What kind of fruit do we offer the world?

Shalom.  

Each morning on this In-Depth Study Tour, I wake up and wonder, “How could this day possibly be any better than yesterday?” And then, somehow, it is.

DAY FOUR ITINERARY 

• 6:30am ​Wake up call
• 7:00am​Breakfast of champions
• 7:30am ​On the bus, ready to roll!

Weather Conditions: HOTTER THAN TEXAS! 

1. First Stop:  SH’MA 

Hear O Israel:
The LORD is our God
The LORD alone!
Love the LORD your God,
With all your heart,
And with all your soul,
And with all your might.
And love your neighbor
As yourself.
Amen. 

The Arad Tree is a beauty. She’s lush; graceful and green - lovely to behold - in a dry and thirsty land. In spite of her outward vibrance and promise, the Arad’s fruit (Solomon’s apple) is a sore disappointment. For when you open it up you are stunned to find it completely empty - full of only air, with a hint of poison.

The Rabbi’s question: What kind of tree are we? What kind of fruit do we offer the world?

2. Second Stop: EN-GETI RESERVE I (one bottle hike) in the Judah Mountains 

Weather Conditions: Still hotter than Hades, with 1000% humidity.

EN-GETI was David’s playground. He was familiar with every nook and cranny of this beautiful spot. While the Sinai wilderness we trekked yesterday was deep red with craggy crevices and sharp shale, today’s hike was over (comparatively) smooth, broad paths with the sound of water always present. It here that David hid from Saul in the caves built into the cliffs. And in this place (Wadi David) we learned about the Feast of Sukkot and “mayim chaim" (MY-eem KHY-eem) which is Hebrew for Living Water.

My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)

Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
    all who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water. (Jeremiah 17:13)

 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7)

 The Rabbi’s question: “Why is our culture, which has so much, still so thirsty?”

Time For Lunch! 

Schnitzel and RC colas in the AC!

Third Stop: EN-GETI II (2 bottle hike)

 This hike, on the other side of the mountain was longer, higher, hotter. But, as we are so quickly learning, there is always a surprise around the corner. Today’s treat was a magnificent waterfall in the place where David and three hundred of his finest men must have enjoyed time with God and each other.

“O Hashem, the Hope [mikvah] of Israel, all who forsake you will be ashamed … because they have forsaken Hashem, the fountain of living water.”  (Jeremiah 17:13)

4. Fourth Stop: QUAMRAN  

This was our last trek up a wilderness mountain, and have I mentioned that it was rather hot? 

Quamaran was the home to the Essenes, who were priests (John the Baptist) who dedicated themselves to hiding God’s word in their heart and living holy lives in the caves of the Dead Sea desert. At the top of this hike we could see the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls (900 scrolls containing every book of the Bible) were hidden by the Essenes in 73AD, to be discovered by a Bedouin boy in 1946. What a gift those gritty and holy men were to us all! 

“So live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming….” (2 Peter 3:12)

5. Final Stop: Netanya  

A 2-hour bus ride brought us up through the Shafaela and deposited us north of Jerusalem by the Mediterranean Sea. Who knows what waits for us on Day five? I can’t wait!

Shalom.