Just Another Week on Tzuba

שבת שלום, חברים. Nothing too interesting going on.
We had a few tiyulim this week - one to the caves used in the Bar Kochva revolt, the second big revolt in Jewish history during the time of Roman rule. Our guide, Yael (also our teacher for Tuesdays since Yair is taking classes) told us about the different tactics the rebels used in fighting against Roman soldiers and finally their defeat, as they were smoked out of the caves and massacred in 135 CE. Comparing this with the Great Revolt of 66-70 CE, it was clear to me that the Jewish people of the Second Temple era did not like Roman rule or influence one bit. But how come the stories of revolts weren't told for generations to come? This was a major class discussion - in order to prevent further bloodshed, stories of revolts and rebellions were suppressed and other stories of miracles (like Hanukkah) and other God-like occasions were brought up to support the faith in the Jewish religion. The revolt stories only really came out during the Zionist era to back the idea that the Jews deserved their own state and that they should fight for it until they reach their ultimate goal, just like those fighting in the revolts of many centuries before. (Really glad we talked about this - not only was it interesting, but it was relevant for my JHist essay on the latest exam)
The other tiyul was to En Kerem, in the Christian quarter of Jerusalem. There we talked about the beginning of Christianity - the birth of Jesus, his relationship with John the Baptist (En Kerem was John's birthplace), Jesus's disciples and the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. We also touched on the various values of Christianity and how it relates or differs from Judaism. When we discussed the "withered stump" theory and the witness theory, I was sort of angered at the view Christianity had put on the Jews. To call Judaism the "withered branches" of the tree of Christianity didn't seem fair. I hate discussing hatred between religions - we all have some common lineage, we all recognize this lineage, but yet still feel the need to express our animosity just because our views don't exactly coincide with eachother. It bothers me a lot at times, but don't get me wrong, I love to learn about other religions and their values no matter how different they are from mine.
Other than these two tiyulim, it's been a pretty regular week. We had our second JHist test - this one on the Second Temple period - which I think went pretty well but we'll see how things go. Hebrew is getting better; I'm starting to understand words and phrases a lot quicker than before. GStudies are going fine - I now have to do Chemistry labs and a separate Trig class on Friday mornings, but I'm not complaining. All is well, feeling a lot better, hoping to do Havdalah atop Tel Tzuba tonight. Much more to come soon.