Lazarow World-Hike-About

Mount Meron The Great Trek - Part 1 Sunday Hectic and calm. Succah serenity and street noise juxtaposed. The reality of this world and the promise of things to come. Who knows but being in Israel created much internal debate and frequent discussions. However, that is much too serious a subject for now. The journey to Seattle began after Shabbos, in fact, on Sunday. Our imaginations are not fertile enough to make up this story. We also don’t like to bore with ordinary travel (bore with special travel is okay?) but this might be of interest: We arranged for transport to the airport early. All foreign bound flights, we were told, emanate from terminal 3, our drop-off point. On checking the departure advice, we found no listing of our flight. Ah! ‘Your flight is scheduled from terminal 1.’ Down the stairs, find and board the crowded bus and off to the correct terminal. Terminal 1’s entrance indicated entry through terminal 2, which we did—it was close by. Security was closed, for lunch ...

The Dead Sea Shalom from Jerusalem, Wednesday In a mixture of English and Hebrew, the instructions were simple: “Through that alley, first right, right again, straight for a little bit, sharp left, then come back a little through the middle passage, the second or third door on the right or maybe left, he could still be there. You should rush to get there.” That’s how it sounded to us; we were wrong. He, the person we were seeking, was the local seller of lulavs and etrogs in that vicinity of Arad. Not surprising, we were unable to buy a set in the town. It meant more pressure for the next day when we would arrive in Jerusalem. We read about the many ‘Black Hebrews’ that reside in Arad—not to be confused with the Ethiopians. By the way, when we see these fellow African Jews melding into the local culture, we are ‘moved’ and delighted. Back to the ‘Hebrews’. In fact, there are three different sects. In our own classification, it would appear to be orthodox, conservative and very reform...

Power of Nature Another 'warm' ascent Shalom from Arad, Tuesday Wadi Arugot at En Gedi After a difficult drive through the mountains, the energy just wasn’t there. However, once we began the hike, the bodies kicked into overdrive or actually, low gear for the climb, and off we went. We were in the arid desert and on a very hot day. We are repetitious about the heat but what can we do, the weather is just that, hot. The nights in Arad, by the way, have been very pleasant though. Many tour groups visit the town and our hotel, being one of only three, plays host to the tourists. On our first night, Orientals filled the lobby; for a moment, we thought we were back in San Diego. The second night, Nigerians and Ugandans; it looked like Johannesburg. We felt at home both nights. In fact, it’s wonderful to see Israel bustling with visitors. More importantly, our perception is that there is a sense of freedom and mixing of nationalities that would amaze the closed minds of the media...

Might be water.... but then again, maybe not ! Monday In the Negev—hot, rocky, sandy but with a certain charm. You just have to look hard and long enough. It would be a stretch to call some of the land we have seen, attractive. However, there was something strikingly different and attractive about the Mahktesh Crater in Mitzpe Ramon. They refer to it as the little Grand Canyon in these parts. We would not go that far but there are some similarities with Canyonlands in Utah. In any case, we enjoyed quite a day in the Negev, the southern part of the country. You want me down there? I thought you loved me . Does it matter which way? They laughed when we said it's not a battery issue Our post Yom Kippur vows were put to the test this morning when the car ‘broke-down’ in the desert. We were not amused when our editor began singing: ‘I’ve been though the desert on a horse with no name…’ The tough part was convincing the rental car company that it was not a battery problem....

Afternoon Reflections in the Dead Sea Shalom from Arad, “Please tell me why you are hanging on the clothesline like a bat,” our editor asked, not unreasonably we thought. “I hope this is not a new form of pondering.” “We need to dry off before shul; this is the only thing that seems to work in the heat. Maybe our kids are right—we ought to ‘hang-out’ more often. By the way, wasn’t it you who said things will cool off after Rosh Hashana.” Well, that did not go over too well with the boss as we returned from up North to Netanya for Yom Kippur. Now we are feeling a little infantile. At least, there is still Ellie to ‘hang-out’ with when we return. Maybe being in Israel is having an effect. I suppose the language is proving to be a problem. Wherever we go—Netanya, Tiberias, Arad—, we struggle to make ourselves understood. We try hard to fathom what people say. Before we arrived, we studied Hebrew conversation using our old tape recordings. Alas, it just has not worked as we envisioned. Heb...

King of the castle Little Cliff Shalom Aleichem, Thursday Looking into the village of Hamam, just outside Tiberias, from 1300 feet above gives one a spectacular feeling. The sounds too, are interesting. We heard the roosters crowing, the crows roosting(?), horses neighing, donkeys braying, Jeffrey praying (the car would remain intact) and the jingling tune of the ice cream truck in the Arab village. A Patio view Grocery unpacking The hike, actually it was more climb than hike, could stand anywhere in our opinion. It wasn’t that long in distance but we climbed steeply. It was thrilling reaching and standing on the top of the Arbel Cliffs, looking over the village below, Safed in the distant hills and the Kinneret. A cooler view Surprisingly, we came across only two people over the period and we think they were lost. It is an outstanding trail, climb and hike. We explored the caves where people had secured themselves in earlier ages when Herod, for one, sent his attac...

Shalom Aleichem, At the base of the second highest mountain in Israel lies the kever (tomb) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a famous kabbalist (founder) and sage. It is a very popular spot but fortunately, the hiking trails are a lot quieter. We saw seven people in 5.5 hours. Close to a summit, we talked with a couple of women who were doing a multi-day hike from ‘sea to sea’—tough ladies. And now...... Today, we got back into stride and pushed ourselves hard. Our hike took us to the top of Mt. Meron via an hour boulder climb on the blue trail (terrific, challenging, real climbing), followed by a push to the first summit and further ascent to the peak. We circumvented the peak for nearly an hour because the editor’s spouse pushed a little too much. Balance is a wonderful thing—it would be nice. However, our editor was calm, strong and in top form. Part way up We almost lost our way on two occasions but held it together and arrived at the car, twelve miles later, tired but still sta...

Nimrod's Fortress 800 years old - not bad! Shalom Aleichem, “A passport,” we answered, “but we are only driving the car to Northern Israel. We know Syria and Lebanon are close by but unless we take a wrong turn, we can’t see us visiting over there. And by the way, we walked here in 95 degree heat, high humidity may we add; we now have to walk back and return once more.” Car rental firms require a driver’s licence, passport and of course, money. Our editor was most gracious about our oversight—not even a slight rolling of the eyes. She really is a great one. We ‘swam’ back to the hotel in our perspiration and returned to collect our car. While we were at the hotel, our editor thought she should check the directions to the kibbutz. By the way, the hotel had been prepaid so we were sure of a place to sleep. (Our editor couldn’t wait to get us on a trail again; we were starting to whine and that happens when we are inactive.) She put down the phone and mentioned that the arrangem...