"Kibbutz-ing It"

The rest of our first day in Israel consisted of a drive by Cana and Nazareth; and then on to Tiberius where we began our three night stay at Kibbutz Kinar, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. For those of you who do not know, a Kibbutz is a "communal settlement" (which by the way is the definition of the word Kibbutz), basically they are rural communities. They are societies dedicated to mutual aid, a social economic system where each person living there shares in the ownership of the property, shares in its maintenance, and its business, and the education of its children. It is the fulfillment of the idea, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"; a home for those who have chosen it. The first one was started in 1909, and there are now some 270 Kibbutzim all over Israel.

Some Kibbutzim are dedicated to farming, others to dairies, others to tourism, like the one we stayed at.

On the site of Kibbutz Kinar (and our first stop the next morning) there is a museum that houses a boat that was found at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee! It is from the time of Jesus and the disciples.......it was an awesome sight to see! We listened to a documentary on how it was discovered, how it was "raised" and how it was moved to its present location and placed on display. And yes, it is a REAL one, not a model or replica. The archaeologists also found an oil lamp, some coins (minas), and other artifacts in and around the boat. The photograph that I have is not do it justice......we weren't allowed to use flash photography, and it was darkened in the room to protect the boat from the sunlight.

In the past, when I have read the account of the storm that caused the disciples to be afraid for their lives, I didn't understand their fear. Now I know that the boats were not large vessels and were made of wood.....I guess that I would be afraid too! Next time that I read about the disciples fishing and traveling with Jesus, by boat across the Sea of Galilee, and of a storm that occurred one late night...... I will remember that I was blessed to see one.