Praying for rain

In Britain we often moan about the rain. We little appreciate the blessing that is frequent and abundant rain. Those few of us who are farmers and gardeners probably appreciate it more, and we would certainly appreciate it more if we ran out of water, as is happening in Cape Town, for example. Here in the Holy Land water is a constant concern, especially for the Palestinians, who usually get less of the water supply than the Israelis.

One recurring theme of my prayers here has therefore been to ask for more rain. But as I have told the brothers, I don't go to the lengths of Honi 'the Circle-Drawer', a first-century-B.C. charismatic Jewish scholar:

Once they said to Honi the Circle-Drawer, "Pray that rain may fall."

    He answered, "Go out and bring in the Passover ovens [made of clay] that they be not softened."

    He prayed, but the rain did not fall. What did he do? He drew a circle and stood within it and said before God, "O Lord of the world, your children have turned their faces to me, for I am like a son of the house before you. I swear by your great name that I will not stir from here until you have pity on your children."

    Rain began falling drop by drop. He said, "Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill the cisterns, pits, and caverns."

    It began to rain with violence. He said, "Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of goodwill, blessing, and graciousness."

    Then it rained in moderation, until the Israelites had to go up from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount because of the rain. They went to him and said, "Just as you prayed for the rain to come, so pray that it may go away!"

    (Mishnah Taanit 3:8)

Birds of Jerusalem

I'm very much a low-skilled bird-watcher, despite the best efforts of some of my family to educate me in that noble pastime. But at least they've managed to instil in me some awareness of our avian friends and ensured that I can recognise some of the more common species and make good guesses about others.

So here are the bird species I've managed to notice and identify here in Jerusalem and its environs (please note that only one of the photos is mine). I saw a number of other species on my recent trip to Galilee; but this post would become too big if I included them as well.

Palestinian sunbird

(the national bird of Palestine and my personal favourite)

Yellow-vented bulbul

Syrian woodpecker

Laughing dove

(I thought these birds, a common sight, would be turtle doves, which are

frequently mentioned in the Bible. But no. I have yet to spot a turtle dove.)

But I have seen this more classical-looking white dove,

which is apparently a breed of the ringneck dove

(NB. This is the only photo taken by me, appropriately enough close to the place of Jesus' baptism)

Plenty of ordinary feral pigeons

Parakeet

(you get these in London as well)

Hooded crow

Eurasian jay

Starlings

Pied wagtail

Kestrel

(I haven't seen any in Jerusalem itself, but saw one on the way to Bethlehem)

Last, but not least, the humble sparrow - to be seen in numbers everywhere, they are a reminder of the Father's love (Matthew 10:29)

Keeping the LENT in VaLENTine's Day

The coincidence of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day called for some Catholic creativity, and Jason Bach has duly obliged with these penitential Valentine's cards.

Allāh our Abba

One of the cutest things I've experienced here, on a couple of occasions while out and about, has been hearing a little girl getting the attention of her father by calling, "Abba!"

For those who don't understand the significance, in the Bible we're told how the Holy Spirit inspires us to call God "Abba" - the Hebrew for "Dad" (e.g. Galatians 4:6). So it helps me to more deeply feel the meaning of the word when I hear it used in its everyday context like that.

The language I'm most likely to hear on the street, in our immediate neighbourhood at least, is Hebrew; but when I go to one of the churches here in Jerusalem, the most likely language I'll hear is Arabic, because most of the local Christians are Arabs. And that means that in church, at Mass and at other times of prayer, you hear the word "Allah" a lot.

That might surprise some people, because the impression is often that "Allah" is a Muslim term for God; but in fact the use of the name for the one true God pre-dates Mohammed, and it was used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians before ever Islam was thought of.

So it's quite legit, even if something of a mish-mash of languages, to refer to "Allah our Abba".

Jeru and Salem

In a brief follow-up to my last post about different Jerusalems, there is this one-minute Facebook video from Nas (of Nas Daily). His other stuff is good as well - check out his website if you don't have access to Facebook.

Which Jerusalem are you talking about?

When Donald Trump made his announcement about recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the USA embassy here, some commentators made the point that it would help to define more clearly what he meant by 'Jerusalem' and also what other people, such as the Palestinians, mean when they talk about 'Jerusalem' (or 'Al-Quds', as they call it). Calev Ben-Dor, for example, in calling for 'constructive specifity' about Jerusalem, sets out at least three different geographical definitions.

Useful though such distinctions are, I want to write briefly about the religious definitions of Jerusalem, which the political rhetoric often implicitly invoke. When the Israelis, for example, say that Jerusalem is 'the eternal capital of Israel', there is an obvious reference to Biblical ideas of that city. But which Biblical Jerusalem are they talking about? Because even in the Scriptures there are different concepts of the Holy City knocking around.

Are we talking about the militarily-triumphant fortress city?

Within its citadels God has shown Himself a sure defence.
Then the kings assembled, they came on together.
As soon as they saw it they were astounded;
they were in panic, they took to flight...
(Ps 48:3-5)

Or are we talking about the inclusive, multicultural city?

Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia -
"This one was born there," they say...
The Lord records as He registers the peoples,
"This one was born there."
(Ps 87:3-4,6)

Or maybe we're talking about the city of injustice and oppression?

I see violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go around it on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud do not depart from its market-place.
(Ps 55:9-11)

These are but some of the facets of the Biblical Jerusalem. Underlying that multiplicity of images, however, is a more simple duality - the twin reality of the earthly and heavenly Jerusalems. These two cities are apparently recognised in rabbinic literature and hinted at in the current Hebrew name for Jerusalem, which is in the dual form.

I would guess that most rabbis, however, wouldn't go as far as Saul of Tarsus, who puts the distinction between the two Jerusalems thus:

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar... she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
(Gal 4:22-26)


It is a great privilege to be living here in Jerusalem. But although it is a beautiful city, with many blessings, it is not what my heart longs for. I have wondered whether part of the purpose of Divine Providence in allowing the Jewish conquest of the earthly Jerusalem is to help the Chosen People realise, after centuries of exile, that it still does not satisfy their yearning.

"He is not here. He has risen."

Our friary here in Jerusalem

Another thing that's kept from posting much recently is that I'm now busier with various tasks in the house and garden. Which reminds me that I've not posted anything much about the friary here.

Luckily, someone else has done a lot of the work for me by producing this video:

One thing not mentioned in the video when they look at the church is that the twelve stones set in the front of the altar represent the twelve tribes of Israel, and each stone in fact comes from that part of the Holy Land assigned to one of the tribes.

With regards to the garden, a fascinating thing for me is being able to enjoy fruits from it like grapefruits and oranges.

Japanese oranges - you eat them whole

This one tree brings forth oranges, lemons, and mandarins

(so I've unofficially named it 'The St Clemens Tree')

Although the olive harvest was over before I arrived, I'll still have to wait a little while longer to taste the olives from our garden. I had always thought that olives were put in brine to preserve them; but now I find out that they need to be soaked in brine for at least three months to make them edible. Olives fresh from the tree are very bitter. I had no idea.