2021: Here we come!

 After getting all our plans canceled for 2020 due to the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic, we're planning to try again in 2021. We've booked our flights and reserved a grundle of apartments. Here's our basic schedule.

• 18-Nov-2021 - Depart from Utah
• 19-Nov-2021 - Stay in Jerusalem for 9 nights
• 28-Nov-2021 - Stay in Tiberias for 5 nights
• 3-Dec-2021 - Stay in Jerusalem for 9 nights
• 12-Dec-2021 - Stay in Eilat for 5 nights
• 17-Dec-2021 - Stay in Jerusalem for 9 nights
• 26-Dec-2021 - Stay in Tel Aviv for 5 nights
• 31-Dec-2021 - Fly home to Utah

We'll be 2 grandmas, 2 parents, 2 high-schoolers, 2 junior-high-schoolers, and one elementary kid. 

Field Trip Reports: Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon
Highest Peak in Israel and Syria

• Long mountain with three peaks, all about 2800 m (9400 ft) high
• Made of Jurassic limestone
• Often snow covered, very lush
• Many varieties of trees and flowers are found on the slopes of Mount Hermon
• Springs and rivers from Hermon are the source of the Jordan River
• On the border between Syria, Lebanon, and Israel-occupied Syria
• Only ski resort in Israel
• Visible from most of the Galilee, and sometimes from as far south as Jericho
• Possibly the mountain upon which our Savior was transfigured (Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 16-17)
• Caesarea Phillippi is at the base of Mount Hermon
• Many ancient temples, shrines, and sanctuaries are found on Mount Hermon. One, called Qasr Antar, is the highest temple site of the ancient world. An inscription was found at this site states “According to the command of the greatest a(nd) Holy God, those who take an oath (proceed) from here."

Mount Hermon seen from Mt. Bental
Photo credit: Almog

Field Trip Report: Mt. Carmel

Mount. Carmel by Hebs

Mount. Carmel is a mountain range near the town Haifa. The mountain range stretches from the mediteranean sea downward.

• Plenty of smaller towns were built around the mountain
• Range including the city haifa. The range was used as an area were people mined, gathering rocks and minerals, but most important is the story of elijah, it goes a bit like this, elijah challenged  450 prophets who worshipped a fake God, the challenge was “if your god is more powerful your God will consume the bull” the god that did not consume the bull will be killed. The false God did not consume the sacrifice but elijah's  sacrifice, elijah asked for water so they could get the bull wet so when the true God consumed it the bull would still set on fire.
• Lightning shot down upon the bull and it set  on fire even though the bull was wet,
• Then the false prophets died… the end.

Mount Carmel at sunset, from the entrance of Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael
Photo credit: Chadner

Field Trip Reports: Hezekiah's Tunnel (aka the Siloam Tunnel)

Hezekiah’s Tunnel (also known as the Siloam Tunnel)

Jerusalem, as a desert city, depends on the water from a few springs in the area. Keeping that water available for the people of Jerusalem, and keeping the water away from any enemies trying to besiege the city, was an important consideration for the rulers of Jerusalem. 

One spring in particular, the Gihon Spring, is found in the Kidron Valley southeast of the Temple Mount. This valuable spring is constant enough to produce a large amount of water. As early as the Middle Bronze Age (1800 BC) until the time of Hezekiah (700 BC), channels and aqueducts and shafts were used to bring the water into the walled city.

During the reign of King Hezekiah (ca. 715 to 686), the kingdom of Judah was preparing for a siege brought by the armies of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. Hezekiah ordered walls to be built, the city fortified, and the waters of the Gihon Spring to be secured. This was done by constructing a tunnel though (mostly) solid limestone for a length of more than 1770 feet (533 meters) long. This engineering marvel was completed using two teams of men--one team starting at the spring (outside the city) and the other starting at the Pool of Siloam (within the city walls). Using hand tools, the two teams eventually met in the middle. 

With all these preparations, King Hezekiah sought the protection and guidance of the Lord. Through the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah was promised that the king of Assyria would “not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow…” (2 Kings 19:32). And just as the Lord promised, “the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians...they were all dead corpses” (2 Kings 19:35-36). The Greek historian Herodotus confirms that a plague destroyed the camp of the Assyrians while they were in siege before Jerusalem.

The Siloam Tunnel ends at the Pool of Siloam, which was built to hold the waters available for the people within the city walls. It was rebuilt many times, and is the pool associated with Jesus healing of the “man blind from birth” recounted in the gospel of John, chapter 9.

Cropped portion of a map of Jerusalem at the time of Christ
Photo credit: ConformingtoJesus.com

Entrance to Hezekiah's Tunnel
Photo credit: LandoftheBible.com

Artist's reconstruction of the Pool of Siloam at the time of Jesus
Photo credit: Yoav Dotham

Information for visiting: According to the Land of the Bible website, the water is very cold (63 degrees!), and it's advisable to bring a change of clothes in the cooler months (like when we'll be there). The water level rises from the ankles to the knees to the waist. It takes roughly 40-60 minutes to wade through the entire tunnel, and a flashlight is essential.

There is also the (dry) Canaanite Tunnel to the left of the main tunnel, which is a dry tunnel walk. Apparently, the Gihon Spring is the place where Solomon was anointed king of Israel, and you can stand on that very ground if you walk the Canaanite Tunnel path. You can also walk down the Herodian street (from the time of Christ) and see the piles of rubble from the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans. Hezekiah's Tunnel was the last hiding place of some of the fighters during this time.