Link to Pictures from Samaria Field Study

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30432072&l=f8cb1&id=176801233

Sa-Maria? Hey, thats my name! Well... sort of.

On the Samaria Field study this Sunday, we explored the regions of Ephraim and Manasseh. We traveled to Shechem, Shiloh, and Mt. Gerazim. We started the day with a lookout that had views of some of the Hill Country, and the Rift Valley. Off to the left of our view we could see Alexandrium, another of Herod’s fortresses that controlled the Transjordan route by the Jordan River. ` I was so excited because the past two days had rained and we had an incredible view! I was also tickled that we were able to be a bit chilly and experience a few drops of rain during our lecture! When we looked down on the Rift Valley, we could see that parts of the land were lush and some quite dry. This is the land that Lot, the nephew of Abraham, chose. Back then, the river was not used to supply the entire country with water as it is now, so the valley was even more lush and beautiful. Our next stop led us to Elon Moreh, a radical Israeli settlement by Shechem. This settlement granted us permission to travel through their community in order to enjoy the views from the top of the mountain which we hiked, which allowed us to further our understanding of the physical geography of the land. From the top we could see the Oak of Moreh between Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal, Tirzah and the Wadi Faria. When the sky became especially clear between rainclouds we were able to see the range of Mt. Carmel. It was amazing! Such a spectacular view! The third place we went to was to the top of Mt. Gerizim to oversee the Salim Valley. At the top of this mountain is a Samaritan community that still practices very old Judaism. They believe only in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) and do not accept the prophets, poetry, or other narratives as a part of their religious writings. Not much of this community’s way of thinking and beliefs has changed in a few thousand years. Once we hiked to the top of the mountain, we could see the Oak of Moreh. This is nestled between the two hills. This is where Joshua explains the curses and blessings in Joshua 8. This is where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. This was yet another radical thing that Jesus did during His lifetime. The Samaritans have been notorious throughout Israeli history for being the group that one would want to avoid. When people traveled through the country, they would cut across to the east to get to the Rift Valley, then meander southward to the Ascent of Adumim and finally cut across to Jerusalem to return to the Patriarchal Highway. NO ONE wanted to go through Samaria. But Jesus… oh Jesus… he went straight through. You gotta love Him! If you ask a Samaritan, Mt. Gerizim is where Abraham brought Isaac to sacrifice, not Jerusalem. This has been a great debate between people. That is why Jesus says to the Samaritan woman that people must worship in spirit and truth, not in any specific location. The location whether it was on Mt. Gerizim or on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem, is completely irrelevant and misses the point of true worship. Our final place of study was Shiloh. Shiloh was a pretty neat place, aside from the rotting cow carcasses. This is where the Tabernacle that held the Ark of the Covenant was before the Ark was captured in war by the Philistines which is mentioned in 1 Samuel.

A link to some more pics from this past weekend!

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30428847&l=1e444&id=176801233

This link coincides with the post about the Benjamin Gateway.

Dr. Gabi Barkay- the man who helped write history

I have to tell you all about my Archeology professor because he cracks me up. He is seriously brilliant. We have no textbook for our class because the man is a textbook. He knows everything... probably because he was there (his words, not mine). lol... Anyways, his wealth of knowledge is astounding and to top it all off he is so funny. After every point in his lecture he always says in his Hungarian-Jewish accent "Any questions, Any queries, any 'go to hell with your nonsense?" Its one of those things where you have to hear him say it because it is absolutely hilarious. Gabi has an amazing life story, as well. He was born in Hungary during WWII. He was on the train to Auschwitz with his family when a divine intervention occurred and the train was stopped. He never had to go. Then his family moved down to Italy where they were able to get on a ship and come to Israel. He has been here ever since. Because of his extensive traveling experience he can speak about five million different languages, well thats a gross exaggeration... but you get my point. He studied under a couple of the most famous Archaeologists of all time including Yadin, a renowned Biblical Archaeologist, and has met and dug with several other famous Archaeologists including Kathleen Kenyon and several others. Oh the stories this man tells about them. He is so blunt, its fantastic! :) I am so excited because in a few weeks I am going to be able to do a dig with him sifting through some remains of the Temple Mount. Ground that has not been touched for 2,000+ years! How insane is that!? I am so excited!

I will tell you all about it when it happens. :)

Shalom,

maria

In the news...

So, I am sure by now most of you have heard about the Palestinian man driving his car into a group of soldiers in th Old City. First, I want to let everyone know that I am fine and there is no need to worry! :) I wanted to give you all some background information on what exactly happened. Well, in their first year of mandatory service, Israeli soldiers travel the country visiting significant sites which obviously includes the Old City. The group was heading toward the Western Wall to mark Rosh Hashana (the new year). The group of soldiers everyone is hearing about is one of these touring groups. The group was not bombed, but instead ran into by a Palestinian driver, who was then killed by one of the soldiers and a police person in the group. Because the man is Arab (Palestinian) the attack is considered a terrorist attack.
This took place in the Old City between the Arab and Jewish Quarters, which is located about the middle of the Old City. My school is stationed at the end of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City on the edge of Mt. Zion. (Basically about 1/4-1/2 mile south of where this happened)Anyways, it is far enough away that I am fine. SO, (especially Mom and Dad) please do not worry. :)

Shalom,

Maria

Ben-Jammin'

Sunday’s field study explored the region covered by the tribe of Benjamin. The tribe of Benjamin was one of the smallest tribes in Israel, however, because of its location it played a key role in many Biblical events. James Monson describes Israel as the land between and if we were to use that terminology to describe Benjamin, the region would be considered the land between the land between. It divides the Northern and Southern Arenas of the Southern Levant. The reason this region is key is not only because of its central location, but also that it controls many major highways including the Patriarchal Highway, the Ascent of Adumim ( which connects Jerusalem to Jericho), the Way of the Wilderness (which connects Ramah to Jericho), and the Beth-Horon and Kiriath Jearim routes (connecting Ramah to Gezer). In the morning of our study day we hiked down part of the Ascent of Adumim which was an old Roman road that had been paved over during British control. Most of the pavement was gone, so it was really neat to be able to explore the road and see how travel was during the time of the Romans. In Luke chapter 10 there is a passage that describes a person who had been robbed and left to die along the side of the road. Jesus delineates a Samaritan who helps this person as his neighbor and aids him in getting back on his own two feet. After having walked down this road, it is easy to understand the possibility of being surprised by robbers. The road twists and turns and it would not be difficult to be surprised by someone who was hiding around a corner.
After leaving the Roman Road we headed down into Jericho where we took a look at the New Testament Jericho. We went to the site of Herod’s Jericho Palace which straddled the Wadi Qilt. This was a very strategic place for Herod to have his palace because he controlled trade on the Ascent of Adumim to Jerusalem. This meant he was getting a ton of tax money. A New Testament narrative that takes place in Jericho is Luke 19:1-10 which tells a story of Jesus coming through the town and choosing to stay at a tax collectors house. This was a revolutionary idea because all of Jesus followers were upset that He would chose to stay at the home of someone who essentially steals their money. It was also a strategic place for Herod because it was a wealthy area for agriculture and since the Dead Sea is so close, it is a convenient place to harvest salt which was a wonderful preservative.
Once we finished discussing and exploring Herod’s Jericho Palace, we went over to the Old Testament Jericho Tell. A tell is an artificial mound that contains layers of civilization. This is the city that Joshua came and destroyed with his army after marching around seven times and giving a loud shout. At this location, there is also the oldest man made structure in the world. It is a tower dating back to 8000 BC, 10000 years ago! From Jericho, looking off to the North East, you can see where the Joshua’s camp at Gilgal was located. It was a lot closer than I thought it would have been.
Then we were off to Michmash, to have a view of the Emek. And then we traveled over to Nebi Samuel which contains of Byzantine Ruins, however we were there to look out and discuss the geography of the area. From that hill, you can see Gibeon, Gibeah, Ramah, Jerusalem, Mizpah, Beth Horon, and Kiriath Jearim. It is amazing to me how close everything is here. From one point you can see several significant cities. These cities, which are located on the Central Benjamin Plateau, are key for trade and travel. They sit on major highways and serve great purposes for protection, as well.
Finally, we went over towards the Mediterranean to hike to the top of Gezer. Gezer was a fortress for the protection and regulation of the Aijalon Valley. This is located in the Shephelah and is important because it controls the Coastal Highway as well as highways that are more inland.

My favorite part of the day was when we made our way to Gezer. After hiking up the hill we explored the top a little and had a lecture about some massive rocks that looked much like the stones at Stonehenge in the UK. Some scholars suggest that the stones are like those discussed in the Old Testament. Moses talked about creating stones and monuments

Cutting over to the Dome of the Rock

So... today Megan and I went over to the Dome of the ROck on the Temple Mount to walk around. It is absolutely unbelievable. There are about a million (gross exaggeration) soldiers around the area with very large guns. Only VERY intimidating. Megan and I enjoyed our time, nonetheless. We went up and touched the temple and quietly prayed over it, hoping that people would discover truth and that there would be peace. It is amazing to think that this patch of land is what more than 1/2 of the world's problems are coming from.

Megan and I were talking about a previous lecture we had with our professor and thought through the idea of what the Temple meant to the Jewish people during the time of David on through the time of Jesus. The Temple was where God chose to limit himself and confine himself in a building so that He could interact with the people He loved so much. How amazing is that!? The God who created the universe, the one who formed you and I in our mother's wombs, the same God who gave us breath and can take it out in the next second but chooses not to, the very God who showed Moses the burning bush - the fire that consumes but chooses not to, the God of Jacob, Abraham, and Isaac, the God of infinite miracles, the God that chose to come down to earth in flesh as Jesus Christ so that He may save the world from their sins. That is the God who chose to come and be limited to a building. It absolutely blows my mind!

You are probably wondering why I said I was "cutting" over to the Dome of the ROck.... well, sorry Mom, (and aren't you excited Christina!) I chopped my hair off last night! It was getting too hot here and I needed a change. I realized how much of my sense of beauty came from my hair and I needed to chop it off. And boy does it feel good!

God Bless!

The ups and downs of cemeteries.....

Well, I have 2 updates today...

The other day Laura and I were walking through the Old City and went into a church museum... We met a historian there by the name of Maureen. She is the sweetest little old British lady. Well, anyhoo, we told her we go to JUC and she got really excited because behind our school is the protestant cemetery. Since she is a protestant historian, she asked us if we could get her in through the school to see the cemetery and we gladly obliged. So, Laura and I got our own little private tour of the cemetery and historical facts about people such as the Biship Gobat, who was the one to build JUC back when it was a protestant school for Arab children. It was really neat! Then we went to the back of the cemetery to see the grave of Sir Flinders Petrie who was an acclaimed archaeologist in both Egypt and Israel. He is the one that introduced dating by pottery. Flinders was kinda nuts. He used to hang out in his archaeological digs wearing nothing but a pink tutu. He figured no one would bother him if they all thought he was loco. And they were correct. He also had some issues with humility. Before he died, he declared that his brain be studied for he knew it was far superior than any brain had been before. So, his head was severed from his body and sent back to England and his body remained here in Jerusalem. While his head was being examined in a room with other heads, there was an explosion and all the heads went rolling and it was not until recently that they found it and are now doing experiments with it.


Part bet: so Laura and I were walking around the city today... well, just down into the valley and back up to school and came to the conclusion that Jerusalem is unlike any other city in the world. My reason: in every other city, what goes up must come down.... in Jerusalem what goes down must come up. In summation, my legs are getting a workout each time we climb these stupidly huge hills! I never realized the possibilities of the statement feel the burn until I got to Israel.

Biblical Approaches to Jerusalem

On this field study, we started our day by going to the Hill of Evil Counsel to overlook the Old City, as well as, modern day Jerusalem. We identified the usual valleys and hills and took a moment to recognize the views from our location at the vista. From our position we could not only see the Old City and the identified hills and valleys, we could also see newer constructions such as “The Fence” of the West Bank. It was interesting to be able to see it following the outskirts of Jerusalem. It is amazing to think that separation devices like that still exist. It is really sad.
After a brief discussion and a short drive by the UN, we headed past Bethlehem to Herodium (aka The Herodion). This is where Herod the Great (the one ruling at the time of Jesus’ birth) had one of his many palaces. We climbed to the top of a thin but tall hill and were able to see Herod’s Tomb and the inside of his palace. It was incredible to be able to see Tekoa, Bethlehem, and the Wilderness of Moab. The point was brought up that Herod could see Bethlehem, the town that Jesus was born in, from his palace.
Later on, we went to Bethlehem to visit the church of the Nativity. On our way to Bethlehem, we stopped by a large slab of rock called a threshing floor which was used by people to grind wheat back in Biblical times. They were shared by the communities which surround them. Threshing floors are mentioned in the book of Ruth. Ruth finds Boaz sleeping on the threshing floor after his harvest and does some pretty scandalous things to him for the times. Upon arriving to Bethlehem, we took a short walk up a hill to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Catholic Church that is connected to it. It is so interesting to hear of yet another thing that Constantine’s mother, Helena, built. She must have been one dedicated woman in her faith to pursue knowledge of Jesus’ land and then to have her people erect churches and monuments to her beloved Savior.
In the afternoon we went on top of yet another hill (that I can’t remember the name of) that has incredible views of Jerusalem, and specifically, the Patriarchal Highway on the Watershed Ridge. It was informative to be able to see the mountain ridge that the highway followed and it made it a lot easier to visualize the route.
Then we made our way to the top of the Mount of Olives to look over the Wilderness of Judea. It was wonderful to be able to look upon the area of which Jesus spent forty days and forty nights and to see that the Mount of Olives really is a barrier from the City of Jerusalem to the Wilderness. Once we viewed the city from the top, we made our way down a small road to the bottom of the Mount of Olives, to the place where the Garden of Gethsemane was located. There, we went into a church that commemorates Jesus’ night in the garden wrestling with the call God, his father, had given Him to die for the sins of everyone, ever, so they might be in relationship with God. It was pretty powerful to be there and think about Jesus kneeling down, sweating blood, and agonizing over his decision, knowing fully that the wilderness was just on the other side of the Mount, not far at all. But He makes a conscious decision to stay and endure the cross because He loved us. He loves us so much, so incredibly much. It absolutely blows my mind and makes me wonder why. I am so grateful for the sacrifice He made.
Once we fully descended the Mount, we went down into the Kidron Valley to look at some tombs. The first was a monument thought to be built for Absalom, but because of the architecture, it clearly was from a different time period. Then we continued down the path to another monument built for an unknown reason.

For Pictures of My Semester so far... go to this link:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013997&l=26ce3&id=176801233

Amazing People....

So, I have talked a lot about what things I have done and seen, but little about the people I have met! I have made some incredible friends and am excited about the amazing professors that I have!

Yesterday, Megan (one of my room mates) and I went to the Arab Quarter of the Old City to do buy these dresses that we say a few days earlier! SO CUTE!!!!!!! They were only 30 Shekels which comes out to be about $9... and they are two of the cutest dresses anyone has ever seen.... ever... really. I will post a picture of them soon! Megan and I had such a good time going through the city and I really enjoyed hanging out with her. We have had incredible conversations about God and Jesus and life. It is so good to finally have someone to talk to about all of that again.

My other room mate, Laura is an amazing girl, as well! She is so sweet and I have totally enjoyed her friendship. The other day we had amazing conversations about faith and trust. It was wonderful!

As for professors, they are absolutely wonderful! I am excited for my Archaeology class to start this Friday. My Archaeology professor is Gabriel Barkay. He is the Archaeologist that was able to take remnants of the Temple Mount and interpret some of the findings! How insane is that! So Cool! He is a well known Biblical Archaeologist here in Israel and I am so excited that he is my textbook! Thats totally rad!

My Hebrew professor is Dr. Revelson. He is from Ohio, but moved here to Jerusalem to study Judaism and is Jewish. He cracks me up and I am so excited to be able to learn from him!

My Physical Settings Professor is Cindy Parker. She is one incredible woman! Her passion for God and the land of the Bible is infectious. I love learning from her!

Lastly, my Gospel of Matthew Professor is Akiva Cohen. He is a Messianic Jew from Canada who's knowledge and passion astounds me. I am learning so much in his class!

Well, those are just a few of the amazing people I have met so far. I will tell you more as the semester goes on. Smiles and Blessings to you all! :)

Sweat, Smiles, Biblical Jerusalem!

acde
Today we went out on our second field study! We stopped by an overwhelming amount of places, but it was so wonderful to be able to experience them all. We went to the Broad Wall, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the City of David, the Pool of Shailom, an unlikely place for the Upper Room in Dormition Abbey, an archeological site on part of the Western Wall, the Southern Steps, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Broad Wall, located in the Jewish Quarter, is part of Hezekiah’s city walls. It was interesting to see where the location of the particular wall is. It is situated on a dip of the Transversal Valley which bisects the Old City of Jerusalem. The City of David is located on the Eastern Hill, a very narrow and low finger-like hill. It is surrounded by both the Hinnem and Kidron Valleys and is seemingly enveloped by the Western Hill and the Mount of Olives. This symbolizes God’s arms surrounding and protecting the city. On our walk, it was interesting to discuss the likely places where David’s palace was in relation to the city. It is believed to have been at the top of the City below the biblical Mt. Zion which held the Temple (which is now where the Dome of the Rock is located). There is currently a dig being done and there have been lots of recent finds. In the past, there was lots of confusion regarding David and Soloman because they were revered as these great and wealthy kings, but since no one has found any remains of their wealth and power, there was a great deal of skepticism regarding their empires. Understanding the location of the palace truly made the David and Bathsheba story come alive. If David’s palace was higher than other structures and homes, it would have been very easy for him to see Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her home. And with all of the men of the city gone away at war, it was possible for him to request her presence. While in the City of David, we climbed to the top of a tower and looked over the city, as well as, Silwon Village, which is situated adjacent to the Mount of Olives. We could clearly look upon all the rooves of the city. While in the City of David, we watched a fascinating movie about the city. In 3D! It was very exciting! Then we made our way down to Area G of the City of David where a Millo (retaining wall) was discovered. In Area G there were also remnants of the classical 4 bedroom home. After that we went down to the spring where Hezekiah's tunnel began.

Hezekiah’s tunnel was constructed in order for water to flow and supply the city in times of war. It was chiseled by workers from both ends who met in the middle to complete the tunnel. In the 1880’s an explorer by the name of Warren discovered some of the shafts that lead to the tunnel. These shafts were rediscovered later on as well. Walking through the tunnel in the water was an incredible experience! We were in water up to our knees and hunched over as to not hit our heads on the ceiling for about 15-20 minutes. It was amazing to see where the water source came from. The water started at the spring where the water was kept for the City of David. There were excavations being done there on the towers of the spring. At the end of the tunnel was the pool of Shailom, which looked like a place of social gatherings. It was interesting to see the many steps and landings of the pool that people used as the water levels fell. After that we made the long trek back to school for lunch stopping at several different tombs along the way. It is so funny because tombs are everywhere in Jerusalem. Literally. They surround the city. The walk seemed like it took forever and it was all up hill. My legs were killing me and I was so out of breath when we reached the school. God was clever in choosing a place for his people in the mountains. I can't imagine being an army planning to siege the city. There is no stinkin' way!

In the afternoon, we visited Dormition Abbey where tradition says the Upper Room was located. However, this is very unlikely considering the architectural nature of the building. It resembles much later times and points more towards a later empire than the time of Christ.

Following the abbey, we went over to the Western Hill archeological site. Many excavations were done here. On this particular site, the Robinson Arch was discovered, and a Roman Road and marketplace was discovered. This lead to a greater understanding of the Temple Mount and how people were to arrive there. Upon entering the city, people would go to the money changer, then purchase a sacrifice, and finally go through a ritual cleansing called a Miq’vot in order to enter the temple. Once this was completed, they would go toward the Southern Steps, close to the Mount of Olives, walk up a narrow staircase which was made of one long step and one short step in order for people to be forced to take their time and prepare their hearts before entering the presence of God. Once the sacrifice had been given, the person leaves the Temple from a narrow door and a wider portion of the Southern Steps. This is a very likely place Jesus would have preached. In the Temple is where He overturned tables because the money changing and sacrifice sales were being done in a Holy space upon the Mount itself.

Lastly, we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is where, as tradition has it, Jesus was crucified, prepared for burial, and finally buried. It is not known for sure, though. There is a small room at the bottom of the church which is where Constantine’s mother, Helena, found wooden fragments, which she considered part of the real cross. These fragments were more than likely not the real ones, considering if you take all the fragments of the cross in the world, you would have several crosses. We also went into one of the small chapels in the church which has a tunnel coming off of it that extends to Jaffa Gate and houses many tombs. It was pretty fascinating and kinda creepy.

Finally, at the very end of the day we went to a roof top near the church and reflected on the day. it had definitely been a long one!

Today.... kinda boring, but also interesting

Today I had class all day, did some organizing on my free time... and had only one very exciting thing happen... I learned/memorized Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew! So cool! I know... I am such a nerd.

Friends and Adventures

Today, Laura, Taran and I went wandering around the Old City hoping to find a few things... to no avail. However, we did have an amazing time! We just kinda meandered around and looked at shops. We went into the Church of the Holy Seplucher and also went over to the Wailing wall to take more pictures. It was amazing! I love being able to explore and enjoy! It is a blast!

Class! Already?

So, yesterday (Sunday) we took our first hike around the Old City learning about some of the topography of Jerusalem and how it has affected history. We ventured along the wall from school and stopped in a shaded grassy area to discuss the valley below the Western Hill where JUC sits. It is the Hinnem Valley. In the Bible there are several occasions in which the Hinnem Valley is discussed. It is a place where garbage was dumped and child sacrifices from the Old Testament were held. Insane! Then we discussed the wall and how old different blocks are. It is interesting to think of how the topography of the land has changed so much. The land is slowly becoming more and more flat and is losing the topography of Jesus' day. Anyhoo, after that we ventured through the Old City to the Damascus gate, then saw one of the seemingly five million places where Jesus was buried. Word to the wise: if you come to Jerusalem and people tell you this is the real thing (for many of the claims, but not all)... they are generally lying and they do not know. The City has been built on top of and covered so many times that it is very difficult to decipher the hows/wheres of many biblical stories from the time of Jesus. Though some things have actually been found. For example on our walk we went to St. Anne's church where an archeological site is located. There was found the pools of Bethesda as described in John 5. Right next to the pools was another pool for the Greek god Asclepio (not sure how to spell that) who is the Greek god of healing. In John 5 the sick man would try to make it into the pools of Asclepio to become healed when the waters stirred, but could never quite make it in to be the first one. When Jesus found him, he told him to walk and pick up his pallet for he was healed. It was incredible to be standing where Jesus stood... (well, close to it anyway) and realize what he had done there. Absolutely incredible!!!! After we finished in the Archaeological site, we went into the church, which is the only crusader church left in the Old City and I got to lead our class in some hymns. It was so amazing to hear the acoustics and the echo! It sounded so beautiful! Laura, Megan and I are already planning on going back to the church to spend some more time in worship. After the church we headed over to the Western Wall. It was amazing to see Jews from all over the world there praying, hoping and crying out for their nation. It was so beautiful! I can't believe I am here and that my classroom is Israel. It is incredible! I love you all and I am hoping to get some pictures up soon!