Neot Kedumim

Today we had a field trip to the Biblical Land Reserve called Neot Kedumim. At this place they have acres and acres (about the size of a whole city) of land and things referenced in the Bible.

When we got there the first station we went to was about water in ancient times. We saw a cistern and were able to see how much strength it took to pull a bucket of water out of the cistern, which was womens work in the Old/New Testament times. We learned about how they channeled water from the rain and we talked about how Christ uses water in his teachings. This was surprising because our guide was a Jewish man. But I learned a lot.

Our tour guide. I was determined to remember his name...but I don't.

After that we went to a station where we learned about the bush hyssop. This was very interesting to me. We smashed it up and talked about its many uses. The hyssop is mentioned many times in the Bible. Our guide pointed out that hyssop is the most humble plant. It is low to the ground, can be used for many things, and in order to get it to its useful form you have to smash it up. I liked the symbolism I could see in this hyssop plant that I probably otherwise wouldn't have picked up on. I can now see why it would be used in the Bible so much.

Crushing up the hyssop

Next we went to the sheep/goat herding station. This one was my favorite. Our guide divided us up into three groups. The first group had no instruction as to how to herd the sheep and were just told to do their best, which presented many difficulties for them. It was really funny to watch, they went around trying to force the sheep into the circle by chasing them, pushing them, or pulling on their horns (for goats). When goats get scared they go a cliff. Our guide said that "goats have strong legs but sheep have weak ones and they will break their leg". It worked eventually, but it wasn't the best way.

Here is an example of some difficulties that arise in herding sheep and goats...

I was in the next group and we got some instruction as to what to do. Our guide gave us the tip to lead BEHIND the flock, rather than force them to follow us. The best way to do this was to make a V formation behind the flock and herd them to the circle where they needed to be. I liked this because when you think about the Savior as a shepherd figure you imagine him as a caring and loving leader. His plan for us is not to force us to make correct choices or drag us to return to him, but to lovingly support us and offer light to us in this life. Very cool.

My group herding our flock. Victorious!

We also learned that to successfully lead a flock you must find the natural leader of the flock. The leader is always a female goat, but if there are no goats then it is always a female sheep. You look for the natural leader and you lead them and the rest will follow. Our guide was telling us that he heard a story where a flock leader fell off of the side of a cliff and the whole flock followed her off.

Some interesting parallel our guide pointed out was how David says that "The Lord is my Shepherd", which it's pretty obvious what that means, right? But there's more to it. Remember the natural leader of the flock? Well, in this case, the natural leader would be David. And the Lord is the Shepherd. And so as long as the natural leader, aka King David follows the Lord, then the people will also. Interesting, isn't it?? So to put it in modern terms, President Monson is the natural leader of the flock, and the Lord is using him to guide the rest of us. Kind of puts a whole new meaning on the symbolism of the shepherd, doesn't it?

After the sheep herding experience, we jumped on a train and took a tour through the recreational park.

On the train ride

Our next station was our lunch break but we built fires and were taught how to make pita and pop wheat over the fire. Those were both so yummy and I really liked it. And I felt pretty hard core standing over a fire in the blazing sun. It was so hot today! We were all sweating like crazy and were dead tired after the day.

Making pita! So yummy!

After lunch we went to a pond where we learned how the early Israelites drew water by running on a huge hamster like wheel to pump water out of a body of water. Next we went to a threshing floor where they would crush wheat and barley to make bread. We got to see how they made bread in ancient times. The women had to turn a stone over and over again for an hour and a half! Crazy!

After learning about bread making and threshing floors, we made our last stop to learn about Jewish scribes and how they write the Torah. To be completely honest with you, I fell asleep during most of this presentation so I can't tell you much of what I learned, but I did get to hear this man read the Torah, which sounded like he was really chanting it. It was really cool. I learned that if a scribe made a mistake while writing the Torah he could scratch it out and fix it, unless it was the word God. If he messed up writing God then he would have to take out the whole page and start over. I also learned that every time a scribe was going to write the word God he would have to go into a mikvah, which is a religious bath, to clean and purify himself. If a scribe makes a mistake on something small such as a prayer that Jews put on the side of their doors called the mizuzah then he must bury the parchment and start over. Any document speaking of God on it cannot be burned or destroyed, it has to be buried, unless it is the Torah.

Honestly I can't tell you what that breast plate thing is...I fell asleep. But what I do know is that I am "reading" from the Torah!

After the scribe station our day was over and we got on the bus and went home. But here are some more interesting things I learned today:

This is a sycamore tree very similar to the one that the tax collector man climbed up in Jericho to see the Savior

These are lilies! Something interesting that I learned. So when Christ says to "consider the lilies of the field" these are the lilies that he's talking about. Not the white lilies that I had pictured in my mind.

And that was my day. Hot and sunny. But very fun and educational! It was good to see these things that are mentioned in the Bible come to life. It makes it easier to understand parables and the life of ancient people. Now when I read the Bible a lot of things are coming together and making more sense.