Massada

After staying at a hostel in Ein Gedi, we woke up at the nice early hour of 4:45 to begin our ascent to the top of Massada. As we hiked up the side of the mountain, with everybody pretty tired and sweating, we watched as the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds. After the hike, which was about 30 to 40 minutes, we reached the top. It looked familiar because I had been there before, but I never remember the hike being as hard as it was. Guess I need to get in better shape. Either that or the slope got steeper while I was gone.

Once atop Massada, we spent SIX hours learning about the 967 Zealots who spent their days living in the small houses and buildings that we saw. On each building, there were lines drawn where the real structures had been discovered and where parts of the foundation had been restored. We saw a palace with some amazing mosaics on the floor and saw the ben knesset that even faced Jerusalem, as well as the mikvek that was of kosher specifications. Even though the Jews on Massada were surrounded by 25,000 Roman soldiers, they still managed to maintain a somewhat normal and Jewish lifestyle.

We had a debate about whether or not the Jews on Massada should have committed mass suicide. I argued that it was the right thing to do, mostly because the captured Jews might have to be slaves for the Romans and aid them in the conquest of other Jews. It was kind of intense, but I thought the discussion was interesting and I understand both sides of the discussion. Finally, we went down Massada. Most people decided to take the cable car down, but I decided to run. It took ten minutes tops, but really did a number on my legs again.

Second Time In Jerusalem

Woke up real early, on our way to Jerusalem once again. Nice. First place we went was this museum that had a scaled down model of Herod's Jerusalem and it was really detailed and pretty amazing. Herod was this really violent and paranoid ruler who killed his own family and strategically set up his whole kingdom so that his own people couldn't revolt against him. We saw relics from the temple and it was all pretty elaborate and amazing that such things were preserved so well.

We next went to the Southern wall in Jerusalem and we saw how the wall was built with rocks from different eras. We reenacted the siege of Jerusalem and my teacher carried me on his back like I was a dead soldier and ran with me and produced a really funny picture that's now on facebook.

We then went into the desert and meditated. I actually did a decent job and I kind of zoned out for the full ten minutes. It was such a beautiful location and the first time I've ever just tried to fully relax since we got here.

The next day we woke up at 3. Not fun. We loaded onto the bus and made the 45 hike up Masada. Once at the top, sweating and exhausted, we stayed up there... for six hours. Kind of a long time. We saw mosaics and ancient architecture, and tried our best to get into the mindframes of the hundreds of people on Masada who had to take their lives. I personally understood the sacrifice and agreed with the decision for mass suicide because the people wanted to resist slavery and maintain honor.

After our six hour study session, and a lot of sitting on the ground in the hot sun, I just felt like running. So I ran all the way down in ten minutes flat. My quads still haven't forgiven me.

Jerusalem

Today and yesterday were our trips to Jerusalem. We woke up at 5:45 am, had a quick breakfast, then were off to the bus for a ride. After a failed attempt at napping, I awoke to see that we had arrived at our first destination, Mount Gilboa. We started at the top, taking a little time to go over the history of Saul and Samuel while we overlooked the climb that we would soon be taking. While our teacher spoke of the judges and their failed attempts to hold leadership, I looked over the land in front of us and couldn't help but be amazed that a ruler in ancient times could even control such a spread of terrain and people.

Our climb down was a little more intense than I would have guessed. The steep mountain face, which we had been told was battled on, seemed intimidating by itself, let alone when soldiers from enemy lines are trying to kill you. One kid tripped and took a little tumble and got a bunch of thorns all over him. That was a bummer. We learned in class about how having height advantage in battle is crucial for victory, and looking up from the bottom of the mountain after we had finished certainly confirmed this idea. Looking up the huge mountain face, I wondered how anybody could conquer and defeat a people, given such a danger and a disadvantage.

We then went to a natural spring pool, with the cleanest water I've seen in Israel. Hung out there for a little, had some good ice cream, got back on the bus, then went to Jerusalem. We stayed at a hostel over night that was actually really nice. I was expecting the worst.

Next day we woke up bright and early and went on another little hike. We saw the recreation of ancient irrigation systems, with steps on the side of a mountain face that allowed water to flow from the top to the bottom, giving water to all crops that needed it. We also went into a little cave and our teacher had everybody turn off the lights, and not counting the glow in the dark bracelet that somebody had, we were in almost complete darkness for a few minutes. I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my face, and I couldn't help but imagine what it must have been like to live long ago when electricity was nonexistant and candles were the only artificial source of light. We then went to the remains of the temple and saw the place where Solomon was crowned king of Israel. We mapped out what the City of David was like and how the Canaanites were in such close proximity. Seeing the remains of the city, even though excavated and old, seemed so crazy to me. You really only think about ancient events happening in textbooks, but standing next to a spot where you know something amazing and historical happened can't really be put into words.

We spent the rest of the day shopping and hanging out on Ben Yehuda street, then we took a bus ride home and rested after our long two days.

Gezer

First couple days have been busy. The room is small, four people in a space the size of my room at home. The kids are great and we have great staff. The campus is nice with lots of trees, birds, and cats. The food is sub-par, but there's a little restaurant on campus with pita and humus for nineteen shekels. Good stuff

Our first trip today was to Gezer. It's the remains of an excavation thats a couple decades old. There's a bunch of ancient ruins from the Solomon era. It was incredibly hot and we all had to sit in the sun and reenact a human sacrifice, which actually turned out to be kind of funny and not morbid. We saw a couple huge idols that people worshipped. We also saw the ancient gates that were used to defend the town, and I was amazed at the type of battle strategy that must have been used at the time. I imagined people living in these towns, with no communication to anybody else except for messengers sent back and forth.

Today was Yom Hazekaron, which is the day that Israel mourns its fallen soldiers. We went to the center of Hod Hasharon and saw a presentation. Even our instructor Tomer admitted that it was kind of a rambling and disorganized ceremony, not to mention that it was all in Hebrew, but nonetheless interesting and emotional. The cool part was when everyone stood silent while sirens rang out through the town. Israelies, who I've noticed are pretty loud and talkative, managed to be completely silent for about two minutes. It was a touching experience, and a very sad one.