Pentecost is a particularly special time to visit Israel. The season for harvesting wheat in ancient and modern Israel, Pentecost is a wonderful opportunity to take the time to consider one of the most basic building blocks of nutrition in history: bread.

As you travel through Israel, you’ll see grinding stones (the first food processors), watch traditional bakers, and perhaps take advantage of an opportunity to make your own bread. You’ll learn what an intense process bread-making was in Jesus’ day. When Jesus taught his followers to pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” it meant that they would have to spend three to four hours each day to do the backbreaking labor that was necessary to turn grain into bread.

Grinding was the most time-consuming aspect of bread-making. Once the grinding was finished, the next step was adding leaven—a bit of raw dough set aside until yeast developed naturally. (As Exodus 12:39 tells us, the Israelites fleeing Egypt skipped this step due to time constraints, which is why unleavened bread is eaten during the Passover feast.) After kneading, the women of the household, who did all of this work, would then bake the patties of dough on the walls of the oven or on a metal dome over a coal fire.

At Caesarea Philippi—located at the headwaters of the Jordan—visitors can stop at the old grain mill, along a beautiful nature walk, and watch traditional bakers at work. For a hands-on experience, where you can try the traditional bread-baking processes yourself, visit Nazareth Village (www.nazarethvillage.com), the Neot Kedumim Biblical Landscape Reserve (www.n-k.org.il), and Ein Yael in Jerusalem (www.einyael.com).