Galilee Day 4

On our final day in the Galilee region we first went to a lookout on the Nazareth Ridge. From here we could see into the Jezreel Valley. To the southeast we had a really nice view of Mt. Tabor and then over the Hills of Moreh. We could also see behind them Mt. Gilboa. Between the Hills of Moreh and Mt. Gilboa lies the Herod Valley, we couldn't necessarily see into it, but we could tell where it was. On the other end we could make out, when the clouds moved, Megiddo and the Megiddo pass entering into the Jezreel Valley. This was a good place to see Megiddo since our next stop was Tell-Megiddo.

At Tell-Megiddo we entered through the Solomonic gates. This site has a few interesting features. For instance, there is a really large grain silo with two sets of stairs going down into it; one to go down and one to come out. There is also a complex water storage system with a tunnel going under part of the city. We got to walk through it, which was nice because there was a lot of rain and this was the only dry section. There is also a raised prayer circle on this site.

We discussed the story of Thutmose III's take over of Megiddo. He came up from Egypt and had to decide which of the three passes he would take to enter the Jezreel Valley. The northern most pass comes out near Jokneam, the middle pass comes out near Megiddo, and the southern most pass comes out near Taanach. The middle pass would be most convenient, but it is also the narrowest (which makes it dangerous to bring a whole army through). Therefore, the Canaanites thought Thutmose III would take either the Jokneam pass or the Taanach pass. He, however, surprised them and caught them of guard by taking the more dangerous Megiddo pass. He was able to take Megiddo because of this, and considered this victory to be equivalent to taking a thousand cities.

Our next stop was for lunch, and then we went to Mount Carmel. It was raining pretty hard, which made our view non-existent. We just stopped for a minute to run out and see fog and then run back onto the bus. Though, at least I can say I stood on Mount Carmel, even if only for a minute.

Here we discussed the story of Elijah going up against the prophets of Baal. As you may know, Elijah proved to these priests that there is only One True God that has power. They can pray as hard as they want and try to get the attention of Baal, but since he doesn't actually exist there will be no response. God, however, does answer His children when they call. God definitely demonstrated His power through this event.

Our final stop was at Caesarea maritime. We first stopped at the impressive aqueducts built by Herod. These stretch for a very long ways down the coast, bringing fresh water to Caesarea. Some people climbed on it and saw it from the top. We then visited the city of Caesarea. Here Herod built a theater, a large storage facility, and a pier. There was also a large horse track built in the city for chariot races. I do not believe there were very many of these in Israel, but of course Herod would have one. Herod in his extravagance even had a fresh water pool basically right on the Mediterranean Sea. Why swim in salt water if you can put a pool right next to the sea? Herod was always good at putting up an impressive image.

We ended our day a little earlier than normal, due to the drive back from the coast. I enjoyed our field study, but it was also nice to be heading back to campus. Four days is a long time to spend with that many people all cooped up on a bus. Though, I think we all are still looking forward to our last field study where we get to visit Jordan.

~Jennilee~

Galilee Day 3

Hippus, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, was our first stop of the day. This site is positioned east-west, which makes the main road the Decumanos, instead of the Cardo. Here we discussed Matthew 15, the Prodigal Son story. In Judaism there is the idea that one must come back to God through a mediator. The prophets have always been considered the mediators between man and God. One of the interesting aspects of Jesus' story is that there is no mediator between man and God. The Father always represents God, and the son is man. Here the son goes directly to the Father, and the Father runs to the son with forgiveness. Jesus is identified with the Father; therefore, He is identifying Himself as God and saying He is both God and the mediator.

Next, we took a boat ride onto the Sea of Galilee. We looked at different ways people used to fish. Ancient people were not used to interacting with water. Crossing the sea, even Galilee which is relatively small, was not something they did. Most people did not know how to swim, though fishermen probably knew enough to survive. Therefore, even four foot waves would have been terrifying to them. No wonder the Disciples were so afraid when the storm came and surrounded their boat.

From the Sea of Galilee we travelled to Chorazim. Here we viewed an Insula, which is a type of house that is bigger than the four room houses more common to Israelite architecture. The insula would house approximately three generations of a family. It was built so that when the oldest son married and brought back his wife a new room would be added to the house. This is what Jesus is referring to when He says my Father's house has many rooms.

At Chorazim we also looked at a synagogue. No one actually knows when the practice of using synagogues started. Synagogue is much different from the Temple. Synagogues are for the people, where as the Temple is for God. The Synagogue is used to study Torah, and teaching it to the next generation. This is why it would house a school in the building. Synagogues are also used all week long, for different things like school, feasts, and housing people in need. Early synagogues would have their main doors facing Jerusalem, so that the main source of light would come from Jerusalem in a sense.

We next went to an area traditionally known as the Mount of Beatitudes. Of course, no one can pin point exactly where Jesus was standing when he gave the Sermon of the Mount. But this general area would fit nicely both with Luke's flat place and Matthew's mountain (because it is sort of a flat place on a mountain). We also got to walk down the hill and see the small cave which is traditionally said to be where Jesus went for solitude. From here walked down to the Sea of Galilee. I was able to find a net weight, which is a stone with a hole drilled into it. I was excited.

Our next to last stop for day three was at Capernaum. This was Jesus' home base, after He left Nazareth. Jesus is putting Himself right in the middle of different cultures and people. This is a city right on the sea; the sea connects three different political areas and therefore connects a wide range of people. Matthew was also from this area. Capernaum is a great place for Jesus to launch His ministry due to its strategic location.

Our last stop was at the cliffs of Arbel. We got to climb down and around them. Some people went and looked into the caves located on the side of the cliffs. Though, I figured I had a good view from where I was. Climbing down and back up was challenging, but really fun.

~Jennilee~

Galilee Day 2

For our second day, we started at Tell-Hazor. Hazor is located at the southern end of the Huleh Basin. At this position Hasor guards international travel and trade. When Babylon was the major power, Hazor was the end of the trade to the west. When Egypt was the major power, Hazor was the end of the trade to the north. In both cases Hazor was the end destination to far reaching trade.

Hazor was a major city with an upper city section for the rich and elite community. This section was what Solomon fortified when he took power. There was also a lower city where the common people lived and worked. The lower city was quite large. In all, Hazor reached approximately 200 acres. After the Assyrians destroyed the city, however, it never again was prominent.

From Hazor we travelled to what I now consider my favorite part of Israel, Tell Dan. This beautiful site is also a nature preserve, I believe. What is nice about this area are all the trees (some with turning leaves) and abundant source of water. No wonder the tribe of Dan moved here, though of course they should have taken the land God gave them.

At tell-Dan we sat in front of the area that would have held the four horned alter. Jeroboam was the king who instituted alters both at Dan and Bethel, the northern and southern boundaries of his kingdom. Jeroboam is always connected with a great sin and leading Israel into sin. Later kings are said to have committed the sin of Jeroboam, so obviously it was very bad. The question is then, what exactly was the sin of Jeroboam? My professor suggests that the sin is him choosing his own good instead of what God has said to be good. Jeroboam has a lot of what looked like Judaism in his kingdom, yet it is fashioned in his own way. For example, he does not use Levites for priests, but priests of his own choosing. Jeroboam is veering the people to his own way of doing things, which they run with further and further away from God.

I can definitely identify with often believing that I know what would be good for me. However, God is the only One who is truly all knowing and good. Though, He never promises His way will be easier, but it will lead to life where as my sinful ways lead to death.

At another section of the Dan site we looked at the gate complex. In the inner gate is located a throne area, where either an idol would stand or the king sits to pass judgment. The gate area is also important because commerce takes place there, which means a lot of traffic passes through. The poor would come here to beg, hoping for generous passer bys.

From Tell-Dan we travelled to Caesarea Philippi. At this location the Ptolemais built a temple to Pan, the god often pictured as a dancing goat. This is the place where Jesus asked the disciples who they said He was. Peter makes the important declaration that Jesus is the Son of God, the hoped for Messiah. Here also Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to die. This of course is an outrageous idea to them, because their idea of the Messiah involved a military victory over the empire. However, Jesus shows them that God's ways are higher than our ways. God's leader is to be a servant, coming in humility and not looking like the world's idea of strength. God's good is more far reaching that just taking down the Roman Empire, but in taking down sin and death completely.

Our last stop on this day was at the Golan Heights. From this area we could look out over the Golan area and see the ancient volcanoes. We could also see the border between Israel and Jordan. That was at least until the cloud came upon the mountain and visibility was zero.

~Jennilee~

Galilee Day 1

Our first stop was to look out over the Rift Valley toward Adam. This city sits right in the middle of the Rift Valley. It was therefore used as a connector between the Cisjordan and Transjordan sections of Samaria. People could come down the Faria Valley to Adam and then travel north a little ways to the valley that leads to Penuel. Penuel was the Transjordan capital of the Northern Kingdom (along with Shechem on the Cisjordan side) in the time of Jeroboam.

From here we travelled to our first major stop at the tell of Beth Shean. There are two parts to this site because it was used both during the Old Testament and New Testament time periods. In the New Testament it was one of the Decapolis cities called Scythopolis. I spent most of my time walking around Scythopolis because the remains were spectacular.

The Cardo (or main north-south road through the city) has a walkway on ether side, which apparently at Scythopolis is covered in mosaics. From the top of tell-Beth Shean I was able to get some really nice photos of this road. Scythopolis also has a large theater and an impressive bath house. Scythopolis also boasts an innovative public toilet area. No longer will a simple hole in the ground do, but now a seat is available for your bathroom needs. This was definitely an advanced city for its time.

Our next stop was at Mount Gilboa. We were able to look over the Herod Valley to the Hills of Moreh. Also, we had a view of the southeast side of the Jezreel Valley. It was hazy, so our view was not as good as it could have been, but still impressive.

We also discussed Judges 6 about Gideon and his victory over the Midianites. Apparently, the Midianites were "hard-core Bedouins" who would attack cities to get food and supplies and then destroy everything else. So when we meet Gideon he is down in a wine press threshing his grain, as opposed to a threshing floor which would be out in the open. He was obviously hiding his produce from the Midianites. From this place of hiding God comes and tells Gideon that he is a valiant warrior who is going to gain the victory over the Midianites. Gideon basically says, "Who, me?", and as you may know God says "yes" and proves to Gideon and the Israelites that when God is fighting for you victory is inevitable.

Our last stop was at Zippori, which is the home town of Hannah the cousin of Mary and the mother of John the Baptist. There are some very beautiful mosaics still relatively intact found on this site. First, we went to a synagogue that had a basic history Israel and the temple laid out in the mosaic. The interesting part of this mosaic was the large zodiac calendar in the center. It even named the zodiac signs in Hebrew. This would either mean that the Jews were mixing pagan ideas in with their own, or that the zodiac calendar was just a way to show the months of the year without having further meaning to them. One cannot really know for sure either way. At this site is also a mosaic with what is known as the "Mona Lisa of Israel". It is a beautiful portrait of a woman in one small section of a larger mosaic. She has the Mona Lisa half smile, which gives her the name. I was able to get a nice picture of her as well.

From here we came to out rest at a hostel in En Gev, right on the Sea of Galilee. This was a really nice hostel with basically little apartment sized buildings that could house four or five people. Though, dinner was moved to 7:45pm (which is late for us), we still were able to settle in and do some needed television watching. Hooray for English channels!

~~~~Love you all and sorry for not posting in a long time~~~~

Jennilee

The Rainy Season

Depending on where you are in Israel, you can get anywhere from 1-28 inches of rain a year. Jerusalem sits around 24. The rain starts mid November and then doesn't stop all winter. Welcome to my new life. The rains have started early this year, and right now it is pouring outside. The rain is currently flooding the Hinnom and the bridge that goes along with it. Cars are still driving on it, which is crazy to me. While this is a good example of how a Wadi should work, I kind of feel bad for them. I took a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Welcome to my newer, damper life.

Finishing My Midterm.

Well I finally finished it. After a week of on and off work, I finally conquered the Palestinian Mid Term. I am so relieved. The class (Palestinian Politics and Society) is really interesting but I had no idea that the Midterm would ask so much of my brain. This is coming from a girl who didn't know the West Bank was even in Israel until two months ago, and now I should give the president fake advice? It was stretching but rewarding. If you have a half of an hour give it a read.

Claire's take on the Conflict

MY PACKAGE CAME!

HI EVERYONE! I need to write to tell you that it is finally here! For three weeks now I have been patiently waiting to recieve the darn thing, and my package finally made it. Granted, it was probably sitting in the post office and being used as a foot stool. So I grabbed Nicole and Kaitlyn who had some buisness and we set off to get the goods. I was so excited! It takes a 15 min. walk to get there and then you have to get in line. Well today the number machine was broken so we had to wait for longer. This was alright because I got to listen to a lot of Hebrew arguing and I didn't have to think about the translation of the question words! Hooray! So we finally got in and picked up my package and the girls picked theirs up and also sent something. Then I got to go home (i just called school home, sorry mom, its were I sleep) and open it! Pictured are some of the wonderful things that I got! I am so grateful to Mom, Gina, Grandpa, and Tim for the things in that Box, I love them all. I tried the tea, labeled the movies, and hung up our pumpkin on the door! I am truely blessed and I thank you!

A Food Review

Today some girls and I went out to this great vegetarian restaurant in the New City. See there are two short term groups here so the meal situation is a little crazy. So we decided to skip the overcrowding and get some delish veggie cuisine. AND IT WAS DELISH! The whole idea is quality vegetarian and vegan food. I had the organic split pea soup! Anna had the Cream of Butternut soup, and I tasted it, and it was just awesome. That was a well warranted run-on sentence. Did I mention the Americano I had that was wiped with soy milk? To die for. Best coffee I have tasted in Israel. Jennilee was excited to be able to eat everything on the menu. Our friend Leah came too and she was excited about all of the pasta option! Of course it was all whole wheat and made at the restaurant. I really liked its buffet kind of style. You could even watch the people peel the vegetables if you ate down stairs. So if you are ever in Jerusalem, try the Village Green on Jaffa St.! (Left: Laura and Leah enjoy their meal! )

Check out their Web Page!

Doing the Dead Sea Float!

I understand that the following is insanely long. Therefore I will give you the photo links first, and you can choose whether or not the reading suits you! Love you, Claire!

Negev Feild Study Day 1

Negev Feild Study Day 2 #1

Negev Feild Study Day 2 #2

Negev Field Study Day 2 #3

Negev Field Study Day 3 #1

Negev Field Study Day 3 #2

Biblical Negev Day #1
This weekend started similar to all the others with one exception. Well perhaps a few. The main change being that I decided that I didn’t have to shower at 5 in the morning because I would be getting sweaty all day. It was very liberating. I can’t remember everything about this first day because it seems like it was a month ago, but hopefully I will be able to give you a good enough version to satisfy all of my adoring fans. (Right) We started our day snaking our way down the Sorek, heading towards the Negev.

SATAF NATIONAL PARK
Our first stop of the day was a national park which receives many visitors that love to hike. I however have no physical endurance and had no idea that this would just be the tip of our hiking iceberg. We were there to see the lovely views and have yet another example of cenomanian limestone. We also learned that the trails that we were taking would have been the typical back roads in ancient times. For some reason I wrote the next page of my notes upside down, so I will take a moment to flip them again. Alright, so we hiked all the way down the side of this wadi to a building that we didn’t actually talk about, so I am assuming it was byzantine. On the way we passed a home build into to a cave like we talked about in class. I would barely call it a home, but more of a one room shelter. The people who lived here would have been part of a very small community who lived by shepherding and terracing the side of the wadi. It was a great example of everyday life. There was a small spring there that would have provided just enough to live on. Basically the good and simple life.

TEL BET SHEMESH
Our next stop was to Tel Bet Shemesh in the Sorek Valley. Again we were in cenomanian territory with tera rosa soil. It was here we discussed the story of Sampson. Dan was given the area of Lod but they didn’t want to fight the people living there for it so they moved up north to the Galilee. However a few danites did stay and tried to live where they were given. One of these families was Sampson’s. It was interesting to hear the story of Sampson in its setting; actually, all the stories are more interesting when you can see the setting. Some of the preaching you here all of a sudden can’t be true anymore. It is really… enlightening.

TEL AZEKAH
Yes we are still on day one and not done yet! We were excited about this stop because it meant lunch, but it ended up being crazy fun. One fun part was we finally drove into Eocein rock territory and left senonian in the chalk dust. (That is pretty funny but the joke takes some explanation, see senonian turns into chalk… ) Anyway, we climbed a short distance to the top of the tel and looked out over the Elah valley down the diagonal road. It was in this valley were David kicked the butt of a Philistine named Goliath. We pointed out where everyone was camped, and it was neat to envision it all. Then before lunch Cindy took us down into some caves and let us crawl around. I finally got to use my head lamp! The neatest part was when this seemingly cute bat went nuts and flew into Melissa. I screamed “It’s going to kill me!” I am such a girl. Lunch was the same old pita and tuna, but we loved it.

LACISH
Next we came to Lacish, the toaster of the Israelites. I still am having trouble figuring out who came up with this analogy, but it makes me laugh so I thought I would mention it. It was a pretty interesting site and huge! This city was well fortified and everyone wanted it, because it was the doorway into the Negev trade routes. There was a really neat Assyrian siege ramp stuck on the side of it. Supposedly they would make their Israelite slaves build it so the isrealites inside would be less likely to kill them. What a terrible job!

ROMAN MILE MARKERS
Sometime during the day Cindy stopped the bus to take a look at some Roman mile markers. They were large stones stood up straight and carved on explaining where the heck you were in the middle of nowhere. I am sure they were very useful. Actually it was pretty neat to see them, as they are pictured in all kinds of books.

Biblical Negev Day #2
THE SUPER BOWL
The youth hostel we stayed at sat on the edge of the largest maktesh in Israel. A maktesh is like a huge crater, or at least I think that is what it is. She took us out to the edge in the morning to see the sun shining on the rocks. It looked like a wide grand canyon. I could not believe how big and beautiful it was. I wish I had the words to describe it. I stood really close to the edge so Jennilee could get a picture and thought I was going to be sick as my knees started to wobble. I decided I would be better to admire it from a distance. Later I could atleast sit by the edge, and that was nice. It was wonderful to admire the beauty of God’s creation and just the vastness of it all. This is what the Israelites would have gone through coming up out of Egypt. Also it was all Jurassic rock, the oldest in Israel.

AVDAT
Avdat was one of my favorite cities thus far. It was in the middle of the Negev desert and was built by the mysterious nabatiens. These are the people who built petra and could cross the desert without dying. Their secrets went with them to the grave. Avdat was just amazing. The dry Negev only gets around an inch of water a year, but they still figured out how to grow things, and had the best pottery of the time period. The ruins where best we will see in Israel. I was excited that I climbed on top of a huge archway, even though we all got in trouble for walking on the walls later. In some ways I am becoming more adventurous, which is scary, but I kind of like it. I am learning to trust myself and my body. Thanks Avdat.

HIKE UP ONE OF WADI ZIN’S FINGERS
I would say that this hike was one of those moments in my life where God showed me that I am stronger than I ever thought I was. The hike started up this beautiful dramatic wadi that had a nice stream down the center. I remember looking down and up the side and seeing a small ladder near the top and thinking about why it was put there. I had no idea at the moment that we were planning on going up the side of this thing. Maybe I could have gone down it, but up? I barely got up the snake like steps carved into the stone. And that was half way. By this time I was hyperventilating and crying. I think I was crying because I felt so defeated. I just couldn’t breathe. I felt like the only one who couldn’t do this on the inside. Half way up was a plateform with a cave where I stopped for some breath and where the ladder was. Megan agreed to go behind me and help me the rest of the way. She really talked me through the whole way up. Despite my tears and climbed out the top of that Wadi! I think around this time I noticed the pain in my legs was not going to leave me for the whole trip. Anyway, Praise be to God I did it!

TEL BEER SHEVA
Beer Sheva is where Hebron and Beer Sheva wadis drain into the Basor Wadi which drains the entire Eastern Basin. Here we find Loess soil which is basically windblown sand that you can grow barley in. There are no remains at Beer Sheva until the Iron Age, which raises a question of where the patriarchs were. However, we need to remember that Abraham was probably living in a tent and not a stone building. Here was a saw a well that went down at least 25 meters, and they haven’t even reached the bottom yet! This could be the actual well that Abraham dug. We also saw yet another good example of the four room house and described what life was like here.

TEL ARAD
Our last official stop of the day was Tel Arad in the eastern basin looking at the hills east of the Transjordan and the hills of ancient Edom. The gate was oriented towards Moab to watch enemies, thus this location anchors the eastern basin. This location was stronger and more strategic than Beer Sheva. They collected water by a system of cisterns. The interesting part about this tel was the to-scale replica of the temple in Jerusalem. We talked a lot about why Solomon would have built something like this. What was interesting was the presence of an a female counterpart to God here. More proof that Solomon, although a wise and worthy king, was giving into the God’s of his wives. He was blending religions.

Biblical Negev Day #3
MASADA
Our last day to me seemed more vacation like. The climb up the roman siege ramp was another example of my new life as a mountain climber. It took me about 15 minutes to get up, but the boys in our group broke the old record of 3 minutes and did it in 2.2 minutes! As for me I just happy to get to the top of the thing. It was for sure a daunting task, but I definitely earned my “I climbed Masada” t-shirt. Herod the great built Masada as a fortress and winter month palace. He probably only stayed there two months out of the year. Later it was used by the Zealots to hide out from the Romans. In the end they ended up committing suicide to escape becoming slaves. I also got to see a one million gallon cistern, and ride a cable car to the bottom. I would have walked down the insane looking snake path, however I didn’t think my leg could take it. I was glad to be on the cable car.

THE DEAD SEA
We stopped at the Dead Sea for lunch for a short float. I say short because you can’t stay in for more than twenty minutes or you will want to rip off your skin. There is no sand really, just sharp rocks. I got about two feet in and my feet hurt so bad. Then Marcus told me just to sit down and float away, and it really worked! The water feels oily to touch. We tasted it, and it was the grossest thing I have ever put into my mouth. You are not supposed to put your head under because if it gets in your eyes you instantly cannot see. The easiest thing to do is float on your back. It is a really neat feeling. Now, the burn. The burning is not so bad at first and seems bearable. That is until five minutes pass, and you start to become uncomfortable any place you may have even the smallest cut. Then the burning of your nether regions begins. I mean it! After about 15 minutes you feel like you are going to die from the burning. It was funny to watch no one mention it but see it on everyone’s faces. For lunch we had a cookout with hotdogs and bags of chips!

THE SPRINGS OF ENGEDI
I really enjoyed the waterfalls at Engedi. You could hike up through the wadi and swim in them. We stopped and read some about them and then set off by ourselves for an hour. We had a blast! We saw Ibex, which are like skinny horned goats that crawl all over the rock walls. We also saw these cute little rodents that looked like big ginea pigs. We walked up to the second water fall and swam and laughed and took pictures. It was nice to get the salt water all cleaned off of me.

QUMRAN
Qumran is thought to be were the Eciens lived. This was an intense Jewish community that John the Baptist may have been a member of. We went and saw the famous Cave #4 where the largest collection of scrolls were found. We were told that the famous opening was actually not there, and that the original hole was on the top! The crazy thing was that the government would pay by the pieces of scrolls handed in, so the Bedouins would rip up the scrolls and hand them in for a bigger reward! When we heard this we all gasped! The government found out and then gave rewards based on the size of the scroll handed in. However now everything is in little pieces. After this we decided to climb a huge rock formation and end the day looking at the Dead Sea while the sun sank in the sky. This was particularly awesome because it was another thing I was scared of and did anything. All of my friends helped me and I made it up! The only casualty was my pants!

Coming Attractions!

Jennilee and I are BACK! We spent three amazing days in the Negev, and we can't wait to share it with you. Just give us some time to get ourselves together, and we will give you an amazing story!

Yom Kippur was like Halloween... BUT BETTER!

Yom Kippur was pretty darn cool. I wish would have gotten a picture of myself in my Jewish Outfit, but I forgot and cameras were not allowed by the Wall yesterday. So here is the funny story I have to share on why you shouldn't dress just like a Jew.

So I was so excited that I looked so convincing. I got waved right through security and walked down to the Wall with Nicole. I walked to the book shelf and picked up a prayer book. I then went and stood next to Nicole and waited for someone to clear a space in the wall. I read (something) out of the book because the text was pointed and swayed back and forth like a good Jew. Then it happened, this girl sitting in a chair in front of the wall who had probably been there all day turns around and says to me "Did they start the negilla yet?" Or at least thats what I think she said! I didn't no what to do, I was an imposter! I heard myself speak the word "no" in terror. She turned around and I looked to Nicole terrified and mouthed "Nicole I dont know" I put my prayer book to my face (which just made me look more Jewish) and laughed to myself. Had I just ruined her prayers for the day? I moved to a different section of the wall as to not risk standing next to her.

Other than that... It was an awesome prayer time, I read from the prayer time but took most of the time to pray for the salvation of Israel. But come to think of it, that is the first time a Jew has spoken to me in a non shopping/school setting since I have been here... It kinda felt... good.

Well I am off to Shabbat more later!

Catching up!

Alright so I have to apologize for not writing in sooner. It has been too long, but maybe it's because I have been laying low? I don't even know what to tell you really!

Today is Yom Kippur. And I am dressed like a Jewess for when we go to the wall later. A quick explanation of the holiday. The holiday starts with a 40 day period of forgiveness and prayer. After 30 days starts the new year. Rosh Hashanna starts the New year, and it is now that God writes in the book who is very righteous and who is evil. Those who are either good nor bad have TEN DAYS to get it straight with God. ONLY TEN. So there is a lot of prayer and fasting during this time. Yom Kippur is the day of Atonement when the Priest could go into the Holy of Holies. It is on this day God makes his final decision about which book he writes you into. So today it is so... quiet. I live in a city, and it is always noisy. Today there is not a car on the streets, from the roof you can here the prayers in the Synagogs. Children play in the streets careless of their saftey because of the lack of cars (today is the highest rate of accidents amoung children) Today we will go to the wall where all of the Jews will be wearing white (they usually wear black in mourning for the temple). It is supposedly something to see. Consequently, I dressed as a Jew today, white and all, and I love it. I am a big fan of the tights.

In other news, I am going to try and write more about every day and more often. I understand I dont need to write a novel every day.

This morning I say on the roof and read the Shama, Duet 4. in hebrew. It seemed fitting on the Holiday.

Love you, Claire