DAY NINE: THE CAVES OF DAVID, THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND OUR FIRST VIEW OF JERUSALEM
Having found the Arabic version of Starbucks next to our Dead Sea hotel, our last morning there was filled with enthusiasm (and caffeine) as we sipped our now familiar "coffees with milk"—the Israeli version of a latte. Yes, they even had soy! We then gathered to enjoy morning devotions led by Patti.
Our group departed at 8:30 a.m. with all our luggage (as well as our growing souvenir stash complete with water from the Jordan River, mud and salt from the Dead Sea) and headed for Ein Gedi, the local cave where the conflict between David and Saul in the Old Testament took place. This spot, with gushing streams, waterfalls, large sandstone rocks balancing on smaller rocks beneath, and impressive natural caves, was an unexpected highlight for our WellSpring pilgrims.
At Ein Gedi, once again we baffled our guide, Andre, as we responded to the growing heat of the day with an impressive carpe diem action—in full clothes some of us unabashedly and quite spontaneously leaped into a large pond at the base of a waterfall! Within minutes about half of the group was following suit and we delighted in jumping from a rock outpost we soon named "David's diving board". We leaped feet first into a five-foot pool of clear (and slightly mossy) water for the next half hour. Happily we walked the rest of the trail to the official David's waterfall site and then back to the bus with soaking wet pants and our shoes singing our own psalms to the noise of "squish, squash, squish, squash." To top off our time at Ein Gedi, we indulged in an 11 a.m. ice cream stop (which is becoming part of our daily route!) and loaded the bus with our damp but delighted pilgrims.
Our next stop was Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in cliffs high above the coastline of the Dead Sea. At this remarkable site, where they have planted palm trees and glowing red African flame trees which contrast beautifully with the impressive dessert cliffs that loomed above us, we learned about the 1947 discovery of 716 scrolls (a portion of which are on tour in San Francisco right now at the Legion of Honor!)
The group of Essenes Jews that lived here since ancient times isolated themselves from the surrounding culture and believed that by their intense dedication to living pure lives, they would expedite the coming of the messiah. Essenes focused their lives on prayer, cultivating agriculture and copying the Scriptures. About three years of dedicated practice was necessary to prepare to join such a group. Then in 1947, a year before the establishment of Israel as a nation, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found here in a cave and the world over has celebrated the validation that these scrolls lend to the authenticity of the Old Testament. Many of these fragments of scrolls that were found (numbering in the thousands) date back to time of Jesus. Before this discovery, the oldest scrolls found were from the 9th Century A.D.
With our clothes now dry from our earlier waterfall escapade, our pilgrims boarded the bus for our triumphal drive into Jerusalem. Our first panoramic views of the city will never be forgotten. We passed Bethany and the Samaritan Road, en route to emerging from a large tunnel to take in the glimmer of the golden roof at the Dome of the Rock, the spectacular Mt. Olives and the expansive city wall around the Old City.
Our first stop was in Bethlehem we passed through heavily guarded checkpoints to enter the birthplace of Jesus. Sadly, what a contrast to the peace of Christ. Today's conflict was weighing heavy on our hearts and minds. Graffiti and graphic murals depicting the current Israeli/Palestinian conflict surrounded us—in particular, a 20-foot tall white dove painted on the side of a building wearing a bullet-proof vest with shotgun crosshairs zeroed in on its chest (see blog photo).
We shopped in Bethlehem to support the Palestinian Christians living there as a minority group in the midst of such daily conflict. We then visited the Shepherd's Field and the Church of the Nativity where it is believed that baby Jesus was actually born. After passing again through the important checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, our group arrived at our home for the next week—the Regency Hotel—overlooking the lights and daily life of Jerusalem, specifically the fortified Old City. It is much cooler here than in the desert, about 65-70 degrees during the day. The cool night's breeze drew us out of our rooms to sit on our porches and enjoy watching nearby fireworks explode victoriously over the "Holy City."
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