Regain strength and return to rest
[KRC Literary Camp Alumni Sharing] Documentary of Journey to the Holy Land
Photo courtesy/Liao Meihui
▲The author and her husband Wang Zhiyuan took a photo in front of the Dead Sea Scrolls cave.
You are stepping on the ground that 90%’s Christian dreams have stepped on! " Pastor Ye Hongguang, the general leader of Israel's Holy Land Tour (the founder of "My Heart Melody") said this while standing in front of the Jerusalem city wall. I feel sad in my heart.
"Jerusalem, here I come!"
After 25 years of marriage with my husband, the couple finally came to the holy place they had longed for. This is an intellectual, emotional and spiritual journey of enlightenment. Not only did I have a real biblical history and geography class, but I also had close contact and understanding of the Jewish religion, history, culture, family, and the Sabbath that they have guarded for more than three thousand years. What I gained was beyond recognition. Ask for whatever you want.
Departing from New York, we transited in Istanbul, Turkey. After more than ten hours of long flight and waiting, we finally set foot on the Holy Land. As soon as we entered the airport, the air seemed to be frozen by an indescribable silence. There was a special kind of solemnity here. In the 100-meter-long stone wall corridor inside the airport, sunlight passes through the open-air roof and shines on the black and white photos hanging on the stone wall. These photos not only tell the world the history of Israel’s miraculous restoration, but also tell the story of the thousands of years of vicissitudes of the Jewish people.
It takes about 40 minutes to drive from Tel Aviv Airport to the city of Jerusalem. Yoni, a local Jewish Christian tour guide, opened the car with the following words: "Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord has been waiting for you for a thousand years!"
While the tour guide introduced Israel, I took notes carefully, not wanting to miss any bit about Israel and the Jews—God’s chosen people. After all, this nation is full of history and miracles. She continued to suffer expulsions, exiles and massacres, and lost her land for more than two thousand years. On the afternoon of May 14, 1948, when the country was restored, she was attacked by covetous neighboring countries. It was not until the 1967 War of Independence that she finally regained it. Jerusalem city.
In order to defend their land, Israel, like Taiwan, implements a compulsory military service system. Young men and women over the age of 18 must serve for three years for young men and two years for young women. After completing their military service, they automatically become reservists. They must serve as soldiers for one month every year and are not discharged until they are thirty-five years old. Tour guide Yoni shared that he had two experiences: he was still on the tour bus in the morning and was a tour guide. Suddenly he received an emergency notice. In the afternoon, he changed into military uniforms and was fully armed with live ammunition. His identity immediately changed to a soldier and prepared. On the battlefield. It sounds incredible.
▲Standing under the Western Wall, it feels like traveling through time and space. Not only can you clearly feel "here and now", but you also seem to have returned to the scene when Jesus was alive two thousand years ago.
Starting from the Mount of Olives in the early morning, we passed several scenic spots on the way, and in the evening we reached the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) in the ancient city of Jerusalem. The Western Wall is the holiest site for Jews around the world. After being destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD, the "Western Wall" is the only ruin left of the Jewish Temple, but it is crowded with tourists all year round: boys and girls coming to celebrate coming-of-age ceremonies, and newlyweds coming to take wedding photos before their wedding. There are also devout Jews who come here every week to insert wishing strips in the cracks of the rocks.
"Jerusalem, here I come!" Standing under the Western Wall, I felt as if I had traveled through time and space. Not only could I clearly feel "here and now", but I also seemed to have returned to the scene when Jesus was alive two thousand years ago.
▲"Jerusalem, here I come!" This is an intellectual, emotional and spiritual journey.
The Sabbath protected the Jews
Observing the Sabbath can be said to be the most obvious article of Jewish faith tradition, and it is also the central pillar of their covenant life with God. In addition, the Sabbath is also a day to commemorate the endless work of the Jews year after year and day after day when they were slaves in Egypt. It is an important arrangement to restore physical and spiritual vitality. Therefore, the weekly Sabbath is an important way for the Jews to exercise faith and maintain cohesion, for which they paid a great price.
"It is not so much that the Jews protect the Sabbath as it is the Sabbath that protects the Jews." These words came from a Jewish historian. For thousands of years, several empires have tried to destroy the Sabbath. From ancient times to the present, many peoples have ridiculed the Jewish Sabbath. The enemies of the Jews have also used the Sabbath to launch attacks many times. However, the Jews finally passed the Sabbath down from generation to generation. When I came to Israel this time, I heard first-hand Sabbath information from the tour guide and had the opportunity to get a glimpse of Jewish Sabbath practices. This was an unexpected gain from this trip to the Holy Land.
The Jewish Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and ends at sundown on Saturday. On Thursday evening, my husband and I sneaked out to go shopping with the permission of the tour leader. We took the MRT and accidentally came to the busiest dusk market, where we saw a constant flow of people. After asking, I found out that people have to enter Sabbath after sunset on Friday and shops are closed, so most people will finish all their shopping on Thursday night.
On Thursday night, a large number of Jews began to pour into the hotel where we stayed, including men, women, old and young, all of whom were well-dressed. It turns out that the hotel housed a Jewish synagogue. They are very serious about observing the Sabbath. On the Saturday Sabbath, the MRT does not run, shops do not open, and there are significantly fewer cars on the road. Most of the people on the road are tourists.
Jews do not answer the phone, turn on computers, use electrical appliances, or drive cars on the Sabbath. In the hotel where we stayed, three of the four elevators were closed. Really, even the elevator has rested. Because of the Sabbath, Jews can get away from the pressure of work and have more time to spend with their families because they cannot go out, thus uniting the strength of family and clan. A day of Sabbath is intertwined with prayer, meals, Torah study, singing and worship, and family sharing. The Sabbath gave the Jews renewed strength and became a touchstone of faith throughout history.
▲Finally learned about the "buoyancy" of the Dead Sea.
Husband and wife work together to gain strength again
This trip not only overturned my previous narrow prejudices against the State of Israel and the Jewish nation, but also opened up my new horizons: from the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem to the Western Wall where people pray and cry, from floating in the Dead Sea to the ancient legendary Qumran Scrolls. From the City of David overlooking Mount Zion to the rugged and mysterious Hezekiah Waterway, from swimming in the Lake of Galilee to the city of Bethlehem where angels announced the good news... there are also the Jews' persistence in guarding the Sabbath for more than three thousand years, the deliciousness of kosher food, Every photo at Yad Vashem, the Jewish character of remembering history to create the future, and the spirit of all Israelis as soldiers….
From the long history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Moses and David, from the destruction of the northern and southern kingdoms to the miracle of restoration in the 20th century, the city of Jerusalem has been overthrown and rebuilt over the past four thousand years, rebuilt and overthrown, and has experienced the Kingdom of Israel, The Assyrian Kingdom, the Babylonian Kingdom, the Medo-Persian Kingdom, the Byzantine Empire, the Arab Empire, the Crusades, the Egyptian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and so many nation-states came to this land. What a holy land chosen by God!
It has been more than a month since I returned from Israel, and my husband is still often absent-minded and in a trance. I always think about Israel when I eat, sleep, and go to work. I said he suffered from "Israel Return Syndrome". As soon as he came back from work, he concentrated on studying the history of Israel, the history, geography, and characters of the Bible. Surprisingly and unbelievably, our husband and wife began to have a huge appetite for Bible reading, and we kept discussing the various things explained by the tour guide during the trip. We were also invited to share our trip to Israel in the church group. The couple looked back at the photos together, and the scenes of the trip to the Holy Land came to mind again, scene by scene, and they couldn't get rid of it. "We must not forget the covenant we made with God again in the Holy Land. We must not betray God's will! We must begin to learn to return to rest, work together as husband and wife, and regain our strength!" My husband, who had always been taciturn and passive, actually took the initiative to say this to me. I secretly rejoiced in my heart, thanking God for giving me this best twenty-fifth wedding anniversary gift!
Author's Profile Liao Meihui is a special correspondent for KRC's "Kingdom of God Magazine" and a special correspondent for "Hanxin Monthly" in New Jersey. She and her husband Wang Zhiyuan have two adult children. Currently a full-time Montessori preschool teacher.