Nov. 23 Wed. Went to Bibleland Museum for free lecture on 'Inspiration in the Bible.' This museum is fabulous with artifacts from all cultures around Israel going back 4000 years. Incredibly it was all collected by one private rich guy who gave most of his collection to build this museum. It explains the influences of all the surrounding empires from ancient times to the Muslim period. After looking around for 2 hours, the lecture contrary to what was said or assumed by me, was in Hebrew and was actually a tribute to a modern Spanish artist who is displaying his works in the library. Hopefully 2 photos will show his modern bull, which is the symbol for the tribe of Ephraim, and his 30 ft tall Tower of Babel, both outside, so I could take a picture. After listening to a few talks in Hebrew we left and then got a tour of some parts by an Israeli working there who gave more info on a few key pieces. They also had a special exhibit on Shofars some dating back 300 years (they don't last due to their biologic basis). The British forbid blowing a shofar in the 1930's to appease Muslim sensibilities, so of course teenagers did it to their peril including 6 months in jail for one young kid. Most of the time they got away with it and they had videos of the now old men recant their stories of blowing the shofar and running away into the crowd or having dueling shofars to confuse the hapless British. The most famous shofar was used by Rabbi Goren in 1967 in the 6 Day War as he came running into the Old City blowing the shofar all the way to the Kotel just behind the troops. Part is on film and it is most moving as was the 'Prayer of Thanksgiving to Have Reached this Day' recited then! We walked back since buses ceased running at night, a pleasant 30 minutes walk.

Nov. 27 Sunday We meet some old friends from St. Louis, Albert and Eva Derby, and went to author S.Y. Agnon’s home in a south Jerusalem area called Talpiot. Agnon won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1966 for 50 years of work. The lecture was by a Rabbi Sax from WebYeshiva who puts the lecture on web conferencing. He talked about Agnon's short story 'In the Land of the Seas', which he provides on line. Agnon's house, built in 1931 by a famous architect, was so far out of the city then that the British waved the requirement to have Jerusalem stone as exterior. Of course being that far out, now 5 minutes away from the Old City, meant that Arab rioters were close by. In 1938 or so, his home was broken into and books destroyed. When he died in 1970, he had 8000 books in his home and they are still there! I will try again to finish his most famous novel 'The Wedding Canopy”, which like all his works weaves biblical stories and East European and Jerusalem experiences together.

We went out for dinner after with the Derby's. Funny story how we meet them here. At a lecture by Aviva Zornberg (to be discussed soon), I wiped off the blackboard before she came in , which led a woman to start a conversation which led to the fact her husband was Rabbi Krauss at Young Israel in St. Louis. Of course this lead to Jewish geography and to the fact the Derby's were in Israel now. I got their number and the next day before class started to dial them, when all of a sudden they walked in to Pardes to take a a class for the day. What a coincidence!


Dec 1, Thurs. went to play “The Art”by Yasmina Reza. The play won a 1998 Tony Award for best play. It is about a wealthy man who buys a painting and shows it to his best friend for approval. However the painting is all white and the friend lets lose his feelings, denigrating the artist and the person who would pay so much money for it. Incredibly, it is very Jewish relating to one of our courses on 'Rodef Shalom', which means seeker/ pursuer of Peace. What must one do to make or keep peace among friends is the basis for this very funny, but poignant, play. I recommended it in the next class for fellow students to go since it was so relevant.

Dec. 4, 2011 Sunday; Big adventure in Ein Gedi.. The is the site of an ancient spring , one of only 2 in the entire Judean desert, the other Jericho. We took bus #486 at 8am to Ein Gedi getting off at the Field School, sponsored by the Protection of Nature in Israel organization. There is also a hostel there. A short walk away is the National Park of Ein Gedi. We paid and got our map and started a hike they said was 3.5 to 4 hours. We hiked up Wadi David where in book of Samuel I Chapter 24 David is an outlaw running from King Saul who was crazy with hate for David and wanted him dead. David and his band of 400( a very common number used over and over and really meaning a few too many, but who is counting) were hiding in a cave and Saul came by and went into the same cave to relieve himself. David could have killed Saul then with his pants down and sword on the ground, but didn't because he revered the office of King. Later , when Saul leaves the cave, David follows him out . When David explains that he could have killed him but didn't and the proof is here-- part of your coat that I cut part off while you peed--Saul realizes David is correct and that David does love and respect him. So Saul lets David go. That occurred in Ein Gedi according to the Hebrew Bible, although there is no archeological proof for it. Oh well, it was 3000 years ago and David didn't stay long here.

We saw 4 waterfalls with crystal clear pools below, all very pretty and oh so amazing in this vast desert. Then after reaching the top of this wadi, we then started climbing the rock mountain on very steep steps or just rocks some times with a guard rail to hold onto and sometimes not. The cliff was 100- to 300 feet drop on the edge, so one had to be very careful and sure footed. We saw a very unusual mammal the rock hydrax (a very large guinea pig looking rodent but with reptile temperature regulation) and the ibex, a very small goat like animal that was rescued from near extinction but has been brought back very successfully. (Roberta thought the rock hydrax looked like a raccoon only brown instead of black and white. Also saw several small deer.
Next was a Chalcolithic temple built on a flat bluff on the side of the hill. Chalcolithic refers to 5000 years ago in the copper age , and 400 copper objects were found here. It was a large complex with a center fire pit. The view of the Dead Sea was great. There was another small spring close by also still yielding water. This water was used in the 13-14 C CE by the Mamelukes to power a wheat mill built close by also. Part of one large ans 2 small walls remain. Based on all the irrigation ditches still visible, it is calculated that 275 acres of land was cultivated thousands of years ago vs only 125 acres now, even with better methods. So they could have produced enough wheat to justify building a mill even so high up the hill just to use the water power. However it only lasted a short time and from 1400's to 1949 ,Ein Gedi had no permanent settlement. In 1949, some Jewish soldiers came here to ensure the land would be in Israel and the kibbutz they founded is still going strong growing dates and providing tourist activities. Some Hassids were coming to the kibbutz for a retreat.
Hiking down the hill on the side was easier, but still very rocky and the path outline was vague, and we came to an ancient synagogue built in 3rd C CE and expanded every 100 years as the people got more well to do. It was discovered in 1965 when the kibbutz started to plow the land. The mosaic floor is most unusual in that it is devoid of Jewish symbols except for some very small 7 branch menorahs. However the Hebrew inscription is really unique. At the top is genealogy from Adam thru Noah's grandsons. Then comes the Hebrew months of the year and then a dedication to the man who paid for the floor. Then a really unique sentence making a curse on anyone who tells the secret of Ein Gedi! What is the secret of Ein Gedi? Probably it was their method of making perfume from a persimmon ( but not our fruit by the same name). Their perfume was so well known that Mark Anthony gave the fruit groves here to Cleopatra. Titus exhibited the fruit in Rome in his victory parade in 70-71 CE after the destruction of Judah and the Temple. Piney the Elder writes that the Jews tried to uproot the trees to prevent them from falling into Roman hands and that the Romans literally had to fight for each tree.
Under one area of the mosaic floor another floor was found with a swastika ( not a bad symbol then) design. It was covered up and the top peacock mosaic restored. We then caught a bus, perfectly planned by you know who, to avoid walking 5 miles along the highway to the Ein Gedi Spa. Here we had a warm sulfur salt water float as one could have feet, head, and hands out of the water and still float. Then caught tram for ride to Dead Sea , now .3 mile from spa for a short dip in the water. The bottom was not sand, nor rock , but solid salt crystals all over. While my body was below the water a wave came and knock my beach shoe off. This was serious because the salt crystals are very rough and sharp. A kind woman threw my shoe to me but alas it didn't reach me, so I had to keep walking painfully to reach my shoe. Good bye Dead Sea. Next was the mud we spread all over our bodies and then rinsed off in the sulfur salt water. A regular shower felt so good but the highlight was a massage, which was delightful. We got out in front 2 minutes before the bus came and enjoyed a relaxing ride back to Jerusalem while watching the sunset colors bounce off the mountains. What a great day!

Dec 6, 2011 READ THIS!! ALmost Tragic and VERY FUNNY.
First, there was a big bike race in Jerusalem today, Tuesday, with top racers including winner of Tour de France racing around Old City. We were coming home from City of David ( See below) and walking on a street that was closed off for the race. We saw the 100 bikers riding by including some local who wanted to be in same race with the pros. He looked quite exhausted as he peddled uphill but we clapped anyway. Then we started home walking on sidewalk where race was still on. One place had no side walk so we walked very fast along the edge of the street to get to the next sidewalk . We reached the end of this very secluded area and looked back to see 2 Chassids ( very religious Jews with curly side locks, black socks up to midcalf and black Derby hats and long black coats) walking in the very middle of the street where the race was. I yelled at them to move to the side but they refused even as they got close to the area where many police were. The police yelled in Hebrew a long time and motioned them to move over and they still refused. 10 seconds after they reached the sidewalk, the pack of bikers came downhill around a blind bend just where they were walking. So 10 seconds faster bikers or if the 2 Chassids were 10 seconds slower, they would have been killed and many bikers injured. I continued to yell at them and tell them they could have been killed and also yelled at them to say the Gomael Prayer which is said after a close encounter with death. Actually it seems the police either are totally incompetent or didn't care if 2 Chassids were killed. All in all a a very scary situation. (This is for those who are worried about our safety here. R)

And now for the the FUNNY Story. We went to the “City of David' outside the Old City where it is thought King David lived for seven years before conquering the actual City of Jerusalem. He then ruled Israel/Judea for 33 more years. It is on the next hill south where the Gihon Spring, the source of all water for the city., was located, even going back to Canaanite time 3500 years ago. We saw a group getting a tour in English so we went closer and saw they had on Sar-El hats , the name of the volunteer Israeli army organization that we start Dec 25. Sar El takes the volunteers on a day of touring so I figured this was their day trip and so I thought why not join up with them. When I asked them what Army base there were on, I didn't get an answer. Strange but OK. Roberta is talking with many of the group and found out they were from Virginia. Their Israeli guide was good and friendly. He read from certain passages from the Torah about King Solomon coming to this spring to get anointed as next King and at the very spot we were sitting. Next a group member read from the New Testament from John a passage about Jesus curing a blind man at this same spot. I thought this was a little strange but OK, how ecumenical. After a while we left them, because the guide didn't know about the bike race and all streets were closed so their bus could not get to the group. We just started walking up the hill from the spring back to the Old City in order to see the race. After we left the group Roberta gently informed me that one they were not from Sar- El the Israeli army volunteer group but from a tour company with the same name!!. And even more, despite many wearing kipas, they were in fact Messianic Jews, in other words still believers in Jesus as the messiah at the same time professing some belief and interest in Judaism. How wrong can I get at one time!
The excavation is going on at a rapid pace at the original site of digging but also across the street, where 5-10 homes were, is now down 40-50 feet revealing many structures, some with columns indicating very rich inner rooms. The part of this we didn't tour was the tunnel dug by King Hezakiah in 710 BCE (about 200-300 years after King David) to bring water from the Gidon spring into the city some 600 meters under ground This was in order to secure a water source during a battle that was eminent with the Assyrians. Incredibly the stonemasons working from 2 sides of the mountain met in the center by means not fathomable. We mentioned the plaque they dedicated on the occasion of their meeting. The original is in Istanbul but the Israel Museum has a copy. The Canaanite tunnel, which we did walk through, is now dry and 10 feet high by narrow only 2 feet wide most places. The other tunnel (Hezakiah's) has flowing water from the spring and one can walk in it with water up to your knees, but one needs a flashlight and good water shoes to do it. And next time we will do it!