Here Sheepy Sheepy!

Cooking my Pita
Patting out my pita with my friend David

Crushing up my spices

Herding my little flock

Yesterday we had a fun field trip to the Biblical Gardens near Tel Aviv. Margo had told me that this was one of her favorite things to do when she was here, and if Margo likes it, I knew I was going to like it too. They created the gardens to help people understand the different plants, anilmals, and landscapes used in the bible and the symbolism behind them. It is so much easier to understand the irony or symbolism of different parables involving things that are not part of our everyday life today, but were in the times of the Bible of you can actually see and handle them. We first talked about almond trees and how they are the first trees to bud at the end of the winter season, but that it takes them 6 months to prepare for this. After learning about almond trees, we went to try our hand at sheep herding. There were actually sheep and goats in the flock we were supposed to herd. I say "supposed to" becasue my group didn't do so well. It was kind of like a little obstacle course thing that we had to take the flock on in seven minutes. My group was supposed to seperate the sheep and goats and take them to the fig tree, then to the fake watering hole, and then to a little area in the corner of the fenced off area. We were trying to hurry and do it all in under seven minutes and we were running too fast...and all our sheep and goats ran right into out imaginary pond and drown. Oops! After we all got a chance to herd the sheep around we gathered around to talk about the symbolism of being a shepard. We talked about the different things that helped us herd the sheep. It was easier if you were behind the sheep prodding them from the rear. You had a view of where they were going and what direction you wanted to move them in. The sheep responded best to nudged and by talking to them. They also were easliy distracted. One would see a leaf and stop to smell it, so they all would. There is always a leader within the herd that the other sheep follow. The shepard guides that sheep, and the other sheep will follow it. There was so much more symbolism with sheparding than I had ever thought there could be. It really was a fun and neat experience. We then went and gathered all sorts of berries and herbs while walking to another pavilian. Our tour guide then talked to us about the symbolism between hysop and cedar trees. Hysop is oregano and grows out of the rocks. It is just a little plant that smells delicious and was used for medicinal and cooking purposes during the Biblical times. Hysop is representative of humility and is used as a symbol of this on many occasions in the Bible. Cedar trees are representative of pride because they are large trees here. When King Soloman became prideful, he had outlandish amounts of Cedar trees brought in to build his palace. After realizing his pride, Soloman asked to be cleansed with hysop. Before learning these things I never would have understood the symbolism in this story, but now I do. After talking about many of the bible stories that involve these two plants, we ground dried oragano up with some of the other herbs we had gathered to use later. We then were able to visit a Torah scribe and see some 200 year old Torah scrolls. At lunch we all sat around and ate our sack lunches, and then they taught us how to make pita bread. We got to make our own pitas and then eat them with olive oil and the oragano we had ground up. It was delicious! I am craving it right now! After lunch, we talked about the importance of milk and honey in the promised land and got to see what a Kosher Sukkot or booth looks like that the Jews still stay in today for their Sukkot holiday. They stay in these booths for 8 days to remember their time in the wilderness and appreciate all that they have in the land of milk and honey. We also talked about why the Jews drink wine to celebrate the harvest, so we all toasted and drank wine to really feel a part of the experience. Okay, it was only grape juice, but we can pretend. It really was a fun field trip and I learned a lot. I also put rocks in a boys backpack all day long and he still hasn't found them. I can't wait until he figures out he has been packing around rocks this whole time!