Nazareth

Spent time in Jaffa with some friends we met the night before at a restaurant near our hostel, not at all a coincidence, it was meant to be. Eyal, a lover of words and meanings beyond words, and Michal… one of those girls that I, Mariella :), could easily develop a friendship crush on, met with us and took us out to some amazing pizza, yeah probably the best pizza we’ve had so far. We went back to Eyal’s place and began our study, if you will. I quickly realized how badly I need Jewish friends, why don’t I have Jewish friends? What and amazing culture, faith, people. Craig and I sat, sipped on tea, and soaked in the history and stories. It was such a sweet time and I wish it would’ve lasted much much longer. I have a feeling we will meet again. COME TO CALIFORNIA! Until then, we have the glorious resources of communication via the World Wide Web. Thanks so much guys for making our short stay in Tel Aviv memorable, and not just because we had a surreal experience at the Egyptian embassy, but because we had the beautiful opportunity for an incredibly organic cultural exchange-thank you.
After a 2.5 hour bus ride from Tel Aviv we arrived safely in Nazareth. We are staying in Old Town Nazareth which is great. We peaked in on the Church of Annunciation, the traditional location where the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will conceive a child. We perused the mazes of street side shops and enjoyed good tasting falafel recommended by a shop keeper. We also visited the synagogue built over the location (maybe near the location) where Jesus read in the synagogue (Luke 4:16). The following quote is from a guy name Ray Vander Laan (followtherabbi.com) about how Synagogue services were conducted:
“Following the reading of the Torah portion, a section from the prophets (called the Haphtarah) would be read by the same or another reader. After all readings, a short sermon would be offered, often by the reader of the Torah or Haftarah. Any adult member of the community was eligible to speak the sermon called the derashah. The sermon was frequently quite short (Jesus spoke only a few words-Luke 4:21). The service ended with a benediction using the Aaronic blessing found in the Torah (Numbers 6:24-26), if a priest was present to offer it. In Luke 4:16-30, Jesus was scheduled to read the Hephtarah and may have read the Torah as well as he concludes with a provocative derashah.” Now read Luke with this Jewish context. God’s word comes alive in a new and refreshing way.
We plan on attending 6am mass at the Church of the Annunciation before embarking on the 40 mile or so hike around the Galilee region (“Jesus Trail”). We may extend it a day or two or three and walk along the hills of the western side of the Sea of Galilee. Today we met a couple spearheading the “Jesus Trail”. They have invited us over for Thanksgiving. We hope to join them, Mariella especially hopes to join them. We make our plans, but God directs our steps.