Israel Prayer Journal #18

Much time has passed since my last personal update.  I have been involved in a dizzying amount of activities over the last few weeks of my “vacation” in between studies.  It’s hard to believe it, but I will be starting my semester on October 30.  I am excited for it, yet I am also not looking forward to the workload.  I have certainly gotten use to being somewhat lazy, having my own schedule, and going out exploring whenever I want.  If you think of it, your prayers for me to adjust quickly to the new schedule would be appreciated.

It would be too difficult to share with you all the things I have done in the past few weeks, so I’ll just summarize and share a few highlights.  Maybe in the future as I have more time, I’ll try to write more detailed posts about some of the cooler things I did.  One of my regular hangouts is a bookstore in East Jerusalem.  It is one my favorite places in the city because the food, atmosphere, and books are just splendid.  More importantly, though, the people who work there (Palestinians) have befriended me.  One of the men, I think he’s in his thirties, was educated in Britain, and is quite fun and friendly.  He has taken me and some other friends around to some different sites in his spare time.  It has been a joy to become friends with him.  So, I’ve spent many days there in the past few weeks.  I’ve also been working on personal projects including revamping my website design and building a Hebrew vocabulary flash-card system.

Israeli mountains along Lebanese border

On the 9th, my photographer friend and I traveled for the day up to the Galilee.  We drove quite a ways right along the Lebanese border (I mean RIGHT along the border), including climbing some hills where we had to turn around when we ran into military bases.  We photographed Montfort, an ancient hideout for the Knights Templar during the Crusades.  We drove on some very small roads through the less-traveled part of the Galilee.  We “discovered” a tiny nature park with an interesting cave.  There we met an Arab family who lived not too far away and had stopped to pick some wild fruit.  They invited us to dinner, though we had to decline due to time restraints.  It would have been fascinating to join them, though.  We stopped in Nazareth for dinner at a REALLY nice restaurant, then drove through the Jezreel Valley home.  It was fun to watch the sun set over the valley where the campaign of Armageddon will one day begin, and to see Nazareth on the hills, Mounts Tabor and Gilboa in the valley, and Megiddo guarding the pass.

 

Grave of Theodore Herzl

Being as this is my last “free” week, I had it planned full of activities.  Sunday I traveled to the west end of Jerusalem and visited the Mount Herzl military cemetery.  This is where some of Israel’s dignitaries are buried, including Yitzhak Rabin and Golda Meir.  It is located on a beautiful forested hill beside Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum.  This is also where Theodore Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, is buried.  I was astonished at how long it took for me to get there on the light rail train—a good 40 or more minutes from my start on the eastern edge of the city.  I was in a part of Jerusalem that I had not spent any significant time in, so it was fascinating for me to see a whole other part of Jerusalem.  I had no idea that Jerusalem was so large!

Earlier in the day I was photographing in a World War I British military cemetery, and as I left, I ran into the caretaker of the property.  He was a nice, older Arab man from a nearby Arab village.  We got to talking, and he invited me for tea.  We sat and talked for at least 30 minutes.  He showed me around the caretaker’s office, including photos from the 41 years he had worked there.  He was an incredibly pleasant man, and it was a joy to meet him.  I now have a new Palestinian friend. 

Monday morning I went on a tour of the Jerusalem Municipality complex.  I have wanted to do this for many years, and I finally had a chance to do it.  I and a German lady were the only visitors, so we had a splendid private tour.  The buildings of the complex are quite interesting and full of history.  We also got to visit the Jerusalem City Council chamber and sit in the chairs of the Council members.  Then we went onto their balcony to see the incredible view of the city in all directions.  Wow!  That’s all I can say.  It was spectacular!  The German tourist invited me to coffee afterwards, and we had a nice chat about Israel, Jerusalem, and politics. 

King Hussein's Unfinished Palace

While I was visiting a mall in northeastern Jerusalem earlier this week, I just happened to look up and saw a familiar sight.  It was a place that I had seen photos of for years, but never actually seen with my own eyes—Gibeah of Saul!  This is where King Saul had his capital in the book of Samuel.  What marks this place distinctively is an unfinished building on top of the hill—the palace of King Hussein of Jordan.  Prior to 1967 when Jordan controlled the West Bank, King Hussein began building himself a palace on King Saul’s ancient capital.  When the Israelis captured the territory in the 67 war, they left the palace in its current unfinished state of construction.  Thus it sits as a monument of sorts to the Israeli war.  At any rate, I had no idea how close it was or that I could see if from this neighborhood in Jerusalem, so I was so thrilled to “discover” it!  On Friday my roommate and I went to find how to get to the site.  With the help of Google maps and Google Earth, I figured out how to reach the summit.  It was so exciting for me to reach the top of the hill of Gibeah since I had wanted to visit this site for four years.  I spent over an hour there photographing it and enjoying the incredible 360-degree view.  I could look north into Ramallah and south into downtown Jerusalem. 

What was also quite spectacular was the Biblical story associated with it.  When God rejected Saul from being king of Israel after his sin, Saul and Samuel, formerly good friends, parted company.  They each went home and never saw each other again for many years until Samuel’s death.  What was particularly cool, though, was being able to see Samuel’s home area (Nebi Samwil area) from the top of Saul’s home (Gibeah).  The two guys lived just three miles away from each other, and they could see each other’s home cities from their own home, yet they never saw each other again because of Saul’s sin.  It was sad to see that…

On Tuesday I joined my Palestinian friend from the bookshop and spent the day at the University of Birzeit, the most “famous” Palestinian university in the West Bank.  They were putting on a conference there about Palestinian statehood issues.  Topics included discussion about a constitution, the economy, and how to become recognized as an independent state.  I had a very good time and learned much.  It was so fun to see Palestinians students going from class to class and hanging out at their college.  As interesting as the conference was, I enjoyed the time with my friend even more.  He taught me a lot from his Palestinian perspective as we drove there and back.  He told me why Palestinians don’t like the Jewish settlements and the wall and so forth.  It was fascinating for me to learn firsthand about Palestinian issues from a Palestinian while in “Palestine.” 

Grapes from vineyard on Mt. Gerizim

On Wednesday I learned from the opposite perspective.  I joined my photographer friend once again and we went to Mount Gerizim just south of Nablus.  This mountain is where the majority of the remaining Samaritans live.  It was also on this mountain that Joshua read the Blessings and Cursings from the Law when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.  My friend and I joined a really unique Christian ministry called Hayovel.  This ministry brings people from all over the world to help Jewish settlers in the West Bank harvest their grape crop.  Currently the ministry has 200 people who have volunteered from the US and Canada to come here and work.  Most of the people are young people, largely in their young teens, and many of them are homeschooled.  Many of them are Messianic.  They go from vineyard to vineyard in the West Bank and volunteer to harvest the Jewish grapes for wine-making.  I spent over 3 hours with about 20 young people cutting grapes from their vines.  It was quite a fascinating experience.  I had no idea how grapes were harvested before.  It was nice being around other believers who are actually trying to make a difference in Israel.  They cited two really neat Scriptures for their work: Isaiah 61:5 (“foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers”) and Jeremiah 31:5 (“Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria”).  The latter passage is particularly amazing because it was a prophecy BEFORE the Babylonian Captivity that Israel would return to its land.  The people who work for this ministry believe they are fulfilling these two prophecies.  Whether these prophecies are for this time or for the future, I don’t know, but, regardless, it was quite an interesting experience…

View from e. Ithamar of Mts. Gerizim & Ebal and Nablus

After we finished harvesting 5 tons of grapes (about 20 of us in 4 hours!), my friend and I went to the village of Ithamar.  This is the town near Nablus where the Fogel family was murdered in their home at night by Arab extremist terrorists earlier this year.  It was sad to drive through this extremely small community and think about the atrocity that occurred just a few months ago.  What a tragedy…  There were some really amazing views of the hills of Samaria, the desert of Samaria, and the Jordan Valley from here.  Supposedly, on a clear day, one can see the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea from this viewpoint.  Well, it wasn’t a clear day, so I didn’t see any of them.

Thursday night I went to a film screening sponsored by the bookshop I frequent.  There were several hundred people that came.  It was quite a success.  The interesting thing about it, though, were the “celebrities” that I got to see: the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem (almost like the pope) and the former Mufti of Jerusalem (the highest Muslim authority in Jerusalem).  That was quite exciting!  J

In the news lately, Gilad Shalit did return home last Tuesday.  Over four hundred Palestinian prisoners were released for him, but it was a great day of celebration for Israel.  It was sad for me to see the celebrations and hear the incessant celebratory fireworks coming from the Palestinian areas of Jerusalem.  I respect the fact that their family members came home, but I don’t believe in celebrating any murderer or criminal.  The Social Justice protest movement in Israel is set to put on a demonstration and strike this weekend.  This will be the first time they’ve been active since early September. 

Anyway, as you can see, I have been silent in my postings, but very active in my doings.  Thanks for your support and prayers.  You mean a great deal to me.  Your prayers for me as I deal with issues relating to two friends would be appreciated.  And, as always, please pray that I can be a good witness of God’s love to all the people here in Israel.

IPJ #17 Gilad Shalit

Background

On June 25, 2006, three years after Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip, Hamas terrorists crossed from the Gaza Strip into Israel and abducted an IDF soldier named Gilad Shalit.  The Israeli military immediately responded by launching a campaign to find where they had taken Gilad in Gaza.  The campaign was a failure, and Gilad disappeared.  Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit (his promotion from Corporal to Sergeant came after his abduction) was 19-years-old at the time of his abduction.  He has been held captive ever since—1,935 days. 

For the last five years, Hamas terrorists have held his existence over the head of the Israeli governments that have come and past.  They have demanded the release of some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in exchange for Gilad.  Israel continued to look for Gilad through intelligence sources, but his whereabouts remained absolutely secret, and, undoubtedly, booby-trapped.  Israel has been rather active in assassinating particular terrorists who had direct involvement with the abduction, but they never could find any leads to his whereabouts.  It is rumored that only the smallest handful of individuals in Hamas actually knows where he is located. 

Gilad’s parents have been the models of devoted parents throughout this affair.  After their son’s kidnapping, they vowed to never return home until their son was brought safely back to their arms.  They have lived out this promise.  They have spent the past five years living in a tent outside the Prime Minister of Israel’s home—constantly reminding the leader of the government that their son is still missing.  They have held protest rallies, spoken to government officials around the world, and done grassroots campaigns to bring Gilad home.  Gilad’s sister has also served in the Israeli army since her brother’s abduction, and Gilad has one other brother as well. 

A few different times during the past few years, the Hamas terrorists holding him hostage have released photos, letters, or videotapes of Gilad to show that he still lives and to taunt the Israelis who want him home.  Over the last two years, though, no proof of his continued existence has been offered.  Hamas has denied treatment of him by Red Cross officials for fear that the Israelis would learn his location.  Yet his family still holds out hope. 

Gilad Shalit has become one of the most well known people in Israel.  The Israeli public has latched on to him in an amazing way.  He has become the son of every family in Israel.  He has become the brother of every Israeli.  For the past few years, at Mrs. Shalit’s request, Israelis and foreigners, including myself two times, have left an empty seat at their Passover Seder tables for him, as a reminder that not everyone is home yet.  At the Shalit protest tent outside the Prime Minister’s house, there is a large poster of dozens of Israelis dressed up just like Gilad is dressed in one of the pictures his captors released of him, showing their solidarity with him, their exiled kinsman.  Stickers and banners with his photo and the caption “Gilad Still Lives” are on nearly every corner here in Israel.  Despite their differences, Israelis are a remarkably close-knit people.  In some instances, they really see themselves as one giant family.  So, to have one of their own family members locked in the prison of terrorists is an enormous tragedy that every Israeli feels.

Deal

Yesterday, the 1,935th day of his captivity, 13 days after I visited the protest tent where his family spent Rosh Hashanah, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that the Israeli government had reached an agreement with Hamas to release Gilad Shalit.  Reportedly, the Israeli government gave into nearly every demand that Hamas required for his release.  1,027 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be released in exchange for Gilad in two stages, the first one within the week.  It is a historic day in Israel—both a jubilant day and a sad day. 

Not everyone is excited about this deal, and for good reason.  Everyone wants Gilad home, but many feel that the price being paid is too great.  Israel has agreed to Hamas’ demands that nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners be released in exchange for Gilad.  This includes every single female Palestinian prisoner (27 of them), every single Palestinian minor prisoner, some of Hamas’ worst terrorists, and many “ordinary” bad guys.  Not every one of these prisoners is equally bad.  Almost all of these prisoners are in prison on some kind of terrorism charges, though some, perhaps, are lesser-offenders.  However, some of the prisoners being released are REALLY bad guys.  280 of these prisoners are currently serving life-sentences for their crimes. 

Some of the worst offenders had previously been declared by past Israeli governments as persons never-to-be-considered-to-be-released.  Now the Israel government has authorized their release in exchange for Gilad.  Some of the prisoners who may be released include the following: Hassan Salameh was responsible for the deaths of 46 Israelis in three bus bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon, as well as orchestrating the killing of Israeli Olympic athletes in Munich.  Ahmad Barghouti killed 12 Israelis in shooting attacks on Jaffa Street and police officers at checkpoints.  Abbas al-Sayed killed 30 Israelis on Passover Eve in a hotel in Netanya.  A female who bombed a Sbarro in downtown Jerusalem is also on the list.  There is some uncertainty whether or not the following terrorist will be released or not:  Abdullah Barghouti, a master bomb-builder, is responsible for the murders of 66 Israelis in cafes, the Hebrew University, busses in Tel Aviv, and Zion Square.  He was given 67 life sentences—the longest prison term ever given in Israel.  Supposedly these last three will NOT be released, though they were originally part of Hamas’ demands:  Marwan Barghouti gave orders to have 5 Israelis killed in Maale Adummim, Tel Aviv, Givat Zeev, and Jerusalem.  Ahmed Saadat ordered a former Israeli government minister assassinated.  Ibrahim Hamed was responsible for the murder of 90 Israelis in Jerusalem cafes, the Hebrew University, Zion Square, and the West Bank. 

As you can tell, the prisoners to be exchanged for Gilad are not good people.  Some of them are very evil.  Not only is Israel exchanging 1,027 prisoners (many of them terrorists) in exchange for Gilad Shalit, but Israel is also trading the lives of so many Israelis killed by these people, as well as the justice done for the family members of these terrorist victims.  Thus, you can see why many people here are not pleased with the deal.  Furthermore, to where will the prisoners be released?  Back to the West Bank or Gaza where they can begin their terrorist plans anew?  450 prisoners will be released with a week, and 96 of them will be taken to the West Bank, 14 to East Jerusalem, 203 deported to Gaza, 131 returned to Gaza, and 40 deported out of Israel and the Territories. 

Reaction

I am unbelievably thankful that Gilad Shalit will be returning home to his family.  I have been thinking of him and praying for him for several years now.  This is one of the greatest moments for Israel in the past decade or two.  However, I am deeply saddened by the cost that is being required.  I also fear for the consequences of this deal.  Many people are outraged that one life is worth 1,027 other lives.  I don’t know if it’s helpful or not to think in those terms.  How many lives is one life worth, anyway?  There’s no math for that. 

In my opinion, this may be the most difficult dilemma that has faced any government since Truman had to decide whether or not to drop the Bomb.  On the one hand, one of your citizens is being held hostage by enemies for five years.  On the other hand, releasing so many evil, skilled murders of your citizens seems like such a high price to pay.  I don’t know if even Solomon in all his wisdom could have come up with a solution for this situation.  Five years is such a long time to wait for an answer.  What is Israel supposed to do?  Is it worth all the heartache and pain of seeing murders go free in order to see a helpless kinsman return home after five years?  Obviously, the Israeli government has decided that it is. 

Today I found myself debating myself on what is the “right” answer to this situation.  I don’t know that there is a “right” answer.  No option was a good one.  Do you let justice go undone for those who have already died by these terrorists’ hands, or do you allow your soldier to die an old man in the prison of his kidnappers?  I also found myself debating the ethics of somehow “hurting” the prisoners being released—either secretly injecting them with tracking chips or with a deadly disease to make sure that they’d either be caught again or that they’d die someday.  Is that right?  Or in this complicated situation must we just turn over these 1,000 criminals’ fates to God and trust that He will judge them for what they have done. 

Most importantly, though, I hope that Israel has learned their lesson from previous prisoner swaps.  That is, before you release all these prisoners, make absolutely sure that Gilad is still alive.  There have been no proofs of his life for two years now.  That is suspicious to me.  I pray that he is still alive and that he’ll be home safely with his family very soon.  As one news source pointed out, it is rather interesting that Gilad will be released during the holiday of Sukkot which commemorates when the Israelites lived as exiles and foreigners in their 40 years of wandering. 

Consequences

So, what are some of the consequences of this prisoner swap that will, God-willing, bring Gilad Shalit back home?  Here’s what I—the non-expert—think:

1.  It will heal one family’s five-year-long hell.  It won’t, of course, undo all the pain that has been caused, but it will bring some level of healing that will be tremendously helpful to the Shalit family.  It will also bring healing to a nation that has mourned the captivity of one of its sons for five years. 

2.  It will encourage every one of Israel’s soldiers that Israel does not abandon its own.  Though it took five years to get this young man back, Israel will do what is necessary, though it is painful, to bring its soldiers back.  I think this will boost the morale of Israel’s armed forces.

3.  It will make the Netanyahu government more powerful.  Since he took office in 2008, Prime Minister Netanyahu has faced some problems.  He has a very strong opposition force within the government that opposes much of what he does.  Lately he has come under tremendous pressure over the cost-of-living protests within Israel and over the Palestinian’s statehood bid in the UN.  People don’t have an overly high opinion of him here.  The freedom of Gilad, though, will give Prime Minister Netanyahu an enormous bump.  This may be his legacy, depending on what happens at the UN.  This is a good thing.  I just hope that political motives weren’t responsible for the decision to free these prisoners in exchange for Gilad…

4.  It will make Hamas stronger.  Israel, who historically has refused to negotiate with terrorists or conduct business with Hamas—which is identified as a terrorist organization, not a government—has given in to the vast majority of Hamas’ demands.  Fatah, the “ruling party” in the West Bank played no role in this historic agreement.  Hamas gets all the spotlight.  Hamas now is recognized as a major player to be reckoned with in the political world.  Hamas also will be seen as the liberator of “heroes,” women, and minors from Israel’s prisons.  The Arab world will revel in this, and Hamas gets all the “glory” for the achievement.  Hamas will only get stronger and stronger from now on.  I have to wonder if this is why Hamas agreed to the swap after five years of extortion.  They were being left out of the spotlight as Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party led the Palestinian statehood charge.  Perhaps this is Hamas’ way of getting back into the limelight… 

5.  It will confirm to Hamas that this is the way to operate.  Kidnappings, violence, and extortion work, if you wait long enough.  That will be Hamas’ game plan.  Hamas had nothing to lose by hanging on to Gilad for five years, or even indefinitely.  Israel, however, had much to lose by its slowness in bringing back this soldier.  Political pressure from Israel’s people forced the government to do something in a relatively timely manner.  Hamas has no such time restrictions.  There is no one applying any real pressure on them to give up Gilad.  So, now they know for a fact that they can get away their crimes if they wait long enough.  They also now know that Israel recognizes them as a real player, and that Israel will negotiate with them after enough time.  They also know that there are no real consequences for their terrorist activities.  They can do all the damage they want, then just set another kidnapping and extortion plan into motion to release their terrorists from Israeli prisons after enough time.  Hamas now knows that their strategy works. 

6.  It will lead to more hard feelings between Jews and Palestinians.  I think that as Gilad Shalit’s story makes its way into the media that it will further enrage Jewish sentiments against his Palestinian captors.  I don’t see this as helping the Israel-Palestinian peace process at all.  It may lower the estimation of a Palestinian's life's worth in Israeli lives.  If 1,000 Palestinian lives are worth 1 Jewish life, perhaps this will make Israelis think even less of Palestinians...  

7.  It may lead to an increase in terrorism and violence in Israel.  Hamas has seen that their strategy works.  Perhaps they will now be more willing to use it more often.  Perhaps the prisoners who are released will go home and begin planning more terrorist attacks.  Their time in prison may have hardened their resolve to destroy Israel even more.  Perhaps the released prisoners will go home and inspire other impressionable people to engage in terrorism like these new “model” Palestinians.  Perhaps there will be more kidnappings so that terrorists can try and force their agenda on the Israeli government. 

Conclusion

I am so thankful that Gilad Shalit will be, God-willing, going home to his family.  I am concerned for the precedent that this sets for the Israeli government.  I am concerned about the ramifications of this decision for the future.  I don’t know if there really was another alternative, though.  After five years, something needed to be done, and, finally, something has been done.  I pray that God would comfort the families of those who were killed by the prisoners being released.  I pray that God would bring justice.  I pray that He would righteously judge those who have committed horrible crimes and will now go free.  I pray that those who are freed would go home to live honorable lives and not re-enter lives of crime and terrorism.  I pray that Gilad is returned safely.  I pray that the state of Israel can heal after this national tragedy is brought to an end.  I pray that the majority of the Palestinian people do not welcome these prisoners home like saints.  I pray that they would realize that violence is not the answer.  I have been trying to learn more from the Palestinian perspective.  I can see from their view that these prisoners were “freedom-fighters” in their eyes, yet I pray that they realize that the way to achieve freedom is not through bloodshed and hatred.  And, lastly, I pray that Messiah would return soon to bring true peace and justice to this earth.  May God soon bring peace to Israel.  And may Gilad Shalit soon be in his parents’ arms once again.

UPDATE 10/16: Timeline of Gilad Shalit's captivity | Official list of prisoners to be released in first phase
UPDATE 10/17: Descriptions of some of the prisoners being released in exchange for Gilad Shalit | Official list of prisoners being released, including their details and where they will be sent
ADDITIONAL UPDATES: Prime Minister Netanyahu's letter to families of victims whose killers will be released | 4 court cases against Shalit deal rejected by Supreme Court | JPost's Prison Swap in pictures | A moving article about Israel's "insanity" and courage to exchange prisoners for Gilad | The events as they happened on the day Gilad was released | Gilad's first interview with Egyptian TV | Palestinian celebration over the prisoners' release | PM Netanyahu's remarks after Gilad's release | A rabbi's remarks about Gilad the last time he was almost released | Video of Gilad's arrival to Israel | 

Israel Prayer Journal #16-Yom Kippur

Let me share about my experiences during Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Yom Kippur is the most holy day in the Jewish calendar.  It took place this past Friday evening through Saturday evening.  It marks the one day of the year during the Old Testament period when the high priest of Israel would enter the Most Holy Place of the Temple to offer the blood of a sacrifice before God’s presence.  You can read about it in Leviticus 16.  On Yom Kippur, even most secular Israeli Jews will attend synagogue, though this might be the only time they attend synagogue all year.  According to Judaism, it is on Yom Kippur that God seals a person’s fate for the new year.  That is why the ten days preceding Yom Kippur are days of repentance, so that each Jew can repent of their sins and try to “persuade” God to give them a good fate this year.  The day is spent in the synagogue with five prayer services.  Jews are supposed to refrain from five things on this day: eating and drinking (one is supposed to fast for 25 hours), wearing leather shoes, bathing or washing, anointing oneself with perfume, and sexual relations.  Also, one is strictly forbidden from driving or engaging in other Sabbath-prohibited activities, such as cooking, turning on lights, walking beyond a prescribed distance, and so forth. 

Friday afternoon (hours before Yom Kippur started), my friend, Ben, and I walked from the student village to the Old City (2 miles; 40 minutes) to see what was going on down there.  We stopped in an Arab bookstore and had lunch in East Jerusalem along the way.  Then we traveled through Damascus Gate down al-Wad Street to the Western Wall (Kotel) Plaza.  I was shocked to discover virtually no Jews there.  I figured that most of them would be at synagogue or home making preparations, but I didn’t expect to find so few people there.  We sat down at the Western Wall for a while, then decided to head back after it became apparent that nothing “interesting” would be happening anytime soon. 

So, we started walking the 2 miles/40 minutes back to the student village.  Along the way, we discovered something fascinating: the police were driving around and setting up barricades along all the roads leading into the major highway that connects the Mount Scopus area with downtown Jerusalem!  I knew that no one was “supposed” to drive on Yom Kippur, but I had also read that it wasn’t technically against Israeli law to do so.  However, here before my very eyes I was witnessing the Israeli police “enforcing” this religious custom on the entire population (Jews, Arabs, and foreigners) of Jerusalem.  It gave me some interesting things to think about in the discussion of separation between “church” (religion) and state. 

When we got back to the student village, I went out again on foot to examine the surrounding neighborhoods to see what other interesting things were going on for the holiday.  I came across a nearby synagogue and discovered it completely packed with people.  Tons of people were there celebrating the holiday, including some fellow students I recognized.  Also of interest, I discovered that with the roads blocked off and no traffic around, all the small children were out in the middle of the roads playing on bikes, riding down the hills in the middle of the streets.  It was amusing.

My Friend, Ben, in the middle of the highway!

I had barely returned to my dorm when my friend, Ben, called again.  “Austen, I’m bored…  Want to go back to the Old City with me?” was his question.  We had already walked 4 miles and 80 minutes to and from the Old City today, but, hey, why not do it again?  So we headed out again.  It was only 6:45pm, but it was already quite dark out due to the time change this past week.  On our way downtown this time, we walked down the middle of Highway 60—the main road that connects the Mount Scopus area with downtown Jerusalem!  Since there was no traffic, it was quite an adventure.  We took photos of each other standing in the middle of intersections.  To make a long story short, we ended up walking to the Damascus Gate area, then all the way up Jaffa Street to the Central Bus Station, then walked across the big “David’s Harp” Bridge (both on the pedestrian path and on the Light Rail Train tracks) (by the way, the bridge was built by the same guy and in a similar style to the Sundial Bridge in Northern California), then all the way back to our student village.  We had to stop several times along the way and rest for a few minutes, because this trip (not counting the 4 miles we walked earlier) was a whopping 9.4 miles roundtrip!!!  We both were dog tired when we got back!  I think that’s the furthest I’ve ever walked in a day (although I’ve never kept track of how far we walked in a day during my tours of Israel J), and my legs were dead.  It was a LONG way, but it was such a memorable experience—walking that far, in the middle of normally-busy roads, on Yom Kippur. 

It was interesting to see that, for the most part, only tourists were out walking during the evening.  There were several Orthodox Jews walking around after synagogue services, but Jerusalem felt quite abandoned.  The only traffic on the road was an occasional ambulance or police car doing patrols.  What a weird thing to see in a city of nearly 780,000 people!  Security was noticeable.  Every 5 minutes a police vehicle would drive down the street.  We also saw a troop of about 20 young, fully armed Israeli police officers, equipped with helmets, automatic rifles, and batons walking in formation down the highway past the main Arab neighborhoods early in the evening.  And Israel’s borders (including West Bank crossings) and airspace were all closed for the duration of Yom Kippur.  I can understand Israel’s concern.  Conditions in the region are volatile; things are not business-as-usual because of the uniqueness of the holiday; the population’s guard is down because of the solemnity of the holiday; and, most importantly, it was on precisely this holy day in 1973 when several of Israel’s neighbors surprise attacked and nearly defeated Israel during the Yom Kippur War.  Israel has never forgotten that tragedy. 

On Saturday (the actual day of Yom Kippur) my friend Ben and I walked back to the Old City despite our tired legs from the previous day’s walk.  We, again, walked the entire way down the middle of the main highway.  It seemed like no one quite cared what we did today, so my friend and I walked through the “closed” underground car tunnel that connects the Jaffa Gate with Damascus Gate areas.  We weren’t the only ones enjoying the lack of traffic.  A few kids were riding skateboards and bikes through the tunnel as well.  There were also some women pushing strollers up the middle of the street.  We visited the Western Wall and discovered that quite a few people had actually spent the night down there, some with blankets and pillows, even.  We bought some cheap food from the open Arab places, and I helped a middle-aged Arab man who dropped a sack of pomegranates in the road pick up his runaway fruit.  He was laughing about it and thanked me profusely in Arabic for my help. 

Two interesting events of Saturday that I witnessed were related.  A secular Jewish man was walking down the road past a group of very young Orthodox Jewish children.  The man clearly was not observing the holiday (or the Sabbath, for that matter) in the same manner as these children’s parents were.  As he passed, one Orthodox boy threw something that shattered on the ground immediately behind him.  I can’t be sure if the kid threw it at him purposefully or if it was just a coincidence.  The man wheeled around and began yelling at them in Hebrew.  Many kids ran away and a few older kids ran to the children’s aid when they heard the shouting.  I didn’t catch much of the conversation.  If I understood correctly, though, at one point I thought though I heard the man yell, “Am I an Arab?!”  If it was intentional on the boy’s part, then this again highlights the rift between secular and religious Jews in Israel.  The secular man clearly thought that although their religious practices were different, he should be more respected by these children and not accosted as though he were a non-Jew.  I was sad to see the children treat him this way, and I was also sad to hear the man’s question.  No one—Jew or Arab—should be treated badly just because they have a different ethnicity or practice than someone else.

The second incident happened on our way back.  A man (tourist, I suspect) began taking pictures of a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish teenage boys sitting outside their synagogue.  They began yelling at him, “Shabbos! Shabbos!” [=Shabbat].  (You’re not supposed to take pictures on Shabbat.)  He continued taking photos provocatively.  A secular Jewish passerby defended the man by yelling at the youths.  About six of the youths eventually crossed the street to argue with the photographer as he continued to take their photos despite their disapproval.  A verbal argument ensued.  The photographer was very insensitive and rude about the whole ordeal.  He could have been more respectful and refrained from upsetting them.  Instead, he photographed them for a third time as they walked away from him.  It was interesting to see how both the religious and the secular view the Sabbath.  This was a demonstration in miniature of the animosity here between the Orthodox and the secular.

Lastly, let me just mention that I did attend the kapparot ritual on Thursday night.  This is the ritual I discussed in my last update where religious Jews take a chicken, say a blessing on it as they hold it above their heads, symbolically transfer their sins to it, then have it slaughtered as a “sacrifice.”  One of my female Jewish friends and I went downtown looking for the place where it is performed.  We wandered around without success for a while, so I finally stopped and in a mixture of Hebrew and English asked an ultra-Orthodox man sitting near the Mahane Yehudah Shuk entrance who had a sign that read something about kapparot.  He directed us down the street.  There we discovered the “Kapparot Market.”  The ritual works pretty much the way I described it in my last update.  Let me just say that it is a better object lesson on paper than in real life.  I was actually rather disturbed by it, both by the unpleasantness of watching an animal die (I realize the original intent of the sacrifices was to be a powerful reminder of how vile sin is—so vile that it takes the death of something to atone for it; but, still…) and by the rather irreverent, factory-style operation of the ritual.  The business-oriented attitude of the workers, disturbing sounds, frenzy, disgusting smell, casual treatment of the animals, general shady-ness of the locale, and lack of more specific devotion to God really turned me off from the entire thing. 

I appreciate the symbolism of the ritual, but I am not a proponent of it now that I’ve seen it.  It really made me thankful that Jesus the Messiah brought an end to the sacrificial system by offering the Final and Perfect Sacrifice for sin.  It also made me realize how much we fallen human beings corrupt God’s original intentions.  God originally intended the sacrifices to be done in a way to bridge the gap between sinful man and holy God.  But people ruined the practice of it.  Looking through history I realized how much God must have disdained the irreverent, disingenuous sacrifices that people offered as they externally sought to “obey” God’s commandments while their heart was not in it (see Isaiah 1:11-17).  I’m not saying that those who did the kapparot ritual on Thursday were disingenuous.  I’m sure there were Jews there that night who were genuinely worshiping God as best as they knew how through the kapparot ritual.  I’m just saying that I felt that the overall atmosphere in which it was performed may have been the kind of thing that led Jesus to overturn the tables in the Temple (Mark 11:15-17) when He saw how poorly and business-like the people were treating worship of God.  Maybe I’m just too much of an outsider to pass judgment.  I just didn’t care for it too much…

Despite that fact, please join me in praying that God would soon bring peace to Israel.  May the Jewish and Arab peoples soon come to find that atonement with God is already possible through Jesus the Messiah.

Israel Prayer Journal #15

Friends,

Rosh Hashanah came and passed last week.  The holiday marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year, as I shared last time.  It is now year 5772 in the Jewish calendar.  It usually lasts just a couple days, but every five years or so it falls near the Sabbath, which made it last from Wednesday night until Saturday night this past week.  That was quite inconvenient since many Jewish things were closed, including public transportation, grocery stores, and restaurants.  It was a nice holiday, though.  It is usually commemorated by the blowing of shofars (rams’ horns turned into “trumpets”), and thus it is called the Feast of Trumpets.

 

According to Judaism, it is during this New Year festival that God inscribes the destiny of each person during the next year in the Book of Life.  This begins the period of the “High Holy Days” of Judaism.  Following God’s recording of your destiny, there is a period of ten days in which you can “influence” God to change your destiny.  This is done by prayer and repentance.  These ten days are called the “Days of Awe.” 

The period ends with Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement.  Yom Kippur takes place this coming Friday evening through Saturday evening.  This is the most holy day in Judaism.  Even the vast majority of secular Jews (by the way, most Israelis are secular) will be in synagogue on this day.  (It’s sort of like Christmas or Easter for secular Christians.)  Yom Kippur is characterized by fasting, attending synagogue services all day, and making prayers of repentance to God.  Everything Jewish shuts down for this holiday.  From what I’ve read, there will be no cars on the roads in the Jewish sections of town for this holiday.  It is on Yom Kippur that, according to Judaism, God “seals” the person’s fate in His Book of Life.  Thus, Jewish people must do everything they can before Yom Kippur to “influence” God to make their fate good for the year. 

In Biblical times when the Temple was standing, Yom Kippur was centrally important.  It was on this one day of the year that the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place of the Temple—where God’s Presence dwelt over the Ark of the Covenant—and offer the blood of a sacrifice to cover the people of Israel’s sins.  It was the ONE day of the year where ONE man could have direct access to God.  This day is also the foundation from which the concept of “atonement”—restoration of relationship between holy God and sinful man—is derived.  This feast was foundational to show in advance what Jesus the Messiah would do to repair the broken relationship between God and man. 

The doctrine of substitution—one person/thing bearing the penalty of another person’s sin—was also vital to this feast, as well as to the concept of sacrifices in general.  I have heard, though I have yet to see it for myself, that a small sect of Orthodox Jews practice a ritual called kapparot on Yom Kippur.  They take a chicken (or, now, sometimes just coins) and wave it over their heads, reciting the following prayer: “This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This rooster will go to its death, while I will enter and proceed to a good long life and to peace.”  This rooster is then killed and given to charity.  It has the idea of substitution built into it.  The person’s sins are transferred to the rooster, which is then killed.  It comes from the Biblical idea of sacrificing a lamb, because the offerer would place his hand on the lamb’s head, confess his sins over the lamb, then kill the lamb.  The lamb would die IN PLACE OF the person.  Similarly in this practice, the rooster dies in place of the person.  This is because the Hebrew word for “rooster” and “man” has the same three root letters (g-v-r).  Thus, a “gaver” dies in place of a “gever.”

Certainly all of this is fascinating, but it does make me sad as I read more about it.  Yes, we should live in fear of God, but to think that we must spend ten days “manipulating” (maybe that’s too strong of a word) God into giving us a good fate this year by our repentance during these ten days seems like a sad thing.  In the Christian faith, those of us who believe in Jesus the Messiah already have a permanent good standing with God because Jesus died IN OUR PLACE as the substitute sacrifice for us, making atonement between holy God and sinful me.  It makes me sad that the Jewish people don’t see what Jesus has already done for them.  Instead, they try to “establish their own righteousness,” as Paul says.  If you think of it, pray for the Jewish people to believe in their Messiah during these holidays.  May they come to know true peace with God…

October 12-20 marks the third major holiday in Israel this month.  It is the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot.  This holiday commemorates the Jewish people’s wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.  During this holiday, Jewish people will build temporary structures (tents, small buildings)—sukkahs—and spend time in them (eating, talking, sometimes sleeping).  I was delighted to discover yesterday that they had put up a sukkah in our student village!  I’ll write more as the holiday draws closer.

In personal news, late last week I went on a day trip with my American, photographer, church family friends to the Shephelah (the area between Israel’s Mediterranean Coast and the Judean Hills).  We had a great time exploring some of Israel’s less-touristy places.  The first stop was somewhere I have never been before: the Stalactite Cave National Park.  It is located high on top of a hill outside of Beit Shemesh.  When they were doing some quarrying work in the late 60’s there, they discovered a fairly large cavern densely filled with impressive stalactites and stalagmites.  We took a semi-guided tour through this cavern for about 40 minutes.  It was certainly impressive.  I felt like I was on another planet.  Caverns are not my favorite thing in the world, but it was interesting.  Our tour was with Israelis on vacation, and the tour was conducted in Hebrew.  I was able to pull out a few pieces of information, though I missed the vast majority of it.  So, it was both encouraging and discouraging in terms of my Hebrew studies.  

After that park, we visited Beit Guvrin National Park.  There are some impressive remains from the Greek period there, though we only visited the caverns.  We visited the impressive Bell Caverns (quarry sites from the Byzantine and early Muslim period) and the burial caves (from 3rd-2nd century BCE).  We also passed by the Elah Valley where David fought Goliath, and by the caves where Bar Kochva hid out from the Romans during the Second Jewish Revolt of the 2nd century CE.  I was most impressed by the views we had, though, of the surrounding regions.  One could look out towards the Mediterranean sea to the west, and to Hebron on the Judean Hills to the east.  It was spectacular to see how close things are.

On Sunday, the sister of one of my former roommates from my first stay in Israel came to Jerusalem, and I showed her all the most important sites in Jerusalem in one day.  It was a little sad how quickly we moved through so many sites and how many sites we had to skip due to time, but we had a really nice time.  One of my friends accompanied us as we visited the Temple Mount, Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Via Dolorosa, Golden Gate, Kidron Valley, Gethsemane, and Mount of Olives.  I think both she and her under-one-year-old daughter enjoyed it.  By the way, all my former tour groups should thank me again that my former professor in Israel advised me to walk DOWN the Mount of Olives road, not UP it with you all.  We walked up it this time, and I had forgotten how incredibly steep it is!  

On the Mount of Olives we stopped somewhere I hadn’t been before: the Tombs of the Prophets.  I was shocked at how large this place was.  The family who had discovered this enormous underground complex of caves still lives at the site, guarding it.  There are some 50 tombs in one giant cave, and it is possible that some of these tombs belonged to the prophets Malachi, Haggai, and Zechariah (according to tradition and some archaeological evidence).  It was a really fascinating visit that I’ll have to share with any of you who come to Israel in the future.

It’s been quite encouraging that lately as I walk through the Old City, I am able to pick up pieces of Hebrew conversations going on around me.  I also have done reasonably well in my interactions with restaurant- and store-workers lately.  I still make many mistakes, miss questions, and can’t get the big picture from long conversations that I stumble into, but I am definitely noticing an improvement in my hearing of spoken Hebrew.  I still have a LONG way to go, but it is nice to see improvement from only two months’ time.

 

Lastly, I just want to share with you how God has taken care of me in one major way lately.  When I came to Israel in August, I unintentionally brought a lot of cash with me.  This turned out to be life-saving, because I had a “cash-flow” problem.  Literally.  I ordered new ATM cards for my checking account sent to me before I left for Israel, but they didn’t ship until about 2 or 3 weeks after I left for Israel.  My mom then forwarded them to me in the safest, fastest way I knew of: via the University’s courier system.  To make a long story short, after 3 more weeks, no one knew where my cards were.  Thinking they had gotten lost somewhere, I ordered a new ATM card, and was simultaneously forced to cancel the old, lost card.  A few days later, the old, now obsolete card showed up.  Someone had been on vacation, and it got misplaced for a while.  Bummer…  My mom finally got the new cards, and she mailed them to me—this time through the regular mail.  Then the Jewish holidays hit, and everything was shut down.  So it took an extra week to get them to me.  But, finally, they arrived, and after a frustrating half hour of international calling through my computer, I had the card activated.  This seems like a small issue, but it’s a little scary not having access to any new money for two months.  Looking back, I am so thankful and amazed at how God took care of my financial needs during that time.  I had plenty of money in the bank, I just had no way of accessing that money.  I was so thankful that God caused me unintentionally—accidentally, in fact— to bring so much cash with me initially.  I was also thankful for a friend in Washington who sent a few small checks to me here in Israel during the last couple of months, and for my mom who three times sent me small cash gifts through the mail (which you’re not supposed to do, lol).  Those small infusions of cash helped me survive when my initial cash stash began to dwindle.  Anyway, I thank God for bringing me my ATM card finally, and for His provision of cash along the way by sweet people.  It’s amazing how God watches over His people.  But, may I just say, it is rather convenient for your bank balances when you are unable to access your money or use your credit card for two entire months.  I feel like I saved a lot of money the past two months. J

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts, prayers, support, and encouragement.  God has been so good to me, giving me amazing experiences, letting me begin to learn Hebrew, watching over me, granting protection, meeting my needs, and giving me friends.  Thank you for your part in this journey.  I’ve run out of time again to share my experiences about the UN speeches, but I’ll do that really soon after I finish processing that experience in my mind.  Don’t forget to pray for the Jewish people during Yom Kippur this Friday/Saturday.  

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Shalom from Jerusalem!

Israel Prayer Journal #13

חברה (Friends),

As usual, much has happened in the last week or two.  Let me paint the events with broad strokes. 

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to attend a Catholic mass.  This was my first time doing such a thing.  I have studied Catholic theology for a while, so I know some of the differences between their faith and my own, but I have never visited a mass before, so I thought that this would be a great time to do so.  One of my friends is a Catholic who has been attending mass here, so I thought it would be nice if he joined me so that he could tell me what’s going on and help me not to look too much like an out-of-place idiot.  The two priests who would be performing the mass are also my friends, so I thought it would be a nice opportunity to see what they do outside of class and to learn from their inside perspective.

 

The mass took place in the chapel of the Notre Dame Church at the northwest end of the Old City.  It is an important historical place because it marked the border during the 1948 war between Jordanian-controlled and Israeli-controlled territory, with the Jordanians controlling the Old City.  Thus, it was a strategic place.  The facility itself is spectacularly beautiful, and the chapel was quite lovely.  The chapel is made of stone with tall ceilings for great acoustics.  There were two niches carved in the front walls, one with a large wooden statue of Jesus on the cross and another with a carving of Mary holding her Child.  Interestingly, the Mary statue was the center one behind the altar.

The evening was fascinating and rewarding for me.  Many of the people there were quite friendly.  My friend that I was visiting with actually got called up to read one of the Scripture readings, so that was nice for him.  For most of the service I was totally lost, not knowing the proper responses (both in English and Latin) to the priest’s statements, not knowing the prayers to recite, and so forth.  The various “rituals” that the people and the priests went through were interesting, though I didn’t care too much for the bowing before some of the “special” items. 

It was also fascinating for me, a theology student, to observe firsthand how their theology manifested itself in their service and their liturgy with their prayers to Mary and their extreme devotion to the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper).  I was actually quite astonished to see how central a role the Eucharist played in the entire liturgy.  It took place at the altar in the front of the church.  The priest brought out the bread from a golden box placed on a special pedestal to the side of the altar.  The priests and the people had bowed and did the cross sign several times in front of this box earlier, and now I knew why.  After all the people (except me) had partaken of the Eucharist elements, the priest VERY methodically cleaned out the cup that contained the bread and wine.  He first poured in some water, swirled it around, then drank it to get all the crumbs out.  Then he wiped out the inside of the glass with a towel.  Finally, he folded up the towel that was underneath the cup in such a way as to preserve any bread crumbs that might have fallen out of the cup.  This is all because Catholic theology believes that the bread and wine actually become the physical body and blood of Christ during the mass.  So, it was interesting to see how their theology works itself out into their church practice. 

After the mass my two priest friends showed me and my friend around the facility a little bit.  They showed us the house that they live in at the facility.  They showed us the plans for the Magdala Center that the Catholic Church is building in Galilee just below Mount Arbel near Nof Ginosaur.  They showed us an ancient, important carved stone from the synagogue they excavated there.  They also took us onto the roof of the building and showed us the incredible night view of the Old City from there.  I hope to return to that view soon in the daytime to capture some photographs from that unique perspective.  Then our friends treated us to a really excellent buffet dinner there with the guests at the guesthouse at Notre Dame.

The mass was interesting, but I doubt I’ll return.  It wasn’t as uncomfortable for me as I imagined it would be, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable.  Many people from my religious tradition wonder whether Catholics are saved or not since their theology is so different from our own.  I can’t say for sure one way or the other.  I’m sure there’s probably a spectrum within their church just as there is within our church.  However, I am optimistic about the two priests I know.  There is definitely something different about them, and I like to think that it’s the Holy Spirit.  God knows.  I still pray for them.  They are really amazing people, and I always thoroughly enjoy my time with them when we talk.

I know that I intrigued many of you with my comments about the UN speeches last Friday where the Palestinians are requesting the UN to recognize an independent Palestinian state.  Due to length, I’ll wait to comment more on that until the next update.  I’ll just mention that the speeches went well from what I saw, that the response here in Israel to both speeches by both sides was good and peaceful, and that the UN Security Council has agreed to have their committee review the application for statehood.  This will likely take several weeks longer.  The Palestinians, from what I read in the news, have 6 of the 9 required votes for statehood, although the US will still likely veto, if necessary.  I still hope they don’t use that veto, but we’ll see…

Last night started the season of autumn Jewish holidays.  Last night was Rosh Hashanah —the Jewish new year.  The Jewish calendar is different from our Roman one, so it begins anew today.  So, today is Tishrei 1, 5772.  Supposedly, this calendar dates from Creation.  Somewhat ironically, however, Israeli archaeologists have stated that the city of Jericho has been occupied since perhaps 9,000 BCE.  Clearly that exceeds the 5,772 years from Creation, so I’m not sure how they reconcile these facts…  The holiday of Rosh Hashanah (“Head of the year”) lasts from this past Wednesday night until Saturday night.  Nearly everything Jewish is shut down during these three days.  This is quite inconvenient for traveling (busses are shut down), buying groceries (stores are shut down), or eating (restaurants are shut down).  Thankfully all the Arab markets, busses, and restaurants are still open, so I doubt that I’ll starve.  Rosh Hashanah is commemorated by blowing the shofar and dipping apples in honey.  To get a very small taste of this holiday, you can watch this clever music video done by some Jews in Israel:

  

I went to a synagogue service last night for Rosh Hashanah at the Great Synagogue of Jerusalem.  This was my first time at this beautiful facility.  It is very large and ornate.  Since people dressed in a variety of ways and since the service was in a mixture of English and Hebrew, I think that this is not an ultra-orthodox synagogue.  There were many people there.  I actually didn’t stay for the entire service for a few reasons, but it was interesting to watch the people pray.  There were parts of the service where it felt like everyone was doing their own thing, and other parts where everyone did the same thing.  It was a little confusing, especially since I don’t speak Hebrew well enough to understand everything that was going on.

Also last night I visited the protest tent of the Shalit family.  Gilad Shalit is an Israeli soldier that was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists five years ago, and he has been in captivity until today.  His family has set up a tent outside the Prime Minister’s home, and they have vowed to not return to their own home until their son is released.  It is a very difficult and moving situation.  I sat in the tent for a few minutes praying that Gilad would be returned.  I also saw Gilad’s father, Noam.  It is such a sad part of modern Israeli history.  Everyone wants him to return, but so far negotiations haven’t worked.  Today is his 1,922nd day in captivity.  Please pray for his soon return to his family!

This past Saturday I met a family who was visiting the church I was at.  Ironically, they are originally from about 1.5 hours away from my hometown, though now they live in the southwest USA.  They are incredibly nice, and they invited me to their home for Saturday afternoon and evening.  We had a really nice time, and I got to meet an Israeli family that they had also invited over.  The father works for the Israel Antiquities Authority as a pottery expert.  You can imagine how I was interested in listening to his conversations…  J  Anyway, the son of the American family is a photographer.  Since Saturday, I have gone photographing with him twice so far this week.  He has a car here, so it has been very convenient for us to just drive to where we want to photograph.  We took some lovely photos in the Wadi Qelt area near Jericho, then we drove to the Dead Sea area near Qumran to get some night photos.  It was a great time.  I got back home at 4am, though!  It was funny driving in the desert at that hour of the night.  Virtually no one was out, and the security at the checkpoints barely even looked at us before waving us through.  It was interesting, though, because we saw some very strange lights in the sky out in the middle of the desert.  My friend, who lives near White Sands Air Force Base in New Mexico, suggested that the strange lights looked a lot like the tests conducted out where he lives--experimental aircraft and such.  Interesting, at least...  We also ran into one of Jimmy DeYoung's tour groups at Wadi Qelt.  I really appreciate how God led me to meet this wonderful family.  They’ll be around for about another month, then return home to the US.  They have an apartment here in Jerusalem where they visit once or twice a year.

Today I visited a few national parks in the Shephelah area with the family from church.  Tomorrow I will be hanging out with a friend near the Old City.  On Sunday, a friend of mine’s sister is coming to Jerusalem, and I will show her around some of the major tourist sites.  (She was going to come today, but since there are no busses, she can’t.)  That should be fun, and I think a friend of mine or two will join us as well.  It will be nice to play a tour guide again.  J  I’ve only done that once so far on this trip.

One last thing, I took my big Hebrew exam this past Monday.  I think I did well, and I found out last night that I did officially pass from Hebrew level Aleph (1) to level Bet (2) with excellent grades.  So, that is exciting!  In the past two months I completed as much Hebrew as they typically take one academic year to cover.  J  I thank God again for the privilege of being here.  Thank you again for your prayers and support that have made it possible.

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Shalom from Jerusalem!

Makhtesh Ramon Hike

Monday and Tuesday (August 5-6) I went on a really fun trip to Israel’s southern desert, so let me share some of my fun memories from that trip.  We were going to hike in Israel’s largest makhtesh—a giant, eroded crater.  It measures 40x10km.

Outline of Makhtesh Ramon. (c) Google Earth

Let me begin by saying that God was watching over me this entire trip, and that was very obvious at certain times.  The first time was Monday morning.  I was supposed to meet my German friend Nico at the bus station at about 9am.  I set my alarm for 7am, but I forgot to turn my alarm’s volume on.  I would have missed the alarm and meeting my friend, but thankfully I woke up spontaneously at 6:50am and discovered my oversight.  I believe that was the first incident where God demonstrated He was watching over me in a gracious way.  He also kept me safe throughout the hiking, which was definitely His gracious protection.

I took a very crowded bus to the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem and waited for my friend.  I was a little concerned at timing because we arrived there at 9:15am for a 9:30am bus.  We made it onto the bus, though, on time, but then we encountered a small problem: there were no empty seats on the bus.  In America this would be a BIG problem, and you’d have to wait for the next bus.  In Israel, however, this is everyday life.  Thus, Nico, I, and about 8 other Israelis stood or sat in the bus’s aisle for the entire 90 minute ride to Beersheva.  It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but we needed the bus ride.  By the way, the entire bus ride to our final destination (3 hours) only cost 50 shekels ($14).  It’s nice to have inexpensive public transportation across the entire country here. 

View Jerusalem to Mizpe Ramon in a larger map

To get to Beersheva, first you drive west from Jerusalem toward Tel Aviv.  Then, after you come down from the central hilly region of Israel where Jerusalem resides and start to enter the rolling hill country nearer to the coast (the Shephelah), you turn south and leave the relatively green central region of Israel for the southern desert.  Beersheva is just slightly past the transition edge of the desert.  Beersheva is the city of the patriarchs.  Here Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived and raised their flocks and built wells.

After the ride to Beersheva, we switched busses to finish the next 90 minute leg of our trip to the small town of Mizpe Ramon.  On this bus we actually had seats, by the way.  I’ve only ridden on these kind of long-distance busses once before, so this was a rather new experience.  It was pretty fun being on a bus with a bunch of Israelis going about their daily lives in somewhere other than Jerusalem.  Most of the Israelis on these two busses were soldiers going to their military bases in the south.  Many of them would get off in the middle of nowhere (literally!) because their base was located there in the boonies. 

I realized that I was at least 5 years older than most of these soldiers, though everyone of them are more grown up than me in many ways—not to mention the fact that even the girls probably know five different ways to kill me with their bare hands.  But most of these young soldiers seemed like regular young adults, not all that different from youth around the world.  Certainly they have different things to worry about.  While American 18-year-olds are going to college, drinking, or playing video games, Israeli teenagers are training for war.  Certainly Israeli youth know how to party excessively on weekends and evenings, but they also must live much more adult lives than American youth. 

What amused me was how many of these uniformed soldiers were listening to ipods or napping along the bus route—just like other youth.  What set them apart, however, was that most of them had automatic rifles on their laps or tucked between their legs.  I took one mental picture of a young soldier with his head against the glass of the bus sleeping with his mouth open—and a machine gun in his lap.  It was a weird sight to see.  The other interesting thing is that, as a general rule, the further you get away from Jerusalem, the friendlier the people become to foreigners.  Jerusalem residents don’t seem very friendly usually.  This is especially true of the Orthodox—they won’t even look at you, oftentimes.  But in southern and northern Israel you run into more “country” people, often secular.  They are far more likely to talk with you and be friendly than the average person on the street in Jerusalem.  One girl soldier on the bus got my attention as I was standing in the aisle and showed me to an empty seat on the bus out of concern for me; this would never happen on a Jerusalem bus.

Anyway, we made it to Mizpe Ramon safely and VERY early.  The visitor’s center was still closed for construction, so we stopped elsewhere and picked up a map of the crater to plan our next day.  We got the advice of one of the rangers there on which trail to take.   Nico had a guide book with him, so we used that to find a youth hostel to stay at.  When I first saw the hostel, I was dumbfounded.  I was going to stay here?! I thought.  It only cost $20, and, at the time, I didn’t know why it cost that much.  There was a very nice lobby, but the “sleeping area” was a Bedouin-style tent outside…  There was a mud wall on one side, and the other walls and ceiling were tarp and fabric.  We were provided with 2”-thick foam mattresses and a regular blanket.  The bathrooms and shower area were metal trailers at one time, converted into their current use.  At first I was not crazy about this idea, but Nico helped me lower my expectations by thinking of it in terms of camping.  Once I got a “hotel” idea out of my head, I took a better liking to the place.  However, needless to say, I won’t be taking any tour group there any time soon.  J  Interestingly, Nico and I were the only guests at that hostel that night… 

Mizpe Ramon is a very small town (about 4,700 people), and there is virtually nothing to do there.  So, we spent most of Monday sitting around, napping, and talking.  In the evening we bought some groceries at the store for the next day’s hike (fruit, a loaf of bread, water, trailmix [seemed appropriate], toilet paper, and junk food) and ate a nice meal at a restaurant.  I accidentally discovered what goulash really was, but I was thankful to have meat for only the second time in Israel.  I knew I would appreciate that protein the next day.  We also heard the fighter jets from the nearby military bases and the target practice from the nearby artillery ranges, so we knew we were safe surrounded by all these soldiers.  That night was rather cold, but we were fine in our Bedouin tent. 

At 5:35 the next morning we woke up, packed, and started walking into town to begin our hike.  We began descending the 930’ down the crater’s walls at 6:30am.  The first part was enjoyable to watch the sunrise with its beautiful golden beams on the yellow desert scenery.  The entire day, but especially at that point, it was particularly cool, so that made it pleasant.  You don’t want to be hiking in the desert when it’s 100+ degrees out!  The hike down was easy because there are plenty of rocks to walk on or grab if need be.  There were other descents we did that day where it was much less fun and almost scary to me, since there were parts that were steep and had loose gravel and dirt to walk on, instead of solid rocks.  I was thankful for God’s protection during those times especially.

Once down in the base of the makhtesh, we hiked along a dry streambed further into the makhtesh.  We reached the one large tree in the makhtesh (an achacia tree) after a ways, and we rested there and ate some food because the ranger told us this would be the last shade we would find on our journey.  That wasn’t quite true, because it was early enough that some of the cliffs provided a little shade later on, but we enjoyed the rest.  Ironically, though we were in the middle of nowhere, I had full cell reception the entire time!

It was amazing to see the different kinds of landscape in the makhtesh.  We were in the wilderness of Israel, so very few things grow there, but there are a few forms of life, including insects, birds, lizards, ibex (a kind of deer/antelope), scrub bushes, and a handful of trees.  We walked through wind- and water-smoothed sandstone cliffs, volcanic rock-strewn open land, granite/basalt mountains, and rough sandstone cliffs.  The contrast of these different regions so near each other was fascinating.

The trail was marked by colored paintings on rocks every few hundred feet, which were really helpful because at times you couldn’t really discern a trail in the ground.  I laughed because this would never work in America.  There would have to be a $200 sign and a well-designated trail.  In Israel, however, painted rocks work just fine.

We followed this trail and soon discovered that we would have to climb a black mountain.  It was relatively steep [420’] (though not as steep as Masada!) and took a little while to climb, but it wasn’t that bad.  It did offer amazing views, though! 

We continued walking on the other side of the mountain.  All in all, we crossed three separate ridgelines on our walk.

Towards the end at our destination, we discovered the “Ammonite Hill.”  In one wall of a cliff probably some 100’+ long, there are hundreds of ammonites buried in the cliffside.  Ammonites were ancient, shelled sea creatures that were fossilized during the Flood.  The presence of fossilized sea creatures here in the desert of Israel really suggests to me that the Flood is what carved out this makhtesh.  Anyway, we documented some of these fossils for my pastor at home who collects these, then continued on. 

We decided to climb one more cliff before we finished.  That was somewhat a mistake on my part, because I developed some stomach sickness as a result, and that required us to rest for a while, but the view was nice.  I noticed that as the day wore on, as the sun got hotter, as the weight of 5 liters of water on my back wearied me, I began to mentally complain and wish we would finish soon.  I had to laugh, because that’s exactly what the ancient Israelites did in this area thousands of years ago as they wandered for 40 years in this desert!  I was only there for 6 hours and had plenty of food and water, yet I began complaining!  I don’t think I would have done any better than they did!!!  That was an interesting lesson to learn.

The plan was to hike to the major highway through the area, then hitchhike back to the city.  My friend had done that before, so it sounded like a good plan.  However, there was virtually no traffic on the road that day…  We started walking along the highway back towards town, and were passed by only about 12 cars during those 30 minutes, none of which picked us up.  We were a little desperate because it was another 6.9mi back to town.  I prayed, and God watched out for us again.  A park ranger stopped for us and drove us into town.  He was very friendly and pleased that I was from California.  He joked about how small and boring the town here was.  As I said earlier, Israelis in the south and north tend to be more friendly, and he was no exception.  I really thanked God for his kindness in getting us back to town. 

We went to shower at our hostel, but discovered that there was no water at that time.  Yet another reason I questioned how much our accommodations cost…  We got a bus back to Beersheva (with a seat!), but the bus broke down along the way!  Another bus came and picked us up quickly, though, so it wasn’t too bad.  Then we caught another bus from there to Jerusalem.  On this last leg of the trip I met an interesting Israeli that sat next to me on the bus.  His name was Israel Cohen.  He was orthodox, though not ultra-orthodox.  He was originally from Boston (though he had made aliyah to Israel in the 70’s) and spoke excellent English, so we talked the entire way home.  He was really interesting.  Although religiously he is conservative, politically he is liberal.  He wants a Palestinian state now.  Interestingly, he was also one of the protesters at the Glenn Beck rally.  It is funny, but looking back through my pictures of that event, I found that I took photos of him.  What a small country!  Anyway, he was very open to the fact that I was a Christian, and he encouraged me to make sure I supported the Palestinians of Israel and not just the Jews of Israel.  It was interesting to get a liberal Jews’ perspective on politics, and it was quite convenient that he was so friendly and spoke such good English.

View Hike thru Makhtesh Ramon in a larger map

All in all, we traveled 9.36 miles according to Google Earth (7.69mi trail, 1.67mi highway), and it took us 6 hours total.  We saw only 3 other people that day while hiking, and they were either driving or walking the SHORT trail.  It was a very fun trip, and I have really enjoyed looking back through my pictures and video.  I wished the sun would have been cooler so I could have gone more slowly and enjoyed the trip more, but perhaps I’ll come back with some people on an Adventure Tour here and do it again.  I did have to spend all of Wednesday in my room, lying down or sitting, to recover.  My legs and back were quite sore that next day!!

I did notice that there were several semi-truck loads of hummers, armored personnel carriers, and other military equipment being shipped down into the south.  In the news they said that Israeli military personnel are massing along the Egyptian border in an “unprecedented way” to prevent another imminent terror attack in the south.  I definitely saw evidence of their buildup down there.  Please pray for the peace of Israel.

Learn more about Makhtesh Ramon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makhtesh_Ramon

More Photos of Tour: http://www.shalomil.com/journal/index.php?s=Makhtesh%20Ramon

If you know how to use Google Earth (which I suggest you learn how to do), you can watch and listen to a quick tour of our route with my KMZ file downloaded from here: http://www.shalomil.com/journal/dld/Makhtesh%20Ramon%20Tour%20(all).kmz