Yesterday we took a break from our studies and ventured into Israel on field trips to explore different aspects of Israel and Israeli society. After spending a week inside, I chose to explore Israel outside, on a day long hike through Mt. Gilboa.
Mt. Gilboa is located in the northern part of Israel, about an hour or so north of Jerusalem, southwest of the ancient and now modern city of Beit She’an. It is mentioned in the book of 1 Samuel 31 and the story of the death of King Saul and his sons. Starting at the top, Mt. Gilboa affords a vista of the Jordan valley to the east, and the Jezreel valley to the west; a glimpse of the vitality of the land in all directions. Its breathtaking views allows you to capture the growth of modernity as you peer into the haze of history – “Now the Philisitnes fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the philistines and fell down slain on Mt. Gilboa.” (1 Samuel 31:1) It was so moving to walk the steps of our ancestors. The hike down the mountain began with the images of the besieged Israel and the thoughts in my head of how something so beautiful could be one day redeemed.
I won’t kid you, it was hot, steep, jagged and you couldn’t buy a slice of shade for any amount of shekels. The 3 kilometer descent gave me the chance to consider the difficulties of building a nation, protecting the dreams of a people and what it might mean for this special place to experience the redemption it so desperately needs. When we got to the end of the trail and the air-conditioned bus was waiting for us to take us to lunch, I definitely thought the messiah had arrived via motorcoach. I was tired hot and dirty. Thank goodness for the next part of the hike – a water walk through a lazy river near a natural spring, called Gan Hashelosha. Awesome! After lunch in Beit She’an, a and a brief visit to an eduction partner of the Hartman Institute and the Ministry of Education, we drove back to Jerusalem where I was so glad to get back to my hotel. As I hung up my wet clothes in the bathroom to dry, that’s when Yehuda Amichai came for a visit…
Yehuda Amichai (1924 – 2000) was an Israeli poet, considered by many, both in Israel and internationally, as Israel’s greatest modern poet. He wrote one of my favorite poems entitled, “Tourists”.

Visits of condolence is all we get from them.
They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,
They put on grave faces at the Wailing Wall
And they laugh behind heavy curtains
In their hotels.
They have their pictures taken
Together with our famous dead
At Rachel’s Tomb and Herzl’s Tomb
And on Ammunition Hill.
They weep over our sweet boys
And lust after our tough girls
And hang up their underwear
To dry quickly
In cool, blue bathrooms.

Once I sat on the steps by agate at David’s Tower,
I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of tourists
was standing around their guide and I became their target marker. “You see that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there’s an arch from the Roman period. Just right of his head.” “But he’s moving, he’s moving!”

I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them, “You see that arch from the Roman period? It’s not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, there sits a man who’s bought fruit and vegetables for his family.”

And then it hit me, again. Israel’s real moment of redemption will not come because of the volume of tourists who admire the ancient artifacts, walk the old city streets or climb ancient mountains. Redemption will come for Israel when, in spite of the antiquity and wonder of the artifacts, we choose instead to see the newness and the wonder of the people right in front of us and the efforts they go through to survive, day in, and day out. But this is not relegated only to Israel. The same holds true for us, wherever we are. When we finally decide that people and their stories are more important than the principled stands we feel we must make, and the buildings we must build, we will then move quickly to usher in the time of the Messiah. All we have to do is notice the more important sights. I wonder if we can do it.