Posted by Barak Dimenstein on December 24, 2008 under Personal stories | 
“I think you are providing a great service to many people. Hebrew is a rich, energetic language and anyone who has the chance to study with you should feel really privileged.” Steve Roden
Shalom! My name is Steve Roden. I live in Arlington Texas in the United States of America. I am 49 years old, married since 1981 and have a 20 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. I really love my family and am so fortunate to have them.
Learning Hebrew is a passion for me. I have been studying classical biblical Hebrew for some years in anticipation of both translating the Hebrew Scriptures and gaining a deeper understanding of the treasures waiting to be discovered in the Hebrew text. In the mid 1980s, I began studying biblical Greek to do the same with the New Testament Scriptures. My studies in biblical Greek have been tremendously rewarding! I have no doubt that biblical Hebrew studies will be even more so.
I also believe that Jesus, or Yahshua by his Hebrew name, is the Son of God who loved His own people, Israel, as well as all non Jews, like me, enough that He gave Himself as the final sacrifice for the sins of all men and then was raised to life again to conquer death and give eternal life to anyone who simply believes He is who He claims to be and that He has the power to do so. Hashem says twice through the prophet Jeremiah that He is the fountain of living water. Yahshua promised in John 4 in the New Testament that He will give this same living water to anyone who asks Him for it.
I know that Yahshua is a controversial figure among Jews but also non Jews. I do not mention my faith in Him to be offensive or “in your face” but simply to honor Him and to help explain my passion for the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. I am grieved that over the centuries many atrocities have been committed against the Jewish people in His name which He would never have condoned.
I am also eager to see the prosperity of Israel. It angers me to read of the daily rocket attacks and sometimes terrorist attacks that you endure. It is even worse to watch world opinion come down on you when you try to do what any other nation on earth would do and defend yourself against such barbarism. Hashem promised Avraham that He would bless him and give the land to his people. He will do this and I also believe because of the prophet Ezekiel’s writings in chapters 38 and 39 that the days of Israel’s Islamic enemies are numbered. I have a burning desire to visit Israel someday. There are so many places in the country that I want to see. I want to experience the Israeli culture and people and so I am also trying to learn modern Israeli Hebrew. I have various textbooks but I would love to take a Hebrew On-Line course with a native Hebrew speaking Israeli. I have watched the video many times and I get excited each time I watch it.
Thank you for the opportunity to write and tell my “story”. I think you are providing a great service to many people. Hebrew is a rich, energetic language and anyone who has the chance to study with you should feel really privileged. Please keep up the good work and may Hashem enrich and protect Israel.
Steve Roden
Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on December 23, 2008 under Israel history, Traveling in Israel |
Not far from the hotel strip of Herzliya, on the northern end of Herzliya Pituach, lay remnants that put together much of the history of the land of Israel in the past 2,500 years. When you stand on the cliff, you may watch the sun absorbed into the blue-turquoise water of the Mediterranean Sea, and observe the seagulls improving their aerodynamic abilities, gliding on the afternoon winds. It is easy to understand then, why so many people, throughout the history, wanted this place to be theirs.
Apollonia’s / Arsuf
Not all the inhabitants of this place were so romantic though. The Phoenicians (6th – 4th centuries BCE) utilized the small natural anchorage for their ships, and the local water snails to produce purple dye. They called the place Arsuf (אַרְסוּף) after Reshef (רֶשֶׁף), the deity of plague, war and storms. The place was later conquered by the Greeks (4th – 1st centuries BCE) who identified Reshef with their god Apollo, and hence renamed the place Apollonia(אַפּוֹלוֹנְיָה) .
A descendent of the Chashmonai house (בֵּית חַשְׁמוֹנַאי) (yes, those from the Chanukah story), Alexander Janneus (אָלֶכְּסַנְדֶּר יַנַּאי) captured the place in the process of reclaiming the Kingdom of Israel.
During the Roman period, (1st – 3rd centuries CE), Apollonia flourished and became a real city. One Roman family chose to reside at the exact same place that I would have chosen to build my house, overlooking the sea and enjoying the evening breeze. Standing on its ruins, I could easily imagine myself resting on the open courtyard surrounded by a colonnade and listening to the fading day of the busy city.
The Roman Villa
In the centuries to come, the city continued to develop becoming the main port city of the area and specializing in the industries of wine, oil, and glass. The citizens enjoyed a sophisticated water system based on collection of surface runoff in cisterns.
Water Reservoir
The city was then conquered by the Muslims (7th – 9th centuries) who surrounded it by a wall (חוֹמָה) that helped them against the attack of the Byzantine fleet, but could not resist the Crusader King Baldwin I who conquered the city in 1101 CE. The Crusaders (צַלְבָּנִים) strengthened the walls, dug a dry moat and later even built a fortress(מְצוּדָה) . The place was in the midst of fighting between the Crusaders and the Muslims changing rulers frequently until the Mameluke Sultan Bibars conquered the city after 40 days of siege (1265 CE). Bibars promised the crusaders to spare their lives and let them leave the city if they surrender. However, he did not keep his promise, and made the Crusaders destroy and burn the fortress, and finally imprisoned them. Eventually the Mamelukes abandoned the place that was never inhabited again.
Model of the Crusader Fortress
The remains of the Apollonia-Arsuf settlement are located within the Apollonia National Park and allow the visitor to feel like traveling in time through thousands of years of historical events.
Posted by Barak Dimenstein on December 18, 2008 under Personal stories, Traveling in Israel |
“Thank you for the offer to carry travel pieces… Each of my travels to Israel has been special and personal. What better than a space such as this….”
Irene
Shiloh – just as you read it. In the Biblical heartland
Shiloh is so full of history – the kind I have poured hours over – reading and mail-exchange with David Rubin, today former mayor of Shiloh and author of, God, Israel and Shiloh. So much so, I sensed a need to be there in the Biblical heartland and experience the walk up to the place where the Ark of the Covenant once rested for 369 years; stand in the synagogue where childless Hannah gave birth to her son Samuel who became the great Prophet of Israel; just be there where hero Joshua divided the land among the ten tribes; think ‘romance’ on the meeting ground of yesteryear and for future love stories.- my kind of travel – history, adventure and romance!
And this came to be when I made my visit to Israel last October. The world calls the place, West Bank. I still prefer it the way it was, Biblical Samaria. It is an hour’s drive from Jerusalem. The winding roads to Shiloh from Jerusalem, is the famed Route 60 (today, ’slightly re-routed and re-paved’, according to David) – the Road of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) and also travel brochures would advice to avoid today as it continues to be in the news for shooting attacks, including causalities. Then again this was the only way to take to Shiloh. Like many adventure travelers, I voted for the exciting risk, with the deep-set longing to be the same road that the Biblical heroes of the old treaded.
The bus route meandered through the Judean Mountains passing places I recognized from the Bible, till it came to a pass between two looming mountains. ‘This is called the Eye of the Thieves’, boomed guide Yaron’s voice as the bus approached the passage. It soon occurred to me that Bethel was nearby. Bethel, is best known and mentioned in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, when patriarch, Jacob when fleeing from the wrath of his older brother Esau, falls asleep on a stone and dreams of a ladder stretching between Heaven and Earth and thronged with angels.
I remember the pulsing of nerves and the blood-rush into my head and breathed heavily shooting a prayer-whisper. It then dawned within my senses.My adventure had begun! Something had happened here, I was reminded. Could this be the road on which David and his three-year-old son were both seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting on the road home? Flashes of images in David’s book ran like a film-scroll and for a moment I wondered the reality of what might have been should it have been one of those days. but swapped situations immediately and sat still thanking the Eternal One for allowing me to experience what my heart cherished in this travel to Israel. It was a dream come true and nothing would stop it. It was when I shared my experience with an internet friend Mary, later (who I chanced to meet in Jerusalem while visiting the Dominus Flevit church, located down the slopes of the Mt. of Olives); that I comprehended what I had gotten into… she too had been in the area but in an armored vehicle, a reverse in comparison to the ordinary 50-seats tourist bus!
Honestly, my heart skipped a beat, returning to the reality of the interiors of the tourist bus. I wanted to shut Yaron up from saying anything further. What set this emotional reaction in me was that I had accepted to co-ordinate this trip with 55 people, who had no idea of this place. This was an optional trip that I was to make personally. I shared this with a friend who wanted to join me and the rest of the group joining in was a result of the way the news spread. And so, it was that this busload of 55 packs was with me.
Since this was a Jewish community and within the area and there are threats from terrorism in the area, it was recommended that the bus had a Jewish driver. Sunday morning was the appointed time. The itinerary arranged by David that intrigued me more and reinforced my decision to ‘Have to be in’ Shiloh. I began to visualize Prophet Samuel’s ministry living as a boy in the tabernacle, the judgment on the High Priest Eli and sons for taking the Lord lightly and greed – thus changing the guard from the Eli system to the Sons of Zadok!! The Scriptures were so alive and tangible.
Shiloh is best described in location as in the Biblical heartland. Best described by one who lives there, David Rubin, as, ‘It is a town that possesses amazing natural beauty and spiritual significance. It is the cradle of Jewish civilization and nationhood, the source of Jewish prayer and worship and the epitome of Israel’s faith.’ It is aptly referred in the Bible as “the resting” place. Accurately, as the Scriptures place it, Shiloh is located north of Bethel, on the east highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem… (Ref: Book of Judges 21:19). I wondered how Bible hero Joshua would have addressed to the people at the time. Recently, research has established that Shiloh was located in a place that would possess extraordinary acoustical properties. This configuration of the landscape would have facilitated communication by the priests when the people came to sacrifice.
David Rubin met with the group at the gate at Tel Shiloh. For me it was a delight to meet the author of a book I had gotten to feel very personal with. The mood set into delight and the welcome air was simply unreserved. After introductions and a brief history on Shiloh, the next stop was to the school to meet the children. It was an enthusiastic 2nd Grade, I’d say and they sang a blessing in Hebrew. Emotions moved in waves, some wiping eyes and a few moving into the children’s petting zoo and play area, just to be with them. Pictures and greetings exchanged David progressed to the site of the Ark. The walk was a long blunt climb, but every step was like prodding on history – new facts and those read about in the Bible or in History. Flashbacks of what might have been thoughts and feelings of those living here then and now meandered. My mind’s eye worked, I could see a lone man on a mountain-top blowing the Shofar, the young maidens dancing, shepherds’ herding sheep..
The audio-visual was a good introduction before setting out to begin the tour. This was followed by a stop-over at a room where the model of the Tabernacle was displayed for explanation. Stories literally came to life with David’s narration. To think we actually walked on the spot that Joshua spoke to the leaders of the tribes, where Hannah prayed for her son Samuel and the prophet’s selfless walk. We passed by the archeological exactions of the Byzantine Church and came to the High Priest Eli’s apartment.
We passed by caves (which I later learnt as I re-read God, Israel and Shiloh), are burial caves that archeologists have discovered, as well as a cave near the Tabernacle site, which most likely was the dwelling place, perhaps for the High Priests of the Tabernacle. Excavations for newer discoveries are underway.
Seeing nature in its awesome splendor, my eyes followed the winding Route 60. I turned and thought to me, “… the road probably drives into Shechem. Someday?” and continued my discovery-mission with David to where God’s presence dwelt. I heard an 82-year old lady remark, “This is once in a lifetime..” As we got closer, my heart thumped in excitement. The feeling was so perfect – tranquil with a light breeze blowing – I could even feel those private personal moments. I put all that I had read in the Bible, before coming and hearing David sharing and bringing to life – Samuel the Prophet playing around as a young boy, people living their daily lives, young beautiful maidens dancing in the vineyards as the young Benjamin watched eagerly for their perfect matches, the men carrying the Ark, building the site, etc.,
I was living amidst the Scriptures in surrounding history!
Bible history has it that it was in Shiloh that the first permanent Tabernacle was placed since the exodus from Egypt. Its presence made Shiloh the centre, to which the Children of Israel would come four times a year to worship God, during festivals. The dimensions of the tabernacle, as laid out in the Bible are justified in the rectangular space at the site.
A delicious Israeli lunch of falafel with drinks was provided to us. There was time spent in Bible-speaking fellowship with David and Nomi who Chef-ed our meal. The visit to the Souvenir store was on the way to the bus. On my way back to the bus after the visit, I was leaving back something and would I ever return? I have already made up my mind…
This was my kind of travel – to not the much publicized places, but the remote ones that were still ‘gems’. My vision by this time was set to Road 60 from Beersheba to Shechem. I must confess it did raise eyebrows. Yet experience has it, hat I have always done what I have decided! So I wait.
- Irene Fernandez
Shalom! My name is Steve Roden. I live in Arlington Texas in the United States of America. I am 49 years old, married since 1981 and have a 20 year old daughter and a 14 year old son. I really love my family and am so fortunate to have them.
