Happy Birthday!

Yes, today is my birthday, and I want to thank all of you who have sent me birthday wishes from across the sea. I did manage to check my FaceBook wall and appreciate all the well wishes. It has been one heck of a birthday!

It began bright and early as I went down to breakfast. Dave Hyers and some of the gang set a special birthday place at the table with a Hebrew alphabet placemat and Israeli fuzzy dice, and everybody sang Happy Birthday. It was fun.

Today we saw some serious antiquities; a whole ancient city buried beneath the Middle Eastern soil. The city of Sepphoris was an ancient Roman city used by Herod the Great as his capitol. The city sits on a hill overlooking a wide valley, and the ancient ruins that have been uncovered are of the highest quality. The site is known for its mosaic floors which are of incredible craftsmanship. There is a Jewish synagogue that has been identified, a Roman theatre and bath house, and an enormous villa that overlooks the valley. The mosaics at the villa are so stunning, that one face on the floor has been dubbed the Middle Eastern Mona Lisa because of her exquisite design.








After Sepphoris, we went to Nazareth, which is a study in opposites! Where Sepphoris is an ancient and abandoned site, Nazareth is a bustling modern city. It is unusual in Israel because it is essentially a Christian city that doesn’t close down on the Jewish Sabbath, but honors the Christian Sunday. In Nazareth we saw the Basilica of the Annunciation, basically built over Mary’s house. In those days, a poor family would occupy a cave and slowly build out from it to save construction on half of the house. These caves are sometimes called grottos. The grotto where Mary lived before she married Joseph, when the Angel appeared to her, has been identified by all the blessings and graffiti found there as early as the Third Century. The Church of St. Joseph is also nearby, and my uncle will be glad to know I visited there and left a donation in his honor.






We also saw the Greek Orthodox Church which is over the town spring, where Mary must surely have gone daily, and tradition says it is where Gabriel first spoke to her, then continued the conversation after she got home. I guess angels are like that. The spring is still under the church, but they don’t let it run out anymore. They collect all the water and sell it in bottles, not for drinking, but for souvenirs.

Tomorrow is a ‘down day’ for retreat and reflection. Basically, we have a rest from our busy schedule. Some of us want to visit the Roman hot springs south of town and see the ancient synagogue there. I am also interested in seeing the tomb of Maimonides which is in Tiberias. It seems a shame to be in town and not drop by. We’ll see.

Thanks to all the folks who have visited and followed this blog. Next week in Jerusalem!