Israel 2013: Old and New

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!"