New Place, New Pace and New Perspective

There may be nothing like gathering with a group of strangers and within a short period of time - seemingly minutes we are like old friends. We have a shared experience that is unlike any other that we have had in this life time and today was a wonderful start to our travels here in Israel.

We gathered in the morning for an expansive breakfast buffet of eggs, pasta, salads and delicious, amazing bread. Many learned how to use an espresso machine to get their morning fix of coffee Americano Style (with cream or milk) or Turkish (without).

Our first stop was at Yad Hashmona; we dove into 1 Samuel 4-6 and we oriented ourselves with the location of the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites. This is also the battle the Philistines captured the Arc of the Convent. As you read through 1st Samuel you will learn about the travels following the capture of the Arc and how it was eventually returned to the area and it resided there for 20 years until King David came to get it and bring the Arc to Jerusalem. This is also the location where we learned about Jewish culture at the time with the ritual baths, burial traditions, wine and olive oil presses and so much more. One interesting fact that we learned was that the first press after the olives were crushed was the “Virgin Press”. This was the best press of the olives. The subsequent presses each lesser quality and the final press was used for oil in their lamps.

Our next stop was at Beth Shemesh and we were lucky enough to spend time with a personal friend of our tour guide Randy. He has lived in Beth Shemesh his entire life and shared the recently unearthed archeological site with us. We were the first tour group to be allowed near the site and to hear about all of the layers of historical cities they were unearthing in this Tel (Tel means hill; which is typically a hill where a city is built upon another ruined city). Beth Shemesh overlooks the Valley of Sorek where Sampson was born and lived. This valley was also the “Napa Valley” of the day where grapes and olives thrived.

Azekah was my personal favorite for today. Azekah overlooks the Elah Valley which is the site where David fought Goliath. Randy shared with us some interesting facts about “slingers” in the army’s of the day and how they could sling a rock so fast that getting hit with a rock in this manner was much like getting hit by a bullet from a hand gun. David had Chutzpah as the Jews would say since he never doubted that he would defeat Goliath. The question was asked “What are you not doing because you are afraid of the giants in your life?” David had his talent of slinging, 5 small stones and 1 mighty God on his side and he knew he couldn’t fail. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

We next explored Bet Guvrin and Maresha; visiting several sites within this national park. The first was a Cistern which was built to hold 1,000’s of gallons of water that was gathered during the rainy season (November through March) and sustained the people through the summer (April through October). We also visited and learned about the Columbarium. The Columbarium was where thousands of pigeons were bred as a way of life. The pigeons were used for a variety of purposes including being a sacrifice. This was a unique and beautiful site buried underneath the ground that garnered a reaction from each person as they entered the cave. Lastly we gathered within the Bell Cave and enjoyed the beauty that was born from the quarrying of the caves back in the 7th century. We were able to get a unique group photo, and to sing because the caves create a beautiful place to worship the Lord in song.

We ended our day heading 1,388 feet below sea level to the Dead Sea. We arrived just before dusk to enjoy the views. We will be spending Thursday exploring the Masada and floating in the Dead Sea. I look forward to sharing our adventures with you then!

Blessings,
Lyn Kienholz

A grateful thanks to Ben Banks who is now our group photographer for sharing his talents in most of the photos included in this Blog and with our entire group following the trip.