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    Shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem in Israel

    How to Homestead a Hermitage

    Letter from Jerusalem

    By Dana Wiser

    January 5, 2018
    3 Comments
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    • Kevin Cushing

      Bethlehem is in the Palestinian Territories and surrounded by Israeli settlers, similar to Rome controlling ancient Israel when Jesus walked the earth. Unfortunately times haven’t changed much. Pretty sad. I am heartened, though, when I hear of Jews and Arabs living and working together in friendship, which you rarely hear of in the press- just hate and violence. That living in peace is a more powerful sign of Christ than any of the ancient sites people flock to.

    • Rae Whitehead

      May the Way be "not that far" for us all!

    • METİN ERDEM

      May God help us to learn to respect each other and live in peace and brotherhood. The peace is near, when we remember that we belong to each other. Thank you Dana Wiser.

    Maureen and I are on loan from the Bruderhof to Tantur Ecumenical Institute, which hosts international scholars and students on a hill outside Jerusalem. We help with Tantur’s daily tasks: cooking, maintenance, olive harvesting, and library filing. When we first arrived three months ago, we had the delight of making a home out of a tiny hermitage (previously a shepherd’s hut) tucked into the hill. We scrubbed down the walls in its one room, kitchen, and bath, squeezed in a collapsible table and convertible couch/bed, sewed curtains by hand, and planted flowers around the house and on the roof.

    Just beyond the garden, traffic is noisy on the litter-strewn road. Joseph and Mary passed by when the traffic was donkey and camel. Stretching to the east is Shepherdsfield – yes, those shepherds’ fields. Bethlehem is just down the road.

    As a child, Emmy Arnold, cofounder of the Bruderhof, began anticipating each Christmas one hundred days in advance, counting down the days from September 16 in childlike expectation. Since then, Bruderhof members have made it a custom each year to dust off the carols that day and celebrate with stollen, a delicious German Christmas cake overflowing with nuts and fruit. Here in Jerusalem, we decided to celebrate One Hundred Days as a sort of Hermitage housewarming, complete with stollen and carols, together with Tantur’s staff and guests. Ingredients were to hand. Almonds: knock down nuts with pole. Raisins: pick grapes, dry in sun (we have lots of both). Dried apricots: easy, Tantur serves these for breakfast. Result: the Holy Land’s best stollen.

    a pile of raisins on a red, green, and white striped cloth

    We let out the word that coffee break was at the hermitage, and staff, guests, and students – Muslims, Christians, and Jews – crowded onto our porch. Arabic coffee, bitter and aromatic, paired with sweet German stollen in a fine metaphor for peace and goodwill. In a rush of excited Arabic, our friends commended Maureen’s baking and hermitage homemaking.

    It was later, in the dusk, that we sang. Among the carols was “How far is it to ­Bethlehem?” Not very far indeed, say fifteen minutes’ walk. See, there it is through the olive trees.

    Shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem in Israel Shepherds’ fields near Bethlehem Image courtesy of Nabcam
    Contributed By

    Dana Wiser is a member of the Bruderhof.

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