This week is finals, so it has been really busy! I have so much to say and no time to explain all that has happened these past few weeks (Israeli Folk Dancing, Jewish Synagogue, David's Tomb, Armenian Church, Bethlehem, West Jerusalem) ! I will post soon about all my adventures the past two weeks, just not until after finals. :)
Old Testament: CHECK
Field Trip Final: CHECK
Hebrew: CHECK
Judaism: STUDY
Islam: STUDY
After Tuesday we will only have Near Eastern Studies and New Testament! I am so excited to play in the city all day, enjoy sitting on my patio over looking Jerusalem, and savor every moment that I have left in the Holy Land.
Last week, I was able to participate in the Jerusalem Center Olive Picking. Only the Fall Semester students are able to participate in the olive picking because the olives are only ripe during that time.
It was definitely a neat experience and made me appreciate the timing in which I came to Jerusalem.
Well, last week we picked the olives so we used the olive crusher today to begin the process in making olive oil. The olive crusher is a giant wheel with a log in the middle that is used to pivot the wheel around as to crush the olives. We each took turns walking the log around with the other students to crush the olives. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone participate in the event. Everyone had a great time trying to do it, even the faculties children came to show all of us how to do it.
After we pressed the olives, the mixture was put into baskets and then placed onto the Screw Press or Lever and Weights Press to extract the Olive Oil from the olives. As the levers placed pressure on the baskets the oil would drizzle out into a little basin. The oil will then be sifted for pure olive oil.
One of the teachers compared the process of the olive oil to that of the atonement. When the olives are extremely ripe they are a reddish color, like that of blood. In ancient times olive oil symbolized light because it provided the oil to sustain the lamps so the people could see. Also, it is a symbol of life to the people in many forms. Nevertheless, as the Savior sacrificed his blood in the Garden it was like that of the process of making olive oil. Gethsemane means “Olive Process”, so it is only fitting that the Savior would perform a key part of the atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is here that the Savior’s blood sweats from every pore as part of the atonement. It is crucial that the Savior went through this process so that he might know each individual so that he could give light and life as he died the next day on the cross. The olive oil too is crushed so that its red oil may give light and life.
I love the symbolism of the olive oil. I am so grateful that I was able to learn how to press the olives, but more importantly gain a new perspective on the atonement. I know that my Savior suffered for me individually in the Garden of Gethsemane and I know that he lives. He is my light and my life for through him I can have eternal life.
Today we went to Yad Vashem. It was by far one of the most emotionally draining days since I have been in Jerusalem. Yad Vashem is a Holocaust Museum that commemorates the victims and those who risked their lives for the Jews.
Both of the field trip groups were split up into three different groups for the tours today. Our tour began prior to the victimization of the Jews in the early 1900’s. We walked through all of the history prior to the Holocaust to make sense of how and why this horric event occurred in the 1930’s and 1940’s. It was fascinating to hear all of the history and details unfold which led up to the Holocaust. However, when the terrorism of the events were accounted tears began to stream down my cheeks as I read the stories of many of the victims, looked at the graphic portraits of many of the Jews in the concentration camps, and listened to the instructor give vivid details of the events that occurred. At one point, we walked into a room with a glass floor that had shoes covering the floor of the victims who had been incarcerated in the gas chambers. My eyes fell upon a little shoe that could have been from a small child who had been brutally killed like all the rest. As I gazed at the shoe our tour guide told us about how the people were stripped of their clothes and murdered in front of their family members. For a moment I sat there in utter shock and my heart began to race. I ripped my head set from my ears so I would not hear anymore of the horrific details and tears began to stream down my cheeks. I felt so much remorse and sorrow as I looked at these items and thought about their experience in the deathly concentration camps.
At the end of the tour, our last room was the Hall of Names which was a room to remember all of the 6,000,000 Jews or victims of the mass murder. There were pictures hanging in the dome as well as the names of more than half the victims in the books along the walls. Our class sat in silence for a long time as we remembered those innocent people. Later we went into another part called the Children’s Museum. In this part there are pictures of a few children and lights everywhere the room to symbolize all the children who were killed.
The theme of Yad Vashem was "The Holocaust was not the killing of the six million jews. Rather, the Holocaust was the killing of one Jew, and it happened six million times." Going through Yad Vashem definitely was not an easy experience, but it was an important one and I know that it changed me for the better.
The Hall of Names
After the museum we had lunch outside, and everyone ate in silence. We were all still thinking about what we had seen inside Yad Vashem. While I sat there in silence, I kept thinking “Why did they have to suffer? Why did I come to a wonderful life where I am blessed with so much and not them?” As I asked myself these questions the thought came to me that I was blessed with so much so that I can bless the lives of others for “where much is given much is required”. Even though I do not understand why they had to suffer and go through everything, I do know that I must use the blessings and talents that I have been given to bless the lives of others.
Yesterday, all the students took two big buses to go snorkeling in Eilat. It is one of the most amazing snorkeling spots in the world, so I was definitely excited to go. After driving for four hours, we arrived at our own little beach where we spent the whole day enjoying the sun, swimming in the Red Sea, and snorkeling with the fish. All of the students sat on the big floating dock off the shore while the other students snorkeled around them. It was fun to interact with everyone and talk with the other students. We had lots of laughs as we wrestled around in the ocean and on the dock. One of the boys even threw me off into the water and we started a war between the girls and the boys. I came away with a big bruise on my leg and a sad defeat, but it was a lot of fun.
Alyssa, Amy, Lizzie, me, Rachel, and Jamie
My favorite part about Eliat was the snorkeling. There were so many fish that looked like rainbow fish with their many colored blue, green, pink, and yellow scales. I had so much fun swimming with them and enjoying the beauty of the sea. When I was under water, I felt so much peace. All of the noise and the chaos was blocked out, and it was just me. The whole time I had the biggest smile on my face. It was an indescribable experience.
me at the Red Sea in Eliat
I have found so much passion and love for the adventures in life while I have been here. I want so badly to be able to travel the world and see more of the beauty. I feel as if I have yet to scratch the surface of my travels, and that coming to Israel made me realize just how little I knew about the world around me. Traveling definitely helps shape a person and teach someone more about themselves as they discover the world around them. I feel as if I have this great desire to learn of all of these different cultures, people, and places.
Last Thursday, I was able the Olives were finally ripe enough to pick so all of the students were able to take part in the olive picking. It was so much fun being able to take part in it! Only the Fall students get the opportunity to pick olives because they are season. Later this week we will be able to press the olives to make olive oil. I am so excited to be able to do that!
Seder Meal (Passover Meal)
Thursday night was the Seder Meal. I was able to help prepare the Passover Meal in the kitchen, and it was a lot of fun to learn how to cook some of the courses as well as eating the food later that night :). At the Seder Meal, our Judaism professor taught us about the Passover Meal. It was fun to be able to experience a real Seder Meal and learn a little more about Judaism.
Catie, Jamie, and I decided to go to the Jewish Quarters between our classes. We had such an awesome experience. We had a short period to go into the city, so we only went to two places. Our first stop was the Temple Institute. It was a very cool experience. The Temple Institute is a place where many of the “Temple Vessels” are displayed. In ancient times, the Solomon built a temple because God commanded it but then it was destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians. Then the second temple was built by Herod but destroyed again in 70 CE by the Romans. After the destruction of the second temple, the people were devastated. God did not command them to build a second temple at this time, probably because most of the Jews were scattered. In the current day, the people believe that they will be commanded to build a temple again. However, they believe that they can only build the temple where the first and second temples were, meaning the Temple Mount. This is definitely a problem, primarily because the Muslims own the property and Dome of the Rock sits on the location. Technically the property belongs to David’s descendants because he was the only one that ever purchased the land. Anyway, the Jewish people believe that they must prepare for the next temple because God has promised that there would be another one and the scriptures do state that there will be another one built at that location. As a result, they have begun building and constructing vessels to go inside the next temple. They are constructing it after the manner of the ancient temples. Among the vessels are the golden menorah, the golden incense altar, the golden tabled for the Showbread, the golden crown of the High Priest, and other garments. It was really interesting to go hear about their beliefs and see all the objects. The woman who was guiding our group told us about how much they love the temple and they can’t wait until they can build it again. It made me think a lot about how much I love the temple and I am so grateful that I have the fullness of the gospel.
Jamie and I at the Burnt House
After we went to the Temple Institute, we went to the Burnt House. The Burnt House is a house that was built during destruction of the second temple by fire. The house shows marks were the fire would have burnt the brick. It was really interesting, especially the video that went with the presentation. Anyway, the day was amazing and I am really glad that I was able to spend a day in the city, especially with these girls! I love spending time with Jamie and Catie. It was such a fun day!
Yesterday we went to the City David, which makes up ancient Jerusalem. Its over 3,000 years old and many biblical stories have taken place here. Our day began with a look out over the City of David. Next we watched a 3D movie which featured the City of David. It was an epic movie! :) The highlight of the trip was going through Hezekiah's tunnel. This tunnel was built by King Hezekiah. The workers started from opposite ends of the city and worked their way towards to middle, during the Assyrian conquest of the city. It was built so that the city could have a water source protected during the attack as well as a place to escape if the city needed to escape. My class went through the water tunnel and it was so much fun! The water came up mid thigh at the highest point.
Hezekiah's Tunnel
Inside the Tunnel
all wet after the tunnel
While drying off, we visited the Pool of Siloam, where Christ healed the blind man with spit and clay. After that we went to the ruins of David's palace and the tombs of the Kings of Judah! It was a pretty amazing day filled with lots of wet adventures!
