I've been watching news on Israel [via Internet--when you work evenings, who has time for TV?] because we're headed there for Baha'i Pilgrimage to Haifa the end of January. At least, God willing. I've watched as the leaders in Israel reacted to rockets from the Gaza Strip and Hamas, and vowed to respond. Now I'm grieved to see the bloodshed in Gaza today: 200 killed, 400 wounded.
Israel seems one of the few spots on earth where there is really no such thing as a civilian. People fleeing from centuries of worldwide persecution, carving a country out of an area that already was populated, [should sound familiar to Americans], threatened on all sides, yet strangely, coincidentally, forming a kind of shelter for the Baha'i World Center in the midst of Arab countries hostile to Jews and Baha'is alike.
The Founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah, did not pack His bags and move to Palestine on purpose. Imprisoned and exiled from Iran for forty years or more by Nasirih-Din Shah and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from Tehran to Baghdad to Constantinople to Adrianople and at last to Akka [Acre] near Haifa, to the famous fortress that Napoleon attacked. Eventually the Baha'is were given more and more freedom, culminating in the liberation of religious and political prisoners in the Young Turk Revolution. Baha'u'llah set up His tent at one time on Mount Carmel and designated the spot destined to receive the holy remains of the Bab, martyred in Tabriz, Iran in 1850: the spot which now shines with the golden dome of the Shrine of the Bab. Mount Carmel now is the site for the Baha'i World Center, home of the seat of the Universal House of Justice, and considered by Baha'is the holiest spot on the Earth.
"Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord" . . . ~ Isaiah.
This is where we are going Feb 2 to the 10th. God willing.
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6 comments:
I went on pilgrimage a year ago this month, and it was a wonderfully blessed experience. Do you plan to blog about or otherwise write about your pilgrimage experience? I would love to see it if you do, for I enjoy reading about others' experiences and comparing them to mine.
You can read my pilgrimage journal on my website. Perhaps you'll want to wait until after you've been, though. Or maybe you'll want to get a preview of what to expect.
I'm planning to blog about my experience. I'm not sure what internet connections will be available in the hotel, but if I can't for some reason access the internet from Haifa, I shall journal anyway and blog later.
I enjoyed reading accounts from the Baha'is one or two years ago during another time when Israel was bombarded. I'm holding my breath hoping our pilgrimage is not canceled, simply because it would be a hassle, as plane tickets are already bought.
I stayed at the Dan Panorama and used my iPod touch to connect to the Net. I only did it once, though; the expense was too high. I found a snack shop and Internet cafe located at one of the entrances to the Carmelit subway and used their computers to check my e-mail. 15 shekels for a half-hour, 25 for a full hour, if I recall correctly, which was better pricing than the hotel.
I know some Baha'is who were on pilgrimage during the bombardment in 2006. They told of being bused under cover of darkness to the Shrine of Baha'u'llah on their final night of the pilgrimage. And while I was over there, they e-mailed me that they were envious that I got to see 'Akka (those trips were wiped out due to the bombardment). Let us pray you won't have such stories to tell about your pilgrimage.
Come to think of it, I don't imagine the bombardment trip was so great for the pilgrims. It was inspiring to me to think of them, though. Especially, it stuck in my mind that the House of Justice was praying that the pilgrims would be able to visit the shrines. I thought the House of Justice would just say, "be" and it is.
My traveling internet connection, a Verizon access device, probably won't work outside of the USA.
I think maybe I will read your pilgrimage journal. But off to work, now.
Roger, I blitzed through your entire Pilgrimage Journal [it took maybe two to three hours]and couldn't stop reading. Thank you. Thank you. How wonderful.
I have so many concerns; that something will happen to interfere with taking the trip, that we'll miss flights or get lost in an airport or one of the planes will be late and we'll miss a connection or that our luggage will be lost. I'm also concerned about my lack of physical fitness, and we will be leaving January 28th. I don't want to have a heart attack on the terraces ; >.
So much to think about.
Thank you.
Each terrace level has areas where you can catch your breath or sit for a bit, allowing your spirit to bask in the atmosphere of tranquility while the body recovers from the climb. Taken in small chunks, anyone should be able to ascend the terraces.
As far as airports go, I didn't find it difficult to navigate through the Tel Aviv airport. And if you're concerned about anything else, say two Remover of Difficulties and call Him in the morning -- or evening, or whenever. If it is meant to be, then it will be.
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