Israel: Stories for Your Journey

The creation of my latest book is an outgrowth of my first trip to Israel in 2012. Through the years i had always put off a journey to Israel for many reasons: 1) The trip would cost too much; 2) The trip would require too many days off work; 3) I did not know anyone to go with; 4) I could do that later in life; 5) It was too dangerous, 6) and many more reasons.In 2004 a teacher in my church started talking about going to Israel, I started looking into the matter. In 2011, a second man in the church came up to me and said I ought to consider going with John DeLancey, director of Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours. I called John and the trip was arranged.

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I received a date, an agenda and three books from John which told about Israel. I looked through the agenda and began reading the books. I realized that although I have attended seminary and prepared Bible classes for my church for many years, I needed to know more to get the most out of my trip.  Some of the place names in John’s brochure were unfamiliar (archeological sites) and others I barely knew.

Our arrival in Israel

I created a document with the trip agenda and sites listed day by day and in order. I placed into this document things from John’s books (reading and then typing help place facts into my brain). I added to my document any scripture reference to a place we were visiting. Then I went to the internet and researched the sites on the agenda, and added those facts (sometimes through cut and paste) to my document. I uploaded my creation to my Kindle, read it twice, and took it on my trip to Israel. It helped.

Tourists on the steps at Yafo

On my first tour, as John and our guide Shlomo took us to each site, they would give a lesson on why the place was important. The lesson took most of the time. But as I listened, I realized I already knew (from my reading) much of what they were saying. They spoke, so we could hear, over radio hearing aids, which enabled me to hear them as I walked around (most of the group stood with them and listened). I, in a sense, was unleashed from the lectures and because of my study, I was able to walk about, look at, and take in, with some familiarity, each place we visited.I learned more by walking around and examining each site.

Shlomo shows us a carob tree at Azekah

On my second tour, two years later, John and Shlomo took us to more and different sites in Israel. I rearranged and added to my document. Again, I was able to be unleashed and walk around each site in order to examine the remains and the geography of the place. I learned, and began to take in how our Bible was shaped by the land and its people. On my first two trips to Israel I learned many things about the land, the people and the Bible which I had not understood before my pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Old concepts and myths were broken, and details I had seen, but not understood, fit into place.

Ayalon Institute Underground Munitions Factory

I returned to Israel in 2016, and visited the land with my daughters, who were participating in separate archeological digs. We rented a car, and spent time on that trip seeing things which were not on typical trip agendas. My third trip to Israel contains many memories which I enjoy sharing with others

I am about to go to Israel again, with a fourth group, this time with some leadership responsibilities. As I put the trip together (I am going with John and Shlomo again), I wanted to share the preparation I made for my first two trips so those going with me would be better able to understand and take in the land itself. I did not want to give my group a plagiarized document, so I decided I needed, to write a new book which would follow our tour.

Book available at Amazon.com

The new book began as a guide book and ended up as a book of stories, I will write about how that happened in my next blog.  My new book, Israel: Stories for Your Journey is available on Kindle for the affordable price of $1.99, and I would recommend it to anyone who is traveling to Israel.

Eretz Yisrael

From the very first day of our trip to Israel (May 5-18, 2017) we will discover Israel is a land of contrasts. We will see the very new and the very old. Upon departure from Ben Gurion airport we will travel the modern road system into Tel-Aviv. Our first stop in Tel-Aviv is the Palmach Museum on the campus of Tel-Aviv University.

Along the way we will see the scenery of “Eretz Yisrael” (the land of Israel). Eretz Yisrael enjoys a semi-tropical climate which allows the people of the land to plant a variety of flowering trees and bushes.

While most of the land is arid, the Hebrew people work hard to create beauty wherever they can. The flowering trees and bushes seen in this blog are on the campus of Eretz Israel Museum which is on the campus of Tel-Aviv University. We will pass this location on our way to the Palmach Museum.

Contained at the corner of the Museum is what remains of an early archaeological dig, known as Tel Quasile. The original excavation promoted by Lady Hester Stanhope took place in 1948.

Tel Quasile is the remains of a port city located on the banks of the Yarkon River. The city was located a few miles away from the Mediterranean Sea in order to protect it from waves and from raiders who might attack the city.

Today the ruins contain mostly foundations, but there is signage that gives an explanation about the purposes the buildings held. Among the ruins there are various displays, as well as more recent buildings. One of the displays is an olive press where the visitor can see various methods used to draw oil from this valuable fruit.

The museum contains many displays and buildings that show the history of Eretz Yisrael. Displays show agricultural tools, as well as glass making and other crafts.

There is also a building with an exhibit that tells the history of how the Rothschild family of Europe supported farming within the Plain of Sharon. These enterprises drew settlers and gave rise to the modern nation of Israel.

We will discover at the Palmach Museum how the settlers who came to Eretz Yisrael in order to farm the land were forced to protect themselves against Palestinians who desired to eradicate the intruders.

Eretz Yisrael Museum is located in a very beautiful setting on the north side of Tel-Aviv.

Just south of the University we will pass through Yarkon River Park on our way into Tel-Aviv. This park is called the Central Park of Tel-Aviv and contains many recreational fields, walking trails and a zoo.

We will find very beautiful sights as we travel the different regions of Eretz Yisrael. Yarkon River Park is but a taste of what lay ahead of us on this trip.