The Beginning – Arrival at Zion

Few places on Earth can compare to the land of Israel. The Cultural, Religious, Historical, and Archeological value of the country is without compare. There are over 5000 years of history scattered across this land and soon I will get the chance to experience all of it.

But let’s back up for a minute, and allow me to explain what exactly I am doing here. Last year I began my work on a Masters Degree in Biblical History and Geography with Jerusalem University College (AKA the American Institute of Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem). However with the rise of COVID-19, I was unable to travel to Israel, and did the entirety of the first year of my program online. Now, Jerusalem University College (JUC for short) has built itself on the ability to study the Bible in the land where the Bible was written, taking the students throughout the land to peel back the layers of metaphorical dust that have built up in the centuries of Bible scholarship isolated from the land of the Bible. Needless to say, taking these courses online did not do them justice. It works best in person.

Fast forward several months and the State of Israel is starting to process student visas again, with what seemed like a novel of caveats. I would need the COVID-19 Vaccine, I would need to take COVID tests before and after flying, and always have a negative result, and upon arrival I would have to isolate for 2 weeks, or get a blood test to check for the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, and have a favorable result, whichever could be completed sooner. And that was only once I actually traveled to Israel. Before that I had to renew my passport, apply for a visa, be approved for a visa, pick up the visa from the consulate in New York City, and do it when it was taking several months to renew passports, and there were no available appointments at the consulate until November. Purely by the grace of God, for there is no other way this could have all work out, I had everything ready to go three weeks before traveling.

Which brings us back to today. I have now spent three days on JUC’s campus located on Mount Zion. The bulk of that time has been spent in my room with my roommate, or outside in the garden during specified hours with just the group of people living in our hallway, for meals and our half hour of “free time.”

So with little else to write about this week, allow me to introduce you to the JUC garden, which a couple locals have nicknamed Gan Edan or Garden of Eden.

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The Garden at JUC is one of the most tranquil places I know, filled with organized and decorated section, large hedgerows, pergolas with tables for meeting and eating, large pine trees, and a variety of native fruit trees, including olive trees, almond trees, a single date palm, grapevines, and half a dozen pomegranate trees, some with fruit that is near ripe for picking. The shade from the larger trees provides a comfortable atmosphere not found indoors during the heat of the day, and the cool of the evening, when the cool Mediterranean air is carried to Jerusalem by the winds, is most noticeable in the garden. I would be remiss if I did not point out that God used to walk with Adam and Eve in the Garden during the “cool of the day.” (Genesis 3:8) It is indeed a grand time for a walk through the garden, or any other number of activities, as we have discovered.

So while this isn’t the Gan Edan, this little garden is a place where I and nearly 50 other people have come to experience God as we begin to dive into our studies of His Word, His Works, and His Land. These past three days have provided us with a time of rest and reflection as we prepare for the adventure ahead.

Classes start tomorrow. Isolation ends on Friday. Rest and relaxation will quickly become much more scarce as we push into a full schedule, and start touring the country, and I cannot wait to share this journey with you all.