ABC Wednesday, X of Xerxes

                                

                                                   Queen Esther wife of King Xerxes.


The letter X is not easy at all, but lo and behold there is a name in the bible beginning with X! Xerxes! Because of him Israel celebrates Purim every year.

 King Xerxes held a 180-day feast in Susa (Shoushan). While in "high spirits" from the wine, he ordered his queen, Vashti, to appear before him and his guests to display her beauty. But  she refused to come. Furious at her refusal to obey, the king asked his wise men what should be done. One of them said that all the women in the empire would hear that "The King Xerxes commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not." Then the women of the empire would despise their husbands. And this would cause many problems in the kingdom. Therefore it would be good to depose her.

To find a new queen suitable to King Xerxes, it was decreed that beautiful young virgins be gathered to the palace from every province of his kingdom. For his wife and queen, King Xerxes chose  the Jewish girl Esther, an orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, to replace the recalcitrant Queen Vashti. Esther was originally named Hadassah, meaning myrtle.

                                      Haman and King Xerxes at Esther's party.


 When I went to Israel in March the Purim festivities were going on. Purim is based on the story of Esther king Xerxes or Ahasueros, Haman and Mordecai. It is the happiest festivity of the year. Esther saved her people from the slaughter Haman had planned. King Xerxes was furious and punished Haman and his sons. You can read the whole story in the bible in the book of Esther.
Purim was also celebrated in my country in Jewish communities. There were photos of children in my newspaper ,who were disguised in all kind of fancydresses.

Chagai is ten years old. The mask is part of a wizzard outfit.

Esther is 4 years old. Isn't she a lovely bride?

Sweet Binjomin is a lovely fireman of six.

 I thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 10 of the fascinating meme of ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with X.

Next week I will be in Australia. I don't know if I can answer your comments, but I do have 

 scheduled all my ABC posts. I hope to be back on the 24th July. Have a nice month!

Weekend Reflections

These three windows of Joseph, Benjamin and Ruben are reflected in the Reader's Table.
Click to see more details.




In every synagogue a Torah ark and a reader's  table are present.
The Torah ark is a cabinet in which the Torah  scrolls are kept.


The ark is reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tablets with Ten Commandments. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue, equivalent to the Holy of Holies. The ark is often closed with an ornate curtain, the parochet  פרוכת, which hangs outside or inside the ark doors.

A large, raised, reader's platform called the bimah , where the Torah scroll is placed to be read,  is a feature of all synagogues.

In the synagogue of the Hadassah Hospital near Jerusalem the reader's table is made of glass and not raised on a platform, so that the reader has to go down a few steps, reminding people of psalm:130."Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, o Lord".

Three of the windows reflected in the Reader's Table.

The reader's  table in this synagogue is made  of glass.  

 Weekend Reflections was started on 27 September 2009, by  James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to  James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

ABC Wednesday, W for windows

“This is my modest gift to the Jewish people who have always dreamt of biblical love, friendship and of peace among all peoples. This is my gift to that people which lived here thousands of years ago among the other Semitic people.” ( Marc Chagall)

When Dina asked me:"What would you like to see?" I answered that I should love to see the Chagall windows in the synagogue of the hospital near Jerusalem.It is the Hadassah hospital, where all medical faculties are situated. Recently a new wing has been opened.The Chagall windows represent the 12 tribes of Israel.

Hadassah is blessed with many works of art that enhance the hallways and halls, passages and public spaces; the countless paintings, sculptures and drawings grace both  campuses.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning withW.

Click to see more details.They are worth seeing.

ABC Wednesday, V for Via Dolorosa

We were walking through the old town again to follow the Via Dolorosa, which is unlikely to be the precise path that Jesus walked. The original way is probably hidden under 2000 years of ruins of buildings. However large slabs of stone from the times of the Roman occupation were found along the way. The route begins in the Arab Quarter. There are fourteen stations, the last five are situated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Each station shows one of the events that happened to Jesus when he was carrying his cross to the place of execution, which was Golgotha.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words beginning with V.

Our World Tuesday, Psalms Challenge, Psalm 66

Because 1992 had been a difficult year for us, our church community decided to give our family this candle that had been lit  each Sundaymorning in church during the morning services from Easter Sunday 1992 till Good Friday 1993. In 1992 my husband and son had been in hospital in August. My eldest daughter was expecting her baby in September, but he came in July while my daughter was in France. It was not until half September that she and her very weak baby could come to the Netherlands. My other daughter and I were the only members of the family who were not in hospital. It was a hectic and stressful time for all of us. A time of praying and hoping and... believing! After a few months we were all in better condition.

10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
and laid burdens on our backs.

¹⁹ But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

 The verses from Psalm 36 are contributed to Robert's Psalms Challenge meme at Daily 
 Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our new logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

Weekend Reflections,

Trompen burg

 Weekend Reflections was started on 27 September 2009, by  James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to  James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

If you click on the photo you'll see more details.

This is a pond in the beautiful park of Trompenburg in Rotterdam, where we spent a wonderful afternoon on Mothers Sunday.See post of Monday 4 June.

ABC Wednesday, U for Uriah

Uriah or Urijah (Hebrew: אוּרִיָּה, Modern Uriyya Tiberian ʼÛriyyā ; "my light is Yahweh") was the name of several men in the Hebrew Bible. It may refer to:

 People From the Bible

    * Uriah the Hittite, a soldier in King David's army in the Books of Samuel. He was the husband of Bathseba and a soldier who was set to die in battle so that king David could marry his wife, whom he fell in love with when he saw her taking a bath.

The story of David's seduction of Bathsheba, told in 2 Samuel 11, is omitted in Chronicles. The story is told that David, while walking on the roof of his palace, saw Bathsheba, who was then the wife of Uriah, bathing. He immediately desired her and later made her pregnant.

Wikipedia says: "In an effort to conceal his sin, David summoned Uriah from the army (with whom he was on campaign) in the hope that Uriah would re-consummate his marriage and think that the child was his. Uriah was unwilling to violate the ancient kingdom rule applying to warriors in active service. Rather than go home to his own bed, he preferred to remain with the palace troops.

After repeated efforts to convince Uriah to have sex with Bathsheba, the king gave the order to his general, Joab, that Uriah should be placed in the front lines of the battle, where it was the most dangerous, and left to the hands of the enemy. Ironically, David had Uriah himself carry the message that ordered his death. After Uriah was dead, David made the now widowed Bathsheba his wife."

In this story King David is not exactly the noble monarch we always honour. Uriah is the noble and loyal character!
  

    * Uriah, a priest under Ahaz in the Books of Kings
    * Urijah, a prophet murdered by Jehoiakim in the Book of Jeremiah
    * Uriah, a priest and the father of Meremoth in the Book of Ezra and Book of Nehemiah
    * Uriah, a priest whom God offers to call as a witness in the Book of Isaiah

Uriah was and is still a common name although not often used. I remember that Dickens named one of his characters in David Copperfield, Uriah Heep, who was a despicable creep.( this rhymes!) I've heard just now that there is also a band called Uriah Heep. I didn't know that. As I have been dedicating my entries for the last three months to Israel, I was looking for a biblical name starting with U , I found this man who was a loyal soldier of king David of Israel. I shall continue to write about Israel til October.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar. This week we are looking for words beginning with U. 

Our World Tuesday, The Netherlands

On Mother's Day my daughter, her friend and I went to Trompenburg, a beautiful park in Rotterdam. The weather was perfect and it was nice and warm. It was very crowded with people buying and selling plants for their gardens. It was the first time I was here and I was really happy to see so many beautiful flowering bushes.There was a greenhouse with only cactuses, and I had no idea there were so many different kinds. On our way back to the car we saw a beautiful white vintage car. 

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our new logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

Long Live the Queen!

To all British Bloggers:" congratulations with the Diamond Queen." Every day I have been watching the festivities in Great Britain. Long live the Queen!

ABC Wednesday, T for Tiberias

In March this year I met Dina and she showed me a lot of Israel. We booked a tour with a group of Israeli people in the north of Israel. This week's entry is about one of the ancient cities in the north of Israel. Please click on Read More! Sorry for the inconvenience! I am still not used to this new system of sending entries.