Shabbat at a Settlement

I spent last Shabbat out at a settlement a little distance from Jerusalem. I have been to this settlement before, but this time stayed with people that I had not met before. This time I got there a couple hours early, so a friend of mine who lives there took me on a tour of the area. The settlement itself is not that large, but there is a tremendous amount of history in the surrounding hills.

The thing that really brought home to me how much this settlement is in the “Jewish heartland” was one particular place that we saw. In prophets (1 Samuel 14:1-22) it is described how Jonathan, son of Saul, went alone with his armor-bearer to attack the Philistines. The geography is clearly defined, including town names that still exist today, and includes a section of land described as “a rocky precipice on one side and a rocky precipice on the other side” (in 1 Samuel 14:4). It is between these precipices that Jonathan climbed. They are clearly visible and only a few kilometers from the settlement I was at. Reading the entire story will reveal that the Ark of the Covenant was at that location. To be standing on the land upon which such momentous events took place creates a real sense of awe.

As usual when at a religious settlement, things get very quiet about 45 minutes before Shabbat starts. There is absolutely no street traffic and, since I was out in the Judean hills, there was no city noise at all. The atmosphere is one of total peace.

I was at a friend’s home for all 3 Shabbat meals. As usual the conversation was lively and stimulating.

On the cantorial front, my instructor is now on vacation until 1 September. We will resume classes at that time and work on the Mussaf portion of the Yom Kippur service as well as the Neila service. I will also be learning trope for chanting Torah and Haftarah.

I will be attending a wedding for a friend of mine here in Jerusalem next week and will be honored to perform the 7th blessing for them. More on that after it happens. This will be my only wedding attended here and I am looking forward to it. I am led to understand that they are quite the affair here, and quite different as well.