Day 4 and 5 - Shiloh and Shabbat

 

Day 4 and 5 – Shiloh and Shabbat
Thursday and Friday - February 25 & 26, 2026

Total miles traveled to date: 8727

Miles traveled today: 85 

Steps taken today: 10,518

Steps taken to date: 45,889

Details: Tel Aviv to Shiloh - to Gva'Ot Winery

Total Miles Driven Today:85 miles

Yesterday we traveled somewhere I have been to before – but the last time I went it was a Shabbat, and the facilities were not open.   It was a joy and a pleasure to visit Ancient Shilo (pronounced Shee-low.) 

First, of course, was the walk to the car.  This particular morning it was quite cold and windy.  We stopped as we do to pray together, and as we stood and prayed, a beam of sun came down on us.  Hallelu-Yah!!

Hello, Cow

 Shilo was another place where the tabernacle was assembled, like Gilgal, but it was more of a permanent settlement for the Israelites.  It was from this place that the tribes individually went out to conquer the land.  It was also the place that Hannah, the mother of Samuel, went forth and prayed and asked YHVH to give her a son.  It was the place that ultimately the tabernacle was destroyed, and the Jewish people were dispersed.  If you are interested in learning more about that, you can read about it here:  https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5410544/jewish/The-Mystery-of-Shiloh.htm

The weather was shockingly cold, and the wind blew.  When we first got out of the cars,  I asked the Father to help us out with that.  The wind never ceased, but the rain stopped entirely, and while we talked the sun came out and stayed shining the remainder of the day.  Hallelu-Yah!

After a stop for some coffee and souvenirs, we met the neatest lady!   She told us the story of the red heiffers – the history of what has happened since they were brought from Texas to Israel.  I have tucked that video into here. I tried to upload the video but I'm having technical difficulties.  I will try to post it later.

 Next we went and saw the red heifers!  The heifers are required for the new temple. 

Leviticus 19:1 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and he will have it brought outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.  4 Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. 5 Then the heifer must be burned in his sight. Its hide, its flesh, and its blood are to be burned, along with its dung. 6 The priest is to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer.
7 Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may enter the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The one who burned the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he too will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
9 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to gather up the ashes of the heifer and store them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They must be kept by the congregation of Israel for preparing the water of purification; this is for purification from sin. 10 The man who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will be ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent statute for the Israelites and for the foreigner residing among them.

Basically, soap is made from the ashes, and then the soap is used to make the priests ceremonially clean.  The red heifer story in modern Israel is, in itself, an interesting story.  The man who had the cows was a Texas rancher – the rancher started growing the cows because he wanted to grow red heifers like the Bible says.  So when the priests approached him about them, he was thrilled to provide the cows.  See that story here: https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-717650

We walked into a plain room with a lot of chairs.  The production started, and we listened to the story of the cows and what brought them here.  After the production, the screen opened up and there behind were four somewhat bored looking cows.  The closest cow did not look amused, but with some patience on my part, she eventually turned and looked at me.  

She was not amused.

  

This was followed by a visit to a “holographic” temple, which was actually kind of neat, but I did not get any photos. The presentation brought to life the tabernacle experience, and highlighted various parts of the tabernacle.  Then we looked at several archeological digs and remnants of the former civilizations that lived there on our way to the top of the hill.

A lookout has been built there, with a small museum on the bottom floor, and a screen room at the top.  There we watched the story of the tabernacle and the story of Hannah, which was a lovely thing.  

The presentation/lookout tower

 Finally, we strolled down to the location where the tabernacle would have stood.  As we walked, my heart became full of song. I began to sing and hum and all of the songs that came into my heart were songs about His holiness, entering the temple, and blessings upon us.  The wind carried away my song offering. 

The view from the Tabernacle

 Eventually, I began to walk back down with Shawna.  As we chatted, I shared a confidence with her: I had always wanted to start a non-profit that focuses on helping people, especially Christians, come to Israel.  I feel like American Christians are detached from the roots of their faith, and so many of them do not consider travel to Israel because it is so expensive.  A family of six or eight or ten would find it prohibitively expensive.  I even have a name for it: Bridge to Zion.  

When I left Israel in 2016, my heart burned to do this, but I could never gain any traction, I didn’t have the connections, and eventually I let it go and let the dream die. 

As I was walking with Shawna, we passed a couple of people who happened to be sitting there.  They heard us chatting, and one of them said she had a book with a list of tour guides that could help with this!  It was a book she had bought here at Shilo some months before, and she let me take a picture.  Shawna told them that I tend the widows of our group, and they blessed me for doing so. As I write my skin is breaking out in goose flesh.  Those were the only people we passed the entire walk down, and the fact that we were discussing that exact thing as we passed so they could hear can only be a god-incidence.  Perhaps Bridge to Zion is not dead.  Perhaps it was only asleep. 

We then got a recommendation for a winery nearby, and we hurried to enjoy a meal. What followed was a delicious wine, cheese, olives, and bread experience, and more chatter and talk.  The winery, called Gva'Ot, was wonderfully accommodating to such a large group of people.  They helped us order, fed us fully, and then we headed back to Tel Aviv. 

 I confess I took up all the oxygen in the car on the way back. I have always wanted to discuss so many things with Joe! We found out that Joe and I are cousins!  In a manner of speaking.  We both descend from William the Conqueror, and eventually learned that Johann, a fellow traveler, also has these family roots hiding in their tree.  

Anyone who makes the mistake of letting me talk about my genealogy for too long will get an earful, and they might also find out that I am a little bit nuts.  I believe that most Hebrews are descended from the line of David somewhere along the way. Of course, people intermarry and clans combine, and it’s impossible to tell without a DNA test and a genealogy search to be sure, but I know for YHVH that the children of Israel were never lost.  My own father knew very little about who we were, and where we came from.  My own revelations for him were very exciting and I wish he could be here to meet other long-lost cousins as I am getting to know.

Modern peoples, especially Americans, have forgotten where we come from.  We are Americans, full stop.  What our families were before that seems irrelevant.  It took digging, real effort, to locate my family tree and educate my own self on who we are and where we came from.  It’s clear that the people I come from were the founders of our nation, and that the Father knew exactly who we were the whole time.  

I finished my day with a walk to the Mediterranean to see the sunset.  

 

This evening begins the Sabbath for us.  This morning, we all declared we believe the barley to be aviv, so we will keep the holy feast this next week.  We will dine together tonight, and tomorrow we will do very little – we will pray and sing and rest, as Hebrews do.  As I prepare for this Sabbath, I keep finding tears running from my eyes.  I was so alone for so long in the Sabbath and the feasts, so certain that I was doing the right thing but also so lonely in the doing.  I was always the peculiar one – the one saying no to going out, to eating out, to doing things, to working.  To be able to share this weekly Shabbat with my fellow travelers is almost more joy than I can stand.  To be able to enjoy the richness and goodness of the Shabbat right here in the promised land fills my heart with song and the joy is leaking out of my eyes.

If you have never taken a Sabbath, I invite you to join us just to experiment.  Cancel your plans for Saturday and stay home.  Read the Bible, watch a movie, enjoy your family, play a game, go for a walk.  Slow down, breathe it in, and worship your god.  If you choose these things, I pray the mystery of the Sabbath is revealed to you, and that you find yourself satisfied with his goodness and refreshed for the week to come. 

Blessed are you, YHVH our god, King of the Universe, who sanctifies us with his commandments, and who commands us to keep the Shabbat. 

Shabbat shalom, from Tel Aviv!