Vicarious Pleasure

To visit Israel, you must traverse 7 time zones on an 11-hour flight.

Or, for the month of February, you can visit Abbot Library in Marblehead and check out the colorful and informative exhibit, “Discovering Our Common Roots.”

The exhibit grew out of an interfaith trip to Israel taken by a group of 35 people from Swampscott and Marblehead.

Led by Rabbi David Meyer of Temple Emanu-El and the Reverend Dennis Calhoun of Old North Church, the group visited both ancient sites and modern nonprofit organizations. Their itinerary, specifically designed by Meyer, traced the threads of both faiths back to their origins, as well as acknowledged the shared spiritual goals of all faiths.

As simple as this sounds in theory, such a venture is rare in practice. Seldom do groups of Jewish travelers follow the Stations of the Cross in Old Jerusalem; rare is the Christian tour that visits Degania, the first kibbutz.

The trip was such a success that its participants were moved to share their experience, with everyone contributing something.  Ellen Bresner and Sally Sands, with the help of Ellaine Rose, Mimi Hollister, Stuart Cohen and Merry Glosband, mounted the show.

This open approach means there’s something there for all tastes.

A mini replica of the Western Wall of the Old Temple, complete with grass growing between the blocks, captures the spirit of the original so well that visitors have been moved to add their own tiny pieces of paper, prayers of gratitude and supplication, as is the custom in Israel. Photos accompanying the Wall are of the interfaith group lighting Shabbat candles under a full moon.

Items on display include pottery, minerals from the Dead Sea, a 3,000-year-old pottery shard from Beit Guvrin, and a diaphanous purple dance scarf decorated with gold coins.

Photographs are arranged thematically in groups of 4 so that a person unfamiliar with the destination gets a good feel for each place.

Diary entries, reflections, and snippets from the itinerary further inform the visitor.

Also included are a small watercolor of Tel Aviv and a pen-and-ink sketch of the Sea of Galilee by Don Gardner.

And, running along the length of the wall is an intricate and whimsical collage of each destination, from Jericho to Caesarea, with photos of each of the 35 travelers, artfully constructed by Ellen Bresner.

Rabbi Meyer summed up the spirit of the group’s intent, in an opening reception Monday evening attended by over 100 people that included remarks by Meyer and Calhoun, and featured food, drink and conversation. Meyer noted that, inspired by Israel, the 35 travelers returned determined to contribute more to their own community, and this exhibit grew out of that impulse.

“Discovering Our Common Roots” is located on the first floor of Abbot Library, on the corner of Pleasant and Maverick Streets in Marblehead, through February. Parking is on the street or in the back.