Page 49 - Holyland Magazine - 2017 Edition

Ancestors
The "man of Benjamin" - Avraham
Herman running 42 km from Eben Ezer
to Shiloh. Photo: Binyamin Tourism
the Israelites entered the Land of Israel under the city of the Tabernacle. According to
the leadership of Joshua ben Nun after 40
years of wandering through the desert.
Here he erected the Tabernacle, which had
wandered with the Children of Israel since
the exodus from Egypt.
Lang was living her dream. She participated
in the world's oldest running challenge. One
of the first recorded runs in human history is
mentioned in the Old Testament, in the Book
of Samuel. At the end of the war between
the Israelites and the Philistines, the "man
of Benjamin" ran from the battlefield at Eben
Ezer (modern day Rosh Ha'ayin) to Shiloh,
Jewish tradition, this runner later became
Saul, the first king of Israel.
Thousands of years after this biblical run, the
People of Israel returned to its homeland.
But not to all of it. After the Six-Day War,
in which the State of Israel recaptured the
area that had belonged to the Jewish People
during the biblical period, the founder of the
Maccabiah games - the Jewish Olympics
- decided to measure the length of the
course from Rosh Ha'ayin to Tel Shiloh. He
was amazed to discover that the length of
the historic path precisely matched that
of the modern marathon, which was only
determined at the London Olympics: 42
kilometers.
The International Bible Marathon retraces this
historic course. It was held for the third time
on October 21, 2016 and attracted close
to 2,000 runners from Israel and the entire
world. It was so incredibly successful that
immediately after its completion of the third
marathon, the date of the fourth international
Bible Marathon was announced: October 6,
2017. The run is not solely for marathoners.
There are 21, 10 and 5 kilometer courses, so
that running enthusiasts of all levels can take
part in the sporting event.
Not for athletes only
But you don't need to be a runner to visit Tel
Shiloh, an archaeological site with a visitor
center close to town. While Tel Shiloh does
not boast opulent palaces or powerful walls,
it is one of the most impressive historical
sites in Israel. There, in what was the territory would not exist. Judaism does not need
of the tribe of Ephraim, the children of Israel
brought the Tabernacle, establishing Shiloh
as the spiritual center for the Tribes of Israel, existence. The return of the Jews to their
even before Jerusalem. The pathway leading
to the mound offers a breathtaking view of
the valley, where one of the most colorful
stories of the Old Testament took place:
during the summer grape-harvest festival,
the maidens of Shiloh would come out
dancing and the men of Benjamin sought
brides from among them. Hannah, one of
the seven prophetesses mentioned in the
Bible, came to the Tabernacle to pray for
a son. After returning home, she became
pregnant and gave birth to a son, Samuel
the Prophet. She vowed to dedicate her son
to the Lord, brought him to the Tabernacle -
where he was raised by Eli, the High Priest.
Hannah's prayer, in which she asked to be
redeemed from infertility, is one of the most
special prayers in Judaism.
There's been quite a buzz about the presence
of the American tourists. They waved Israeli
flags and were constantly praising their
hosts: local Israeli families living in Shiloh.
They opened their homes to these friends
from the United States, viewing them as
partners whose presence was desirable and
even flattering. The Americans, for their part,
were delighted to participate in kabbalat
Shabbat, a lovely ceremony through which
the Jews welcome the special holy feeling
that pervades the Sabbath.
The Israelis find it hard to believe that there
are people out there in the big world who
love them so much. This could possibly
explain the amazement that struck the Israeli
journalist who was sent to cover the Bible
Marathon for a daily newspaper and couldn't
ignore the Americans.
"So, what exactly are you doing here?" he
asked Lang's friends. One of them, Stanley
Wang, answered him confidently, "We have
a debt of gratitude to the Jewish People,
because you gave us the word of God. You
gave us the first Christian family - Mary,
Joseph and Jesus - and gave us the 12
disciples. Jesus said in the Gospel of John,
salvation is from the Jews."
This is what motivates you to
come here to encourage and
support us?
"Without the Jewish contribution, Christianity
Christianity to explain its existence, but
Christianity need Judaism to explain its
homeland after two millennia of exile and
Jewish control of Jerusalem is one of the
steps to the Second Coming of Jesus and
to much yearned for salvation. We define
ourselves at Zionist Christians."
What do you want Israelis to
know about you?
"That we have come and will continue to come
here to disseminate love. The New Testament
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