Discoveries in the Holy Land

“The first group will herd all the sheep and goats into that circle over there.” For a split second, I thought he was joking, but as our guide, Yair stared at the group sitting on the other side of the bench, I realized that he meant what he said. I was glad he didn’t choose our group first. I wanted to see how this would turn out. About ten other students started walking towards the grazing animals, who seemed focused on nothing but eating the grass before them. There were between twenty and forty sheep and goats wandering around the pen. After some time, they finally pushed, lead, and even carried all the creatures into a ring about ten feet in diameter. Then it was our turn and I realized why the first group took so long. The sheep and goats were slow and liked to eat, but surprisingly they would go where we wanted if we were persistent. We learned to lead them from behind. If we led them from the front or raised our voices, they would be spooked by our shadows and would turn away...

The Land of Samaria is full of rich agriculture for growing various kinds of crops. It was a cloudy day. The gray skies made the brown soil and green olive trees pop from the scenery. If it wasn’t for the cold, it would be the perfect day. I looked out from the bus window and saw sheep along the low hills. They grazed among stone terraces and low shrubbery. They weren’t the fluffy white creatures I’d seen in shows, they were all kinds of colors, mostly a dirty grey. They seemed to blend in with the hillside. Samaria is an expansive land. Immediately north of Benjamin, where Jerusalem is, it comprises the large tribal allotments that were given to Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph. In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his 12 sons. Verses 22-26 enumerate his prophetic blessings on Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh. He starts by calling Joseph a fruitful bough. In many ways, the land of these tribes has the most bountiful soil in Israel. Its geography and ecology make it i...