Galilee Spring

The Galilee field trip was great. Most days are full days of visiting sites, but three of the 10 days are spent in three hour long New Testament classes. The weather was so nice that we held all of these classes outside over-looking the sea. This photo is looking south from our boat in the middle of the sea (actually a Bear Lake size lake) where we talked about Christ walking on water and calming the storm. It is always nice to sing the requisite "Master the Tempest is Raging."
We all walked from the Mt of Beatitudes down to Tabgha (Miracle of loaves and fishes). Along the way there were good visual reminders of the parable of the sower. Here you can see three of the four types of soil: the wayside, thorn infested and fertile/productive.
A modern day fisherman at St. Peter's Primacy where Jesus told Peter to "Feed my sheep."
Sunset from En Gev Holiday village on the eastern shore.
Gamla on the Golan Heights. It is called the Masada of the north because during the Jewish revolt, the Jewish residents of this town ending up falling to their deaths from the rocky pinnacle in the center of the photo. It was either a mass suicide (like Masada) or a crush of people who jumped or were pushed to their deaths as the Romans soldiers neared.
I loved all of the wild flowers on the hike to Gamla.
This is an anise plant. Its seeds have a licorice flavor and are used as an herb tea (yansoon) and in baking. The seeds were used by Jesus as an object lesson when he stated: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith" (Matthew 23: 23)



One afternoon the faculty went on a field trip to Nazareth. Our main destination was the Sisters of Nazareth convent. I have always liked this statue of the holy family.
Underneath the convent are Roman era ruins, including this rolling stone tomb. There is good enough archeological and historical evidence to allow the nice Sisters to suggest that this could be the site of the home of Joseph where Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. The Sisters are quiet in their claims however because they don't want to offend their Franciscan brothers who lay claim to the more traditional site of the house of Joseph.
We were blessed with some nice clear days. Here is a view of the southern end of the Sea of Galilee. Kibbutz Degania where I stayed as a student is located just south of the lake. The valley in the far distance is where the Yarmuk River flows down from Syria and Jordan. Jordan is to the right of the valley.
Looking west from En Gev

Looking NW from the southern Golan Heights


Wheat growing on the southern Golan Heights across the Yarmuk valley to the hills of northern Jordan
From the Peace Overlook on the Golan Heights.
Looking SW. Mt. Tabor, one of the traditional sites of the transfiguration, is the rounded hilltop in the top right corner.
During the off season, there are no life guards at En Gev so there is a swim at your own risk policy for guests. For liability reasons, last semester (and for years before) students were only allowed to go in up to their ankles. That was a disappointment to students and Emmetts alike so I lobbied the powers that be and they changed the policy to allow swimming up to our waists (only at pre-determined times and with student life guards and faculty supervision) . The weather was still a little coolish but that didn't stop us from having fun.
Marie and the kids came up for the weekend. Joel brought along a Flat Stanley (who is in this photo taken from the balcony of the Tiberius Chapel) that he will mail back to the teacher of his second grade teacher from last year with photos of Stanley in Jerusalem and the Galilee.
The hymn board of the four official languages of the Galilee Branch--English, Spanish, Russian and Hebrew.
After church we went to Mt. Arbel for an amazing view.
The students of my New Testament class at Arbel.
After lunch we then went for a Sabbath excursion. Here is the view from Beit Rimmon (House of Pomegranates--a hilltop Jewish settlement) looking down on a Bedouin village and the Netofa valley. Bisecting the valley diagonally is the National Water Carrier (a canal) and in the distance at the far left base of the hills in a round nob that is thought to perhaps be Cana.
A few miles south of that site is the modern day Israeli Arab town of Kfar Kanna which is the traditional site of Cana and the miracle of the water turned to wine.
In all my visits to the Holy Land I have driven through Cana countless times, but I have never visited its churches. This time I visited the Roman Catholic Church twice--once with faculty and once with family. The Greek Orthodox church was never open.
Behind the alter are six jars and a nice painting of the miracle.
We then drove through the western hilltop of Nazareth. In 1989, a dilapidated tomb of a Muslim saint stood on this site. Now it is a large mosque whose minaret is the highest point in Nazareth. This mosque was build in an area with few Muslims. Its towering minaret is seen by some Christian Arabs of the town as a intentional sign of the ascendancy of Muslims in Nazareth.
In 1989 this shell of a Greek Orthodox Church was all that remained of the Arab village of Mujeidel. In the 1948 war most Arabs from Mujeidel fled to the safety of near-by Nazareth. After the war the conquered Arab lands of the Galilee were annexed into Israel. The refugees from Mujeidel who were now citizens of Israel were not allowed to return to their homes. To prevent their return the village was demolished (this was done to about 300 abandoned Arab villages), The only thing that was not demolished was this place of worship. The Jewish town of Migdal ha-Emek rose along side the ruins.


A few years ago the Greek Orthodox church was restored. It is completely surrounded by a growing Migdal ha-Emek.

From what I understand, the main parishioners now are Russian Orthodox residents of Migdal ha-Emek who emigrated to Israel with Jewish spouses or because they had a Jewish mother or Grandmother. The Arab Christians of Israel are a declining community, but the numbers of non-Arab Christian Israelis is on the rise thanks to recent shifts in immigration patterns.

Wheat and (possible) tares ready for harvest.
One late afternoon I went on a geo-political exploration hoping to see the disputed Yarmuk River and the Israeli-Jordanian border. Without planning to, I ended up driving along the border patrol road for a dozen or so miles. I kept expecting Israeli soldiers to pull up and turn me around, but I didn't see a soul. Once on the road there was no real way to get off it. You can see part of the road I traversed on the left and then the Yarmuk river on the right. The fields on the right are Israeli and the town in the distance is Jordan.
Here is the patrol road and border fence that parallel the river with Jordan in the distance. I eventually hooked up with highway 90 near where the Yarmuk flows into the Jordan.
Oh Galilee, Sweet Galilee.

Snails

For the past few Wednesdays, Will and Marie have been getting together at various parks with women and children from the Jerusalem Branch. Last Wednesday, Will and friends had a great time collecting snails (Thanks to Amy Sowards for the photo).

The BYU students have created a facebook account entitled "Overheard at the JC 2010" where they record everything funny or embarrassing that anyone says. Our kids are on the list. Here are a few entries posted by various students:

Will Emmett: You don't want to touch me, I have snail hands! (after his return from a successful play group)

Will Emmett: How come you guys can't wear short sleeve pants?

Joel and Will Emmett: "you need to shave. you look ugly. sinner stash!" (said to one of the last holdouts in a mustache growing brotherhood)

Professor Hamblin: "you guys are just like Will Emmett, I get you going & I can't calm you down. So then I turn him over to his mom."

Will: (speaking loudly) I HAVE BATMAN PAJAMAS AND THERE IS A TOP AND A BOTTOM AND (switches into a whisper) there's a cape.

‎(Sister Emmett finds Joel and Will playing badminton in the hallway.)
Sister Emmett: Hey, let's go in the gym so we're not disrupting people.
Eric Cook: Oh, okay.

Brother Emmett: You actually sing about getting thrust down to hell... it's a great hymn (talking in class about the wheat and the tares and the old hymn Tho in the Outward Church Below)

Student 1: Jeremiah went through so much and never complained.
Brother Emmett: I wouldn't say he NEVER complained.
Student 2: Ya, he wrote a book called "Lamentations."

Bro Emmett: "A non member passing the Sacrament. What can you do?" (telling a story about the joys of serving in the Cambodian branch)

Old man visiting church today (literally overheard): Maybe if they'd pay more tithing here they could turn the heat on in this place! (posted on March 6 on a cold rainy day--the center can be quite drafty)

Me listening to a guide at Neot Kedumim--a very informative Biblical park we visited on our last field trip (thanks to Gayle Brown from the photo). Tomorrow begins the 10 day Galilee field trip. Marie and the kids will join us for the weekend.

We love Grandpa and Grandma Emmett and......

Abu Ghosh and beyond

For our Sunday outing we traveled to Abu Ghosh--an Israeli Arab town a few miles west of Jerusalem. It is the site of Biblical Kiriath Yearim. It has two Christian churches (both of which were closed on Sunday?) A Crusader era church is in the lower left. This town overlooks the main road from the coast up to Jerusalem. During the 40s many Arab villages along this road would attack convoys carrying supplies to the Jews of Jerusalem. These Arab villages also played an important role in the battles of 1948. Abu Ghosh was unique in that its residents remained neutral which at the end of the war left them in good standing as new citizens of Israel.

The hilltop church commemorates the place where the Ark of the Covenant resided after the Philistines returned it to Beit Shemesh and until David moved it to Jerusalem. Notice the Dome of the Rock decoration above the second story entrance to the home. It has become not only a symbol of religious affiliation, but also an iconographic symbol among Israeli Arabs that proclaims their identity as Palestinians too. Many Muslim-Israeli-Palestinian-Arab homes in Nazareth also prominently display the Dome of the Rock above their doors (see my book Beyond the Basilica for a map showing all the homes with this marking).
On the outskirts of town is the Elvis dinner--the dream of an Abu Ghosh native who as an immigrant to the U.S. won the lotto in Chicago. With those earnings he decided to come back home and help provide jobs for his fellow Israeli Arabs. He is a big Elvis fan and so this is his shrine to the king.
We checked out the menu--burgers, fries and other diner fair--but no prices were listed and it was still not yet lunch time so we bought a post card instead.
Sarah and I both got one. Pretty humorous I think. We then headed back into Abu Ghosh for some famous hummus (not the best tasting we've had) at one of several restaurants claiming to be the original Abu Shukri's hummus shop. Last fall the restaurateurs of Abu Ghosh prepared the largest hummus plate (actually a large satellite dish) in the world. The size far surpassed a similar attempt in Lebanon which was good enough to now be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
We then visited the Castel National Park. It is a commanding hill top the overlooks the southern side of the very vulnerable road up to Jerusalem.
In the 1948 war Jews and Arabs fought to control this strategic site. Jewish forces almost took it, but then Arab reinforcements saved the day. In the battle the Arab military leader (Husseini) was killed. The victorious Arabs returned to Jerusalem for his funeral and Jewish fighters were then able to claim the hill. We had fun exploring the battlements and bunkers--Will and his parents got to explore them all a second time as we went back to find his favorite red Batman hat that somehow fell off in one of the dark bunkers (good thing I had a camera flash to lighten up the dark).
We all enjoyed the spring-like weather and being out and about.
A relief map showing the road from Jerusalem (bottom) down to the coast. Arab villages controlled the heights all along the route. Castel is the flat topped, highest hill on the third left panel from the bottom.
The opposite view of the road going up to Jerusalem. The main road goes to the left. When it proved impassable, Jews built the "Burma Road" which branches off to the right and circumvented a dangerous part of the road. (for a good book about the battle for the road up to Jerusalem check out Oh Jerusalem by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins)
The view east from the summit of Castel. The hill in the center of the photo is now a huge Jewish cemetery on the western outskirts of Jerusalem--which you can see on the horizon. You can see the main road up to Jerusalem ringing that hill on the left and then again at the foot of Castel.
The view west with Abu Ghosh in the distance. The current road is cut to the south of town, but the 48 road skirted the town to the east.
We then drove back roads into town with a stop at this curious park and play structure. It is called Mifletzet (monster).

Earlier in the week I traveled to Makhtesh Ramon in the Negev desert. There the faculty enjoyed a hike up the side of the tectonic crater on an old Nabatean trade route linking Petra with Avdat and Gaza.
We then stopped in the Wilderness of Zin (where the wandering Israelites spent most of their 40 years) near Ben Gurion's inspired town of Sede Boker. Rainwater from storms earlier in the week made this usually inhospitable locale quite pleasant.

Amazingly the faculty agreed to me taking a jump photo of them. Classic