OK, so the theme of the trip is "Israel Through the Arts" but at it's core I wanted the trip to be as hands on as possible - especially if we could do something real to make a difference in the lives of israelis in need. This morning we are off to Rehovot to volunteer with Project Leket. Leket comes from the Torah's command to farmers to leave produce in the fields for the stranger, poor, widow and orphan. Project Leket works with Israeli farmers who allow volunteers to glean their fields for the hungry. This morning we are picking onions, yep, onions. They will be distributed today to the food pantries. We seem to have a knack for picking as we picked 800 kilos of onions which will feed 250 families! Great job TBDer's! 
Stopped for lunch at Aroma's, a fresh coffee shop/sandwich place- not much unlike Starbucks. Although I think I will pass on onion rings or anything with onions for a while.
Getting dirty and connecting with the earth is good for the soul. With that in mind we are going to dig for a day in Beit Guvrin. Beit Guvrin is an important tel holding thousands of years of history layer by layer. First we climbed down into one of the underground caves where the Edomites kept their workshops. Much cooler underground. David out archeologist gives us a quick tutorial on how to use the pick and shovel, what is just a rock and what is a find. Miriam digs and immediately finds a huge piece of a jug. Beginners luck! Whoa! I found a handle to something, some charcoal, and a bone. 
After digging and sorting into pails - we begin a bucket brigade with all of the earth we dug up. Excavating rule #1 bring up everything. We are now sifting through each bucket of what we thought was just plain dirt. Nope Marcy found a fossilized olive pit and a bone! Very cool. Now David offers to take us on an Indiana Jones exploration into a recently found underground cave complex. Some opt for the olive press tour but there's no way I'm missing this opportunity. First, we have to crawl through a small entry that is lit by candles. Then we have to crab walk, slide, slither, twist, lower, and pray our way through a very tight maze of barely excavated chambers and caves. Along the way we find a columbarium (carved niches to raise pigeons) and finally at the end a water cistern. Note to self: I am not Indiana Jones.
Whew! Pretty exhausted from the digging and exploring. Finally, heading to Jerusalem to check in to the Dan Panorama. Now off to Little Italy restaurant for a delicious Italian meal. Belissimo! Really recommend this place the food is outstanding.
Ah, Jerusalem city of old, city of gold. Tonight we are heading to the Western Wall Tunnels. Most people think the Wall is only the part they see but actually the wall runs through the Muslim quarter as well. We are off underground to explore. Herod the Great built a platform for the Temple Mount over the mountain in order to level it. The Western Wall is a part of that super-structure. And SUPER it is. One stone stretched an amazing distance ans each stone is so thick that it holds back a tremendous amount of pressure. Each level is set back an inch or two to make the wall seem flat. A street with shops runs along the parallel distance, while a main bridge(represented by a huge arch) connected the upper city to the Temple Mount. (Outside Robinson's Arch had a stairway up at the Southern end) Today's Muslim Quarter is actually built on stilts(columns). I am amazed how such a magnificent structure could have been built without hydraulics and huge mechanized machines. Truly remarkable. 
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