Day 05 - Sorek Valley, Elah Valley / Tel Azekah, Shrine of the Book, Old City of Jerusalem

Our day began quite early in the morning, like it always does. We ventured up a STEEP hike to sit at the top of Mount Zorah overlooking a beautiful view of the Sorek Valley in the region of the Sephelah.

Today, even just a few miles from the desert, we experienced a huge shift in scenery and a drop in temperature. Lots of green grass, which was new for us! For Israelites and Philistines, this region of the Shephelah was a very important spot to gain control over as it connected the ancient highways and contained an abundance of fertile land. This set the scene for an incredible lesson taught by Ben on the story of Samson in Judges. Here, we asked ourselves whether we were using our gifts to tell the world who God is or for our own personal gain.

After this, we journeyed to the Elah Valley where we re-enacted the story of David and Goliath. We even got to pick our own stones from the valley, like David used to his defeat his enemy, Goliath. Following this, we ate a delicious lunch provided by our guide, Ariel and driver, Alon while sitting on top of tel Azekah. 

From there, we had a quick trip to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to see the Shrine of the Book, which is the Great Isaiah scroll (one of the Dead Sea Scrolls) that we learned about a few days ago at Qumran, as well as the Jerusalem city model from the time of Jesus. 

As our last destination, we gathered in our family groups in the Old City of Jerusalem, where we were given 30 shekels (around $9). We adventured out with the intent to talk and connect with local shopkeepers. Our family group met our new best friend, Malek, who graciously shared parts of his story with us. This was a crazy experience because he was a nurse and all members of our family group are involved in health care! We loved getting our first look at the old city.

While every historical sight holds so much importance, we have also emphasized that you cannot know the holy land without knowing the “living stones” - the vibrant people who all have a story to share. It is our job to watch and listen to truly understand this land that has become so important to all of us in just five short days. 

And last but not least, we all ate our fill from the extravagant dessert table at our hotel here in Jerusalem! No one stuck their head under the chocolate fountain (that we know of).