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Greensboro, NC. -- Here in my home office is where my blog begins. I wonder at the contrast of today to tomorrow. Right now my dogs are cuddled close, the portable heater is on. I sip tea from a green travel mug, legs elevated on my favorite stool. That one made of pewter and leopard faux from San Francisco.

You could say I'm in my comfort zone.

A travel journal I used for a trip along the Eastern seaboard had this quote from Anne Morrow Lindberg: "Is there anything as horrible as starting on a trip? Once you're off, that's all right, but the last moments are earthquake and convulsion, and the feeling that you are a snail being pulled off your rock."

I am that snail. My home is my rock. I need a profound reason to leave it for any length of time.

Traveling to the Holy Land is a spiritual quest for millions but I never expected that I would go. I saw myself in Turkey or Morocco but not Israel. It was as though Israel was beyond my imagination to reach.

That is until I received an invitation and an itinerary from Yuval Ron.

Yuval Ron playing Oud.

Yuval Ron is leader of the Yuval Ron Ensemble. While living in Los Angeles, California -- my hometown -- I attended several concerts by the Yuval Ron Ensemble. They were pure poetry. After my first concert experience, I interviewed Yuval. Click here to download the article that appeared in Folkworks Magazine: Download file

The Ensemble's concerts blend Jewish, Sufi and Christian Armenian music into an epic experience of sound, story and dance. Yuval is Israeli and the Ensemble represents the same interfaith mix as the music they play. Their mission: to open a porthole for understanding of - and between - Middle Eastern cultures and to create a sacred space where audiences can tune into their hearts and transcend what divides them.

The Yuval Ron Ensemble

The Yuval Ron Ensemble has performed all over the United States and in Europe and were the first American-based Middle Eastern Ensemble to perform at an International Peace Festival in South Korea.

This month they play for peace in the Middle East.

But have I answered the question that is most likely percolating at the top of many minds - what inspires me? Why am I going?

GOD'S COUNTRY--Air travel is an intimate commitment. Someone selects a seat mate for you. You hope they put some thought into it. But then again, they do not know anything about you! Still you wonder: Will your mate be considerate and respectful? Or at least tolerable?

The moments before you meet your seat mate are fraught with anxiety. It is like waiting to see your new bride or groom for the first time in an arranged marriage. If you are sitting in a section with three seats across then you must immediately drop to your knees and ask God to have mercy upon your soul. This could be the longest commitment of your life.

At least the view is nice.

View from my seat high up in the sky.

My seat mate was Meir. An Israeli who imports and exports for a living. He exports Israeli goods. I should talk with him about exporting Israel pretzels. I bought some at a convenience store and they're the best I've had in my life! (Not at all dry like ours in the United States and the sodium content complements the flavor rather than overwhelms it.) I think I'll bring a few bags home to share with family and friends.

Meir imports products from China. I hope he has better luck than we've had in the United States. Meir: Test those toys for lead and pass on the dog food!

Meir was a great seat mate, helping me with Hebrew and Arabic pronunciations. I learned a few phrases but am still shy about speaking them. I say Shalom and then speak English. I'll work up to more. It's my first day and I'm running on 4 hours sleep and lost 7 hours crossing time zones. My bio clock is coo coo-ing! The English has a great word for how I feel right now: knackered. I'm bloody knackered alright!

Meir was surprised to find my iPod filled with Middle Eastern music. He loves Arabic music, so I gave him my right ear bud. I used the left. Our heads titled to the middle to give slack to the short cord. (Luckily the middle seat in our row was empty.)

I played him Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Natacha Atlas and Helm. He got a kick out of Natacha Atlas but favored the more traditional sounds. Then I played him an Ihlahi from the Yuval Ron Ensemble. That was the ticket. That piece hit a sweet spot for him.

All the time we were laughing. I would say, "Oh, oh, listen to this one Meir!" Lyrics to the Natacha Atlas song Haram Aleyk made Meir chuckle, "Oh if you could understand this - it is so funny...." And then he'd sing a lyric or two in English for me, "how could you do this to me...what is wrong with you...shame, shame on you..."

This picture of Natacha is from her "Best of" album. She's holding the top of a hookah hose. Hookahs are water pipes for smoking tobacco.

HAIFA--The Yuval Ron Ensemble performed two concerts while in Israel. The first was at a theater in the Arab-Jewish Center in Haifa: Beit Hagefen. The second was as part of the International Oud Festival in Jerusalem.

As you may have already read, Haifa feels like home to me and this was only underscored by the the concert. From the first song, the audience opened their hearts to the music and the message. Najwa Gibran sang with such beauty and intensity, I couldn't help myself from clapping and shouting AYWAH! "Aywah" means "yes!" but it is not the kind of "yes" which answers a question in the affirmative. It is the "yes" of emotion, when you have no choice but to cry out.

Najwa Gibran singing a composition of her father's

An Arab woman sitting to the right of me echoed my aywahs. I turned to her and smiled. She responded in kind with a warm smile that glowed from her eyes. The rest of the concert we clapped and shouted together. The music connected us even though I only know four words in Arabic and she didn't speak English.

Audience at Beit Hagefen

The Yuval Ron Ensemble's concerts span cultural and spiritual modalities by playing Jewish, Sufi and Christian Armenian music. That audiences in the Middle East respond to their concerts re-invigorates their mission of peace which at times can be daunting.

The last song was a Sufi song. Yuval Ron invited the audience to participate by clapping and singing. You could feel the energy rise and joy burst out as everyone in the room joined in. All the musicians stopped playing except for Norik on clarinet. The band came to the edge of the stage, clapping and singing with the audience. We were one at that moment. No longer band and audience. No longer Israeli or American, Arab or Jew, Christian or Muslim. Just people in the midst of the divinity of music.

The Yuval Ron Ensemble ignites audience at Beit Hagefen

Following the concert was a reception with food and drink. CDs sold like crazy and enthusiasm from the concert filled the halls outside the theater. Everyone mingled. It was a night of celebration. A night that united hearts.