The Story of the Beach and the Cookies

Now the Philistines had taken the ark of God, and they brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again. And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. Therefore, neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the borders thereof. And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said: 'The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for His hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.'
–1 Samuel 5;1-7

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson 

How to have a beach body: 1. Have a body. 2 Go to the beach. 

–Unknown

As a result of a desperate need to arm my son with cookies before his return to army reserve duties, we decided to take a much-needed respite from being retired and spend a day enjoying the Land of Israel before delivering said cookies to said son.

Before beginning our day of fun, I googled 'things to do in Ashdod.'

I've been to Ashdod a few times. Two of my grandchildren were even born there. It's a coastal, port city on the Mediterranean Sea, best known for being smaller than and south of Tel Aviv and bigger than and north of Ashkelon. Indeed, my Google search turned up the answer to what to see (and I'm not making this up): Ashdod Port - from there you can find tours to take you to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and the Dead Sea. 

A more intensive search turned up the Eye of the Sun traffic circle (again not making this up). Next on the list was the Citadel Park. Situated close to the beach, the park comprises ruins from both Roman and Crusader times, including a fort and a Crusader Citadel. There are also picnic tables. That actually looked promising, and we decided to make it our first stop. We like ruins. However, it was not to be; the road to the park – and probably the park itself – was closed. There was no access. 

This proved to be most serendipitous. Carrying on down the road we came upon the infamous said Eye of the Sun traffic circle. 

I'm not sure it's worth all the hoopla. 

In any case, if one turns west at the Eye, one ends up at Beer Sheva Beach, Ashdod. And they say Beer Sheva doesn't have a beach!

One of the many things Israel has to offer is its beautiful beaches, and we decided not to miss this opportunity to enjoy one of them.  Did I mention serendipity? 

There are universal aspects to all beaches; sand, water, lost flip flops. The Beer Sheva Beach did not disappoint. There was the golden sand, turquoise water, and lots and lots of sun. (We didn't find any lost flip flops though – I suppose it was too early in the day.) The sea was not at its calmest, however, and few people were in the water.

 

There were shells in the sand, and music in the air. 

Every beach is special, and the Beer Sheva Beach boasted decorative sculptures, and a repository for plastic bottles that went by the name of Rony Fish. 

There was even a street, or should I say beach, library (The vast majority of books were old encyclopedias and math textbooks, but hey.)

But this is Israel, and even its beaches take on that special Israeli vibe. 

(I won't mention that the music was in Hebrew, as Static and Ben-El, Noa Kirel, and the inescapable Eyal Golan can be heard blasting from many corners around the world.) 

There's the (even) older couple who planted a table, two chairs, and a large umbrella right next to the water sipping tea and eating watermelon, enjoying the beautiful sun and sea after a lifetime of labour.  There are the teenagers of every shade, representing – more than anything else could – the miraculous incoming of the exiles, congregating on one small dish towel arguing over which Hebrew song to blast. There's the young mother, hair covered and wearing a long skirt, chasing after her toddler who is running directly into the sea. There is the large dog digging and throwing sand in a cloud while its oblivious owner, dressed in army uniform, stares into the waves. 

Army helicopters regularly pass overhead ensuring the safety of swimmers below from terrorists who might try to enter the country via the sea. It's been done. 

But it was this that particularly called attention to the fact that I was on a beach in Israel:  

For those not in the know, the above piece of what appears to be junk jettisoned from an alien spaceship is immediately recognizable to almost all Israelis and certainly to those who live in the south of the country. I don't imagine there is an English word for it. In Hebrew, it's a 'migoonit' – derived from the word 'magen' or shield (as in Magen David). This hollowed out hunk of concrete serves as a small shelter when sirens blast indicating incoming missiles. While there is not enough room in it to protect all the beachgoers, it is a constant reminder that our enemies are aiming at toddlers, teenagers, and watermelon-eating pensioners. 

Israel, today, is in the throes of internal unrest, possibly the worst it has ever seen. Contempt and disrespect are felt coming from all sides. Terrible words are flung like confetti, polluting our beautiful Land with hatred, which even Rony Fish cannot clean up. 

Especially at this time of year, we need to remember that we've hated before, and it ended in a everlasting disaster. We cannot afford to do it again. 

We seem to forget that our enemies don't care how we dress, or what we eat, or what music we listen to. They don't care what sort of government we have. 

They want us dead simply because we are alive. 

We spent an hour or two on the beach, enjoying the quiet and the wind. We got to my son's house with the cookies only slightly overbaked from sitting in the car all day. He was preparing to finish off his month-long army reserve duty protecting his Nation from those who wish to harm us. 

Even on the most beachy of days. 

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.