DEPARTURE…ALIYAH

TRAVELER’S PRAYER

We begin with The Traveler’s Prayer, Tefilat Haderech. Read each group of phrases from right to left:

PSALMS OF ASCENT

Three times a year the Jewish people were commanded to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the set feasts of God: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

This is called Aliyah which means to “rise, ascend, go up”.

As the Jewish people made the ascent to Jerusalem they would sing the Psalms dedicated to these events. They are referred to as the Psalms of Ascent or Pilgrim Songs and are found in Psalms 120-134. These are the Scriptures you want to focus on as you travel to Israel. Jesus would’ve been found singing these with His family every time He went to Jerusalem. We know that He was left there accidently when He was twelve. That story is in Luke 2:41-52. We see that Joseph and Mary were obedient to the Lord in all things so we can be sure Jesus experienced this Aliyah every year, three times per year.

There are 15 Psalms and there are 15 steps that lead into the Temple. The Levites sang the fifteen Psalms of Ascent on these fifteen steps. In fact, they sang one Psalm on each step, going up. These fifteen songs were first sung on the night before the dedication of Solomon’s temple which took place on the morning of the Feast of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth of Tishri, in the year 959 BC. The first psalm, Psalm 120, was sung early in the morning, around 1 or 2 a.m., and the last psalm, Psalm 134, was sung just before dawn broke. After that, the Levites sang them every year for almost 1,000 years, from the dedication of Solomon’s temple in 959 BC to the destruction of the second temple in AD 70. The only break was the 70 years when the Babylonians destroyed the temple in the sixth century BC. So imagine all of the travelers singing these Psalms as they travel to Jerusalem and then when they reach the temple joining in with the Levite Priests as they sing each Psalm on the steps. Imagine Jesus singing these with you as you travel.

OUR TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

Our flights were very smooth. The 9.5 hour flight from DFW to Frankfurt came with dinner (actually very good), snacks, and movies/TV for each passenger. John and I watched almost the whole first season of La Brea. We could also track the flight progress on the screen too. That was cool! The only downside was that we got stuck smack in the middle of a row. I had to remind myself of the way Paul, Peter and the other disciples traveled back in the day to spread the Gospel. I could handle the middle seats for several hours. First world probs.

The 4 hour flight to Tel Aviv was less exciting. Just your regular flight with no TV, snack or reclining seat. John was determined to get a Coke everywhere he went! Seeing Eretz Israel (land of Israel) through the airplane window on arrival was exciting! You could see the land in the distance as we approached from the Mediterranean Sea.

The thing I learned about traveling on a plane… less is more. I didn’t need a big backpack with all sorts of stuff in it to keep me occupied. I didn’t need gadgets of all sorts. The ride home proved way better. A small bag with my wallet, phone, charger and neck pillow.

Total travel time from home driveway to hotel in Israel was 24 hours. Not bad for way across the world.