Tiyul to Ir David in Jerusalem

by Joanna Ray,     11^th grade,        Silver Springs, MD

entrance to Ir David - City of David archaeological site, with ancient Hebrew writing

We woke up and got ready for another tiyul, with hats and water and all the things we would need for our Jewish History class, and we were ready. We climb onto the bus and eventually arrive in Jerusalem. We walk on sidewalks and down many stairs, all still a bit sleepy but excited to be out in Jerusalem. While walking we have so many beautiful buildings to look at, but we don’t stop, we keep walking until we all arrive together to a small courtyard. Here we split into the two Jewish History classes. We learn about David HaMelech, (King David) and Ir David (the City of David), the place where we sat at that very moment. We went to different areas to get different views of the area that surrounded us, knowing how different it looks now to how it looked back in the time of King David 3000 years ago, but also knowing that it was still the exact same place.

            In Jewish History class we have learned about more than just King David’s reign of the Israelite Kingdom from ~1000-960 BCE. There was also two other famous rulers, King Saul and King Solomon. All three kings had many great accomplishments during their respective reigns, as well as all making a few mistakes too.

view of "Area G" at Ir David, excavated houses in Jerusalem from the time of King David

King Saul’s Accomplishments:

King Saul was the first king of the Israelites and so his biggest accomplishment was being the first king to rule over and unite all of the tribes. At first he brought stability and peace throughout the tribes, which is what they needed desperately after years of war and chaos depicted in the Biblical Book of Judges. King Saul also builds a strong military and economy.

King Saul’s Failures:

King Saul was a pretty good king up until he made some very bad choices, which were his biggest failures as king. He disobeys God when God instructs him to wipe out all of the evil nation of Amalek, leave nobody alive and keep none of their belongings and property, just simply wipe them out. King Saul doesn’t kill Agog, King of Amalek, and he also takes war booty and plunders property. Then, after doing all of this, King Saul does not do any tshuva and repent for these sins. Then, as if it couldn’t get worse, he has a statue of himself build and then runs away. These are all big failures as a leader for King Saul.

King David’s Accomplishments:

King David was the second Israelite king, following the reign of King Saul. King David had many accomplishments. He was a poet, a scholar, a musician, warrior, and the people loved him. He unites all of the tribes and establishes the capital in Jerusalem. King David was also a great general and won a lot of wars.

King David’s Failures:

The main failure of King David that is extremely notable is that of the affair with Bathsheba. By impregnating a woman, having her husband Uriah deliberately killed in war, and taking her as his own wife, he made God very angry with him. This behavior certainly did not live up to God’s expectations of him.

King Solomon’s Accomplishments:

King Solomon is the son of King David and he becomes king after David. Solomon's reign is the height of Israelite power, sort of a "Pax Israela" period. Everything about this period of time is an accomplishment for King Solomon because this means he is doing something right. It is a time of prosperity, success, and stability. It was also the greatest extent of territory controlled by the ancient Israelites. King Solomon is also responsible for having The First Temple built, and The Temple (Beit HaMikdash) is the most important institution in Jewish History.

King Solomon’s Failures:

As all kings did, King Solomon also had many failures too. Although The Temple is the most important institution in Jewish History, the way in which it was built was definitely not good. King Solomon used slave labor to build it, and not just any slaves, but the slaves were the Israelites he ruled over! In addition to using the Israelites for slave labor, King Solomon also had many failures because he didn’t follow the rules of what a king could and could not do as king of the Israelites. He had 1000 wives, and not just any wives, but foreign wives, which was not allowed. He amassed excessive wealth and horses, but the biggest sin he committed was the worship of foreign gods. Yes, King Solomon did avodah zarah!!

Choosing the Capital

King David chose Jerusalem for his capital for many reasons. First of all, it had the 4 Ds that any civilization needs: Drink, Defense, Dinner, and Dollar. In addition to the 4 Ds always needed, it had 2 more: DC and Divinity. That means it was a very central location between all of the tribes (like D.C.), and a good location. It was also the location where many holy things were said to have happened, such as the binding of Isaac, the midrash of the two righteous brothers who give grain to each other, and Adam making the first sacrifice to God. Jerusalem was also neutral territory, meaning it was not previously inhabited by any of the Israelite tribes. In fact, before taking over Jerusalem it was inhabited by the Jebusites. It had so many good things going for it; you can see why King David would choose Jerusalem for his capital.

"Warren's Shaft" at Ir David leading down to the ancient water system and Hezekiah's tunnel

Archaeological Findings

We got to learn about and experience firsthand the archaeological findings at Ir David, especially Hezekiah's famous water tunnel that we walked through. It was significant because it was built to protect the water source from invasions and enemies during battle in 701 BCE. We also learned about a sign that was discovered and moved to a museum in Istanbul. The sign was significant because it was marking the spot where the two teams digging the ancient tunnel met in the middle when the it was being made, since they had began digging from two different sides and met in the middle.

the end of Hezekiah's water tunnel at Ir David

Being able to see these sites and learn about the stories in the Tanach in the very places they are said to happen, to learn about King David and the City of David in the City of David itself was so fascinating. It gives you a different perspective on the lesson and on the Tanach in general. If you learn in a classroom or in America about something that happened so long ago and in a place that is so far away from you, it doesn’t hold as much meaning as being able to see the space you are learning about while doing the lesson.

Walking through a water tunnel that is 2700 years old is an experience I can say is completely new to me, and it was amazing. Walking in the dark with cold water up to my knees, guiding myself forward by running my hands along the damp, cold walls of the carved out rock we were walking through was immensely powerful. Thinking that 2700 years ago, people dug that tunnel out by hand is absolutely amazing to me. The fact that the tunnel is still there and that we could go walking through it to this day is such a special thing. I will never forget the City of David and my trek through the ancient water tunnel.

Sataf: Judges, Caves, and Dates

By Talia Raider-Roth,      11^th grade,           Ohio

In the morning, we all started our journey bleary eyed but excited. As our muscles began waking up, we gathered behind the chader ochel as one of our Jewish history teachers Evan began to speak. He spoke as Moses shouting “Follow me Jews! I will lead you to the promised land!” We laughed and began to walk as he led us out of the kibbutz.

As our muscles began to wake up we were greeted by the scenery of many olive trees and greenery. We walked further out of Kibbutz Tzuba and saw a clear blue sky and mountains covered by bushes. We soon saw cacti blooming with prickly fruit and the vineyard of the kibbutz.

We continued to walk and soon we felt the oncoming heat of the day. We reached a water break and both our class and Evan’s class sat down together. We learned that we were sitting on top of a mountain that the ancient Israelites had lived on. They had to live on top of this mountain because the Philistines, who the Israelites had much tension with, had technology, such as chariots, that were more advanced than the technology of the Israelis at the time (~1200 BCE). To counteract the Philistine’s innovative chariots, the Israelites stationed themselves on top of the hills which the chariots could not go up.

As we split into our separate classes our teacher Josh told us about many other problems that the Israelites had to solve when creating a nation in Eretz Yisrael. They needed a government, a leader who could help unite the Israelites, and a document/Brit to follow. The 613 commandments given to Moses at Sinai became the Brit they followed. Joshua was chosen by God to lead after the death of Moses. He was a good leader who was also the military general who fought side by side with the other Israelites. Aside from Joshua, eventually judges (shoftim שופטים) were appointed by God as temporary leaders.

One of the main problems that they faced, however, was Avoda Zara, the worshipping of foreign gods (a.k.a. idolatry).  Farming was necessary to create a working society because they could not trade with the Philistines, but rain was an infrequent occurrence that was never-the-less necessary to grow food. Other nations/religions prayed to their gods for rain. If it did not come, they sacrificed their children. God told the Israelites that child sacrifice was not allowed and they were to abstain from it. This left the question as to how the Israelites could get enough rain for their crops. The necessity for rain created a new type of farming: terrace farming. Terrace farming is composed of multiple layers of dirt in a step-like formation. This meant that when it rained or, more frequently, when the snow from the mountains melted, the water would trickle down to all the different levels and all the different crops could be watered without resorting to Avoda Zara!

After a half hour break, in which we re-enacted the Israelites breaking down the walls of the city Jericho, we walked towards the cave that we soon began to walk into. There was a small stream down the middle and as we climbed over slick rocks, the cave got steadily darker. At the very end, Josh helped us up a four foot rock until we were all inside the back of the cave. In the back there was a slightly bigger stream of water and four walls of gorgeous rock. We then turned off all of our flashlights and were surrounded by darkness and the arms of our friends. We sang Hinei Matov and as all our voices joined together in the black of the cave, an atmosphere of community and warmth surrounded us. It was one of the most beautiful NFTY song sessions that I have ever been a part of.

After we clambered out of the cave, grins on our faces, we said good luck to Evan’s class who was going in after us, then walked over to a shady area and sat down. After we were given dates, תמרים tamarim in Hebrew, we broke into groups of four different judges that had been assigned in class: Devorah, Gideon, Yiftach, and Samson.

We acted out the different stories of each one according to the chapters we read in the Book of Judges in the Tanakh. Josh then explained to us that the stories of the Judges is actually a downward spiral. Deborah was just and brave, Gideon was a strong warrior who followed the word of God, Yiftach was a good warrior as well, but sacrificed his daughter, and Samson was strong but had no other redeeming qualities. The Judges cycle is described in all four stories in five steps:

1. The Israelites do Avoda Zara (idols)  2. God sends other people to take control of Israel
3. Israelites cry out for help
4. God appoints a judge and the judge leads the Israelites in battle
5. The Israelites return to God and are restored to power in Israel

After finishing our conversations we started to finish our walk. We walked down what felt like hundreds of steps until we finally saw the bus in view. Sweaty, tired, and happy we climbed onto the bus and set off for Tzuba. This trip taught us a lot. It taught us about how important water and agriculture is when setting up a new society. It taught us about the struggles of our ancestors and the many wars they fought. It was a long, fun, and rewarding trip that I will remember for many years to come.

First Tiyul:  Tel Gezer

by Dani Pattiz,     12^th grade,      California

Kitat Yarden entering the ancient water system at Tel Gezer

We spent our first Jewish history tiyul of the semester at an initially unimpressive archaeological treasure trove known as Tel Gezer.  Driving through the countryside to Gezer, it seemed to me like an impossible feat for historians and archaeologists to randomly discover Tel Gezer.  After walking to the top of Gezer, however, the historical importance of the site became clear.  The tel - an artificial hill composed of generations of civilizations piled atop one another - is home to architecture, language, and, most importantly, ancient culture.

walking up the ascent to a look out point on Tel Gezer

            Over the millenia, 27 different societies have called Tel Gezer home.  Because of its central location on a major highway, Gezer was alternately conquered by the Egyptians and the Mesopotamian civilizations.  As a result of the revolving door of conquerors, societies came and went much more quickly than in other regions.  Among the first civilizations to make their home at Tel Gezer was the Canaanite people in circa 2000 BCE. A technologically, linguistically, and otherwise advanced people, the Canaanites are remembered for a number of things - not least their pagan traditions.  The Canaanites based much of their society on agriculture, but living in a dry area meant that they often did not get the rain that they needed to grow.  In times of drought, they prayed to their god Baal for rain, and offered him sacrifices to ensure his goodwill . . . human sacrifices!

students in Kitat Yarden stretched out across the Canaanite defense wall at Tel Gezer

            As they wandered through the surrounding area, the founders of the Jewish people Abram and Sarai encountered the Canaanite people.  As righteous people and followers of the God of Israel known in Hebrew as יהוה, they knew of the sins of the Canaanite people and did as the commanded in the Tanakh: they walked through the Canaanite city, refusing to settle there, despite the luxuries of advanced society.  In true biblical fashion, Abram and Sarai (later re-named Abraham and Sarah) were not tempted by the easiest path, but stayed true to the commandments of their God.  So the story goes.  However, those with a modernist viewpoint on biblical events question this narrative.  After all, the Canaanite city allowed its citizens a plush existence, and Abram and Sarai’s life as nomadic shepherds certainly left some comfort to be desired.  Even more importantly, the land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) is repeatedly referred to in the Tanakh as “the land of Canaan.”  Is it possible that these righteous ancestors succumbed to the temptation of life among pagans and murderers?  

Alex and Joanna enjoying our first tiyul to Tel Gezer

Regardless, the ancient Hebrews at some point settled in Gezer (whether alongside the Canaanites or long after them). Archaeologists have discovered artifacts left by both the Canaanites and the Hebrews, and have commented on their differences.  While the Canaanites left a sacrificial altar with the bones of murdered children, the Hebrews left an ancient calendar.  The calendar is written in a whimsical rhyming pattern, indicating that it was created with the express intent of helping educate children and teach them the months of the year.  

replica on display at Tel Gezer of an ancient Hebrew calendar that was discovered

Of course, education has always been an unalienable value of the Jewish people.  If Abraham and Sarah did indeed simply walk past the Canaanite city, the contrasting artifacts and the tales that they tell paint a wonderful, moral picture of the ancestors of the Jewish people.  The truth, however, is often much more complicated, and it is entirely possible that they lived among those who both sacrificed and cherished their children.  On Tel Gezer, that ancient treasure trove of historical discovery, two (or possibly one) societies with totally polar traditions are separated by nothing more than a biblical story of questionable reliability and a few layers of dirt and stone.