tribesofsinai2024

Traditionally most Bedouins are shepherds. They travel with their flocks between the desert in the cooler winter rainy season and to cultivated land in the hot dry summer months.  

The Jabaliya (mountain) Bedouin around Mount Sinai traditionally migrate with their animals up the mountains during the hot summers and down to the warmer valleys in the winter.  

Camel herders can travel across huge territories of land, while sheep and goat headers cover smaller areas. The Bedouin in South Sinai however are becoming more settled in towns. Many however keep sheep and goats in their backyards. These herds are allowed out to forage on food waste and cardboard around the neighbourhood by day and called back to the protection of the home each evening. The animals are remarkably tame for they are treated well by all, including the children.  

Though Moses was raised in the palace of Pharaoh with the privileges of education and wealth, in the Sinai he had become a shepherd. He was not even shepherding his own sheep but those of his father-in-law Jethro. For a sophisticated person living with sheep and goats in the extreme desert environment could be the worst life imaginable. Yet for a person who enjoys the tranquillity of the desert, the grandeur of the rugged granite peaks, the spectacular sunsets and stars, the Sinai can be the most wonderful place. For such a person learning to find the best forage and water for livestock has purpose; the company of trusting sheep and goats a comfort and joy.  

Above all else, it is the quietness of the desert that permeates one’s soul. It can be a deafening silence that penetrates and absorbs all else. In such an environment had Moses become detached from the suffering of his people in Egypt, or was it a concern that kept coming back to his mind and spirit?  

Shepherding sheep and goats taught Moses where to find water and pasture and how to protect his humble helpless flock from wild animals and marauding tribes. Might there be a way for the shepherding knowledge and skills learnt in the Sinai to be reconciled and woven together with his former life and family?  

Here in the Sinai we meet people who have fled the world, relationships and responsibilities to live a simple stress-free life. Some become global nomads working online to earn a living. Some have retired. Some look after stray animals. Others specialise in recreation and training such as free dive instructors teaching breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques to get people that little bit deeper. Some read books and enjoy the cheap as chips hashish. People are living the dream. But does it satisfy? Might there be more to life than staying relaxed, with positive energy, and enjoying a peaceful environment?   

Reflection  

Are you a shepherd for anyone?  

How do you help them find good food and water? 

How do you keep them free from being bothered by lice, ticks, flies, and parasites?  

How do you keep them safe from wild animals and thieves? 

Is there a time when a shepherd can stop being a shepherd?  

Prayer  

Meditate slowly and deliberately on each line of Psalm 23 lifting and praying for those in the Sinai who have lost trust in leaders and have lost the desire to shepherd others. 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 
He makes me lie down in green pastures, 
he leads me beside quiet waters, 
he refreshes my soul. 
He guides me along the right paths 
    for his name’s sake. 
Even though I walk 
    through the darkest valley,  
I will fear no evil, 
    for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff, 
    they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me 
    in the presence of my enemies. 
You anoint my head with oil; 
    my cup overflows. 
Surely your goodness and love will follow me 
    all the days of my life, 
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 
    forever.