Walking the Bible

So, I´m leaving the Negev. But before I go I want to note one last biblical observation. Writing that comes from a culture that is both foreign and ancient is difficult to grasp. Two things help though: learning the language and living in the environment. Yet no matter what we do, the bible can still baffle us. That's why it's so satisfying when something just clicks.

A few weeks ago I spent a day at a near by Kibbutz, just a few km down the road. It was a hot day and I walked for hours in the desert wearing flip-flops. I walked quite a bit off of the path, in the sand and dirt of the Negev. When I got home and sat down, I was suddenly overcome by a powerful urge - to wash my feet. Sure they were dirty, but my feet have been dirty before. But this was different. It was a strange sensation: as if they were covered by a thin film of very fine dust and dirt. It was kind of tingly and rather irritating.

So off to the bathroom I went, and with foot in sink it hit me. Abraham, angels, Genesis 18... foot baths!

In the Tanach תנ"ך or Hebrew Bible there are eleven references to washing ones feet. I always wondered what this obsession with foot baths was. Why does Abraham, upon seeing angels/visitors, immediately offer water for feet washing? We've all gone around barefoot at one point or another, but the bible makes it seem so urgent, as if one can't relax until the feet are clean. And that's pretty much right on. After I toweled down my toes I felt like a new man.

Ever since, I've had a new understanding of all the biblical feet washing. Song of Songs 5 sums it all up: I have washed my feet— must I soil them again? Amen.

I'll miss the desert though - quietude, warm sun, cool breezes and starry nights. I'll miss walking a few minutes from my door, climbing a small hill and being in the open with a view that stretches on to the horizon.

And yet, driving back last night from Haifa, my soon to be new place of residence, I looked out the window and saw the sun just touching down on the Mediterranean Sea.

You could almost here it sizzling. On my left were the craggy foothills of Mount Carmel where Elijah confronted the prophets of Ba'al. Perhaps there will be more little insights into the book that spawned history. And if not, at least I'll enjoy the view.

FYI, no I did not take these pictures. Sorry. But I still wanted some visual representation of the locations mentioned.

For those interested go to biblegateway.com and search feet and wash together.