This photo was taken on January 30 at Tel Gezer. The historical period/lesson of this tiyul was related to Avraham and Sarah, and their arrival at Canaan. We also talked a bit about how Avraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac simply because God told him to, even though that went against the values he had been advocating for and his beliefs. We studied about what archaeologists search for when making a decision about whether or not to dig up a potential site, and learned about how Canaan had the four d’s (drink, dine, defense, and drive) that lead to the discovery of this town. We talked more about the differences between monotheism and polytheism, and that there are deeper meanings to them besides believing in one God or many gods. Monotheism also suggests a belief in balance and harmony, and that God wants you to be good/righteous people. In contrast, polytheism represents a belief of strife, a fear of God, war, and that humans are slaves to the gods. This tiyul made me see the Torah as not just a made up story. I often times have difficulty understanding if what we learn in the Torah could actually be true, but seeing the actual evidence of what we read about in class makes me see these stories as actual events that happened in history. I most enjoyed getting to see what we talked about in class in real life, because it allowed me to understand everything we learned much better and put everything into perspective. It also gives me a new appreciation for history, and I am looking forward to continue learning about Jewish history in this way. - Netanya