Israel 2013: June 2013

The last few days have been weird as more friends have left and more are scheduled to leave, but I have enjoyed traveling to the West Bank to see a friend be baptized in the Jordan River, I was blessed with the opportunity to help on an archaeological dig on Mt. Zion, and I spent some time at a lookout point with some friends just outside Hecht Synagogue on campus to watch the sunset and the rise of the “super moon”. Now, I have three new and very nice roommates, possibly another to come, and I will begin another round of intensive Hebrew as ulpan starts Tuesday. I’m expecting the next few weeks will fly by, after which I will be on a plane, watching the coast of Israel fade into the distance.

Friday we left early (before 8 AM) to drive to the area of the Jordan River for the baptism. The drive only took about 20 minutes, and once we climbed out of the van, I was thankful we had left early, as it was already near 100 degrees. Ironically enough, there were numerous white doves fluttering about, and I was told that white doves are usually released at certain events and they pretty much just linger around. Since the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a white dove after he was baptized, I decided the lingering doves were very fitting. I was the videographer for the event (just a fancy way of saying I pushed the record button on and off), but while I stood there in the sun for 3 minutes, sweat starting running down my back and stomach. Nice. The area we were in, Qasr el Yahud (Arabic for "castle of the Jews"), is very likely the area for the baptism of Jesus (we were surrounded by the very wilderness John the Baptist lived in), possibly the area where Elijah was whisked off up and away from in the fiery chariot, and where Joshua led the Israelites across to bring down the walls of Jericho, which was literally about 3 miles due west of where we stood. In a nutshell, just being there was awesome; the baptism was the icing on the cake. After our friend was baptized, we sat on the steps leading down into the river and put our bare feet and legs in, soaking in the moment, the heat, and the view of the kingdom of Jordan twenty feet away. Being in the West Bank meant driving through a security check point to get back to Jerusalem, which was uneventful as we passed through with ease.

Last May, when I had decided to return to OU to finally finish my degree (at which point I changed my major to Jewish Studies and Hebrew), I made a small bucket list. The very first thing I wrote was "do archaeological dig in Israel." At the time, I had no idea I would even have a chance of coming to Israel, let alone actually being able to fulfill this part of my list. But, thanks to the generosity of a stranger (now a friend), whom I met at the baptism, I was at the site two days later. Due to the lovely heat that almost seems to arrive with the rising sun, we had to be at the dig site between 5:30-5:45 AM, and the dig lasted until about noon-13:00. I knew it would be hard work, but I didn't realize that...well, it's really hard work. I have had my share of hard work in the past, especially when helping my dad pave driveways with blistering hot asphalt--I was the shovel-er, and then the one to finish the job by rolling it all out. I have also helped him pour concrete, and I recall how much more I preferred to shovel asphalt as I was not fond of being on my knees, smoothing out lumps and wrinkles for hours; working on a dig is kind of like the two combined.

Modernly speaking, the dig is on Mt. Zion, just outside the Zion Gate; in terms of biblical times, the dig is situated right in the heart of the Old City. My first job on the first day was to sweep out loose dirt and rock in an area of about 16 square feet extending from a corner. I quickly realized I desperately needed a mask, as I was breathing and eating dust. Eventually a lady who helped with medical issues brought me a snappy red bandana, and in no time I looked like I was about to rob a bank. I didn't have knee pads either, which would have been nice, especially since I was wearing shorts. In no time, I had uncovered a lot of pottery shards and some animal bones. The archaeologist in charge of the dig, Shimon Gibson, decided they needed to trim back the wall several inches, which meant two things: 1. I got moved to a different spot. 2. They messed up my pretty, freshly swept floor. In my new spot (where I would also work the next day), roughly ten feet from where I was previously, I had the job of using a large garden hoe to dig into the freshly dug-up floor, and transfer the dirt and rock into black fabric buckets, sifting and looking for objects as I dug. This layer in the area was a modern fill (basically a garbage dump), with some old stuff mixed in. Some items dated from the 1970s-1980s, but I found some pottery from the 18th century, and a lot of Byzantine tiles (these are everywhere in this particular dig), which are about 1400-1700 years old. I also found part of a ram's horn, and part of a skull (maybe someone with some knowledge can look at the picture and tell me if it is human or not). I also had to use a pickax to break up more of the floor for lengthy periods of time, as the goal was to reach the layer beneath, which holds items from the First Temple period and the Second Temple period. Today, a guy next to me found a Herodian oil lamp, which dates from the 1st century. All in all I had an amazing time, enjoyed getting to know and talk with many people, and even though I can barely walk or sit at this time, I am glad I got some exercise (and the breakfast, served promptly at 8:30, was fantastic). I overheard a lady say she was ready to get back to America because she was tired of eating tomatoes and cucumbers after being here for less than two weeks; I only smiled and thought "try being here for five months!"

Judean desert

About to enter Jordan River area

Land mines fill the area behind the fence on both sides of the road, near the Jordan River

Greek monastery

Jordan River...it's not green like it is up north

Us enjoying the river after Becca's baptism

My feet in the Jordan

Oriental Hornet...the yellow stripes absorb energy from the sun

Jordanian soldier across the river

Tourists by the busload began pouring into this part of the Jordan; we were leaving just in time!

Leaving the Jordan, driving towards Jericho

Just before the checkpoint, the Separation Wall seen above

Checkpoint

One of the many buckets for "finds" at the dig

A sample of my early finds: pottery and a bone

Boulder from the Crusader period

Hacking away above my original spot

Looking at chisel marks on the boulder

Breakfast

Section of a tile wall/floor

Large chunk of marble

Sample of modern pottery; the blue and white one is from the 18th century

Nail

Photographing my nail

Popped blister

These stacks were about 4 feet high; 54 bags in all of dirt emptied out on day 1

A different dig just west of Zion Gate; the wall above is the original outer wall of the city, First Temple period

Skull fragment I found

Outside of skull fragment

Ram's horn fragment

Shimon Gibson

Feeling adventurous, I took a trip to Ein Gedi (also spelled En Gedi) with a couple of friends. I had been sick the day before with what seemed to be a 24hr stomach bug, so riding on a crowded bus for 2 hours to walk in the Judean Desert in June was probably not the smartest thing I've ever done, but I knew I probably wouldn't have another opportunity. I packed plenty of water, some pretzels in case I got my appetite back, and a hat. Wearing a hat became a university-wide joke during the semester, as we were required to wear one at all times when on school-sponsored trips in the event we would need to be rushed off to a hospital for any reason--they said our insurance wouldn't cover us if we were not wearing a hat (even if we fell and broke our leg). In reality, the sun in Israel is intense (apparently they think even in February), so wearing a hat helps protect against getting overheated. Though I didn't really think we needed them then, I am glad I had worn one this time.

The bus driver wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, but by the time the Dead Sea came into view, my stomach was doing cartwheels; I couldn't get off that bus fast enough. When we started seeing signs for Ein Gedi, we were not sure which stop we needed, and while talking to a friend sitting two seats in front of us for advice, an elderly couple caught in the middle told us we needed to alight at the next stop. Unfortunately they were mistaken. In their defense, it looked correct as we stepped into the steamy air, but after walking 20 minutes uphill through what we realized was a kibbutz, it started to dawn on us we were not where we wanted to be. We found a small hotel and asked the lady at the desk where the nature reserve was. Her response was disheartening: "Do you have a car?" Ha. No. She informed us the reserve was about 5 kilometers (just over 3 miles) to our north...the direction we had just come from. I was starting to regret my decision of making the trip, but after a handful of pretzels and a couple gulps of lukewarm water, I felt a tad better and we started backtracking by foot. Thankfully we had left the Student Village early that morning, as it was only about 10:30 AM at this point; though it was very warm, it was not yet unbearable. After 20 minutes of rare downhill walking, we reached the highway we had just left, and started our 5 kilometer journey to the north. A creepy cab driver in a white van stalked us along the way, saying "hellooo" in a way that made my sweaty skin crawl (thankfully I was with two guys). He passed us two or three times, and once we reached the entrance to the reserve, there he was, sitting on a bench, again telling us "hellooo". The only thing inviting about this scene were the group of palm trees in the background; they stood out in the endless landscape of rocky mountains and sand, beckoning us to come hither. And we did. With the Dead Sea now to our backs, we slowly walked uphill towards the parking lot.

Upon reaching the top, we saw large groups of young adults--they were there for birthright (in a nutshell, birthright is an organized trip for Jewish young adults, usually Americans, to visit Israel). I groaned when I saw them; I had hoped it wouldn't be crowded, but that is a part of life in Israel...sooo many tourists everywhere all the time. To avoid being stuck behind these large groups, we snuck in ahead of them, and had the trail (mostly) to ourselves. The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve is an oasis, supplying waterfalls along with its many palm trees, and there was green vegetation along parts of the streams. I was giddy when we came to the first little waterfall. We hurriedly took off our shoes and socks and shirts and joined the other 15 people who were already crowded in the shallow pool. I was already weary from the walk and the heat and my horrid experience from the day before, but standing in that waterfall was precisely what I needed. Feeling energized, we put our socks and shoes back on and continued our hike up the rocky mountain.

I recall three distinct "levels", as there were three different pools of water with a waterfall. These pools and baby waterfalls were the result of an even larger waterfall still yet ahead. We came to a natural tunnel made entirely of plants. The terrain was slippery, but thankfully I didn't fall (I had fallen down stairs a few days before and landed on my elbow, but that's another story). We came to the main waterfall, which was about 30 feet high, and it was roped off with a sign that warned of falling rocks. Being so engulfed in Hebrew, I apparently can no longer read English as I stepped over the rope to get my picture taken. Shhh. The water was only knee deep, and the temperature was perfect. I didn't want to leave that spot. But we did, and started to make our way out towards the exit when there was a sign indicating a trail that led to a cave, most likely the one David hid in when King Saul was seeking to kill him. I wanted to go, but I didn't want to risk throwing up in front of all of those people (it finally started to heat up), so I opted to sit on a very large rock and take in the scenery. As my two friends made the trek to the top, I remembered to drink water, but by this point my bottled water was no longer lukewarm; it was hot. Still, I forced myself to drink what I could. While enjoying the breeze, a nice man with serious dreadlocks was talking to me from the path below, telling me if I had the time I should really go up the trail. I tried to act interested and thanked him, tempted to tell him if he would carry me I would go, as I had no desire to move. A few minutes later I started to laugh, as I recognized the elderly couple from the bus walking down the path. What are the odds?

After a while one of my friends called me and told me the trail was a lot longer than they anticipated, and that they would just meet me near the entrance. After sitting a few minutes longer, I stood up and made my way down the path. I came to a fourth waterfall, and couldn't believe my eyes: there were no people. I wasted no time in stripping down, making my way to the glorious waterfall. I lingered for a little while, then continued toward the start of the path. I came to the end of the trail but didn't see my friends yet, so I found a nice wooden bench under a large palm tree. I stretched out, still dripping wet, and took a nice nap. I was only there about 30 minutes before my friends showed up, but it was more than enough time to dry my clothes.

Once we exited the park, I tried to drink the hot water, but I couldn't do it, so I splurged and bought a Coke. We shared some pita, fed several birds, and walked to the bus stop at the bottom of the hill. We had a good 45 minutes before the bus was scheduled to stop, so we made ourselves comfy on the bench that was thankfully under a roof, and periodically we would turn to look at the Dead Sea and Jordan. As expected, a car pulled up and an Arab man climbed out, asking us in Hebrew if we were going to Jerusalem. Weary of being pestered by the creepy cab driver from earlier, I just looked at him and didn't answer. It was clear this guy was not a cab driver (no yellow sign or gadgets in the car), just someone who wanted to make a few bucks. When we didn't answer, he started talking to us in English, and sat on the bench behind us. He broke into random song, then he lay down on the bench. When he stopped trying to convince us to climb into his car, he was pleasant to talk to. He talked with us for a good 20 minutes, telling us about his life, his trip to the hospital the night before for asthma, and then he proceeded to pull all his meds out of the trunk of his car to show us. While showing us the all of his medication, he confessed to being a heavy smoker, and that he sometimes falls asleep at the wheel (another reason we were not going to get in his car...you can hear about it in the video below). He then left to go find some other people who might need rides, and apparently he was unsuccessful as he returned a little while later to talk some more. Finally the bus came, but it was so crowded there were no more seats, so we had to sit on the floor. All the way to Jerusalem. The ride took well over 2 hours, as we got caught in bumper to bumper traffic, sitting for short periods of time without moving. The highlight of the trip was when the diver stopped near Jericho at a gas station for a short break, and I spotted a camel by the road. I ran over and talked to the boy "in charge", and for 10 shekels I got to sit on the camel and walk in a circle (ooh, aah), and returned to the bus just in time to leave.

These are the sinkholes the above sign warned about. Along the coast of the Dead Sea, sinkholes and pits are becoming common due to the underground salt being dissolved by freshwater. Though rare, people have been swallowed by sinkholes when leaving the marked paths; thankfully, they were pulled out.

Entrance to the nature reserve

Thankfully we didn't need this

Rock hyrax; these critters are mentioned a lot in the bible

The tunnel created by plants

The view of the Dead Sea and Jordan from my seat on the large rock

Ok, so it was a little cold at first

Me and Charlie

The view from my rock:

The "cab driver":

The following pictures are some that I liked from a previous trip with one of my classes to Northern Israel:

Jezreel Valley

Our security guard

Mt. Gilboa, overlooking the Jezreel Valley, where King Saul and his son Jonathan died in battle against the Philistines. You can read about it in 1 Samuel 31