A Little Litter

During one of our visits to Israel, we were walking through the Valley of Hinnom - the same one mentioned in the Bible - and came across this piece of litter. The Arabic and French words caught my eye. Am I the only person who takes pictures of trash?! Perhaps. But it is not every day you see litter with words from two such very different languages.  

Mezuzahs

On the doorposts of many Jewish homes and businesses in Israel are narrow, rectangular containers. These are mezuzahs, amazing visual reminders of an ancient biblical commandment.

The word "mezuzah" means "doorpost." God commanded the children of Israel to post His commandments on the doorposts of their homes.

Inside each mezuzah is a tiny parchment scroll which begins, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The entire passage on the scroll is Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21. 

When entering a house, an observant Jew will brush his or her hand across the mezuzah. Some mezuzahs are plain and inexpensive; others are beautifully ornamental, artistic, and expensive.

As seen in this photo, mezuzahs often have on them the Hebrew letter "shin," which is the first letter of the word Shaddai. 

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sites in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Deuteronomy 4:6-9

The Best Olive Oil

It was January 21st and Tu B'shevat was in full swing in our neighborhood in Jerusalem. It was chilly outside but Ben Yehuda Street was alive with pedestrians, street musicians and food vendors. We bought some Israeli olive oil from these girls and enjoyed it very much.

Among olive oil lovers, there is debate as to the best olive oil in the world. Some say the best is from Italy, others say Spain, Greece, or Australia, among a few other contenders. I simply cannot say. Everyone I hear talk about what they think is the best olive oil sounds convincing. I don't think I will be able to try them all to decide for myself. 

But I do like fresh olive oil, and what we eat when we are overseas is wonderfully fresh and delicious. I suppose you could say it is a little perk that helps balance the challenges of living overseas. There is nothing like olive oil that fresh.  

Kanafeh

I will not try to tout this as a healthy food. But no discussion of Arabic food is complete without talking about kanafeh. This is fried cheese, soaked in a sweet syrup, and topped with pistachios. It is difficult to eat very much at one time, because it is so sweet, but it is a classic, quite delicious "Arabic sweet."

Produce Truck

In Jordan, you can generally figure out what is being harvested in the Jordan Valley by checking out the trucks parked alongside the roads. If lettuce is in season, then you will see a lettuce truck every few miles. If watermelons are being harvested, then you will see a lot of watermelon trucks. In the above photo, Bill stopped to check the price on pomegranates, which were in season at the time. It can be a little dangerous, but if drivers see something they want, they just veer to the side of the road. 

Produce trucks certainly make for a colorful drive. You never know what produce you might see on the side of the road!

Waqqas Picnic

    



The last time we lived in Jordan, we stayed in an apartment building in Husn, Jordan. From there we oversaw three Arabic churches. Our neighbors in the building, and also the building owners, were very kind to us. We got to know Abu Fawzi, the patriarch of the family, his children and grandchildren very well. We spent a lot of time in their home and in their courtyard, visiting. 

One day, they invited us to to to a piece of property a family member owns in Waqqas, in the northwestern area of Jordan. We all piled into three cars and drove into an area Bill and I had never been. (I have written an article about this day, which I will include in a Walking Ancient Paths book at some point.)

They brought a portable grill and so we had meat, plus other foods familiar to Arab culture, such as olives and hummus. Abu Fawzi pointed out a canal, shown in one of the photos above, that he helped engineer. It was a memorable day. 

Arabic Coffee Lesson

This is a picture of Sister Shanas. We were blessed to know her before she got married. She translated English into Sinhalese for the Sri Lankan services for Brother Ferrin and the other preachers. After she married Brother Moses in Sri Lanka, they both came back to Jordan and Brother Moses became the pastor of the Sri Lankan church in Amman. They are sweet and kind people. 

One cold day, they and the Solitarios came up to Husn, where we lived, to do some work on the church. While they were there, Sister Shanas showed me how to make Arabic coffee. 

I had been shown before, but by people that could not speak very good English. For me, making Arabic coffee is a show and tell process. I needed to be shown, but with some explanation. First, Sister Shanas and I went to the store and she showed the right kind of coffee to buy. Then, we went back to the apartment and made it. 

Since I have an aversion to coffee, I cannot use the taste test method to see if is good. But after my Arabic coffee lesson, I was able to prepare coffee for the people that came to the church services in Husn. (We always had a time of fellowship after each service.) The first time, the people told me it was a little strong, but I think they appreciated my efforts and were surprised as well that I attempted this feat of making Arabic coffee. After a while, I got the hang of it and got smiles and "Shukrans" as my reward.

One never does know what skills one will need in life! :)

Soapy Roads

Look carefully at this road. It was November 18th and it had not rained in a long time. What you see on the road are soap suds. There is a severe water shortage in Jordan and when people wash cars, they use the same bucket of water to wash AND rinse. Since the soap never really rinses off of the "clean" cars, when it rains, all that soap comes off the cars and onto the roads.