Some neat things have happened lately. Because of scheduling conflicts, we enjoyed our passover meal, or Sader, on Thursday. It was a formal event and we had a triclenium table and matza and a cooked bone to represent the sacrifices that they no longer do, and bitter herbs to remember the bitterness of slavery, and much, much more. The evening was separated into about 15 parts. The actual meal didn't come out until about the ninth stage. There was lots of singing about the Lord and about gratitude and freedom from bondage. Ophir, our modern Jewish studies teacher, led the Sader. I had the privilege of sitting with Br. and Sis. Skinner as well as my good friend Amy Gordon. It was a wonderful evening.
Then on Friday evening a group of us had the opportunity to go to Synagogue. We went to an Orthodox synagogue that was open to visitors. Ophir took us, and it's the Synagogue that his family is a member of. It was pretty stormy that day, so there wasn't a big turnout. The Friday evening services consist of mostly just singing. They have a song leader, and the rest of us follow along with him. We had a hymn book, but it was often still difficult to find the correct hymn. I really enjoyed listening to the somewhat mournful sound of the hymns. It was a great service that night. Afterwards I talked with a woman there named Mindi. She's from Brooklyn. There are a lot of Synagogues around, and she even pointed out one across the street. It's a ten minute walk for her to get there. It sounds like she walks, and I'm guessing it's because the law of Moses requires that you only walk so far on the Sabbath. She was very friendly.
On Shabat Elder Neuenschwander came to our district conference. I believe he was here for a humanitarian conference. We had members from the Tiberius branch as well as the Tel Aviv branch there as well. It was different to have the congregation finally outnumber the choir. We have a lot of choir members since almost every student sings in the choir. We sang "Master the Tempest is Raging". I think it was our best song yet. It was a windy day, and you could see it through the glass windows in the Auditorium while we sang. I am so grateful for this opportunity to see the city of Jerusalem right from the comfort of our chapel because when we go home, as Br. Skinner says, we'll just be staring at a brick wall.
We went right down to the river Jordan to a site that commemorates John baptizing the Savior. The water was fairly murky with the rich clay in the soil, though I always imagine the water being so clear. Who knows what it looked like in the Savior's day.
