Sataf

        In the morning, we began our long(ish) hike through Tzuba and to Sataf. Once we got there we began learning about how when the Israelites entered Eretz Israel they faced many challenges. One of them being that they needed to figure out how to create a government system with a leader that would make everyone happy. Joshua became the leader and the Jewish people lived by the 613 commandments given to Moses by God before Moses had died. Joshua was a strong military leader and was key in helping defend the Israelites. Besides Joshua, Judges were chosen by God and were temporary leaders. Another big problem the Israelites faced was Avodah Zara (worshipping other gods). They needed to far and be prosperous with their agricultures but rain was not common. When it didn't rain they began sacrificing their children and when God told them they could not do this they were left unsure of how they would get enough water for their crops. This led them to begin terrace farming which was when crops were planted in a formation like steps with multiple layers which allowed the small amounts of water to go a long way because it would trickle down through all of the layers.
      After taking all of our notes we hiked some more and learned about the 7 crops of Israel; dates, figs, grapes, wheat, barley, olives, and pomegranates and how important they were to the lifestyle of the Jewish people. We then reenacted scenes from the Tanach to learn more about where we were. Then we started going towards a cave and went inside of it. We walked for a few minutes on slippery rocks with a stream flowing below us and the further we walked the darker it got. After climbing up a large rock we reached the back of the cave where there was a slightly bigger water stream and walls of rock all surrounding us. We all turned off our flashlights and stood in the complete darkness and sang Hinei Matov. For me, this was a very powerful experience because at that moment all that mattered was me and the people with me in the cave. We were secluded from everything and just taking in the beautiful moment.

      How did singing Hinei Matov in the cave make you feel? What do you think would have happened to the Israelites if they didn't figure out terrace farming?

Remnants of terrace farming

Hiking through Tzuba to Sataf

Old Winepress

Inside the cave

Squad pic

Tel Gezer

(Deity)

 (learning topography of Israel)

 (Water Supply/drink)

 (Gate/defense)

(Group Picture)

On Sunday, September 2, we visited Tel Gezer for our first tiyul. While there, we explored an ancient Canaanite civilization as well as learning their way of life. The Canaanites that lived in Gezer were a smart group because they used their surroundings to protect themselves and live a life where all their needs are being completed from defense to deity. They used their surroundings to their advantage to survive.


We learned that a tel is a place were many civilizations have been built upon one another over time. we learned an ostracon is an archaeological find with ancient writing on it that can help identify the type of people that lived in an area. At Gezer they found an ancient calendar linking the Ancient Israelites to this area.  this was anachronistic(meaning coming from a different time period) compared to Canaanite civilization.

we learned that Abraham wouldn't have settled there because they were polytheists while he is a monotheist. we studied the story of the sacrifice of issac and ended the day with a great tefillah.

What was your favorite part of the tiyul? What is something that stuck with you about the history of Gezer?

Welcome to the Kitat Kinneret Blog!

שלום and welcome to the Kitat Kinneret Blog. Here we will share the experiences of our טיולים tiyulim as well as periodic homework assignments. I'm very excited that our adventure together has begun and look forward to reading your posts. תודה רבה!