Can a Nation Be Made in a Day? YES!

The 2 Spies are still in the States but we cannot let today pass by without sharing this video on an amazing prophetic day in history. Enjoy!

Shabbat Shalom

Today we get ready to go to the United States. Our 96 year-old Mother has fallen and is in the rehab hospital. We know that we are going to kiss her and hug her for possibly the last time. It is a heavy time for us, but we know that it is the cycle of life. We also know deeply, as written in the Torah, that as we go~ 'underneath are the Everlasting Arms.' She is in those strong loving arms. We are not alone and none of this is a surprise to our G-d. We appreciate your prayers for her.

Ruby

Our hearts are also heavy because it is very difficult to leave Israel. The Land is part of the very fiber of our soul. It is sad to not be near to Jerusalem. We go with the reminder on our hearts to not forget Jerusalem. 

For this last Shabbat in the Land, we want to share a story that is such a great picture of life here~ in its beauty and complexity. Enjoy and Shabbat Shalom.

And the Winner is....

We have had such a great time celebrating with everyone. THANK YOU for all your warm wishes and input. We are especially happy to meet new friends who have joined our journey along the way. 

And now some photos for The 2 Spies winner:

The 'Hat' with all the tickets

The 'cute grandson's' hand

..

 Drum roll please

And the winner is....

 

Roxanne !

Mazel Tov Roxanne!  Be sure to email us your snail mail so we can send you your gifts!

Speaking of which... here I am planting YOUR tree...

Roxanne's Tree

Location, location, location.... Your tree is here

We feel sad that we cannot send gifts to everyone who was posting. So we've decided on a 'consolation' gift. Please email us with your mailing address and we will send you a little something from us.

We will not be posting for a couple of weeks. We have a family emergency and will be making a trip to the States. There are several different things going on so we would appreciate your prayers.

We'll see you when we return! Toda Raba again for all your love and support!
And for those who celebrate~~~  Happy Thanksgiving~~~

Celebration Day 5!

The last day of our anniversary celebration!  Your last day to leave a comment and earn a 'ticket' If this is your first time to visit The 2 Spies, we suggest you check out the posts from the past few days to see what's going on, what's being given away and how you can win!

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who receives some blessings from the Land!

In the meantime we'd like to share with you about a Christian group that has brought a great blessing to the Land. Tommy and Sherri Waller have a unique vision for Israel and the place of the Gentile in restoring the Land. They have, in humility, come along side the citizens of Judea and Samaria and have offered themselves as servants in whatever ways they are needed. By example, they have encouraged other Christians with a proper love of Israel~ one that is put in action.  Here is the link to learn more about this amazing couple and their group:
HaYovel

Now, sit back and enjoy this wonderful presentation of the Wallers and their friends at work! Enjoy~

Celebration Day 4!

How much we appreciate the notes we get from our friends and readers!  You have no idea how much you encourage us. We have many who are following our blog who have known us for years BUT we know we have also made many new friends!


At the bottom of our blog is a box that is titled 'Live Traffic Feed'. It is a marvelous tool that tells when someone reads the blog and where they are from. Do not worry. It doesn't give any other information other than location and time you checked in.

What is amazing to us is where people are from! England, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Taiwan, UAE, Kenya, Bali, Japan, all over the United States and more!!! A lot of countries we have had to look up to see where you are in the world! 

We are so surprised that you are finding us... and coming back!

We have a request. If you are reading this would you please leave a comment with your location, how you found us and thoughts about the blog. Is there anything you'd like to see us write about? Any suggestions? 

 Don't forget... this is celebration week. Prizes are coming. Here is a reminder of the prizes and how to be eligible! 

Part One: A tree planted in Israel by our own hands. The winner may dedicate it to whomever they desire. A certificate will be sent to the winner along with a photo of us planting YOUR tree! 

Part Two:The second half of the gift is a special selection of products from Israel gift boxed and sent to your home. The products will include wonderful reminders of the beauty and marvels of Israel.  

Each time you participate, your name will go on a ticket which is put into the 'hat'. 

The winner will be announced November 15. 

Here's how you get your 'tickets':
1. Leave a comment below on this blog. Maybe tell us what you've enjoyed. Or how you found us. BUT be sure to leave your first name. Stop by and leave a comment each day. Each comment = 1 'ticket'

2 Go to 'The 2 Spies' Facebook page and post a comment.
Each day you post = 1 'ticket'

3. Send us an email:  the2spies@gmail.com  1 email= 1 'ticket'

On November 14th a very cute grandchild will randomly pull one ticket from the 'hat'. YOUR ticket!!

 On November 15 we will post the winner! 

Veterans Day 2011

Today is Veterans Day in the United States~ a day to honor and thank all who are or have been in the armed forces, who daily guard American freedom. 


The 2 Spies grew up in an area that had a high concentration of military~ Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force bases and posts made up our neighborhoods. There were many veterans in both our families and today we would like to honor them and the many others who gave their time, health and lives to give us a marvelously free country to grow up in. For this we will always be eternally grateful.

Husband's Father~ United States Army ~ WWI~ Battle of Argonne France

My Father~ United States Navy~ WWII~ Okinawa, Japan

Husband's Uncle (after whom he was named)~ United States Army~ WWII~ Battle of the Bulge (died there)

My Husband~ United States Army~ Korea

Our Sons~ Israel Defense Forces~ Communications & Paratrooper ~ respectively

Much appreciation to these men and to our many close friends who served and are still serving.

Please, share the names of your family members who served~ no matter what country~ that we may honor them also.

Celebration Day 3 !

Celebration week continues!

What a fun week we are having! We are hearing from so many of you~ thank you for your words of encouragement and blessing!  A lot of tickets are going into the hat~ are there any with YOUR name on them? To find out what the gifts are and how to be eligible to win check out the blog posts for the past two days!

In the meantime~  back to bringing you a good report. A great report! 

As you may know, we are raising funds for an orphanage here in Jerusalem~

Re'ut Boy's Home. 

Re'ut is part of the Orr Shalom group that provides intervention for children at risk. The Re'ut home is for the most severe cases. In this video about Orr Shalom you will meet  Tzvika, a graduate of Re'ut Boys Home. The footage of the children playing basketball, being taught etc is from the home itself.

 

Tzvika is now dancing with the  Bat Sheva Dance group in Israel.

We have a goal of raising $20,000 to help build a new kitchen for the home. Someone recently donated $1500 !!! This generous donation brings us to 20% of our goal!  Click here to learn more Re'ut Boy's Home   and how you can join in!

Earlier this week The 2 Spies along with some of our grandchildren went to Re'ut to deliver some games and sports equipment. We had all gone shopping and on the advice of our grandchildren, we found many wonderful choices. (It's best to have a 'child consultant' in these matters) Here is a picture of our 'haul'

While we were at the home, the boys were very curious about us and what was in the bags. We were happy to meet them and chat for just a bit. Cute kids! We're sorry that we cannot post photos of the boys~ a matter of privacy. 

Please consider how you can help these orphans in Israel.

That's it for today. Be sure to register for your tickets! We'll be back Sunday morning!

Shabbat Shalom, all~

Celebration Day 2 !

Today is the second day of the grand celebration of our one year anniversary of 'The 2 Spies'. We so appreciate our friends and followers we are offering special gifts from Israel. Here are the prizes and the entry requirements!  Be sure to post today! There will be opportunity to post and gather 'tickets' until November 14. The winner will be announced November 15.

We started shopping today and have found some special goodies! 

Part One: A tree planted in Israel by our own hands. The winner may dedicate it to whomever they desire. A certificate will be sent to the winner along with a photo of us planting YOUR tree! 

Part Two:The second half of the gift is a special selection of products from Israel gift boxed and sent to your home. The products will include wonderful reminders of the beauty and marvels of Israel.

Each time you participate, your name will go on a ticket which is put into the 'hat'. 

The winner will be announced November 15. 

Here's how you get your 'tickets':


1. Leave a comment below on this blog. Maybe tell us what you've enjoyed. Or how you found us. BUT be sure to leave your first name. We will post every day (except Shabbat) until November 14. Stop by and leave a comment each day. Each comment = 1 'ticket'


2. Go to 'The 2 Spies' Facebook page and post a comment.
Each day you post = 1 'ticket'

3. Send us an email:  the2spies@gmail.com  1 email= 1 'ticket'

Be sure to post today!  See you tomorrow! 

CELEBRATION !!!

One year ago we began 'The 2 Spies' blog. Our intention was to bring a good report of the Land of Israel. A counter-balance to the daily newspapers.  Little did we know how this would challenge us as well as be a blessing to us! To daily look for the Milk & Honey does not minimize the other events and situations here. Rather than be overcome with an evil report, the Giants in the Land, we seek to over-come evil with good... and with the reality that this Land is continually under the watchful eye of the Creator of the Universe. Jerusalem is the place of His name. We have learned that He is Everywhere.With that in mind, it is not difficult to look, to taste and to know that this is indeed a unique country. We have learned, like the Psalmist, 

"Our feet have fallen in pleasant places".". 

The other blessing for us this year has been the support of our readers. Your words of encouragement have been the wind beneath our wings. We have been buoyed by your prayers and good wishes.  We have also noticed that we have many new followers from all over the world. We do not know how you found us but we do know that we are glad that you are here and that you keep coming back. 

"Nuff" said--  On to the celebration!

In honor of our one year anniversary, The 2 Spies has a gift for one of our followers.

The gift:

This is not us but maybe a pioneer relative

Part One: A tree planted in Israel by our own hands. The winner may dedicate it to whomever they desire. A certificate will be sent to the winner along with a photo of us planting YOUR tree! 

Imagine YOUR name here !

Part Two:The second half of the gift is a special selection of products from Israel gift boxed and sent to your home. The products will include wonderful reminders of the beauty and marvels of Israel.      

Treats from the Land

    Now the big question: How do you participate?

Each time you participate, your name will go on a ticket which is put into the 'hat'. 

The winner will be announced November 15. 

Here's how you get your 'tickets':


1. Leave a comment below on this blog. Maybe tell us what you've enjoyed. Or how you found us. BUT be sure to leave your first name. We will post every day (except Shabbat) until November 14. Stop by and leave a comment each day. Each comment = 1 'ticket'


2. Go to 'The 2 Spies' Facebook page and post a comment.
Each day you post = 1 'ticket'

3. Send us an email:  the2spies@gmail.com  1 email= 1 'ticket'

There is the possibility of earning 15 tickets! On November 14th a very cute grandchild (whose birthday is today) will randomly pull one ticket from the 'hat'. YOUR ticket!!

 On November 15 we will post the winner! 

Be sure to begin today with this post!

See you tomorrow!

(We're off to shop for your gift!) 

One Year Tomorrow

Tomorrow, November 8, will be the one year anniversary of 

The 2 Spies

It's hard to believe that it has been one year already

How much we have enjoyed sharing the Land with you and reading your comments and thoughts. We are looking forward to this next year to see what new adventures we will have and what other good reports we can bring you.

In the meantime....

We are planning a surprise so be sure to check back tomorrow and see what's happening!

See you tomorrow!

Food Tour of the North part 2

(This is part 2 of our tour of the Golan)
 It is amazing how many lovely hide-away places there are in the Galil. We really needed to keep our eyes open. We almost missed the turn for the Goat Cheese. Stopping too suddenly to make the turn almost got us 'rear-ended !  


There was a cafe where people were casually enjoying a light lunch out under the arbor. A beautiful peacock was strutting around but disappeared  rather quickly when we wanted to get his picture. In the shop we were allowed to taste as many different cheeses as we liked. I personally do not like goat cheese. After getting brave and tasting some, I realize that there are some goat cheeses that I DO like. Needless to say, we bought 8 different kinds and a pot of fig preserves. 

One of our hosts

Our choices

A paper mache goat

From here we headed to my favorite place, the chocolate factory. De Karina home of artisan gourmet chocolates. A friend had bought their chocolate liqueur and wanted some more. Needless to say we had to taste it to see why he enjoys it. It was marvelous !  So was the honey liqueur, the white chocolate liqueur and the caramel liqueur. There is an espresso liqueur, but we don't like coffee flavor so we didn't taste that one.

Enter the world of fine chocolates!

Tropical chocolate paradise

Chocolate winter wonderland

Chocolate sukkah... yummy!

And of course we HAD to take some home!

After a long, wonderful day touring we headed back to our cabin at our favorite place ~ Vered HaGalil

Our Cabin #10

Back Porch view of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)

My Friend the Jacuzzi

 We hope you enjoyed our mini-tour of the Galil. G-d willing, one day, you can come and make your own food tour of the north!

Food Tour of the North!

What a marvelous 5 days we had resting in the Galil! We were there just after Sukkot so everyone had gone home and it was QUIET.  Just what we needed. We spent time being with friends for a couple of days and then time on our own. The North is so totally different from central Israel. It's like another world ~ and we love it!

One of our highlights was to visit different 'food' places on the Golan. Olive oil, goat's cheese, honey and of course chocolate!! There are plenty of wineries also but we don't really enjoy wine (gasp)  so we skipped those.
Let us take you on a little pictorial tour:
Our first stop was to Kibbutz Naot Mordechai ~ home of the Naot Shoe Factory~ established in 1949. After going almost bankrupt in 1988, they switched to making a 'healthier' and much more comfortable shoe much in the style of Birkenstock. This Spies' shoe of choice. I LOVE my Naots.

Naot Shoes ~ Factory outlet store.  Not food but couldn't by-pass this one!

Too many choices!  Ended up with 2 pair of slippers a pair of shoes and a new purse!

  From here we wound our way though the lovely hills to Kibbutz Shamir and visited their apiary. This was a new word for me. Here's the official definition:

a·pi·ar·y   [ey-pee-er-ee]

a place in which a colony or colonies of bees are kept, as a stand or shed for beehives or a beehouse containing a number of beehives.

 Having settled that.... here are some photos!

This was inside the shop. Interesting see the bees up close!

Honey with Royal Jelly

The Galil Apiary had an informative movie all about bees and their multiple 'by-products'. It was in Hebrew only but we got most of the information. Enough to walk out with 2 jars of Royal Jelly, one of Pollen in Royal jelly, a hand cream and a healing balm for eczema. (which worked!) Here is the link to their website: Galil Apiary

To be continued.....