Sitting by the Roadside

Israel really is a land "flowing with milk and honey"!  The seven "foods of Israel" are: dates, figs, pomegranates, olives, grapes, wheat, barley ( Deuteronomy 8:8 )--and you can really find a lot of these in Israel! The fresh dates are usually 9-10 shekels for 1kg.  Each are as big as my thumb--from the first knuckle to the tip!  They are DELICIOUS and better than any other dates I've tasted. Pomegranates range from 5 shekels to 12 shekels (check every stall/vendor's price before purchasing so as to get a good deal).  They are gigantic and also delicious . Green grapes are good and firm!  Red ones tend to be sweeter but are not as firm.  6-12 NIS. Israeli figs are the best in the world!  Buy the ripe ones; the green ones usually do not ripe and are not as sweet. Other Food Watermelons in Israel are not typically sweet (they taste sugarless), but they are  extremely juicy. Oranges are imported from other countries...

The Israel Museum is open seven days a week.  Kids age 17 & under are free on Tuesdays and certain holidays.  There is one day in Sukkot when everyone is free. The Shrine of the Book Exhibit This structure outside the Shrine of the Book exhibit represents the shape of the top of the clay jar in which the first Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  It also represents the sons of light. If you turn 180 degrees from the previous structure, this is what you'll see.  The black stone wall is said to represent the sons of darkness. The Shrine of the Book exhibit displays a portion of the Isaiah scroll.  No photos are allowed inside the exhibit, but I think it is well since the awe of seeing objects from thousands of years ago is too great for words to describe! You can even find two plates of charred dates  and a few scroll fragments--including the Aleppo Codex--in other parts of the exhibit. Model of Jerusalem in the Time of the Romans This m...

Our apartment in Jerusalem is a few minutes' walk from Jaffa (aka Yafo) Gate and 10-15 minutes from the Western Wall (known as haKotel , the Wall, in Hebrew). The men's side of the Wall.  A security check is required before entrance.  On Friday night the Wall is crowded with people celebrating the arrival of Shabbat!  It is truly a wonderful experience to be there with the celebration. There are tours of the Western Wall tunnels (to the left of the entrance; close to the Netivaryeh, a yeshiva)--each about an hour and a half. The Golden Gate.  It has been sealed up (as prophesied in the Bible) by the Muslims to prevent the Messiah from entering in during His second coming.  This is also the gate Yeshua (Jesus) entered through on a colt, the foal of a donkey. . Through the Streets Church of John the Baptist Shawarmas and falafels are Israeli foods you can find everywhere!  Shawarmas are mostly filled with meat and are usua...