Ani Zocher:
Pilgrims' Stories

Poland Seminar 2004,
by Nathan Miller, SWUSY

After a short hike in Ein Gedi, we stopped at a small hole in the ground. The other members of Group 4 Poland/Israel Pilgrimage and I wondered what the point of this hole, filled with some muddy water, could possibly be. We were told that we were at the spring of Nahal David, which meant nothing to us, except that shortly, we would be swimming!

When I arrived at Nahal David, I thought it was just another spring, and it was important only because it was in the greatest country on Earth. We all hear about everyone's "wow" moment in Israel, but it was already three weeks into the trip, and I had yet to have mine. Don't get me wrong, I was having tons of fun, and I savored every moment, but for some reason, I had yet to have that amazing moment of realization. Until Nahal David.

As we followed a small stream, we finally got to a waterfall, with rock above us on both sides. We listened to a small story, and eventually found out that to the left of us stood King Saul over 3000 years ago, while on the right of us stood the future King David at the same time. They talked, they laughed, they negotiated. And 3000 years later, I had my "wow" moment, realizing that I was literally feet away from THE spot which I had read about so many times.

Later that night, we celebrated Shabbat at Arad, where we went over the week. Although the highlights for most people included camel-riding at the Bedouin Tent, or Shacharit after the Sunrise on Massada, my highlight was clear: I got to stand where David stood.

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