October 27, 2018

Week 8 – Snorkels, Shepherds, and Secret Tunnels

Wow this week was absolutely incredible! We had 3 excursions: 2 field trips and 1 fun free day.

Our first excursion was our free day. We drove 4 hours south to Eilat, where we swam and snorkeled in the Red Sea. It was an absolute blast! The water was sooo blue and clear and beautiful. So many fun things to look at in the coral. Credit for the pictures in the water goes to Madison’s waterproof camera.

 

 

 

Ready to snorkel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heather, where’s your head? XD

 

We tried to jump out of the water with nothing to jump off of. This was the best we could do.

 

 

My goggles were maybe on a little too tight #noregrets

 

Sooo glad we were able to go to Eilat. We liked it EILAT! Haha get it?

The next day, we went to Neot Kedumim, which was kind of like a farm and was made so that people could understand the Bible better by coming to know the crops, animals, and lifestyle mentioned in it. We herded sheep, tried fruit from various trees and vines as they naturally grew, sat around a cistern, made lunch on a fire (lentil soup, pita, fried grains, and herbal tea), and learned about Jewish scribes who copied the Torah.

 

 

 

Herding the sheep

 

 

Walking through the hay

 

 

I believe this is a fig palm

 

Grape leaves. These grapes were tasty.

 

Pomegranate tree

 

Jessica grinding wheat

 

 

Look, a real chameleon!

 

Working on our pita-making skills

 

Our lunch cooking on the fire

 

So beautiful

 

Learning about Torah scribes and scrolls

 

 

 

Neot Kedumim was a fun time. Tuesday was our last class for Palestine and after class, Jessica had Bashir take the Sorting Quiz. He got Gryffindor. So perfect.

 

 

On Wednesday, we had a field trip to the City of David. This City of David is not referencing Christ’s birth (which was Bethlehem because that’s where David was born I think) but is the city that David built when he moved the capital to Jerusalem. We hiked Hezekiah’s tunnel, which was really one of the best things we’ve done in Jerusalem. I can’t wait to do it again. We also saw the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed a man born blind.

 

Walking to the City of David

 

Loving Hezekiah’s Tunnel

 

 

 

The Pool of Siloam from Jesus’s time

 

Leading up to King David’s palace

 

 

 

It was a fun morning walking through the City of David. That afternoon, we had our last Hebrew class. So sad! I loved Hebrew. We learned the entire Hebrew alphabet (aleph bet) and a few helpful phrases. On our last day, we talked about some Jewish customs and reviewed all the Hebrew songs we learned, including Hava Nagila, which they sing at weddings while lifting the bride and groom on chairs. The last video is of Mrs. Goldman teaching everyone how to do the wedding dance.

 

Mrs. Goldman showing us Jewish items relating to Shabbat (the Sabbath)

 

 

 

What you don’t know is that I’m hiding the take home final behind my back

 

 

 

In other news, this week in Old Testament class we saw a beautiful rainbow outside.

 

 

 

This week I also went to a Jewish synagogue service, led by our Israel professor, Ophir. I loved it! I couldn’t keep up with all the Hebrew (I didn’t learn that much) but the members of the congregation had beautiful singing voices and made the service a great experience.

It’s been an amazing week for sure! This was one of those weeks when I am so totally in love with the world. History is pretty cool. Culture is awe-inspiring. The world is beautiful. Life is good 🙂

 

Filed Under: Mallory in Jerusalem

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