Nebi Samwil - the tomb of the prophet Samuel - was a mosque that may or may not be over the spot where the prophet Samuel is buried. It was a good place that we could remember him, never the less. Even though it was a mosque, however, I saw so many Chasidim wandering around the grounds praying. On our way back to the bus, one of them stopped me and asked where I was from. I told him that i was visiting from the States. And he told me, "We are so happy you are here. G-d willing, you will [View Full Entry]

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From my journal: My heart started pounding when I first saw it. I could hardly believe it. I stood back for awhile, trying to imagine Your House on top of that retaining wall instead of that ugly golden pimple. I was very aware of the fact that YOU had brought me there. Literally, through this whole trip, it seems like You cleared the pth, like You're taking me by th hand and saying, "Come on, I want to show you everything." And then, You brought me to that last remaining wall, washed smooth by so many tears. Stepping close to the [View Full Entry]

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From my journal: City of Gold. We made the ascent from the lowest spot on earth - the Dead Sea - to the highest spiritual place on earth...Jerusalem. We slimbed up the eastern side of the Mt. of Olices, went through a tunnel and - BOOM - there it was, under a sliver of a crescent moon, glistening in the twighlight. Our hotel was within walking distance of the walls of the old city. We were stationed on the corner of Ramban Street and King George Street. Just up the road was the Great Synagogue, that we attended on Shabbat. Ben [View Full Entry]

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Our last stop for the day was the ancient desert community of Qumran which was inhabited by the Essense during the first century. The Dead Sea Scrolls were copied here and stored in a series of caves which were discovered on the eve of the establishment of the State of Israel. Our first day in Israel, spent touring in the Negev, was over and it was time to make our way to the next area. As Jeremy put it, we went from the Dead Sea - the place on earth - to the highest place on earh: Jerusalem. [View Full Entry]

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Since we arrived too late on Friday afternoon, the actual Ein Gedi spring was already closed for Shabbat. We looked at it from a nearby hill, though. We didn't have long because a freakish wind storm blew in and we had to grope our way back to the bus. [View Full Entry]

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Comments from the crowd: Julianna - I had water in my eyes! Out of all the experiences we had in Israel, I would have to say that swimming in the Dead Sea was...the most distateful one. When we go back next time, I don't think I would want to swim in it again. Pat was the only smart one of all of us. She stood on the shore and hovered over our stuff while we stepped into the salty waters. Ok, first off, Steve told us to be careful not to get water in our eyes, but I didn't really take [View Full Entry]

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We drove towards the Dead Sea and drove along it's coast for several miles before reaching the desert fortress of Masada. I would have loved to climb up the snake path but with a group our size, it would have taken us all day, so we all climbed into a cable car instead. The top of Masada is huge! We spent several hours up there and only saw part of the nothern half! The history of Masada covers two distinctly different periods. Herod build a tiered palace on the northern side. The nature-defying contained all the comforts of civilized western culture, [View Full Entry]

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Tel Arad was absolutely huge! Spread out over a whole bunch of acres. After we explored it for a few hours, we moved on. That night, checked into a hotel in modern day Arad, a beautiful town that seems to appear out of nowhere when you are driving through the desert. [View Full Entry]

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We drove southward, into the Negev. There were absolutely spectacular views! Especially driving down into the great crater. And even though this particular portion of the desert was probably not the one where the nation of Israel wandered after the exodus, it really fed my imagination. The land is very harsh (thinking that the shoes on their feet never wore out is seriously supernatural!), but I think I wouldn't have minded being a kid during the desert wandering. Steve only let us explore for about fifteen minutes, but I would have loved to walk all over. [View Full Entry]

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On the plane on the way from Holland to Israel, I thought about what it was that I wanted to accomplish on this trip. Getting to Israel in the first place seemed like such a miracle. I didn't want to have the whole trip pass as just a tourist venture. What would I do when I walked off the plane, onto Israeli soil? What would I think, what would I feel? I wrote in my journal: I want to hurt. I want to be sad because I can't be in the land, and when I finally put my foot on it, [View Full Entry]

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