I will be in the US Nov. 21-Dec. 26 sharing stories about life in Israel plus visiting family and friends.
My itinerary is at the end of this email. Hope to see many of you!

 

Racing against the clock and traffic, I drove more than two hours south from the Sea of Galilee down the desert highway to arrive early at the stately W.F. Albright Archaeological Institute, nestled into a grove of towering trees in eastern Jerusalem. It is an oasis in the midst of blaring horns, bad drivers, and a jumble of shops hawking dated merchandise. My rental car whizzed into the peaceful parking lot adjacent to a colonnaded courtyard of flowers and bubbling fountain, where it breathed a sigh of relief that it was finally getting a rest from my heavy foot and frenetic driving.

The Albright is named after the father of Biblical archaeology

Founded in 1900, the Institute is the oldest American research center for ancient Near Eastern studies in the Middle East. The 1920’s-era architecture exudes the romance and fascination of a nascent period when Biblical archaeology captivated interest and began nurturing scholars.

The lecture series offered by The Albright Institute regularly brings archaeologists who are involved in current digs or who have recently published results to share their findings with the public during monthly afternoons accompanied by a glass of wine or cup of tea, and a table full of decadent resident-chef-made desserts. I am ever a student and events like this are reasons I love Jerusalem.

Roman-era pottery finds filled a table before me as I settled into a front row seat next to the familiar face of a woman I have seen at archaeological lectures over the past sixteen years in Jerusalem; however, it was on this day that I officially met Ellen.

Nofar Shamir, lead archaeologist at the Decapolis city of Hippos,
shows off Roman and Byzantine pottery finds

Balancing our plates and glasses while chatting, a demure older woman, short in stature with a large presence, passed in front of us and I greeted her. Her eyes beamed back at me, as though the stories within her were full to overflowing. Her purple top accented her eyes and you could tell she had a grittiness about her character. Ellen also greeted her, as though the woman was a dignitary. I was intrigued.

I asked the woman her name. “Malka,”she responded. “What a beautiful name,” I said, “You are a queen.” (Her name is the Hebrew word for queen.) “I didn’t really like it while growing up,” she opined. “Malka,” I continued, “today you wear it well.” Ellen broke in and introduced Malka as, “The Queen of Masada.” Now I was really intrigued! “What does she mean?” I asked Malka. Ellen clarified by telling me that she was the lead organiser for the Masada dig under famed archaeologist Yigael Yadin from 1963-1965 with sixteen years of follow-up research and an expert archaeologist in Second Temple Period ceramics. From the podium Matt Adams, the Institute’s Director, called the crowd to their seats just as Ellen was finishing with the words, “Malka had to make a choice between her fiancé and Masada…she chose Masada.” That was all it took. I was hooked.

Archaeologist Dina Avshalom-Goren (r) who oversaw Magdala’s
Dig in 2009 joined Malka Hershkovitz (c) and me for a photo

 

Yesterday Ellen and I were invited to Malka’s home and sat at her kitchen table as “The Queen of Masada” shared stories of the past and the culmination of recent research to bring forth a book about signet rings, precious gems, and ancient jewelry. There were stories of being chosen by Yadin at age 24 to supervise the Masada project and making the choice to dig into the history of this land rather than marry her longtime boyfriend. It was a crossroads that changed her destiny.

She arrived on-site at the desert mountain fortress where a few tents would be home to the staff and volunteers for months. Large bags of water were delivered for the workers, only to find that there were small holes in the bags. The first week there they had rationed water only for drinking. Welcome to the desert! The work was exhausting, but exhilarating, she said.

I asked her what discovery moved her more than others and as she described it, tears bubbled up in my eyes like the fountain in the Albright courtyard. This woman sitting across the table from me, now approaching eighty, once sat on the dusty floor of what was determined to be Masada’s synagogue. She brushed below the surface level and found the outline of what appeared to be a piece of rag. As she brought it to the sunlight she said it was limp like a dish rag, not brittle, but she could read the writing on the ancient parchment. It was the vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 which said, “ The Lord God says, ‘I will cause you to come up out of your graves, My people, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” Her fingers were the first to touch this ancient manuscript in nearly 2000 years, her eyes the first to read the prophecy of her people coming back to their homeland with new life. She found a hidden treasure. History alive!

Gary’s voice echoed through the ruins as he read me
the Ezekiel prophecy at the Masada Synagogue in 2004

Are you connecting with those around you only on a surface level? Will you take the time to brush below the surface to discover layers of stories waiting to enrich your understanding of friends and family? You could miss it, you know. Ask questions, engage, listen. You, too, can find hidden treasure and uncover history.

Enjoying the walk home,
Cindy

 

My interview on “The Land and The Book” broadcast of Moody Radio is rescheduled to Saturday Dec. 8th check the website for the local air time. It can be heard online by going to https://www.moodyradio.org/programs/the-land-and-the-book/ and find the program schedule for “The Land and The Book.” The archive is available for that week.

Nov. 21-26…Richmond, VA

• Gathering Sunday Nov. 25 at 9121 Broadstone Rd., N. Chesterfield between 2-4pm

Nov. 27-30…Kokomo, IN—Gathering at Main St. Cafe on Nov. 30th 9-11am

Dec. 1………Newport Beach, CA—Gathering at Panera Bread on Bison between 11:30am-1pm

Dec. 2-6…….Los Angeles, CA—Gatherings at the following venues:

• Dec. 2 Sunday gathering at Panera Bread Pasadena, 3521 E. Foothill Blvd. 2-4pm
• Dec. 3 Monday gathering at Starbucks Burbank, 4207 W. Riverside Dr., 11am-1pm
• Dec. 5 Wednesday gathering at Starbucks Burbank, 4207 W. Riverside Dr. 10-12am

Dec. 7-9…….Keller, TX

Dec. 10-11….Dallas, TX

• Dec. 10 Monday gathering at Panera Bread, 7839 Park Ln., between 2-4pm
• Dec. 11 Tuesday gathering at Panera Bread, 7839 Park Ln., between 9-11am

Dec. 11-12…Houston, TX area

• Dec. 12 Wednesday gathering at Houston Panera Bread, 1709 Post Oak Blvd., 9-11am
• Dec. 12 Wednesday gathering at The Woodlands La Madeleine from noon-2pm

Dec. 13-16…Boston, MA

Dec. 17-19…Los Angeles, CA

Dec. 20-25…Richmond, VA

Dec. 26 Return flight to Tel Aviv

If you plan on joining me at one of the venues please text/email me your name, cell#, and the date you’ll come in case of changes.