Tel Aviv Conversations
At the end of my Israel tour, Continental Airlines offered me a generous voucher if I would delay my flight from Tel-Aviv. They put me and one other volunteer up in a beautiful brand new hotel downtown. The other volunteer, Kay*, was a very nice middle-aged American lady who had been to Israel many times. She is a former evangelical Christian who stands now somewhere in between Christianity and Judaism. Kay and I talked for a while about religion. She told me explicitly, “I am no longer...
Extravagant Music
While I was on the Israel tour, I had some great discussions about modern choral music with Aaron Greene. It’s always a thrill to find someone who likes the same arcane stuff I do, let alone someone who already liked it during his freshman year when I had never heard of it! He highly recommended a premier set of choral recordings, and I’ve been sampling them a little bit. It’s called the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, an unprecedented act of musical extravagance! John Eliot Gardiner and his fellow...
Mebbe Tevye
I was somewhat skeptical about the value of touring Israel before I found out I was going myself! I am no longer skeptical. I do believe in the value of a visit and a thorough tour. Let me list off some of the benefits of my two-week trip: It is valuable to stand on the top of a hill with a map and actually see the Jezreel Valley (aka the plain of Esdraelon) spread out before you, with the mountains closing off your view to the left and the terrain dropping down to the Jordan Rift on your...
Israel
I'm off to Israel early tomorrow morning. The Lord provided funds for me to go for two weeks with my pastor. I hope to provide a few updates from the field. Mebbe (as they say in Hebrew—rhymes with "Rebbe") daily ones. Mebbe.
Tyndale Tech
Make sure to check out Tyndale Tech’s latest release. David Instone-Brewer seems to know all about what’s going in the technology of biblical studies. He mentions a good number of interesting sites I wasn’t even aware of.