DIARY ON THE ROAD
Easter in the Holy Land

Exodus, Passover
Last Supper
All celebrated
Same time this year

In Exodus it say
FINGER ELOHIM
leads history

Israel it think
YAHWEH
Trible god of Hebrews
Revengeful, killer of humans
They think he leads universe

Egyptians Goddess of Justice
She and Yahweh had some battle
I would say long time ago
Bad karma all over the land
Still hatred and revenge
Over the land between cousins
Sad I think
All the same Father Abraham

Israel it thinks Land belongs
To them given so long ago
Israel says to its cousins
Palestinians children of Abraham
Go Go Go
We destroy land olives people
We destroy village
Back to the sand we care not

85th birthday celebration
Strange things I see in Israel
All over Israel
All over world
Strange things I see

Jews celebrate Passover
Talk about Yahweh
And big fight with Egypt
Christians celebrate Last Supper
All over the world
In strange tongues

Strange clothes
Strange color skins
All kinds of hair
Curley, straight, many colors
Strange culture, rituals, ideas

All children of Abraham
Come to celebrate
Ancient rites of Spring

Coptics, Ethiopians
Coptics, Eyptians
Ancient Armenians Syrians
All with Churches in Holy Land
All different celebrations
All here for ancient Spring rites
Different names: Passover
Last Supper Resurrection Rebirth

Old City filled with piety devotion
Children of Abraham worshipping
Different manners different concepts
Not easy to recognize Abraham of old

I attend many services
Passover at home
Last supper in churches
Vibrations throughout Old City
Envelop me like nothing ever known

Its the greatest rite of spring
All converging here in the Old City

Funny I think Jews all over world
Celebrating Passover
Old Bible it say about this great Exodus
Must continue old rite of Spring
But must remember
Hebrews were slaves in Egypt
Must always remember of
Treat neighbor as thyself

Young Rabbi he say
During his celebration of Passover
I say we have new law
Love thy enemy
Forgive them they know not
What they do

Meantime in Israel given to
Chosen people of the Covenant
Cousins living in Palestine
Also children of Israel
Suffering and grieving
Their homes their farms olive trees
Many destroyed
Huge cement walls block access
From their work, their families
Without food medical facilities

Israel soldiers all with guns
Heavy warfare clothing
Grim faces ready to kill
If you are suspecting of killing first

Me I ponder this riddle
This enigma within a paradox
How can this be
Cousins so hateful of each other
For so long a time without mercy
Without reason without compassion

Why are we frozen to inactivity?
Why is the UN unable to come in
With supplies food support?
Have all of our hearts been hardened
Which happened to Pharoah of old
When Yahwah deliberately hardened
His heart so that the conflict would never end

Who is this Yahweh the tribal god of the Hebrews
Is there another more powerful god Elohim
Who has a grand design for all of us
Who wants us to keep the covenant
Have faith and know that suffering and grief
Is part of the human existance

If we have not learned to love our neighbor
Can we ever learn to love our enemy
What can a little person like me do
When I am a grain of sand in the eye of our creator

---

Nothing prepared us for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Jammed pack shoulder to shoulder from midday to midnight, Saturday before Sunday.

I have come back at least five times, and it is always different each time. Originally on the outskirts of the Old City, the crucifixation was like the movie PASSION showed. However around 300 A.D.

Constantine, Emporer of Rome was converted, and his mother travelled all through the land and had churches built over holy spots.

As time went on, Armenians, b, and even Franciscans built their own basilicas, and the Crusaders built the most imposing building of all of them. And so you wander and look. Here you see women from all over the world, putting oil and spices on garments to be blessed at the holy spot where Jesus was buried. Others go up a flight to stairs, formerly rocky hill of Golgotha.

Decorations, lamps, holy fires all add to the drama, vibes, and general atmosphere. A quiet place for the Latin place of worship is taken care of by the Franciscans. It is sheer relief to get away from all the lamps, painting, sculture, women kneeling with children's clothing to be oiled and spiced and blessed somehow.

Although the Armenians and Greek Orthodox control the larger building, we were told the the Franciscans distance themselves from all of it. They did have a rather brief service without all the color, drama, and ecstacy of the other services. Crowds spent hours to witness some kind of magic fire received from the grave. The Church of the Sepulchre is to Christians what Mecca is to Muslims. And this year because all the dates converged, every part of the Christian Church from Coptics to Evangelists were there all day and through the early hours of Easter Sunday.

Around the corner was the hostel of the Sisters of Zion which is so simple and beautiful. Not as grand as St. George College with its many meeting rooms, intimate Cathedral and St. Michael chapel, gardens, somehow it had its own charm. I shall in July share my time with St. George College and the Sisters of Zion in their beautiful intimate hostel, single rooms about $35, I believe, with a beautiful terrace overlooking the Old City.

Although I had to walk back through Damascus Gate to get to St. George College, outside the Old City, I will so enjoy living in the Old City. So safe, with so many different people, costumes, all very friendly.

Even Dani who is very Israeli says he loves the Old City, and we finished our little tour, at what he called the finest humous restaurant in all of Jerusalem, near the Sisters of Zion. He sadly said that in the past the Moslim restaurant was the favorite restaurant of Israelis. Now that there is so much fear in Israel, there is little mixing of the religions.