Spiritual Pilgrimage
​(flexible & tentative) Itinerary

We have created an a 13-day itinerary including holy and fun sites, 4 opportunities to plant spiritual direction in Jerusalem and the Galilee, downtime to reexperience (re-engage with) the Ignition Exercises around the Sea of Galilee. Spiritual directors and spouses are welcome. The group size is limited to 30. To keep the price as accessible as possible, we will experience multiple levels of accommodation in the Land. (No tents tho! ;) )   13 days is $___ TBA + flight from your hub city.

Friday Day 1--Board your Friday overnight flight to Tel Aviv. and fly fly fly.

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SATURDAY Day 2--Arrive in Tel Aviv between 2:35 pm-7:05 pm, go through passport control (stop at the kiosks on the mezzanine ahead of the lines), grab your luggage, and meet Kim and your Israeli guide on the ground floor Aroma Coffee Shop (to your right when exiting into the main lobby). We will get you settled with exchanging dollars for shekels or using the ATM. Then we'll load up our gear onto the bus and head toward the Dead Sea region in the Judean Wilderness. We will pass by the Valley of Elah where David slew Goliath enroute.  We will check into our 2-night stay at the Masada Hostel. You can then have dinner and crash for the evening to recuperate from that long flight. 

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SUNDAY Day 3--Awake feeling refreshed from the bromides and increased oxygen levels in the air at the deepest place on earth, the Dead Sea. There is an opportunity for a sunrise steep mountain hike if you're feeling it.  Enjoy a breakfast buffet and yummy Israeli coffee before we begin our Desert Day together. We'll ride the cable car to the top of Herod's desert fortress of  Masada (video), with its massive history for the Jewish people. We'll explore the area and God's question to Isaiah "Can these dry bones live?" for the morning. Then we will drive deeper into the Negev Desert for a true Bedouin lunch prepared as Abraham would have eaten, then experience a 1-hour camel caravan in pairs. Then we will enjoy a remarkable Dead Sea Float (rinse showers & change rooms available, bring towel) at Ein Bokek public beach. Early evening for reflection and dinner back at the hostel in shadow of Masada.

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Check here for latest trip updates:
May 2023 tentative draft of plans. 

 Checks should be mailed to
Ruth Israel Initiative
9 B Chatham Court
Pelham, AL 3524 
(It's 9 b as in boy, not 98)

Please check out the preparation items posted under the B-4 YOU GO tab above. 

MONDAY Day 4--Desert and Transition to Jerusalem Day
After breakfast, we will load the bus for a longer day. We head to our first stop for a hike up Ein Gedi ​, an oasis preserve in the desert wilderness where David hid from King Saul and passed the test of waiting for God's timing on his calling to be king of Israel. We can stop at the pools and little waterfalls along the way. From there, we'll drive the road of beautiful views along the Dead Sea to Qumron, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Then we will continue on toward Jerusalem, past Jericho and stop at St. George's Monastery (video) (a.k.a. Valley of the Shadow of Death, see pic.) for an overview of a monastery carved into the cliff maybe meet some Bedouins selling their wares. Enter into Jerusalem and stop at the iconic Mount of Olives overview, then on to Mount Scopus to help in the Temple Mount sifting project. Who knows what you may find! Then we will check into our hotel and have dinner.

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TUESDAY Day 5-- Retracing Jesus' Pathway to the Cross (heavy walking day)
​​Our bus will drive us from the new city's hotel over to the Old City's Zion Gate. We begin our walking day at the "Upper Room" a place to commemorate Jesus' Last Supper of Passover. Then we walk over to the Garden of Gethsemane and the beautiful Church of all Nations, to circle the ancient olive trees as we remember the olive press of prayer Jesus experienced that night. Then like Jesus, we will pull aside for some personal contemplative time in a private garden away from any crowds. From there we will retrace our steps back (uphill) to see Caiaphas's house and experience the tight cool space where Jesus was held prisoner overnight in the cistern. Then (after an emotion and food break for lunch) we will join the Via Delarosa and walk to the Place of the Skull and finally end at the Garden Tomb ​to experience more personal reflection on the day. Then there will be a place set for us to sit together and accept communion while we worship the King and celebrate His resurrection! This evening after dinner is free for processing on your own or in small groups. 


Golan Heights Day. Breakfast at 7, load up bus by 8. (Big driving & adventure day). Drive north to the border with Syria at Mount Hermon and Mount Bental. Time of intercession on the border, and coffee or lunch there, depending on time. Then drive back south past some ancient volcanos(!) to Caesarea Philippi ("Who do you say that I am?" site). With time, we will hike over to the Banias waterfall and stair-hike out (you can ride bus to waterfall instead and wait for us while enjoying a made-in-front-of-you Druze snack of a hot pita and cheese if you're not feeling hike-ish today). Then we drive to Kfar Blum for a little kayak rafting trip down the Jordan River. And return to the Ron Beach Hotel for dinner and rest.

WEDNESDAY Day 6 - ​
Today will begin around 9 am with a short ride over to one of the local ministries and congregations meeting together to describe what spiritual direction is in a larger group of volunteers from the nations and then to offer individual sessions until noon. After lunch we will be driven over to the City of David (Israel's most active archaeological dig video)  to explore the refreshing Gihon Spring still flowing through Hezekiah’s Tunnel (We're walking through it in complete darkness, so water shoes, shorts, and a flashlight are needed, tall people consider wearing a ball cap to let the bill run into the ceiling before your head does in some short spaces.) Two to three hours later, the bus will pick us up at the bottom of the hill in the Kidron Valley near the Pool of Siloam and drive us back up to near the Western Wall for the Davidson Center Archeological Park and the Southern Steps where Jesus taught His disciples. 
 

THURSDAY Day 7 
We will enjoy a late morning and then begin with individual prayer at the Western Wall and meet up on the northside of the plaza to go underground again in the Rabbinical Tunnels to see how ancient cities were built in miraculous fashion with no modern technology. When we come out, we will find some lunch then, walk just a little to Saint Anne's Church and the Pool of Bethesda in the Arab Quarter. Then head out the Lions Gate for a ride over to the world's premiere Holocaust Memorial, Yad Vashem, for a two-hour visit and walk through history of World War II's effect on the Jewish people. We will ride back to our hotel for dinner. Free evening for city wandering or contemplative practice. 

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FRIDAY Day 8 Biblical Garden Day
Today though we remain in Jerusalem, we venture just outside to Neot Kedomim and visit the Biblical Gardens for our final day in this part of the country. We will see an ancient watchtower, a functioning olive press, a wine press, and all the species of plants mentioned in the scripture will fill our senses. We will take time to plant a tree in the earth. (If we missed stopping at Valley of Elah on the first day in country, we can try to do it today). Then we come back into town by 2 PM to plant another time of spiritual direction in a group setting and then offer individual sessions for another location congregation. 2-6 PM. Those who want to stay for the Shabbat Service (will need to use translation gear since it is in Hebrew), are welcome to stay and then come back to the hotel for a later dinner around 8.  Use tonight's free time for processing and to get organized for our move to the Galilee first thing in the morning.

SATURDAY-SHABBAT Day 9 
As we pack up and wave goodbye to Jerusalem this morning, we will prepare to stop at Bet El. (Bethel) where Abraham, Isaac & Jacob had powerful invitations from God.  If we can get in, we will visit Tel Shiloh and enjoy an early lunch in the city that grew up hosting the Tabernacle of God before the Temple was built by Solomon in Jerusalem. We continue north and stop at Bet She'an, then a fun walk or relaxing swim) at the gorgeous, Eden-like Gan Ha Slosha (the 3 pools/3 gardens). Then driving to Tiberias, we will check into our hotel/hostel for the next 5 nights. We will enjoy Shabbat dinner together tonight in the Galilee.

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SUNDAY Day 10 Christian Sites Day.
Enjoy a breakfast buffet at our hotel. Load up the bus and drive off on our great adventure for the day. We will start the day with a longer hike at Gamla, in an area like where Jesus would have tried to withdraw from the crowds. Then up to the Mount of Beatitudes, and then we will have lunch in the modern village of  Magdela for tour and contemplation at a beautiful ancient fishing village where Jesus would have preached in the local, recently-excavated  (2009) synagogue. 

Order will depend on what time we can get tickets for our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. ​Mount of Beatitudes, Jesus Boat museum and boat ride on the Galilee, St Peter's Primacy spot, Capernaum,  Magdela for tour and contemplation, Jordan River Baptism at Yardinit. A fish lunch is included today, likely at the En Gev Kibbutz, where you can also take a look around at a functional kibbutz. Back to Ron Beach Hotel for dinner. In the evening you can take a wander through town to the Boardwalk on your own. 

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Tuesday Day 12 
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MONDAY Day 11​--

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WEDNESDAY Day 13--I Repack/organize and get ready for a super early morning departure.

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THURSDAY Day 14--Check out late and leave for the airport for an evening flight home. Enroute we will stop at Caesarea Maritima's ancient port, Hippodrome, amphitheater and see the Mediterranean Sea. We will continue through Tel Aviv's bustling 100-year-old city to enjoy a walking tour of Old Joppa on the sea before our finale dinner and drop of at the airport by 7:15 pm for those late-night flights (book approximately 10:30pm Thursday-1:50 am flights on Friday). Then Fly fly fly and arrive home in the afternoon or evening the next day. 

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Our Guides
Dead Sea & Jerusalem: 
Galilee: Valerie Kantor
Qualified Israeli tour guide with over 35 years' experience as a professional midwife and registered nurse in Southern Africa, Israel and the UK. Possessing good interpersonal and communication skills and a passion for sharing knowledge and experience gained in diverse cultures and contexts provide a well-rounded approach to leading tour groups in Israel.