What are you suppose to do when your bored?

Florence, Italy

Christmas Carols

If you can't tell already...we miss the Christmas season. Here in Israel there is no Christmas; no lights, no Christmas trees, and no snow. That's ok though, we'll make our own Christmas!

Santa Claus Interviews

Who knew there was a Middle Eastern Santa Claus?

Fall in Italy

Italy was gorgeous during the fall season! We had the opportunity to travel all over experiencing Italy's beauty not only in art and archetexture but in nature! My absolute favorite was Lake Como close to Italy's northern border. We took a tram up to the village above Como to see the Alps including the Matterhorn in the distance!

Italy

Learning from the "rabbi"

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Natalie Turner
Life Cycle

Bar/Bat Mitzvah
1. What des Bar/Bat Mitzvah literally mean?
Bar Mitzvah literally means, son of the commandment and Bat Mitzvah means daughter of the commandment.
2. What is the significance of this practice?
Bar/Bat Mitzvah is the age in which a boy becomes a man (in a sense). This ceremony signifies when the child takes responsibility for his or her religious life (Kasdan).
3. What are some traditional and religious events that take place in a bar mitzvah ceremony?
After the boy has studied for several years leading up to his Bar Mitzvah, he will be ready to lead portions of a synagogue service. The ceremony includes the boy carrying the Torah Scroll “down the aisles of the synagogue,” the reciting of the Shm’a or other Hebrew scriptures including the weekly Torah portion not only in Hebrew but in song as well. Finally the child must present the “sermon.” Afterword, there is usually a big celebration (Kasdan).
4. Why is Bat Mitzvah not practiced in many Orthodox congregations?
In most Orthodox and Chasidic community’s girls at the age of 12 do not celebrate their coming of age like a Bar Mitzvah boy does. The ceremony a boy goes through is a religious observance and women are not permitted to practice the same way.
5. Where are these practices found in the Bible?
There is never any specific reference to a Bar Mitzvah in the Tanakh, however most religious Jews would agree that the Hebrew Scriptures refer to a point in a child’s life when a boy becomes responsible for his actions. Barney Kasdan author of, “God’s Appointed Customs” a Messianic Jew himself refers to the New Testament record of Yeshua debating with Rabbi’s in the Temple. He believes this to be significant as it relates to Yeshua and the observance of Bar Mitzvah.

Fun at the Park!

Galilee

Galilee Trip

We just got back from an 8 day field study trip to the Galilee. We had an amazing time.

Excavations Day 1

Experience the Bible

You can't fully understand the Bible until you go there, feel it, smell it, touch it, hear it and climb it!

Samaria: See Pictures Below

Natalie Turner
Land and Bible
Samaria
The ancient cities of Bet El and Ai were located on the Road of the Patriarchs. Ai which means “ruin” and Bet El which means “house of God” is where God met with Abram and later Jacob. Abram and Lot camped their until Lot split off from Abram and went to life in the Rift Valley to the east. God said to Abram, “Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you…” (Genesis 13: 14-15) Later Jacob comes to this same area and heaven opens up before him and he names the place Bet El (Genesis 28: 10-22) This location is also significant to the victory over Ai during the time of Joshua. Unlike almost all of the other cities that Israel conquered Ai was completely destroyed!
Shiloh is the city just north of Bethel and Ai before Shechem. This is the city where the Tabernacle was during the period of the judges. Hannah came to Shiloh and prayed for a son and after her son Samuel was taken to the Tabernacle to be redeemed as the firstborn son, Samuel remaind at Shiloh to serve the Lord (Judges 21). When the Ark of the Covenant had gone down to battle against the Philistines, a messenger returned to Shiloh by way of the valley west to Aphek. Eli sat near the gate leading to the Tabernacle and when he heard the news that the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, he fell off his chair and broke his neck. The vineyard of Shiloh is also where the Benjimites got wives from when the women had gone out singing and dancing!
Shechem lies beneath the shadow of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Today the Samaritans who live on Mount Gerizim still sacrifice the Passover lamb during their Pasach. They are a small group of people numbering about five hundred who have maintained a pure genealogical line from generations past. Today’s Shechem is a flourishing metropolitan city. Refugee camps were built after Israel had become a state for the Arab population. However, Israel has given the Palestinian control over these areas and there is no more need for these refugee camps. The Palestinian city has every means to absorb them in to their growing population, but uses the Refugee camps purely for Propaganda. Areas like this one is where we hear of Muslim suicide bombers, because life in the camps are so horrible that they feel and are even told that their reward from Allah would be great if they were to die and take as many people as they possibly could with them.
After the Israelites entered the promised land, God instructed his people to recite the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal. When Yeshua came to the area of Samaria, he met a Samaritan woman at the well (John 4: 1-32).

Samaria

Standing on Mt. Gerizim looking over to Mt. Ebal and looking down on Shechem.

The city of Ai and Bet El.

Weekly Torah Portion Deuteronomy 31

Natalie Turner
Jewish Thought and Practice
Vayelekh
ArtScroll Chumash and Rashi:
Deuteronomy commands the nation of Israel to read Torah before the people of Israel; its men women and children and also the strangers in the land (Deuteronomy 31: 10-30). It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children Torah. How do they do this? One way is by the words of the Sh’ma in Deuteronomy 6. Sh’ma is said twice a day because God says to talk about the commands when you get up and when you lay down (Deuteronomy 6:7). “In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded You?’ tell him the Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today” (Deuteronomy 6). During the Feast of Pasach, children are prompted to ask questions like, “Why do we eat unleavened bread on this night only while every other night we eat leavened bread?” This simple question allows the head of the household to explain to his child the story of the Exodus when God called his people out of the land of slavery. In the same way Gentiles (strangers) will see the practices of the Jewish People and ask questions regarding certain religious observances. And just like the head of the house hold explains who God is and what He did for His people, God’s people, the Jewish Nation should turn to the strangers in their land and explain to them the importance of Torah; who God is, who the Jew is because of what God did and the instructions God gave His people to be a “lasting ordinance for the generations to come.”

The Jewish Book of Why by Natalie Faye

Natalie Turner
Jewish Thought and Practice
The Second Jewish Book of Why
Why are some practices banned or discouraged in Jewish Law simply because they may give the wrong impression?
Most religious Jews will refrain from putting out Margerine (purely vegetable based) out at a meat meal even though this would in no way be braking Kosher laws. In the same way, a non-dairy creamer for coffee is often not put out on the table during a meat meal. The reason for this is not because it breaks Kosher rules and regulations, but it is done for the Gentiles sake so that he or she will not be confused.
Why are some non-Jews offended when Jews use the abbreviated form “Xmas” for “Christmas”?
The use of “Xmas” was first used as an abbreviation for the word “Christmas” in order to save writing space. Many Jewish people have continued to use “Xmas” instead of “Christmas” because Christmas contains the word Christ. The word Christ to a Jewish person is like nails on a chalk board. The words Christ, Christian, Church and Cross were symbols of the Crusaders who massacred Jews in Europe all in the name of Christ.
Why did Christians change the day on which the Sabbath is observed from Saturday to Sunday?
The answer is simple; Anti-Semitism. The church split off from its Jewish roots “asserting independence” during the persecution of the Jews in Europe. The Roman emperor Constantine made this change official replacing what God had commanded in Deuteronomy.
Why do some Jews place a hand on their heads before drinking or eating?
If a religious Jew cannot find his Kippah in time to say the blessings, he places his hand on his head to remember that he is below the Almight God. However, some Rabbi’s would not agree that the Yam (hand) can serve as a head covering because, “one part of the body cannot serve as a covering for another part.”

Negev Part 1

Negev Part 2

Negev Part 3

Trip to the Negev

This week we spent traveling the biblical and modern day Negev. We spent two of the nights in hostels and one night in a hotel. After visiting Beer Shevah and Arad, we traveled down to Gulf of Aquaba (Red Sea) and snorkeled at Elat. Wednesday we spent the day in the Timnah National Park hiking and touring a model of the Tabernacle. Early Friday morning we woke up and hiked Masada for a beautiful sunrise overlooking the Dead Sea and the Roman camps below. Our last stop for the trip was Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It was an amazing trip! We did so much!

Building a Sukkah for the Feast of Sukkot

Day in the City

Shepherding Sheep

Friday we went to the Biblical Gardens, where we learned how to shepherd sheep. It's not that easy, let me tell you. There are so many biblical pictures that come from a shepherd and his sheep.

Yom Kippur Street Race

Because there are no cars on the freeway during Yom Kippur, Bill, Isaiah and Kaelyn had a foot race down the middle of the highway.

Hebrew

We study a HEBREW book
Written by HEBREWS
We serve a HEBREW Lord
Who had HEBREW disciples
We desire to follow the first century church which was first predominitly HEBREW
And through Christ we are grafted into a HEBREW family.

It just makes sense to study the HEBREW language, culture, history, thought and practice.

Yom Kippur

Reading of the Sefer Torah

Durning our combine Jewish Thought and Practice class and Biblical Hebrew class, we had the opportunity to read from a Sefer Torah. Here I am using the Yad (hand) to read from the Torah (Deuteronomy). It's so neat to be able to have the ability to read or at least recognize the Scriptures (Tanakh) in the language it was written in.

The Mighty Brooke Where David Fought Goliath

Battle of Sexes

Girls ROck!

Dead Sea

Spa Day at the Dead Sea Includes:

Salt Scrub

Mud Bath

Oils and Minerals

Hope your all still watching.
The internet here has been down for the last couple of days, which means I can't post new pictures and video's on my blog.

This weekend is our first overnight trip.
We're going to Ein Gedi and will hike it Sunday morning.
But until then, Saturday afternoon is a relaxed day floating in the Dead Sea and camping out under the stars.

Shalom

Shephelah Trip

My Dorm Room

Nahal Parat Hike

Herod's Fortress near Bethlehem

The Herodian, one of Herod’s fortresses located just south east of Bethlehem is where Herod was buried. Herod is also known as the greatest builder of his time. Structures include the Temple Mount, the fortress at Masada, Caesarea, his palace in Jericho, and the Herodian in Bethlehem. During the end of Herod’s life, Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, right under the shadow of the Herodian. When Herod heard that the Jews had found a king born in Bethlehem, he ordered for all the boys two years old and younger to be killed. Herod’s entire life was spent in paranoia. Herod was said to have the power to move mountains (Herodian). Yeshua says to his disciples, “…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains” (Matthew 17:20) probably referring to the Herodian. But what is left of his reign today? Herod’s reign is over and all that is left to tell his story is in ruins, but Yeshua, King of the Jews still reign’s today!

Beit Lechem (Bethlehem)

Bethlehem which means “house of bread” is on the border between the wilderness and the hill country. By understanding the geographical region of Bethlehem we can understand the biblical accounts that occur in Bethlehem. David a shepherd boy tending his flocks near Bethlehem and the story of Ruth gleaning from the field of Boaz, all tie into the geographical location. When Yeshua is born in Bethlehem there are shepherds out in the fields (Luke 2:8). I also hold to the opinion that the time of year for the birth of Yeshua is around the time of Succot in the fall (late Sept. early Oct.), just after the last harvest according to the agricultural calendar. In Luke 2, angels of the Lord appear to the shepherds, proclaiming the birth of Messiah. The angels came to the lowest “class” of people. Westerners often portray shepherds as a group of middle aged men, but in Israel shepherds are more often than not young boys and girls. “The angels praised god saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests’”(Luke 2). The streets of Bethlehem today are probably not much different than the time of Yeshua, small and crowded because of the census that was issued of the entire Roman world (Luke 2).

Jerusalem Approaches

Natalie Turner
Benjamin Field Study
During the months after the wheat and barley harvest in Israel, farmers allow shepherds to bring their sheep and goats to graze in their fields. This time of year is right around the festival of Succot, in the months of September and early October. As we were traveling through the Valley of Aijalon up the Beth Horon Ridge Route, we met a boy named Joseph who had come all the way from Arad in the Negev (south) with his flock of sheep and goats. There are so many biblical truths that come from the image of a shepherd and his sheep. The Bible is deeply enriched if we understand who the shepherd is and how he keeps watch over his sheep. The first is from John 10: 27, it says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” I watched this biblical image unfold right before my eyes. The young shepherd boy, Joseph, called to his sheep, they heard his voice and began to move in his direction. I once heard it said, through one of my professors, that if I would have tried to call the sheep, just like the boy had, the sheep wouldn’t have even listened, because they know the difference between the voice of a stranger and the voice of their shepherd calling them. Shepherds are also professional “rock-throwers.” They direct their sheep by taking a stone and throwing it out in front of the flock, indicating to their sheep in what direction they want to move. Again I watched as the boy Joseph took a stone from the ground and threw it out in front of his sheep, herding them. 1 Samuel 16:11 reminds us of David a young shepherd boy received God’s calling, “…now the youngest (David) is tending the sheep.” Later, God used David’s skill of “rock-throwing” to defeat the Philistine giant, Goliath. “Reaching into his (David’s) bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine (Goliath) on the forehead, and he fell face down on the ground” (1 Samuel 17: 49). Just like David, God doesn’t ask us to do something that he hasn’t already prepared us for.

Sunset at Jericho

Benjamine Field Trip

Day in Jerusalem

The Temple Mount which is now controlled by Muslims, was the place of worship for Yaweh, God of the Israelites. Herod the Great is known for his reconstruction of the Temple Mount in 20 BCE. Today the Temple Mount can give us a rough estimate of the size of this construction during the days of Yeshua. Having never been on top of the Temple Mount before, I was amazed by its size. I was not expecting the mount itself to be that large of a distance from its northern side to its southern side as well as from the eastern wall to its western wall. Although the measurement of today’s Temple Mount does not measure up with Herod’s Temple Mount, it still provides us with a more realistic picture of its immense size. The Dome of the Rock is another story. We stood below the Golden Dome and looked up at its enormous size, only to realize that the temple built by Herod was significantly superior.
Mark 11: 12-18 records when Jesus clears the temple of its buyers and sellers. From my understanding, the buying and selling within the temple was not an uncommon thing. For the most part this market place would have been conducted in the area of the Royal Stoa. However, we know from other sources that this market place was moved out into the gentile court, for whatever reason. Gentiles were only aloud to worship in the Gentile court and here were all these distractions, people buying and selling, while they were trying to worship. Then enters Yeshua who says, “…My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations ‘(including the Gentiles) (Mark 11:17). How dare these chief priest and teachers of the law interfere with a Gentile worshiping God. As I stood on the Temple Mount, we were able to guess at where the Gentile court would have been. Although we weren’t allowed to enter the Dome of the Rock, it was neat to think how close we were standing to where God had dwelled, but now God dwells in us.
The Burnt House of Kathros and the remains of the home of a high priest, possibly the high priest who tried Yeshua, were interesting visits. These structures were very large and we could also see remnance of tiled mosaics on the floors that give us the idea, these people were very wealthy and most likely someone of importance. Most of these homes wouldn’t have looked much differently than our homes in America. The miniature model of the high priest home included a court yard which is significant when we relate it to the passage in Luke 22, “…seizing him, they led him away to the house of the high priest…and Peter stood in the middle of the courtyard…” Whether or not this is the exact home of the high priest that tried Yeshua, it gives us an idea of who and where this event was taking place. The Garden Tomb was also another interesting stop. Skull Hill in this case was definitely outside the city wall and probably in a place where travelers would have passed by when entering the city. The person being crucified would been at eye level with the people passing by, and most likely completely naked. Excavations have found a tomb not far from the site which by some is thought to be the tomb where Christ was buried. It dates to the first temple period. However, John 20 says, “…there was a newly hewn tomb which no one had ever been laid.’ The problem here is that if this tomb dates to the first temple period, then there is no way it would fit the description of Yeshua’s tomb. Our tour guide also points out that there is a place for the rolling stone. Again, this area extends further and appears to be a place for water. There was however the finding of a cistern and the remains of a wine press. If this was a garden, the cistern would have been used for watering, and since there is remains of a wine press, we can assume the garden was a ‘vineyard’. John 20, “And at the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden…” We cannot be sure of the exact location of Yeshua’s crucifixion and burial.

NT Jerusalem Walk

Walk through Old Testament Jerusalem

Hezekiah's Tunnel

2 Samuel 5:8 "On that day, David said, "Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft..."

So...this Pomogranite is 3 times the size as the last Pomogranite we counted? Were we wrong? Are the Rabbi's right?

The Wine Press

We spent the afternoon in the Biblical Gardens at Yad HaShmonah discussion the biblical picture of the vine and its branches. John 15:1-8

RABBI BUSTERS

RABBI BUSTERS

RABBI BUSTERS

Day in Jerusalem-Walking the Old City

Natalie Turner
Jerusalem (Introductory Walk of the Old City)
This morning we left for Jerusalem to walk through parts of the Old City, including the Christian, Jewish, Armenian, and Muslim Quarters. We first entered through Jaffa Gate (Sha’ar Yafo) from the west. We spent a short amount of time discussing the significance of a city gate. Many times throughout the Bible we see the gate being a place of meeting/judgment. Kings and leaders of the city would sit somewhere near the entrance of the gate to meet with the people in order to discuss their recent issues. Several examples from the Bible include Boaz, David, and Lot.
Just inside Jaffa gate, Herod built a large citadel to protect his city. Although the remains of the citadel from the time of Herod are mostly built over, you can still see the remains of the structure of Herod’s citadel. Herod had two citadels built to protect the city, one was the Antonia near the norther wall of the Old city and the other was David’s citadel just inside Jaffa Gate.
We walked through the Christian Quarter of the Old City which is narrow streets lined with mostly Arab shop keepers trying to sell you things. Walking down these streets is like walking through a movie set. There are so many people and so many things to buy! We made it to a shop keeper named Shabban who helped us exchange our money from American dollars to Israeli shekels.

Singing.

Today we spent the day in Jerusalem walking around the Old City. I almost feel comfortable walking/navigating through the city alone. We come to the Old city every shabbatt to shop and hang out. I look forward to spending more and more time getting familiar with the Old City of Jerusalem.

Jenna, Alyssa and I went for a walk around the villages surrounding Yad HaShmonah. On our way back we saw all these people trying to get into the premier of Big Brother (Israel). We asked if they would let us in and sure enough they gave us tickets! We couldn't understand a thing they were saying but it was lots of fun! We met some Israelies and they said we should voote for Iran a male model! So, we did!

This is my roommate Jenna and this is our very small room,

but amazingly we found room for all our stuff. And if you notice our fan! We are so excited about our fan because it works and it's hot!

The plane ride over to Israel was a little more than 15 hours...so we got a little bored and decided to make a video. Our total travel time for today was 24 hours from the California to Newark, NJ all the way to Tel Aviv. And now I have jet lag, which I hate. I'm about ready to die through class this afternoon, but now at 11 o'clock at night I can't seem to make myself fall asleep. Well, I better get to sleep because tomorrow is our first day in Jerusalem-city of peace. We are all so excited! Hope you enjoy the video, it was very well rehersed as you'll see.

Up in the trees...

all summer long

we took campers

through the high ropes course at Wildwood.

Cousin Jonas headed to market.

Lancester County-Amish Country

back home on the farm.

Sunday morning preaching service.

Friends & Family

Just a few more days until I fly out to Israel! I can hardly wait!