I remember walking in Jerusalem with my friend Yakov (I think it was near the corner of Shivtei Yisrael and Ha-Nevi'im), and meditating together on the the following verses from Proverbs,

"Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put devious lips far from you.

Let your eyes look directly ahead,
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.

Watch the the path of your feet,
And all of your ways will be established.

Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil." (Proverbs 4:23-27)

These are, of course, easy verses to meditate on while walking. Keep your eyes facing straight ahead, so that your feet won't stumble. Paul may have had these verses in mind when he exhorted the believers in Philippi to, "press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Messiah Yeshua." (Philippians 3:14) We humans are very forgetful. God requires us to repeat the words of the Shema several times a day, and in so doing we are constantly re-aligning ourselves with the goal of God's high calling, which is to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. Throughout the day our eyes may stray, and our feet may trip from time to time, but everytime we say "Hear, O Israel," we have no choice but to bring our eyes back to the goal.

Anyway, that memory of walking with Yakov is just another in a stream of memories that come unlocked for me from time to time. A word, a tune, a smell, a feeling, a particular passage of Scripture, and suddenly I'm back in Eretz Israel, walking once again on the paths of the ancients. Two nights ago I had a vivid dream, and some friends of mine, the Hershfeld family from the village of Ezuz, were main characters. It seemed in the dream that they lived in a nice house, which was built in the middle of a desolate war-zone, or a demolished neighborhood. There were many fine-looking houses built upon this rubble. Actually, the area sort of reminded me of an area in Jerusalem, although changed somewhat by the dream.

The end of this story: I really want to be back in Israel!

Shalom Ya'll