Saturday Studies

I just finished dinner and would love to share with you some excitement from my first full day in Israel. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very exciting day. My goal today was to get all of my pre-course homework done with the reward that when it is complete I can take a walk into Bethlehem.

So, I started my day with a walk after breakfast. It was already hot. I climbed to the top of a hill across a small valley and behind a monastery. I've attached a picture of a Jewish settlement right nearby. The second picture is from the same spot with Tantur (where I am staying) on the hill to the right and the city of Bethlehem in front. You can't see it too well, but the dividing wall between Israel and Palestine runs right on the edge of Bethlehem. I will have to walk through a checkpoint to get to Bethlehem. I found out that I am actually in Palestine right now except on the Israeli side of the wall (since the wall was not built on the approved boarder between Israel and Palestine.) I've talked to the director of Tantur who shared with me a number of links which will help me learn about the difficult situation the Palestinian Christians face. I was told their plight is probably the most parallel of anyone's today to the Civil Rights movement I will be studying later. I will be interested to read them

Since that walk, I've been sitting at my desk all day long. It is interesting work. I have 7 large maps of different areas of Israel and as I read about locations and battles in the Bible they have me color code the cities and the routes on the maps. It is a great way to learn the details of the land and the motivations behind many of the biblical stories. I've still got a few more hours to go so my walk into Bethlehem will have to wait until tomorrow.

It has been interesting to connect even briefly with the people staying here at Tantur. It is a diverse group. There are graduate students and nuns studying Modern Hebrew, pastors like me on sabbatical, undergraduates spending a month studying and those who live and work here. Tantur is run by University of Notre Dame so most of us are from the United States, but different accents and languages are not absent!

It is odd to realize that as my day is coming to an end, yours is still going strong. I'll be asleep before you even have dinner (and before the Tigers even start). So, I'll pray a blessing on the rest of your day and on your worship tomorrow!