming movements on the water surface and can read a newspaper. This water also has with its many minerals like magnesium, potassium chloride and bromides healing power for skin diseases, severe asthma and rheumatism. Then we drove to the traditional baptismal site of Jesus at the Jordan. For many years it took until the last offered by the traditional baptism site of Jesus was accessible at the old Monastery of St. John in the Jordan again. Since the 1967 war, was on the Israeli side of the place where John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, are no longer visited by pilgrims. Reason: The Jordan River as a border between Jordan and Israel had been declared a security zone and the restricted military zone. Large panels are temporarily placed with information about the baptismal site and comments from the Old and New Testament biblical events that have played a role in the Jordan. Believers from Free Church groups hold here christenings. Through the Judean Desert, past Jericho in the West Bank (West Bank - Palestinian Autonomous Area), we arrived in the late afternoon Jerusalem (606-826 m above sea level on a number of hills on the eastern slopes of the highlands of Judea). Directly on the Damascus Gate is the Pauline house of the "German Association of the Holy Land," where we were moved into our room for six nights and enjoy hospitality. Since 1989, the house is led by Mary Ward Sisters (Website: www.heilig-land-verein.de). 1899 Purchase of the land was the "German Association of the Holy Land" allows. The foundation stone of the Pauline house took place the opening in 1904, the 1908th It was until 1917 a Pilgerhaus

, On 11 December 1917 the British withdrew under General Allenby in Jerusalem and given it to the headquarters of the British High Commissioner for Palestine Mandate. The Paul-Haus has been misused in the following decades by the events of war and used as a government building in the British military administration. In 1950 the house was returned to the "German Association of the Holy Land" and since 1979 serves as a guest house and Christian meeting. From the roof terrace you can enjoy a magnificent view of the Old City of Jerusalem. The next day we walked through the Damascus Gate inhabited mainly by Palestinians Area, the center of East Jerusalem. Early in the morning the Arab women offered here fruit and vegetables, shoes and bags were laid out on the stairs to Nablus Rd up, people thronged through the gates to the old town and out:. Dealers with their products, boy, the trays Backwerk balanced on her head, and, of course numerous tourists. Beguiling scents of a thousand spices, incense and fresh mint, which were offered for sale on large cloths, flocked to meet us after a few meters in the covered souk. The Old City of Jerusalem forms a small kaleidoscope of Israel, its inhabitants, and different problems. In the narrow streets, one encounters the modern lifestyle of Israel as well as traditionalist the, ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Christian monks, also Arab and Armenian children. The Hebrew name Yerushalayim means "place of peace", the Arabic name Al-Quds ", the Holy ". Jerusalem is called the universal "heavenly city"; because here was Solomon's Temple, Christians connect the city with the Passion and Resurrection of Christ and the Prophet of Allah Muhammed here rose to a night journey to heaven. All this manifests itself in a unique abundance of shrines of the three monotheistic religions of the world, attracting thousands of pilgrims each year. The heart of the religious metropolis and the main attraction for visitors is the area enclosed by a 12 m high and 4 km long turreted wall Old Town with the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall (the so-called Wailing Wall) and the highly visible Temple Mount. Nowhere else Judaism, Christianity and Islam are so closely linked, as here. A commission of Jerusalem includes so many impressions that only a selection can be reproduced below. We walked directly from Arabic to Jewish and then the Christian quarters, each with its own language, its own memories and the burden of cultural heritage. If you go through the city, constantly from Jerusalem in the next fair, can this linguistic and cultural "chaos" make a somewhat dizzy. We visited the James Cathedral in the Armenian-Christian neighborhood (The chapel to the left of the entrance is considered the place n at the James d. Ä. on the orders of Herod Agrippa I. 44th Chr. was executed.) as well as the St. Anne's Church (The outstandingly suitable for choral singing acoustics in the church led us with a group of pilgrims from Brazil Psalms to give from the pilgrimage Songbook for the best.), and went on the Via Dolorosa to the most important church in Christendom, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. The Holy Sepulcher (Arabic Keniset el-Kijame = Auferstehungskirche) rises above the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Six religious communities share the Church. A visit to one of the most fascinating experiences, regardless of whether one feels one of the religious communities belonging or not. Basically, the Holy Sepulchre is not a church in the usual sense, but a labyrinthine conglomeration of holy places, dark naves, chapels, narrow stairs and corridors from different eras, drawn by centuries of use. Groups of pilgrims of different nationalities jostle in front of the holy grave, the holy places be taken deeply touched or kissed, placed ornaments on the anointing stone and lit candles. After visiting the Holy Sepulcher we settled course on Friday afternoon Shabbat beginning of the Jews (weekly Jewish holidays and Closed state) at the Western Wall (the rest of the 70 n. Chr. destroyed Temple by the Romans) not escape.The Jewish day of rest begins every Friday at sunset and ends at sunset on Saturdays also. Most restaurants, shops, theaters are closed at this time. Public buses or trains, and the airport, do not run. In hotels and multi-storey buildings take so-called Shabbat

Chute hoists on the operation. Keep automatically on each floor, for pressing the lift button is considered as work and which is forbidden on Shabbat. At the security checkpoint checked the Israeli soldier anyone who wanted to holiest site of Jews. As "other religions" we were allowed, however, nevertheless reside directly at the Wailing Wall, and who liked himself stuck a "Kvittelchen" in the cracks. Once a month, all petitions to be removed and buried on the Mount of Olives. We hiked further in the next few days to the Mount of Olives, where we in the chapel "Dominus Flevit" ("The Lord wept") our first joint Holy Mass celebrated. Downhill led us the way to the garden of Gethsemane with the "Church of All Nations", to Gethsemane

-Grotte And Marie grave. A visit was also aimed at the site of the Last Supper and Pentecost miracle (Cenacle, cenacle) and the supposed grave of King David on Mount Zion. The Temple Mount was further in the morning visited. We had the bar el-Magharibeh (Maghrebinertor) for non-Muslims on the southwest side of the right of use of the Wailing Wall. The control of the access claim the Israeli authorities. Rock (third most important pilgrimage site in Islam after Mecca and Medina) and Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount are indeed in one axis, but not

at the same height. One afternoon we went to Emmaus Qubeibe in the West Bank north-west of Jerusalem where, according to Christian tradition, the Risen One had revealed to his disciples.Already after a few kilometers out of Jerusalem we saw built by Israel security barrier of fences and walls ("separation barrier").As a protective "barrier" it is to separate the residential areas of Palestinians and Jews. Concrete slab eight to ten feet high, - "the wall": For people who live in its shadow, the fence, however, is nothing more than what it is made ​​in densely populated residential areas next to the concrete slab. Even with additional bus trips to Bethlehem and Nazareth we had the Palestinian territory "without walls" can not perceive. In Emmaus Qubeibe we were guests in the nursing home (care and care of elderly, frail women) to the "German Association of the Holy Land" and were informed about a new training center for young women and men in nursing. Amongst pine trees, we then celebrated a Mass of Easter. We also visited the Israeli Yad Vashem memorial. It is a shocking monument to the murdered Jews by the Nazis and also has an extensive archive of documents on the Holocaust. We came down over a small bridge in the 180 m long prismatic structure, the. Located in the Har Hasarikon, the "Mount of Remembrance", drilled The tour led deeper and deeper into the mountain and deeper into the history of suffering of the Jews, from the emergence of the Nazi dictatorship to war and the systematic destruction of the Jewish people, from life in the ghettos and camps, the resistance and ultimately to liberation. In an underground hall of the exhibition only a candle was reflected a thousandfold in the dark. A passage led to the apparently fluctuating soil.About a speaker names were read out, first names, last names and city names. Each name burned into our souls, for it had the names of children, and a half million children, were murdered. Each name an unlived life, each name an infinite injustice, everyone Name Part of unbelievable horror. High above the valley floated a "cattle car" Deutsche Reichsbahn, were transported to the death camps with the Jews. The memorial in Yad Vashem is a place to go after a visit can never forget again. A very different impression gave us the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The Hebrew name of the birthplace of Jesus alludes to the fertility of the region, because it is with "house of bread" translated (Heb. Clay = bread), while the Arabic name "House of the flesh" (Beit Lahm) means. Christians from all over the world flock here to pray in the Church of the Nativity. Above the cave, place of birth of Jesus, a five-nave basilica was built. During descent to the grotto we were lucky that was just not a tourist group there, otherwise you have to be patient. The cave is so low and narrow that in the narrow vestibule Only one person on his knees or lying on the ground throughout the prayer, or may make only a "snapshot". Late 4th century n. Chr. Jerome traveled to Bethlehem, settled in a cave near the Church of the Nativity low (Hieronymus grotto) and wrote his famous Latin translation of the Bible, the Vulgate. In addition to the Church of Nativity still stands the St. Catherine's Church, dedicated to the martyr Catherine of Alexandria. We heard and saw further in "Caritas Baby Hospital" (a Christian international technical relief organization), as Arab children and parents as part of the "Children's Relief Bethlehem" medical care (Website: www.kinderhilfe-bethlehem.de). In the pastoral fields in Beit Sahour we celebrated in one of the rock caves a Christmas Mass. On May 9, we left Jerusalem and went to Caesarea on the Mediterranean, city of Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Byzantines and Crusaders. After visiting the excavations carried us to the coach to the Sea of Galilee (210 m ud M. of the lowest points of freshwater worldwide), where we stayed at Pilgerhaus Tabgha of the "German Association of the Holy Land" the remaining days of our Spring Pilgrimage spent (Homepage: Reception @tabgha.org.il.) In Galilee we fell a pilgrim experience of a different kind of meadows and woods, peace and reflection -. all that was now to be found here. The road as a miracle; because walking is allowed the Holy Land ability to sense very different from the air-conditioned coach. What is only needed was sturdy shoes and the Bible. Eventually they actually stops here at their place of action answers for every situation at hand - and if needs be, it helps with the packing, see Mk 6.8. When Jesus sent out his disciples and told them what they should not take everything in its path: ". No bread, no bag, no money in their belts" from Nazareth to Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee we could on those paths change, definitely belonged to the area of the Lord. "He went about all Galilee," says the evangelist Matthew, "and he left Nazareth to live in Capernaum, which is on the lake". The routes are based on old paths and today Roman roads - which it ultimately longer a question, in the spirit of Jesus to walk in his footsteps as a real. In case of doubt had with us the beauty of the way takes precedence over authenticity. On a hike through the Wadi el Hamam ("Pigeon") in the Arbel Valley, we were accompanied only by cows, sheep and goats. Here, the path was several times to cross over a stream without bridges which often forced us to take off shoes and socks. From time to time it helped to cling to branches, sometimes had the branches thorns - these are the natural but unpleasant moments. We were compensated evening in Pilgerhaus Tabgha by a culinary menu with corresponding bed severity. After the marches past olive and fruit groves on the Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha (Heb. En Sheva = place of seven springs), which is run by Benedictine monks, and the mountain of Beatitudes (in ancient times called Eremo Berg) then we could relieve our wounds on the feet in the Sea of Galilee - "I have decided not equal to walk on water". In the first four centuries lived in nearby Capernaum exclusively Jewish Christians, who carried on their memories of the stay of Jesus in Tabgha from father to son and they adhered to three rock formations.When a boulder, which was close to the Via Maris, was remembered at the first multiplication of loaves in a cave on the nearby mountainside to the Sermon on the Mount and in the rock steps on the lakeshore to the appearance of the Risen One. A day goal of our pilgrimage was also Nazareth (the Arab El Nasra's), the place where Mary the birth of Jesus was proclaimed by the archangel Gabriel and where Jesus spent most of his life. From Marienbrunnen located under the altar of the Greek Orthodox Church Gabriel, we went to the Basilica of the Annunciation. In the "little brothers" of Charles de Foucauld

Worringer the Sea of ​​Galilee: Günther Klein, assistant priest Gerhard Dane, Martina hollow (born Friesenhahn) & Manfred Schmidt

we celebrated the Holy Mass and then drove out to "Salvatorian Sisters' Greek Catholic School" (with 1,550 students / inside). There we gave the sisters a sense in everyday school life one of the largest educational institutions in the country (Website: www.elmokhales.org - unfortunately almost exclusively in Arabic). My concern is that as far as possible to all children and young people of different religious affiliation to the prospect education and a holistic education is given. The diploma - preferably with top marks - is a serious milestone in the life of these young people. Without these statements, they have no chance to apply for any further professional training or studying at a university in Israel. Students / interior come from families of different social backgrounds. Good 86% are Christians, the z. T. are burdened with huge problems. Financially they often stuck in deep trouble due to different situations, in many cases also by sickness and unemployment of parents. Education gives young Christians in Israel have a future. Just so they can earn their daily bread, live and survive and contribute useful in society and take responsibility. The Arab population in urgent need of leaders. The young people are thus prepared in school for it and actively encouraged. The penultimate day of our pilgrimage we spent in Capernaum (Heb. Kfar Nahum = village of Nahum), the adopted home of Jesus in his l

ast years of life. From there we went to the Biblical Bethsaida (= house of the fishermen), home of the Apostles Peter, Andrew, James and Philip, about 2 km from the northeastern shore of Lake Gennesaret. In the nature reserve Hayarden Park we drew water from the Jordan as a "gift for those at home." Late in the afternoon we drove Galilee by boat to the northern shore of the lake. After the Vespers in the Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha we enjoyed on the terrace of the pilgrim house our farewell dinner. On the day of departure we celebrated in the morning in the open air Holy Mass with the Benedictines on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which many of us extremely touched. At 15.30 clock (local time) we flew with an Airbus Lufthansa from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to Munich and from there to other home goals back. Information on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land are under the homepage www.heilig Country Club. de published.WorringenPur.de/02.07.2012 Report and Photos: Manfred Schmidt Redakt. & Digit. Processing: mud Frankowski Sources Baedeker travel guide: "Israel - Palestine", Ostfildern 2010 eV Institute for Tourism and Development: "SympathieMagazine Israel and Palestine understand", Andechs or Munich 2008 (supported by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth)

American 'Manifest Destiny' Heads to the Holy Land in 1847

The early days of the Christian Zionists are portrayed here.

By Lenny Ben David

First Publish: 8/14/2015, 12:04 PM

Lynch

INN: LBD

Lt. William Francis Lynch, U.S. Navy (Wikipedia Commons)
William Francis Lynch (1801-1865) was a naval officer who served in both the U.S. Navy and the Confederate Navy.  In the 1840s he proposed to the United States Government to undertake a voyage to the Holy Land to explore and map the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.

Lynch conducted his mission with a crew of 16 sailors in 1847 and published his findings in his book, Narrative of the United States' Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea. Lynch did not include a photographer in his entourage, but a crewman did provide illustrations for his book.

Lynch's motives appeared to be part patriotic, religious, and scientific.  He wrote, "We [Americans] owe something to the scientific and Christian world, and while extending the blessing of civil liberty in the south and west [otherwise known as "Manifest Destiny"], may well afford to foster science and strengthen the bulwarks of Christianity in the east." 

Lynch was also a strong adherent of "restorationism" (a precursor to Christian Zionism) -- a belief that the Jewish people must return to the Holy Land to fulfill their biblical prophecy of the "Second Coming." The belief drove many Americans, including American presidents, to advocate for the establishment of a Jewish homeland.


Map of Lynch's journey from the Sea of Galilee
 to the Dead Sea, 1847. (World Digital Library)
Along the route, Lynch described raging rapids in the Jordan River, difficult terrain, strange flora and fauna, warring Arab tribes, and suffering Christian and Jewish communities.

Lynch's 170-year-old description of the Jews of Tiberias is remarkable: 

Safed and Tiberias, Jerusalem and Hebron, are the four holy cities of the Jews in Palestine. Tiberias is held in peculiar veneration by the Jews, for here they believe that Jacob resided, and it is situated on the shores of the lake whence they hope that the Messiah will arise. 

Winding down the rugged road, we descended to the city, seated on the margin of the lake. Tiberias (Tubariyeh) is a walled town of some magnitude, but in ruins, from the earthquake which, in 1837, destroyed so many of its inhabitants.
 

We had letters to the chief rabbi of the Jews, who came to meet us, and escorted us through labyrinthine streets to the house of Heim Wiseman, a brother Israelite. It is an hotel sui generis, as well in the mode of entertaining as in the subsequent settlement with its guests. In a book which was shown to us we read the following gentle insinuation:— “I beg the gentlemen arriving at my house that, at their departure, they will have the goodness to give me, in my hands, what they please. Tibaria, APRIL 7, 1845.” The above is an exact copy of the notice referred to, in English. It is likewise written in bad Italian and worse Spanish.

A trifling circumstance will show in what thraldom the Jews are held. Our landlord, Heim Wiseman, had been kind enough to show me the way to the governor’s. On our entrance, he meekly sat down on the floor, some distance from the divan. After the sherbet was handed round to all, including many Arabs, it was tendered to him. It was a rigid fast-day with his tribe, the eve of the feast of the azymes [Passover], and he declined it. It was again tendered, and again declined, when the attendant made some exclamation, which reached the ears of the governor, who thereupon turned abruptly round, and sharply called out, “Drink it.” The poor Jew, agitated and trembling, carried it to his lips, where he held it for a moment, when, perceiving the attention of the governor to be diverted, he put down the untasted goblet.




Illustration of Tiberias in Lynch's book. (Wikisource)
The Jews here are divested of that spirit of trade which is everywhere else their peculiar characteristic. Their sole occupation, we were told, is to pray and to read the Talmud. That book, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt says, declares that creation will return to primitive chaos if prayers are not addressed to the God of Israel at least twice a week in the four holy cities. Hence the Jews all over the world are liberal in their contributions.Returned the visit of the Rabbis. They have two synagogues, the Sephardim and Askeniazim, but live harmoniously together. There are many Polish Jews, with light complexions, among them. They describe themselves as very poor, and maintained by the charitable contributions of Jews abroad, mostly in Europe. More meek, subdued, and unpretending men than these Rabbis I have never seen. The chief one illustrated the tyranny of the Turks by a recent circumstance. In consequence of the drought of the preceding year there had been a failure of the crops, and the Sultan, whose disposition is humane, ordered a large quantity of grain to be distributed among the fellahin for seed. The latter were accordingly called in; — to him whose portion was twenty okes (1 oke = approx. 2 3/4 lbs.) was given ten, and to him whose portion was ten, five okes were given, — after each had signed a paper acknowledging the receipt of the greater quantity. How admirably the scriptures portray the manners and customs of the east! Here is the verification of the parable of the unjust steward. It is true, that in this instance the decree was issued by the Turks — a comparatively modern people, — but it was carried into effect by the descendants of the ancient Gentile races of the country.

In the evening we visited several of the synagogues. It was impressive yet melancholy to witness the fervid zeal of the worshippers. In gabardines, with broad and narrow phylacteries, some of them embroidered, the men were reading or rather chanting, or rather screaming and shouting, the lamentations of Jeremias — all the time swaying their bodies to and fro with a regular and monotonous movement. There was an earnest expression of countenance that could not have been feigned. The tones of the men were loud and almost querulous with complaint; while the women, who stood apart, were more hushed in their sorrow, and lowly wailed, moving the heart by their sincerity. In each synagogue was an octagon recess, where the Pentateuch and other sacred works were kept. Whatever they may be in worldly matters, the Jews are no hypocrites in the article of faith.

The females marry very early. There was one in the house, then eleven and a half years of age, who, we were assured, had been married eighteen months. Mr. Wiseman pointed out another, a mere child in appearance, ten years of age, who had been two years married. It seems incredible. The unmarried wear the hair exposed, but the married women studiously conceal it. To make up for it, the heads of the latter were profusely ornamented with coins and gems and any quantity of another’s hair, the prohibition only extending to their own. Their dress is a bodice, a short, narrow-skirted gown, and pantalettes gathered at the ankles. Unlike the Turkish and the Arab women, they sometimes wear stockings. The bodice is open in front, and the breasts are held, but not restrained, by loose open pockets of thin white gauze.

There are about three hundred families, or one thousand Jews, in this town. The Sanhedrin consists of seventy rabbis, of whom thirty are natives and forty Franks, mostly from Poland, with a few from Spain. The rabbis stated that controversial matters of discipline among Jews, all over the world, are referred to this Sanhedrin.

The Lynch caravan taking their boats to the Sea of Galilee

After visiting a town with a Christian community, Lynch wrote about Christians, Jews and Turks:

Christians of Kerak...there were from 900 to 1000 Christians here, comprising three-fourths of the population. They could muster a little over 200 fighting men; but are kept in subjection by the Muslim Arabs, living mostly in tents, without the town. He stated that they are, in every manner, imposed upon. If a Muslim comes to the town, instead of going to the house of another Muslim, he quarters himself upon a Christian, and appropriates the best of every thing; that Christian families have been two days at a time without food — all that they had being consumed by their self-invited guests. If a Muslim sheikh buys a horse for so many sheep, he makes the Christians contribute until the number be made up. Their property, he said, is seized without there being any one to whom to appeal; and remonstrance, on their part, only makes it worse.

 It needs but the destruction of that power which, for so many centuries, has rested like an incubus upon the eastern world, [emphasis added] to ensure the restoration of the Jews to Palestine. The increase of toleration; the assimilation of creeds; the unanimity with which all works of charity are undertaken, prove, to the observing mind, that, ere long, with every other vestige of bigotry, the prejudices against this unhappy race will be obliterated by a noble and a God-like sympathy....the time will come. All things are onward; and, in God’s providence, all things are good. How eventful, yet how fearful, is the history of this people! The Almighty, moved by their lamentations, determined, not only to relieve them from Egyptian bondage, but to make them the chosen depositary of his law. 

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