I am finally doing this right by listening to Jon Foreman while I am typing. Just so you all know he may be the best musician to just chill to. Now on to the main act!
I spent my weekend in the South of Israel not France, but here's an aside when Herod the Great's sons failed to serve Rome as well as their father they were sent to Gaul which included most of present day France. The first day we ended at Ashkelon which is on the coast of the Mediterranean and from there we watched the sunset. It was so cool to see the sun disappear on the horizon among the crusader ruins and recent excavations. In Ashkelon there is an ancient arched gate that has been partially reconstructed, and before the discovery of another arched gate in Dan (Northern Israeli town) this gate was the oldest known arched structure.
On our second day we went to both Beer-Sheba and Arad. Beer Sheba is found in Abraham and Isaac's journeys. It is here at Beer-Sheba that both patriarchs made a treaty with the king of Gerar (west of Beer-Sheba). Beer-Sheba can be translated in to "well of the oath" which is fitting when you consider what happened here so long ago. Beer-Sheba and Arad are significant in that at both there was a horned altar found on site. Now this would not have been a big deal if these altars were not contemporaries to the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. It is possible that these altars indicate some sort of unorthodox Jewish cult. The altar in Beer-Sheba was found in pieces that were later used to build other structures, we know that these pieces were used for altar because of the preciseness of their cut. At Arad we not only have a torn up altar but the foundations of a temple structure. Within this temple there were two standing stones inside its holy of holies. These two standing stones most likely represented two deities. Both Arad and Beer-Sheba would have faced the reforms of Hezekiah if these theories of unorthodox cults is true. I tell you this story not to tarnish the Jewish tradition, but to illustrate that even then people would interpret and stray just as easily as we do today. For a biblical reference go to Amos 5 which was written a decade or so before Hezekiah's reforms. We ended our second day at the "Superbowl" which is the biggest erosion crater on the planet. It was quite the view and we even saw a herd of Ibex (not sure if herd is the correct word for this species).
Our third and final day began at Masada. It is really out in the middle of the wilderness and only offers near absolute security. There is only about an inch of rain that falls in the area and most of the garrison's responsibility would have been collecting water for the million gallon cistern (no exageration that cistern was huge!). In my mind Masada was built for the idea of having a vault for a fortress and it really did not serve any practical purpose. I was probably one of the most expensive constructions Herod approved of, because of its scale and remoteness. Most know Masada, because of the Josephus account of all the Jews being besieged there by the Romans. Josephus tells the story of all the Jewish martyrs who killed their families and themselves before the Romans could capture them. All I will say is Josephus was not there and the evidence points to a different scenario. It was an experience just hiking up to the fortress and looking down (there are still remains of the Roman camps, earthen ramp, and siege enclosure wall which made me geek out a bit). Masada was an awesome sight, but the stories surrounding it are tragic.
Having read about most of this history before I came to the land, I am finding that I enjoy the sites and what they have to offer, but they are not my top experiences.
Yesterday I went to the Coptic school for another round of PE classes with the 8th and 5th graders. I brought an American Football with me this time, and while some looked at it with disdain they all enjoyed it in their own rite I think. Some wanted to make it a dodge ball, others a kickball, and a few actually wanted to learn to throw it correctly. It was such a blast to actually contribute to their knowledge (even though American Football is not exactly a priority for anyone). There is so much I can say about the school, but to do it justice I am going to wait to reflect fully on it and then you will get pictures. For now enjoy the pictures of the sites I upload, random stories I tell, and never forget your own stories. You don't have to be in a foreign country to contribute to your own and others' stories.
Blessings!
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