Learned my first Hebrew phrase (besides the well-known “Shalom”): Boker Tov (meaning “Good morning”)!

Well, I suppose for a majority of you, it’s good afternoon, isn’t it? Did you know that Israel is 7 hours ahead of my EST peeps? That still blows my mind!

Even as I write this, the sun having been set for several hours now, most of you haven’t left work for the day. Wild.

More learning happened today outside of the tour itinerary and it all started with our hotels.

On our door frame in the Island Suites hotel was this box. I wondered what it was, but Itai explained on the bus.

It’s called a mezuzah (“doorpost” in Hebrew), which is the Jewish interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:9.

The mezuzah at our current hotel is transparent, so we can see the klaf (parchment) inside each mezuzah. On that klaf is written specific verses (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21), in which consists the Jewish prayer called the Shema. Pretty neat, right?

Itai read from another Psalm and a devotion was given about Matthew 16, in which the disciples are faced with the question of “who do you say I am?”.

We all are faced with that same question, you know. Who we say Jesus is says a lot about our relationship with Him and what it is based off of.

Our first stop was Hazor, the largest Old Testament era site in Israel. There is a lot about Hazor that’s very similar to Megiddo (remember yesterday’s blog?), but something I found interesting is that Jeremiah gave a prophecy concerning Hazor.

In Jeremiah 49:28-33, specifically v.33, The Lord, through Jeremiah, condemns Hazor to being “a haunt of jackals” and “an everlasting waste”.

Here we are, thousands of years later, the ruins remain uninhabited and jackals are known to be dense in this area. Cool, right?

Similar to Megiddo, there is a water project to access springs down below.

I was a little nervous about the trek, anxious that another set of grated steps awaited me, but thankfully, there were none to be had.

An excellent tactic by the Israelis was incorporating manual labor into the tourism experience.

Challenge was accepted, of course. Imagine carrying a 15, 20, maybe more lb medicine ball, up 40 m of stairs, in the heat of the day. Yup, it was a huffin’, puffin’ blast.

A great example of ancient CrossFit, my friends!

Several of us “rocked” it. Heh.

Next stop: Dan!

These springs feed into the river Jordan (the Hebrew meaning of which is “Dan comes down”. Makes sense) and not only were they big, but they were rushing!

My Chacos have been a fantastic part of my daily garb (#sponme).

Whether walking dusty ruins or slippery rocks, these guys have been one of the best things I brought on the trip.

Dan was lush with greenery. One of those being figs!

These leaves were what Adam and Eve sewed together after The Fall!

Once we navigated over rock and stream, we came to some ruins from Dan.

Here is the remains of a temple, the large square in the middle being an altar. 1 Kings 12:25-31 gives some insight as to why such a large temple had been built.

Above the temple ruins were some trenches that had been built in more recent years, to protect Israeli soldiers during wartime.

Here was a gate that was similar to the gates referenced in 2 Samuel 19:8 and Ruth 4:1-2.

Here is where the judge would sit to hear the people out as they came to the gate.

Next up was Caesarea Philippi, the city of the goat-footed god, Pan. This is where, in Matthew 16:13-20, Peter proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God.

While this cavern was used for sacrifices, it was also referred to as “The Gate of Hades”. Looks foreboding enough, doesn’t it?

Here is a millstone that was used for grinding up grain. Remember Matthew 18:6, where Jesus talks about how it’d be better to have one of these around your neck and drowned versus causing another to sin?

Yeah, this is what He was talking about.

Here was a stone that had Matthew 16:8 engraved in different languages on it. When rolled in the sand, it left an imprint of the verse!

For lunch, we are at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. I had the Lebanese version of shawarma, which was tasty!

I don’t know which was better though: the food or the view!

Cherries are in season here and are often sold along the side of the road.

We stopped to grab some and I gave them a try.

Typically, I don’t like cherries, but these tasted like a mix between a grape and a peach. I had several!

We then took a tour of Olea Essence, an olive oil manufacturer! We tried samples of their different oils, along with their natural skincare products.

I have several cans heading to my apartment as we speak. Yum.

The owner shared with us how he started as a farmer and his vision for making a product that revitalizes the body with anti-oxidant power.

What was especially neat is that he knew Itai’s father, who was apparently the go-to guy on olive trees and producing olive oil. Small world!

Today’s travels included:

-Hazor

-Dan

-Caesarea Philippi

-Olea Essence