Neot Kedumim: Pleasant Pastures of Old

     What an amazing opportunity! We got to go to Neot Kedumim to learn about the wildlife in the bible. It is a nature preserve of about 600 acres that contains every plant mentioned in the bible. The goal is try and experience what the landscape of Israel would have been in ancient days. The plants weren't in neat rows all labeled, it looked like you were out in the wild. It was so great! Ancient cities are beautiful but sometimes you just need to get away and enjoy some time in nature. That's definitely what this day was.
     After learning about a lot of plants, their roots, and other words that stem from them, it really made me want to learn Hebrew so I can read the bible in it's original language. We miss so much through translation! It also made me realize that we really could spend a lifetime studying this book and not get all the symbolism or meanings that are hidden in it.
     We also got the opportunity to herd sheep and goats. There were a series of different "tasks" we were supposed to complete. Like separating the sheep from goats and then getting them from one circle to another without them falling in the lava (Israel is more dangerous than you thought!)

This guy was my friend










     At one point we got to grind up hyssop which is actually Zatar. Let me tell you about Zatar. It is amazing. That's pretty much all you need to know but I'll keep going because I can. It's a spice that they put on everything here. You can buy bread on the street and they give you little packets of Zatar. I have it every night on some pita for dinner. It's great on potatoes, in soup, in rice, you name it and it can be improved by Zatar. I think this might be what I miss most when I go back home. I will definitely have to find some in the states.

     The highlight of the day was probably lunch. Lentil soup, pita, and frikka were all made by hand and cooked over a fire. There were no instructions so we just went for it! We ended up with some pie crust instead of pita but once we worked that out everything was great!

Kyle getting some wood for the fire

The men made a great fire and the women made some great food!

Cooking our pie crust and pita

This was the beginning of the frikka. So good! It is wheat that you roast then add date syrup. It makes a sweet crunchy snack. Another thing I want to make once I get home






     Our last stop was to learn about Torah scrolls. We got to meet a Torah scribe and learn a little about the tradition.

This is a Torah scroll from the 6th century. 

     I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to come to Israel and learn about all aspects of the bible. It really adds so much to my understanding. Anyone who has the opportunity to come here should!

Until my next adventure,
Lindy

A lot of Sun and Fun in Eilat

     After snowy cold days at the center, the students got to take a free day on the beaches of the Red Sea in Eilat! What a nice change! It was about a 4-5 hour bus ride down to the edge of the Sinai peninsula but every minute was worth it. Fun fact! We got to drive along the route that Lehi and his family probably would have traveled.
    At Eilat we got to snorkel, swim, and just soak up the sun on the beach. The water was amazing! It was so clear and blue. There were also TONS of jellyfish. Luckily these ones don't sting you. There were times when I had to push them out of the way to swim through. It kind of freaked me out at first but by the end we were holding them and even tossing them around. I don't have much more to say so let the pictures begin.

We were so happy to be in the sun (and not covered from collarbone to ankle)

One of the many jellyfish

Oh! I almost forgot. We had a jam session with some locals. They knew a ton of American songs and even sang us some Israeli ones. 

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

Seder Meal

     So I know it's not Passover yet but we got to hold a traditional Passover celebration with our Judaism teacher. With that being said, I will get to be here for the actual Passover (pretty much the coolest thing ever!!!!) but we won't get to celebrate it. Passover is a family celebration and well, we don't have family here and we aren't Jewish anyway. It was still neat to learn all the little traditions that might take place in a modern Jewish family.



Mom you would be so proud of me! I was creative and artsy and put together this display. The gardeners seriously just went out to the grounds, trimmed a bunch of bushes, trees, and plants and gave them to us. 

        Our authentic grape juice and Seder plate

Until my next adventure,
Lindy

Yad Vashem: A Name and a Memorial

     Going to the Holocaust Museum in Israel was definitely a memorable experience. My Israel and Judaism teacher, Ophir Yarden, showed us around the grounds and then let us explore the museum on our own. One thing I love about the Jews: they love scriptures and they love symbolism. The picture above is from the children's memorial at the museum. You walk into a room that is completely dark except for these spots of light surrounding you. They were on all sides including top and bottom. The light came from a few candles in the middle and were reflected by thousands of mirrors. It was supposed to remind the viewer of the promise given to Abraham that his seed shall be as numerous as the stars. It was probably my favorite part.
     Before sending us off, Ophir asked how many Jews had died in the Holocaust. Someone quickly answered 6 million. He then asked us to name two. We all stood there in silence. It was a powerful reminder that we can get lost in the numbers and logistics and forget about the people. To the Israelis these were their ancestors. Most, if not all, had at least one relative who died.
    This was very evident in the way the museum was set up. Every room was filled with personal stories. Every artifact had the story attached. I tried to think back on my experience in the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. in 7th grade. I remembered the pit of shoes and the metal faces reminding us of the mass graves. I remember the model showing the mass number of people in the concentration camps. But my favorite part was the tower of pictures. There is something about remembering the individual that makes you realize the atrocity of this event. I was grateful that I could go and see the Jews story presented in the way they would have it.
     That same week we got to hear from a local Holocaust survivor, Elias Feinzilberg. He was the sweetest old man who had us call him Abba (an endearing term for dad.) His story was amazing! He was sent to 9 different camps--3 of them being extermination camps. After returning to the ghetto after one labor camp, Abba found that his entire family had been killed. He was sent to many camps after. At one point, he managed to jump out of a truck on the way to one and return to the ghetto. Abba shared an amazing story of perseverance and faith. He was finally rescued by American soldiers and, while working in the kitchen at the camp, met his future wife. They moved to Guatemala and raised their children there before coming to Israel. Mr. Elias is 97 years old, has been through some terrible things and yet had the best attitude and outlook on life. He had us laughing through most of his presentation.
     There are just a few things I don't want to forget. Dr. Whitchurch told him that we needed to be done because his caretaker said he was getting tired. Abba started telling us about a reporter who had interviewed him the week before. He started reading the paper, Dr. Whitchurch cut him off, Abba just kept reading with the biggest grin on his face. He thought it was so funny! We did too. At the end we had a few minutes for Q&A. One person asked what his advice to us would be. He said to keep the 10 Commandments. There is power in obeying the commandments. Last thing, we asked what he held onto in his darkest hour. What kept him going? He replied with "Tomorrow the war will end...ok. Maybe I just wanted to see Hitler die." I am so glad I got to learn from this amazing man.

     The very last exhibit in the museum was celebrating the formation of the State of Israel. How neat is that! This state is more than just a political advantage. It is a safe haven--a place of refuge for Jews world wide. Never again will something like that happen to them. Never again will they be denied from every country. Having Israel means having a place where every Jew can feel safe.

Until my next adventure,
Lindy

City of David

     Just outside the Old City walls is the ancient City of David. This has been turned into a national park and is kept up very nicely. This city has a long history. The first account we have of it is when Abraham went to pay tithes to Melchizedek and it is still in use to today. That's about 4,000 years that Jerusalem has been a major city in this land. Pretty neat! 


We started off with an awesome 3D movie about the history of Jerusalem. Apparently I force Sam to take selfies with me a lot. I guess he was done for the day.

     We got to see what is thought to be the remains of David's palace. However, another building has been built on top of them so it is kind of hard to see how it would have looked. But there were lots of other sites to see so it wasn't too much of a bummer! For example, the House of Ahiel. This is a typical 4 room house structure that was common during the time around 600 BCE. While this house was just outside the city walls, Lehi and his family probably lived in a house very similar to this. 

      We also went to a quarry where they would have gotten some of the stones for the buildings within the city. It was neat to see the ones that they started carving out but never finished. 

     

     Of course we had a short talk about David and Bathsheba. We had discussed in class that David was not in a place where he shouldn't have been. This city is built on hills and valleys. Everyone uses their rooftops as another floor of there house. It was not wrong for David to be up there, his problem began when he didn't turn away when he should have. There are times when we are in places that are harmless except for the fact that we see or hear something we shouldn't. That is when we need to have the strength to walk away and leave that temptation. 

     Hezekiah's tunnel was next on our list. This tunnel was built around 710 BCE in preparation for the Assyrian attack. King Hezekiah wanted to keep the water source within the city walls so that the people would have it during the siege. He built this tunnel that led from the top of the City of David to the Siloam Pool at the bottom. We got to walk through it! You can see the marks on the wall from the chisels. 

There were no lights so all we had was our head lamps. For a bit we turned them off and walked in pure darkness. 

Trevor and Marty modeling how short the tunnel could be in places

And now Trevor's head modeling how high it could be in others. 

     We ended the day at the Pool of Siloam. Unfortunately we were running behind so I didn't get a picture. But we had time to talk about Christ healing the blind man there. Take some time to go back and read the story and see how he healed his blindness both spiritually and physically. 

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

Arab Culture Night

     Part of the fun of living in Jerusalem is getting to experience and live among many different cultures. One of these is the Palestinian/Arab/Muslim culture that is so prominent here. The Jerusalem Center is actually in East Jerusalem which is the Palestinian side. We got to have a fun night of eating and dancing to learn a little bit more about the people we live with.
      Living on the East side means we are blessed with the Call to Prayer at 5 every morning as well as 4 other times throughout the day. We had the amazing opportunity to have the sheiks from the Al-Aqsa mosque come and recite a passage from the Quran as well as do the Call to Prayer for us. This responsibility has been in their family for 500 years. In order for these men to do this they must memorize the entire Quran. Usually their training starts at age 6. Hopefully the video works.

     I didn't get any pictures of the dancing but here's a picture of the cute center pieces they had! They also set up a nice photo booth area for us. It was a really fun night!

Waiting for the program to start. 

Dinner was amazing! 

Merrick wanted a picture with "all his wives."

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

You are not the Underdog

    The Elah Valley; where Lindy slung stones, Dr. Strathearne's class sang an epic song about the Shephelah, oh ya, and David slew Goliath. Apparently my Ancient Near East Studies professor, Dr. Chadwick, is an amazing sling shottist. He showed off a few of his skills and then let us give it a go. I got to keep a few rocks from the brook that David got his stones from! 

The mast himself

     Dr. Chadwick also surprised us with the news that he's in a band. For reals. They play in fairs and everything. He wrote us an awesome song to remember the story of David and Goliath and how to pronounce Shephelah (the area it happened in.) It's one of those songs that just gets stuck in your head for days on end. 

I found this on the internet. This is Dr. Chadwick rocking it in his band. 

     

     Now what you've really been waiting for. David and Goliath. The Israelites were fighting the Philistines (what's new there) and most of David's brothers were in the war. His dad sent David, the little brother (who happens to be a redhead), with a few supplies to go give them. They all thought he just came because he wanted to see what was going on. Upon arriving, he found out that the Israelites had been challenged. Each side was supposed to send out their best fighter and whoever won, won the battle. The Philistines sent out a giant! He was probably about 7'10'' ugly (I'm sure he was ugly) and mean. No Israelite wanted to go out and fight him. Along comes young David, sees the guy and immediately tells the king that he can win. No one believes him! How could this young boy beat the giant!? But David assured them he could. 

    So out he goes to the valley. Goliath saw him coming and laughed in his face. This is who they chose to send out?? This little boy! He didn't even have a weapon--all he had was a shepherds bag and a stick. Goliath was sure that he had this in the bag. Little did he know that David was not an amateur. He was an expert at the sling shot. He could probably sling a rock up to 90 mph. In fact, he had already killed a bear and a lion with that sling. Goliath never had a chance. 

    I love looking at the story this way. David was not the underdog. He knew going into it that he would win. We have all the tools we need to beat our Goliaths. It might not look like we've got a lot going for us, but I think we've all killed a lion or two in our lives. We are better than we might give ourself credit for. So remember the next time you feel discouraged or are faced with a temptation, you are not the underdog. That trial doesn't know what's about to hit it! 

Until my next adventure,

Lindy

Lachish

     As the Babylonians were overtaking the Holy Land, Lachish was the last stronghold before they reached Jerusalem. There were letters found written on potsherds between Jerusalem and Lachish tracking the Babylonians movement. The fortress cities would light signal fires on top of their towers to let the other cities know that they were still standing and had not been overtaken yet. One letter sent from Lachish let Jerusalem know that they "cannot see the signal fires of Azekah." This meant that Lachish was next and then undoubtedly Jerusalem would follow.

    Because we don't have towers and couldn't really build huge fires on top of our non-existent towers, the director, President Whitchurch had the the great idea of signalling in another way. One class was at Azekah and the other was at Lachish and we used mirrors to signal to each other. It was so neat to see the flash of light from the other class! It really makes history and the scriptures come alive!

I don't know if you can tell, but right in the middle of the trees is a flash. That's the other class.

     Some other fun things that happened here: The Assyrians also attacked and conquered this city. They built a giant siege ramp against the hill that you can still see today. 

Have I mentioned that this country is really pretty?

The Ark of the Covenant and Samson

     After being stolen by the Philistines, passed around to a few cities, plaguing a few Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant was finally returned to the Israelites at none other than Beth Shemesh! This was our first stop and let me tell you, it was a beauty! The whole hill was covered in red anemone; a really common wildflower here.
     I really like the story of the Ark being returned. The Philistines had kept it as a spoil of war but every city that had it kept getting plagued. And so they decided, ok we'll put it on this cart and have milk cows carry it. But first, we're going to take their unweaned calves from them. Then, we're not going to lead them. But if somehow they leave their calves and happen to walk back to the Israelites, then we know that they are supposed to have the ark. Well guess what! They did just that. It was so much fun to stand on top the hill and look down into the valley and imagine seeing the cows pulling the beloved Ark behind them. I can just imagine the people running out to get it. Celebrating that night because of the miracle....and then thousands of people dying because they looked in the ark. Well, I guess not every story has a happy ending!

Some pretty anemones on the walls of Beth Shemesh

    This was also the valley where Samson spent most of his life. If you look at the picture below, Samson was raised on the hill on the very far right side. (fun fact: his first wife was from the Timnath: it's the spot that's above the little yellow sand strip) He was promised as a Nazarite from birth. With this, he was promised many blessings and strengths from the Lord. Unfortunately, Samson took his vow lightly and broke his covenant in many ways. Because of this, his strength was taken from him in the end. God promises us many blessings just as He did to Samson, however, if we do not live up to our potential than those will just be lost opportunities. The story of Samson is a good reminder to take another look at your patriarchal blessing and ask yourself: Am I living up to my privilege? What does God have in store for me?