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The Friends of Israel

March 13-23, 2015

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The wilderness of Judea

Today was another great day in the wonderful land of Israel. First of all, the weather was perfect. It was probably the nicest day we’ve had here weather wise, and that’s saying a lot because every day has been beautiful. It was bright and sunny, with a refreshing breeze here and there. It looks like a lot of us got a nice tan and some others a little sunburn. Regardless of what end of the spectrum we may fall on, at least we got our vitamin D in excess.

The wilderness of Judea holds many treasures. Among these treasures are the Dead Sea Scrolls, which we were fortunate enough to see yesterday. Today we began by visiting the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found nearly 60 years ago. We didn’t get to go in the caves, as many of them are out of reach without a ladder or rock climbing equipment. Regardless, it was so cool to be able to see the many caves that housed such treasures for 2,000 years!

Qumran Caves

Allegedly discovered by a Bedouin shepherd chasing a stray, the initial Dead Sea Scrolls found here changed the study of the Old Testament.

The seven scrolls discovered in this cave were the Manual of Discipline, War of Sons of Light, Thanksgiving Scroll, Isaiah A and B, Genesis Apocryphon and Habakkuk Commentary.

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We then rode a cable car up to the top of Masada. The story behind this place is fascinating. Herod the Great fortified this location with a high wall interspersed with a great defense of towers. He also constructed an elaborate palace on the northwest corner. When Jerusalem fell in 70 A.D., the Jewish patriot Eliezer Ben Yair and 960 people escaped with him to the top of Masada. The Romans sought for three years to get to the top and finally succeeded by building a ramp. After reaching the top, they found that all but five of the 960 people had taken their own lives rather than become slaves to the Romans. It’s always quite humbling to stand in a place where such history happened.

Masada

The summit of Masada sits 190 feet (59 m) above sea level and about 1,500 feet (470 m) above the level of the Dead Sea. The mountain itself is 1950 feet (610 m) long, 650 feet (200 m) wide, 4,250 feet (1330 m) in circumference, and encompasses 23 acres. The “Snake Path” climbs 900 feet (280 m) in elevation. From the west, the difference in height is 225 feet (70 m).

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We wrapped up our day at the Dead Sea. Swimming in it was quite an experience that I’ll never forget! I was surprised to see how beautiful the sea is. After years and years of hearing how salty it is and how nothing can live in it, my mind imagined a very dark, almost sludgy type of environment. It was anything but that, however. The water was a nice shade of blue and we all had a great time floating around in it and rubbing the Dead Sea mud on our skin.

Dead Sea

Known in the Bible as the “Salt Sea” or the “Sea of the Arabah,” this inland body of water is appropriately named because its high mineral content allows nothing to live in its waters. Other post-biblical names for the Dead Sea include the “Sea of Sodom,” the “Sea of Lot,” the “Sea of Asphalt” and the “Stinking Sea.” In the Crusader period, it was sometimes called the “Devil’s Sea.” All of these names reflect something of the nature of this lake.

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Tomorrow marks the final full day that we’ll spend in Israel. I’m sure many of us do look forward to returning to our homes again after being away for over a week, but it’s going to be very hard to leave this place and these people that have enriched and impacted our lives so much in such a short amount of time.

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