Adventure week 4…

Our final week had arrived and we headed south to explore Jerusalem. Looking across the Jordan River, dry, barren hills mark out the visible land of Jordan. Seemingly so close, yet a whole other country. We stop at Beit She’an to visit ancient Roman ruins of a once thriving city. Columns and the theatre still stand fully recognizable. The base structure of a temple on a hill overlooks the city. At one time, people filled this place, but now it is a national park. We journey on as they did.
We crossed valleys and hills as we weaved our way to the city of Jerusalem. I thought about all those who have journeyed before me. Some by foot, some by animal, some by tank, and some by modern transportation…coming for many different reasons…worship, reign, sacrifice, battle, teach, trade, or discovery. My mind is overwhelmed with the thoughts of Abraham, David, Jesus, and Paul. I can’t imagine all the territory they covered. We crested a hill and before us, hill after hill…Jerusalem.

Deciding where to start was a bit overwhelming. We chose modern history first. With a quick stop at Hadassah Hospital, we visited the Chagall Windows. One window for each of the 12 tribes of Israel, Chagall created stain glass capturing the essence of each tribe. This art forms the central focal point of the synagogue in the hospital.

From the hospital, we headed over to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial. It has always warmed my heart to see the number of soldiers coming to the memorial. During their first few months of military service, they are required to tour this site to help them understand part of the Jewish history and Israel’s heart for defending its people from any future atrocities like this. The children’s memorial is a beautiful representation of the 1 million children lost during WWII. Using candle and mirrors, the illusion created displays a lit candle for each. The rest of the memorial walks through the history of the Holocaust from the growth of antisemitism in Europe during the 1930’s to the rise of Hitler and his alienating the Jews with requiring them to wear gold stars on their clothes. With many pictures, mementos, video interviews, publications, and charts, the story of the 6 million who lost their lives is documented. There are no words for the brokenheartedness felt.

Our plans on Friday to visit the Mount of Olives, traverse down to the Garden of Gethsemane and finish off at the City of David was derailed by street closures and an extra 3,000 police keeping things quiet and peaceful for midday prayer for Muslims. We entered the Old City walls with hope of finding a cab. Instead, we journeyed shoulder to shoulder with hundreds headed to the Temple Mount mosque. We turned off to go to the Jewish quarter and exited the Dung gate to reach the City of David. There was a video that showed the growth of the city throughout history. Over time, the king’s palace and the temple were added to the region. After touring the ruins, we finished out our time there with a journey through Hezekiah’s tunnels. There was a choice of the wet tunnels or the dry tunnels which both end near the pool of Siloam. The fact two groups tunneling from opposite directions actually met is purely amazing.

We prepared to bring in Shabbat that evening and took a little quiet time to rest and refresh ourselves. Heading back to the Jewish quarter, we went to the Western Wall. Watching men, women, and children taking time to seek God and prepare to rest was beautiful. We joined a Jewish family to celebrate a traditional Shabbat dinner. We had a family of 6, a local college student, 3 ladies from Holland, and a local professor at the dinner. Walking through the evening, we were guided through the prayers, songs and courses of dinner amongst lovely fellowship. Such a joyous evening.

The Dead Sea was our destination for Saturday. Journeying about 2 hours, we traveled along the sea past sink holes, Ein Gedi, views of Masada, and the desert landscape. With lunch provided, we enjoyed a float in the water and a dip in the pool. You just can’t make yourself sink! On our drive back, the girls had the opportunity to take a camel ride. We enjoyed our day together experiencing something new.

We were able to stop at the Mount of Olives for an evening view on our return to town. This view capped off our time here. Still, there was not enough time to do all that we had slated for this trip. This left things for us to go back and explore.
We had to head back to Tel Aviv to prepare for our departure. As with the other times in Israel, I was left without words. How do I summarize what only my heart understands? God uses time to bring full understanding from my heart to my head and reveal all He has shared with us in this land of His. Can’t rush this…just anticipate it.
“Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding?” Job 38:36