Jacob's Dream...

3/2/11

We visited the Taybeh Beer microbrewery in the Palestinian town of Taybeh. 

Two Christian Palestinian brothers started the microbrewery after they returned to Taybeh from Massachusetts during some of the more hopeful moments of history, during the Oslo Peace Process in the mid 1990s. They moved back and started the brewery as a source of economic development for Palestinians. 

The brewery provides jobs and stimulus for the local economy. They have a vision of expanding their business through export to Europe and the US. But unfortunately, right now they are unable to do so because Palestine is not recognized as a state and thus, our countries will not allow its import. The family refuses to give up hope in a Palestinian (state) homeland, so they are not willing to print “Made in Israel” on their labels. 

So, for now, they’ve set up a licensing agreement for a brewery in Germany to brew and sell Taybeh beer. There, they have won numerous awards.

First Century House

The Catholic Church in the town of Taybeh is home to the “House of Parables,” a style of home that was common in Galilee and Bethlehem in the 1^st Century. 

Although far from Bethlehem, it gave me (Andy) a striking mental image of the kind of place where Jesus might have been born, as well as the kind of place Jesus might have gathered with his twelve disciples in Jerusalem just before his arrest, trial and death.

Because modern images pervade our Christmas traditions, in my mind, I always imagined a large barn filled with hay and a bunch of animals and a manger in the middle. And in my mind the “Inn” (where there was no room for them) was a large building with many rooms for rent, sort of like a Motel 6. But the Greek word kataluma is probably better translated as “guest room” than “inn.” And after a closer look at scripture and at this first century home, it’s likely that the kataluma was located in the very same building as the manger and resting place for animals.

The 1^st Century-style home that’s at the church grounds in Taybeh is laid out like this:

As you enter you are on the ground floor, or basement level: this is the level for passage of animals into and out of the house.

There are steps down a ½ level to the basement (dug-out cave) area where some of the animals might congregate to feed, containing a manger, and possibly where they might sleep at night. 

Many homes in the area back then (and even now) are essentially an underground dug-out cave, carved out of the limestone as a main floor or basement/lower level.

If, on the other hand, upon entry, you were to walk up a few stairs, you would be in a central large loft area. 

This is the main room in the house where the cooking happens, 

...where the grains are stored,

and where guests and possibly children might sleep. 

This is the kataluma, or “guest room,” or “upper room.”

Then a second loft in the rear of the house is the “master” bedroom where the householder’s principal adults might sleep.

When Mary and Joseph arrived to Bethlehem, rather than staying in a hotel-type “inn” for strangers, it’s more likely that since Joseph was from there, they would have stayed with family. And, since there was no room for them in the main, central guest sleeping area (i.e. kataluma), it’s likely they were offered the space down below, in the basement area, with the animals. 

In either situation, it’s not very comfortable or hospitable, and the story evokes a sense of humility and common-ness rather than the grandeur and regality you might expect at the birth of the King of Kings.

Peace Candles

A project of the Catholic parish in Taybeh, this cooperative endeavor gives work to local Palestinian Christians, most of whom are unable to find other work. 

Allison and I bought one of their peace lamps for each of our churches.

Mount Gerizim, Nablus, West Bank

This mountain and ruined temple near the city of Nablus in the West Bank is the center of Samaritan religious life; the equivalent of the Jewish Temple Mount in the closely related Samaritan religion. Samaritans celebrate the Passover every year at Mt. Gerizim.

Just as a refresher: whereas Jews remember their exile into Babylon in the 6^th Century BC, Samaritans remained behind in these lands. Samaritans see themselves as the true keepers of the laws of Yahweh.

Whereas classic Hebrew texts claim the Temple Mount as the place where Isaac was nearly sacrificed by Abraham and where God commanded the building of the Temple, Samaritans recognize Mount Gerizim as that place and claim this is the place God chose for God’s temple (see John 4:20).

Although in Jesus’ time there were close to one million Samaritans living in this region under Roman control, today there are only a few hundred remaining Samaritans, and most of them live in a village next door called Kiryat Luza.

The Samaritans declined in numbers after they were conquered by the Byzantine Christians and then after the spread of Islam in the 8^th and 9^th Centuries. The remains of a Byzantine church (see mosaic in the photo, below) are found on top of Mount Gerizim.

 Jacob’s Well (Nablus)

An orthodox church has been recently rebuilt  (2001) over the site of Jacob’s Well. 

This is the well where, among other biblical stories, Jesus asks the Samaritan woman at the well for water (John 4:1-42). 

We had a beautiful experience there; the priest, who has been at that church for the past 30 or 40 years is a gifted artist. 

He showed us his beautiful, giant iconography art and...

...mosaics on display throughout the new church.

Then he led us to the level beneath the main church where Jacob’s well is located. 

There, he showed us the well and lowered the pale to the water, roughly 120 feet below. 

He asked one of our group members, a woman, for water. Allison English was moved by the experience, as were the rest of us.

The water was cool and fresh, and each of us took a drink.

After leaving the well, the priest showed us a memorial to his predecessor, who had been assassinated in 1978 by Jewish fanatics. 

Fanatics come in all stripes, I guess. Then he showed us two places where, rockets had been fired against the new building.

In the context of this conversation, the priest also mentioned that he’s been attacked 15 times by fanatics. 

Peter, our guide, explained that Nablus is surrounded by settlements.  Although many people on settlements are there out of economic necessity or simply a pioneering sensibility (I think of land grants given to my ancestors in the US, which just happened to be on Native American lands-- oops), there are a handful of extremists who see it as their God-given duty to remove non-Jews from neighboring lands, and in particular, sacred sites such as Jacob’s well.

Beit-el

The last stop for the day was to a settlement nearby called Beit El. There, we had a surreal conversation with Dr. Hagi Ben Artzi, activist and lecturer on Jewish History and Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. 

 

Dr. Ben Artzi is also the brother in law Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He showed our group a mountain near the settlement that he believes is the site of Jacob’s dream at Bethel in Genesis 28.

 

He took us to an archaeological excavation where he argues Jacob laid his head in Genesis 28, and also where he argues once stood the Temple erected by King Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12:29. 

Dr. Ben Artzi is a fundamentalist Zionist who shared a number of extremist statements with our group that sent chills up my spine:

·      The land of Israel as described in the bible extends from the northern tip of the Mediterranean Sea, east to the Euphrates, and South to the Suez Canal. It is God’s plan that those lands be part of Israel.

·      Since it is the will of God that Jews occupy these lands, all Jews (in the US and elsewhere in the diaspora) should return to Israel to populate these lands. Those who don’t—his brother in LA and other relatives among them—don’t truly care about God’s purpose for Israel.

·      There is no such thing as Palestinian lands; the Muslims conquered the lands 1400 years ago but we’ve been here for 4000 years and it all has been given to us by God. Those who are here and do not accept the idea of a Jewish state will be expelled.

·      Non-Jews can live in Israel, but they should not have the right to vote or own property.

Although his ideas are extreme, what is concerning to me is that these kind of ideas are the backbone of expansionist efforts of other ideologically-driven settlers to take over Palestinian lands—neighborhood by neighborhood, apartment complex by apartment complex—even in the West Bank and Gaza that had previously been negotiated as part of a future Palestinian state. What’s also concerning is that he envisions a “representative democratic” Jewish state that does not include non-Jews. How you can have a democracy where a significant portion of the population does not have the right to vote and is excluded from owning and retain property? Although his views may be extreme, they are at the core of fundamentalist Zionism, which seems to be driving the settlements on internationally recognized Palestinian lands and disrupting the peace process and any hope for a future for Palestinians.

been to the mountaintop...

3/1
Before returning into the West Bank from Jordan, we stopped at Mount Nebo. This is the place from where, as the story in Deuteronomy goes, at the very end of his life, God shows Moses the Promised Land, but is told he will never reach it (and dies shortly after seeing it). From the top of Mount Nebo, the view was impressive; we could see Jericho, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River Valley, and more.

This visit, and this view, also reminded us of the final speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the night before he was assassinated. In that speech, he recalled the story of Moses when, near the end, Dr. King said:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen… the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

I find these words, in their context, to be powerful and moving. Also in that speech, Dr. King references the story of the Good Samaritan in relation to the situation of the striking Memphis sanitation workers. He says that Jesus is asking us to consider… that rather than being worried about our own hide as we ask ourselves, “what will happen to me if I stop to care for my neighbor?” the question we should be asking ourselves is, “what will happen to my neighbor if I do not stop to care for him?” 

A member of our group likened Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to care for (and speak up for) the sanitation workers of his day to our situation and the call many of us now feel to care for (and speak up for) the Palestinians.

We descended Nebo through the desert mountains, passing Bedouin encampments, sheep, goats and camels, and finally crossed the valley to arrive at Jericho.

Entering back into Israel through the borders, we spent some time in Jericho. Recalling the stories of the Bible that took place in this town, we remembered blind Bartamaeus, Joshua (who fit the battle), the wilderness in which Jesus encountered 2 of 3 temptations, and even the story of Zacchaeus. On this trip,  we made a stop at the venerated sycamore tree, that Zacchaeus is said to have climbed up to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). Our new favorite interpretation of the story is whether Zacchaeus was the “wee little man,” or maybe it was Jesus who was the short one—read it again and you tell us!

We made a quick stop at the remains of Herod’s Winter Palace and scouted out the terrain. It was not nearly as excavated as Herod’s Summer Palace in Herodian.

There, we were greeted by two young boys, Musa and his brother Musamad who pointed out that we were overlooking their home, farm, and donkey!

There’s a great shirt sold at all the tourist stops that has a picture of the local fish found in the Mediterranean Sea, another one from the Sea of Galilee, and then an empty outline of a fish titled, “Dead Sea fish.” That’s right. The saline content in the Dead Sea is so high, that no living thing can survive in it…yet, we found a bunch of clergy just floating around (and taking in a mud bath!—Allison wouldn’t be caught DEAD swimming in that!)

It was so salty they were floating-- pushed up to the surface-- to Andy it felt like he was on a raft. 

exploring an ancient Roman city in Jordan

2/28/11

We began our day in Amman, Jordan. We traveled north to the most well-preserved ancient Greco-Roman city in the Eastern Mediterranean; Jerash. It blew us away. It was built beginning in the 4^th Century BC during the time of Alexander the Great, became part of the Roman Empire in 66 B.C., and was a prominent city under the Syrian province of Rome during the time of Jesus. The city reached its peak around 300-400 A.D.

Jerash makes a brief appearance in some translations of the New Testament; Jerash is believed to be the place from where the two men, possessed by the demoniacs (exorcised by Jesus and sent into the swine, which subsequently ran off a cliff into the sea in Matthew 8:28) had been. I'll just post several photos of stunning views below.

-Andy

We entered the complex at what's called "Hadrian's Arch." It was built in honor of the visit of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early to mid 2nd Century AD.

An entrance to the city.

Where's Alli?

Allison and Michelle in front of the Temple of (the goddess) Artemis. 

Standing in the main forum/marketplace/plaza with the Temple of Zeus (top left) and Theater (top center) in the background.

Amazing stuff.

Walking with Jesus

2/27/11

We began our day in Tiberius. We woke up to the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee.

  

Being Sunday morning, our group was disappointed to not have had a church worship service on our itinerary, but since 12 out of our group of 15 were clergy, we thought we might be able to figure something out. Our guide, Rev. Peter Miano suggested a stop in the valley of Wadi Hammam—what would have been the primary (and possibly only) path between Nazareth and Capernaum. 

This was likely the very place where Jesus walked; he often traveled between these two places of his ministry. 

So it was there, in that sacred place, by a hilly mountainside and babbling creek, we stopped to celebrate worship and communion.

On our ride back down the hill of Wadi Hammam, we passed through Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene…but we still need to figure out the translation for the second part of her village…

After worship, we boarded a boat on the Sea of Galilee, from where we could see the locations where much of Jesus’ ministry took place. 

Seeing the landscape and coves, we could now envision Jesus standing on the boat as he preached to the people on shore (the geography made the acoustics like a theater!). 

Our captain even gave us a lesson on fishing…casting his net first on the left AND then on the right side of the boat.

  

Unfortunately, no fresh catch—so I had chicken for lunch. 

Another meaningful and powerful part of our day was taking the path from the Shrine of the Beatitudes and making our way down to the venerated spot where it is believed that Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount.

Our group paused to collectively read the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 (Blessed are the...) amidst the mustard flowers and olive trees.

The path led us down to the seashore in Tabgha to the Church of Peter’s Primacy on the Sea of Galilee. This church is at the location believed to be where Jesus asked Peter to feed his sheep (John 21:15). 

For Catholics, this was the beginning of Apostolic Succession. And it was on the shore of Galilee, that many from our group were blessed by the waters of the Galilean Sea and were asked to, “Remember our baptism and be thankful.”

In Capernaum, we made a stop at Peter’s House—although, scholars debate whether this was Peter’s House or really Jesus’ house. On the grounds is also a first century synagogue and Roman centurion outpost which give archaeological support for this being the place of Jesus and his disciples’ stomping grounds.

Back on the road again, we headed across the Armistice Line to Amman, Jordan. It was on this long bus ride that the terrain started looking like what we as children (and even as adults) imagined in our minds what the Holy Land would look like; Tatouin. Sorry... no pictures, it was forbidden to take them while crossing the armistice line! But you've seen Star Wars, right?