Day #15 Last Day in Israel

We ended the last day of our tour in Israel with a bang! This morning we visited Masada. Originally built as one of Herod's private palaces, this desert mountain top fortress was the last stand of the Judean revolt against Rome in 73 A.D.

From Masada we headed further north to Qumran. This was home to an ascetic Jewish sect with some radical religious customs. It's also the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were initially discovered in 1946.

Our last tour stop before arriving back at our hotel in Tel Aviv was a visit to Israel's 9/11 memorial. Israel is the only country outside the United States to construct a memorial in remembrance of those who died in the 9/11 attacks.

But the real treat of the day came back at our visit to Masada. On site was a modern day Jewish Scribe copying the Torah. The Torah can only be reproduced by hand and it takes more than a year for a single copy. Not only that, a single mistake makes the entire scroll useless and the Scribe has to start all over again. According to our guide, a Synagogue today may pay upwards of $30,000-$50,000 for a copy of the Torah. Well, the Scribe on site at Masada works behind a glass partition so that visitors can watch him work. But, since his work is extremely precise and delicate he cannot be disturbed. Except today. For some reason when our group approached the glass divider he invited us to come inside and see his work close-up. Our guide, who has been to Masada dozens of times over the years, was flabbergasted. "This just never happens," he said. But the story gets even better... After the Scribe asked where we were from and what we were doing in Israel he offered to write us a blessing on a piece of parchment used for copying the Torah. It was a precious moment as he wrote his blessing for us, Clear Lake Presbyterian Church, and presented it to us. I'll have the blessing mounted and framed so we can display it in our Philadelphia Hall so you can see it too.

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1. Masada is located on a very high peak in the Judean desert very near the Dead Sea. While it is possible to walk to the top, we all opted for the cable car!
2. Qumran
3. Cave #9 where the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discoverd.
4. Israel's 9/11 Memorial located in Jerusalem across the valley from Jerusalem's Jewish cemetery.
5. Names engraved on the perimeter of the memorial.
6. Scribe at Masada copies the Torah.