A Day of Rest

Today we had the day off. It was supposed to be a day of rest and relaxation, and a time to get our heads together before continuing our journey to Jerusalem, which begins tomorrow. That’s exactly what lots of folks did, they read and sat by the pool, some did laundry or other domestic activities, like update their blogs. A few went back to some of the sites that interested or intrigued them most, like Arbel or Tabga.

I did not stay at the hotel. I figured I may only be here once, so I want to get the most out of it, but I did not want to exhaust myself before we arrive in the Holy City. So we saw a few sights, rested a little, and we just came back from worship this evening, so I will post this momentarily.

Today a few of us went up to the tomb of Maimonides, or the famous Jewish Rabbi Moses Ben-Maimon. He was born in Cordova, Spain and was a great, learned man. He brought together the traditions of Judaism and the logic and learning of Plato and Aristotle. He is for the Jews, much like Thomas Aquinas is for Christians. He is buried here in Tiberias, and his tomb is a place of veneration for Jews, like the tomb of a saint.






We then headed down the road to the ancient ruins of a synagogue at Hammat, which involved a great adventure with the bus system. It’s tough to catch a bus when you don’t know the name of the place you are going, and can’t read the bus schedule how to get there. But we made it. Also at Hammat are the ancient hot springs, which is one reason the Romans came here, and the Holiday Inn built on the ancient site. That’s progress for ya!



While waiting for the bus we met a woman who came from a town two hours away by bus to pray at the Rabbi’s tomb. She said it is a very spiritual thing to do. She also said she believed that we all worship the same God, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. I guess I can agree with that.

Tomorrow we visit Ha-Megiddo (Armageddon) and Caesarea Maritima, and may get to dip our toes in the Mediterranean Sea. Long bus ride that ends in Jerusalem.

Blessings to all!