Yardenit: Great Swimming Experience in the R.Jordan




My family are seasoned travelers around the wadis, hills and nachalim of Israel.

This summer's family pilgrimage to the North (together with almost everyone from the Center of Israel, who wasn't heading through Ben Gurion Airport) included well worn and fun hikes in the Golan to the Jilabun, Zaki, Zavitan, et al.

At the suggestion of my eldest son Yonatan, we tried a new (for us) trip to Yardenit. (Yonatan had previously been there with his Yeshiva friends).

Yardenit is located just next to Israel's first Kibbutz , Degania Aleph, close to the Southern shore of the Kinneret.

Yardenit is apparently the most desirable location for Christians to baptise in the Jordan; by so doing, they follow in the footsteps of Jesus who, according to the New Testament, was baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan River (although probably not at this site).

Most of the Jordan River is now a disappointing stream, due to the majority of the water being diverted for irrigation and drinking, both to Israel's and Jordan's population centers.

We parked the car in the (spacious) carpark at the baptism center, bypassed the center itself, and instead we walked through a date grove, to the banks of the Jordan river.

Verily, a mighty river!

There were a scattering of families, soldiers, students, camping along the banks, and plenty of room for swimming in the expansive river. There was even a "tarzan" swing into the water (see photo), which was tremendous fun, even for adults...

Marvelous, and highly recommended!

----
Health & safety warning: this is only recommended for confident and competent swimmers - it's deep in the middle and there are very few standable spots at the edges. On the other hand, the river flow is very slow, so there is no apparent danger of being washed downstream.



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marrying a Soloveitchik

Image
Mazaltov! My nephew, Gedaliah Kestenbaum married Devori Soloveitchik in Jerusalem last week. Gedaliah has married into rabbinical aristocracy .    Devori is the daughter of  Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, and the grand-daughter of Rabbi  Meshulam Dovid (Reb Dovid) Soloveitchik , who is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Brisk (one of the two) in Jerusalem . The Soloveitchik's are a rabbinical dynasty descended from Rabbi  Yosef Dov (HaLevi) Soloveitchik (The "Beis Halevi") and his son Rabbi  Chaim Soloveitchik ("Reb Chaim Brisker"). Rav Chaim's sons Rabbi  Yitzchak Zev (Reb Velvel) Soloveitchik ("The GRIZ" The Brisker Rov) and Rabbi  Moshe Soloveitchik seem to have gone in different hashkafik directions. Whereas Reb Velvel's descendents are predominantly right wing hareidim, Rav Moshe's branch are leaders in the Modern Orthodox/National Religious hashkafa – most notably Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ("The Rav")
Read more

Hoax Letter Sent to Synagogue

Image
            (Beis Tefillah Synagogue, Ramat Beit Shemesh) The following hoax letter has been sent to members of the Beis Tefillah Synagogue board of management, as if it was written by Rabbi CM [ed. name respectfully withheld] who serves as their rabbi: I think that as long as David Morris sets policy for L.A [ed. Lema'an Achai ], and is their public face,  I will not allow L.A. to use the Shul for fundraising purposes. This will change if: 1)David M apologizes publicly for stating,and insinuating again and again(in many forums,but especially in his childish Tzedek Tzedek blog) that , as a group ,  "Rabbis" (of RBSA ) are guilty of aiding and abetting and enabling child molesters.(And that of course that leaves LA to come to the rescue of our children.) OR IF  2)LA  publicly , clearly,and unambiguously disavows such statements .They must say--we clearly,and unambiguously ,disavow  statements or blogs which say or imply that  Rabbis  of RBSA (as a group ) aid or a
Read more