Dead to the World



Pic of the Post: Western Wall

Now, if I really wanted to throw out an excuse for not blogging the past two weeks, I would say that it was because of one particular reason. My dear MacBook Pro, which probably holds more information of my life in it than my brain does, had a heart attack of sorts and is at the moment---dead to me. Yes, I know, Mac lovers of the world unite, the pain that comes when the blinking folder of doom pops up when you press the power button must cause all of you to feel for me. But, after a little troobleshooting that involved swapping hard drives etc... we concluded that my hard drive cable had shorted out. I am now consigned to use a less capable yet still moderately effective alternative---the PC's in the computer lab. There are worse things in life. Well...maybe.

Anyway, I have tried to salvage some past photo's from my camera but the work required is too time consuming. So, I will have to just continue on as best I can with the lot that has been handed me.

Our last out of Jerusalem fieldtrip involved some gem places. For the first time this semester, the students were allowed to wear shorts, which turned out to be a literal lifesaver due to the 107+ degrees of scorching hot air that blasted us most of the day. But, what else is the Jordan Rift Valley known for? Not snow, that's for sure! But, we visited Qumran, home of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I mean--- if that's not cool, I don't know what is... Apparently they were happened upon by two boys throwing stones into nearby caves, and hearing a breaking sound, went to investigate. Who would have thought that it would be one of the most influencial archeological finds for hundreds of years?



Cave #4, on the left

Onward to Masada, one of the last cities to withstand the Roman invasion of 73AD. The city held 960 Jewish zealots who, upon realizing that the Romans were going to break through their defenses, chose death rather than slavery. The Romans broke through the gates and were greeted with the bodies of the citizens, each in their own house. Silva, the Roman commander was congratulated on his victory and he responds, "A victory? What have we won? We've won a rock in the middle of a wasteland, on the shores of a poisoned sea." Well, that's the way the movie portrays it. We all tried to stay concious amid the sweat and sun while still appreciating the site.

View of the siege ramp ascending to the mountain of Masada

Our next stop was a delightful little place called Ein Gedi. Here we found a series of five waterfalls along the dirt trail up a canyon. What a nice little refreshing thing that was. And with a beautiful view that just makes you want to tear up---and then you don't care because everyone will just think that you're sweating.



The fifth and most grand waterfall.

Ending the day, we drove to lowest place on earth---the Dead Sea. Ironically, because of the altitude and atmosphere, the danger of getting sunburned decreases despite the cruel heat. We had heard that due to the salt content of the Sea, one can float upon the surface of the water without much effort at all. This was soon found to be a reality as you wade into the water and slowly sit down, but oddly enough--- you don't sink. This made for some great photo ops with class textbooks etc...

Last but not least, we were able to go visit the Temple of Herod. And boy was it neat! Ok, maybe it was just a model at the Israel Museum, but it was a really cute model nonetheless...

Job Objective: Shepherd

Not technically a 'Jerusalem Pic' but I made an exception.

Neot Kedumim— A biblical landscape reserve. Where one's wildest dreams can come true.

How many students does it take to get a flock of sheep into a little circle? More than it normally should.

Some type of berry fruit thingy found in the scriptures.  That's the technical term.

Ground hyssop— a anti-bacterial, anti-capillary fragility, anti-inflamatory, etc... and can help with about 81 different medical conditions including cancer, bronchitis, insomnia, edema, colds, and the like.

Pita's in their wild habitat

A full-grown adult pita.

Yet another practical use for Hyssop — A delectable pita dip, just add olive oil.

Nothing like understanding Boaz's hospitality to Ruth by eating a little spot of parched corn.

The reason why large and in charge animals are used to plow— instead of humans.

Narrating the Ruth and Boaz story

An old olive press

This next portion was neat-o. A Jewish scribe from Yemen who transcribes the Torah for a living—by hand. The scroll is one of the oldest still in use from hundreds of years ago. Apparently, one fully written Torah by a calligrapher such as himself runs at about 40,000 dollars.

Ancient capitals from the Herodian Temple of around Jesus' day.  Said temple was destroyed in 70AD.

The gold, blue, red paint used anciently is still visible on the capitals. But, being out in the weather doesn't help too much if they're wanting to keep the paint there permanently.