Give Me a Drink

The day began with Mass in St. Michael’s Chapel at the Cathedral celebrated by the Bishop of Jerusalem followed by breakfast and then boarding the bus for our day’s trip.

The Church of Jacob's Well

We headed into Palestinian country for Nablus directly north of Jerusalem which is the site of Jacob’s well. It was here in Samaria that Jesus encountered the woman and asked her for a drink of water (John 4:1-42). The conversation that ensued caused her to become a believer.

The mosaic in the courtyard
 before the main door of the church.

The Church of Jacob’s Well is a Greek Orthodox Church now. As with most of the holy places the church is built upon the foundations of a previous church which was built upon the foundations of a previous church, etc., which was built upon the site of a generally acknowledged holy place. 

The church is filled with wonderful iconography mostly written by one the priests there. 

Interior of the Church of Jacob's Well

On either side of the bema one can descend to the crypt where the actual well is. The bucket and winch are there so water can be drawn from the well.  One of our Canadian bishops obliged and we all  shared the water from this well as the Samaritan woman did with Jesus. Several original icons are there for purchase as well as small jugs of holy water from the well. The church is beautifully kept and is a fairly recent structure <100 years old. The courtyard surrounding the church is pleasant. The day is beautiful with the bright blue sky and warm temperatures.

Our next journey was to drive up and up to Mount Gerizim. This is the ancient mountain atop which the Samaritans worshipped. I am continually amazed at the vertical distance between the valleys and mountains here. 

The Samaritan Priest

A Samaritan priest met us at their synagogue and spoke to us. He was quite delightful but it was obvious he had difficulty with English. When he finished speaking he told us he had “used up all his words.”

As in Jesus’ day, the Jews and Samaritans do not have anything to do with one another. He explained that the Samaritans accept only Torah, the first five books of the Bible. They use a language related to Hebrew but distinctively different with an alphabet not like the Hebrew alphabet. They are a small sect numbering only about 750 in two locations in Israel. He is a Levite from the priestly tribe. When asked if one could convert to this sect he basically said “why would one want to do that?” They live together. The women do not come to synagogue but stay home, care for the children and their husband. The men come to pray and listen to Torah. 

The ditch over which the
Passover lambs are slaughtered.

They celebrate the three great festivals. On Passover they have a 
ceremonial plaza where each family brings its lamb, the high priest reads from Exodus, all the lambs are slaughtered over a ditch, they are cleaned, the offal and wool is burned and the lambs roasted in six large pits. At midnight each father takes the lamb home to his family and they eat the passover meal. Our leader, Rodney, had been to observe this ceremony a few years ago so he could fill in the details.

One of the roasting pits for the lambs.

We traveled back to Nablus for lunch and then back to Jerusalem arriving mid-afternoon. Tonight, following dinner we have a lecture on Islam.