Water, Water and More Water
By Yonah Davis
View of terraced hillside in Sataf outside of Jerusalem |
Almost
everybody says Israel does not have a lot of water. They most likely would add
that it is important to conserve as much water as possible. It is true that
everybody should try to conserve water, even if they don’t live in Israel. But
is it true that Israel does not have a lot of water?
On
March 14 my family went on a hike in Sataf. Sataf is located on a hill outside
of Jerusalem. Sataf is one of the many hiking trails in Israel. The trail was
extremely beautiful. Along the trail we saw examples of how people lived a
while ago.
In
biblical days most people were farmers. They would plant crops to feed their
family. The farmers figured out a creative way to get the water to their
plants.
My dad,
my brother and I walked down a set of steps toward a tunnel entrance. This
tunnel led to the source of water in the middle of the hill. My dad, brother
and I were out to find what was at the end of the tunnel. Equipped with four
flashlights, we started on our adventure.
After
a few minutes and a steep step up, we reached the end of the tunnel. At the end
of the tunnel was a cave and in the back was a natural spring where the water
came from. The floor was a bit wet.
We
made our way back following the small stream. The stream led us out of the tunnel
and back to the steps overlooking the collection pool that the small stream had
formed. It was amazing to think that such a small stream could form a pool.
The
collection pool was connected to irrigation tunnels. The irrigation tunnels
went down the hill. At every place that needed water there was an irrigation
tunnel that provided the plants with water. The water though, was not only used
to water crops; the people used if for laundry.
Today
Israel’s population has grown and more people need Israel’s water. Israel lends
water to its neighbor so there is even less water. Israel has water but a lot
of it is not suitable for drinking. Think about the Dead Sea that is tons of
water, but humans can’t drink it. Even people long ago thought about conserving
Israel’s water.
Yonah and Koby in the tunnel to the spring at Sataf |
Yonah,
ReplyDeleteSounds amazing, and brave of you guys to hike this tunnel. Hope you are all having a lot of fun and learning a lot. We miss you here in Mpls, tell your brothers, I have so much candy and nobody to give it too!!!
Shabbat Shalom and love from the whole Ribnick family.