DAY 9 - Shalom, Israel

Somehow, I managed to let far too much time go by before writing this last entry, which will complete the story of our wonderful trip. But, I'll do my best to remember the most interesting parts of that last day!

We started with our "exit interview" with our landlord, Ilan. He is just adorable. We had a bit of a problem, because none of us had written down the amount of our deposit, and Ilan insisted it was 400 NIS, while we were certain it was 1000 NIS. When we had arrived, 9 days previously, late at night, after our long journey and a longer day in Tel Aviv, to Sa'ad to Jerusalem, we just didn't think of getting a receipt. Anyway, we paid him based on the 400 NIS shekels, and went off to the Israel Museum, to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Israel Museum was unbelievable, although much of it was closed. The first thing you notice, aside from the sign next to the ticket window that said "check your weapon here," is the shape of the place. Jordana had told us we would recognize it because it looks like a Hershey's kiss (which it does). This is the Shrine of the Book. The roof was designed by American architects Kiesler and Bartos to resemble the jar covers in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.

Meantime, we started out our visit with a docent-led tour of the outdoor, scale model of the Second Temple. It was really interesting seeing this model, which is based on all available information about what the area looked like before and up to 70 CE, especially after having walked through the ruins several days previously. Here is the link to the website: http://www.imj.org.il/panavision/jerusalem_model_index.html

The main attraction of the Shrine of the Book is, of course, the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves. Directly beneath the dome is an imposing showcase (shaped like a wooden Torah rod) containing a replic of the Great Isaiah Scroll (written c. 100 BC), comprised of 66 chapters on a 7 m (23 ft) long, sewn-together piece of parchment. This find was extremely important, as it is 1,000 years older than the oldest biblical manuscript available before.

Also on display from the Dead Sea find are the Psalms Scroll, the War Scroll, the Temple Scroll, the Manual of Discipline, and the 10th-century Aleppo Codex, which is not one of the Dead Sea Scrolls but the oldest complete Bible in Hebrew.

We also saw a magnificent illuminated Machzor, although by now I don't remember the details, and I haven't been able to find them online. It really reminded me of "The People of the Book," although it was not that ancient.

So, here's the interesting part-while we were following our docent around and looking at these ancient parchments, I got a call from Ilan, our landlord. He had re-counted all the money he had gotten from us, and he realized that we were correct and he was wrong - he owed us 600 NIS (about $165!) He came out to the Israel Museum while we were still hanging around, and even managed to get in (he knows the people in the ticket booth!) Anyway, it was a very nice feeling that (1) we had been right all along; and (2) Ilan was honest enough to tell us and come back with the money (he even gave us dollars, which was really nice, because at that point we didn't need shekels).

So, feeling good, and with our faith in humanity restored, it was off to Tel Aviv and Yafo. We wanted to eat at that very first restaurant we had lucked into on our first day. Alas, it was closed. We spent our last day, walking on the beach, wandering around the flea market-type stores of Yafo, checked out a church and an outdoor/public gym (see photo), and then it was off to the airport. At the airport, we had some time to kill, so we walked around the stores, had a bit to eat, and went through Israeli security, which was an experience all by itself.

The flight home was, well, cramped and uncomfortable, but uneventful. I couldn't get a seat next to MB and B, but I was able to sit behind them. Once again, Ambien produced only 4 hours of sleep, so it was a long flight (but we did land early). Newark was kind of a disaster in terms of having to wait on a really long line to get through security for our puddle jumper home, but before you knew it, we were back in Rachacha - we will, however, never be the same. What an incredible trip. Thank you MB, B and J- it just wouldn't have been anything without you all.