Israel
Jersusalem
Jersusalem
A guidebook and a Bible go hand in hand here in the land where faith and history are inextricably intertwined.
From the Golan Heights to the Negev Desert, travellers walk in the steps of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and all those who came after them.
Where else would your tour guide read to you from the Bible at virtually every stop along the way? And where else would the Bible be your history and archaeology textbook? Where else would your guide talk about “KBH” (Kadosh Baruch Hu, the Holy Blessed One)? For faith is your guide here, too.
From the Golan Heights to the Negev Desert, travellers walk in the steps of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and all those who came after them.
Where else would your tour guide read to you from the Bible at virtually every stop along the way? And where else would the Bible be your history and archaeology textbook? Where else would your guide talk about “KBH” (Kadosh Baruch Hu, the Holy Blessed One)? For faith is your guide here, too.
“The stories of the Tanakh (the Bible) are integrated into the everyday lives of Israelis,” says Julie Baretz, guide, writer and masters student of English literature. “For example, at Mount Gilboa, the memory of David’s curse (II Samuel1:21) influenced the modern day environment. When the Jewish National Fund began a reforestation project on Gilboa, they were told ‘You can’t do that. You can’t do that. David cursed the mountain.’ Their response, however, was that because Israel has been reborn, the curse was null and void. The compromise? One section was left bare in memory of David’s curse.”
All across the country, ancient and modern history – and politics – intersect in this way.
In Jerusalem, as we stand at the Haas Promenade with its splendid view of the Old City and the new Jerusalem, Baretz tells us: “This is where Abraham entered the city with Isaac (when he went to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son).” Moriah is said to be where the Dome of the Rock stands today on the Haram esh-Sharif, or the Temple Mount. The ancient site is the centre of a modern dispute between Muslims (the shrine is the third holiest site in Islam) and ultra-Orthodox Jews, who claim it should be returned to Jewish hands because it was the site of the Second Temple.
In the south, we continue in Abraham’s footsteps, to the desert region near Beersheva (Genesis 23: 32-34) and south into the magnificent Negev. It is here that the tribe of Simon settled in the 4th century BCE. Later, during King Solomon’s reign, a string of fortresses lined the Negev roads, marking the southern border of the kingdom. At Makhtesh Ramon, under brilliant blue skies, we see the area up close during an off-road jeep ride through the nature reserve dominated by craters formed not by volcanoes but by wind and water erosion (yes, water in the Negev, flash floods during winter rains).Here, as W.O. Mitchell wrote of the Canadian prairie, is “the least common denominator of nature, the skeleton requirements, simply, of land and sky.” There is an ethereal quality to the landscape, beautiful sand and rock formations, the air clear and dry, the spring heat soothing. It is easy to imagine the prophets of old wandering here.
In Jerusalem, as we stand at the Haas Promenade with its splendid view of the Old City and the new Jerusalem, Baretz tells us: “This is where Abraham entered the city with Isaac (when he went to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son).” Moriah is said to be where the Dome of the Rock stands today on the Haram esh-Sharif, or the Temple Mount. The ancient site is the centre of a modern dispute between Muslims (the shrine is the third holiest site in Islam) and ultra-Orthodox Jews, who claim it should be returned to Jewish hands because it was the site of the Second Temple.
In the south, we continue in Abraham’s footsteps, to the desert region near Beersheva (Genesis 23: 32-34) and south into the magnificent Negev. It is here that the tribe of Simon settled in the 4th century BCE. Later, during King Solomon’s reign, a string of fortresses lined the Negev roads, marking the southern border of the kingdom. At Makhtesh Ramon, under brilliant blue skies, we see the area up close during an off-road jeep ride through the nature reserve dominated by craters formed not by volcanoes but by wind and water erosion (yes, water in the Negev, flash floods during winter rains).Here, as W.O. Mitchell wrote of the Canadian prairie, is “the least common denominator of nature, the skeleton requirements, simply, of land and sky.” There is an ethereal quality to the landscape, beautiful sand and rock formations, the air clear and dry, the spring heat soothing. It is easy to imagine the prophets of old wandering here.
The beauty of the Negev also worked its magic on a modern prophet and prime minister: David Ben-Gurion. When he left politics, Ben-Gurion, who came to then Palestine from Poland in 1906 and declared the State of Israel on May 15, 1948, chose Kibbutz Sde Boker as his home. We visit his grave and that of his wife, Paula atop a hill, shaded by a single tree.
From here we can see the amazing expanse of the desert and listen to the laughter of Israel’s new generation, school children here to study their history.
From the grave site, we travel to his kibbutz home, a small bungalow, simply furnished but for an impressive library/office.
From here we can see the amazing expanse of the desert and listen to the laughter of Israel’s new generation, school children here to study their history.
From the grave site, we travel to his kibbutz home, a small bungalow, simply furnished but for an impressive library/office.
“The Negev is one of the Jewish nation’s safe havens,” Ben-Gurion said, and so it was for him in the last years of his life. He died in 1973, during the Yom Kippur war.In the Judean desert, bordering on the Dead Sea area to the north of the Negev, it is David’s story we hear again: At Ein Gedi, Baretz points out the cave in which David hid when he was fleeing the murderous intent of King Saul (I Samuel 24:1-4). “Saul was screwing up really badly,” says Baretz. “And there was this handsome man who was a poet and Saul thought he was a threat.” So David decamped to the wilderness to save his life. “There is a Midrash (a tale based on Scripture) about David, who hated bugs and insects,” Rabbi Lawrence Englander of Mississauga continues. “He asked God why there were bugs and God told him every creature had a meaning.” David learned the lesson well when, it is said, a spider wove a web across the entrance to the cave, thus hiding him from Saul and his men.
“The world’s first website,” mutters Art Benjamin of London, Ont. Always a modern take on an ancient story.
As we leave the Negev to go up to Jerusalem, we stop at a quiet spot just off the highway that cuts through the Ela Valley. It was here that David found the “five smooth stones” (I Samuel 17:40) with which he armed his slingshot prior to his battle with Goliath. We stand in a dry riverbed (“It fills with water during the winter rains,” Baretz assures us) and let our imaginations roam back to those ancient days when the little guy from Bethlehem won out over the giant from Gath. Now it is peaceful here, the scent of spring flowers in the air, a field of mustard dancing in the soft warm breeze. War, whether ancient or modern, seems far away. For religion and history, but for archaeology, too, the Bible is a text in the land of Israel.
In the north-central region lies Tel Megiddo, overlooking the Jezreel Valley. It is here that many biblical battles were fought and it was the target of occupying and invading armies as late as World War I.
“Have you read (James Michener’s) The Source?” asks Baretz. “Well, here it is, Tel Megiddo, considered the cradle of biblical archaeology”. A tel, she explains, “is an archaeological layer cake.”
As we leave the Negev to go up to Jerusalem, we stop at a quiet spot just off the highway that cuts through the Ela Valley. It was here that David found the “five smooth stones” (I Samuel 17:40) with which he armed his slingshot prior to his battle with Goliath. We stand in a dry riverbed (“It fills with water during the winter rains,” Baretz assures us) and let our imaginations roam back to those ancient days when the little guy from Bethlehem won out over the giant from Gath. Now it is peaceful here, the scent of spring flowers in the air, a field of mustard dancing in the soft warm breeze. War, whether ancient or modern, seems far away. For religion and history, but for archaeology, too, the Bible is a text in the land of Israel.
In the north-central region lies Tel Megiddo, overlooking the Jezreel Valley. It is here that many biblical battles were fought and it was the target of occupying and invading armies as late as World War I.
“Have you read (James Michener’s) The Source?” asks Baretz. “Well, here it is, Tel Megiddo, considered the cradle of biblical archaeology”. A tel, she explains, “is an archaeological layer cake.”
And here, there are 29 layers. The major excavations were done between 1925 and 1939 and uncovered remains of distinct historical periods between 4000 BCE and 400 BCE. The most spectacular ruins visible today are from the fortified “chariot city” built by King Solomon in the 10th century BCE. The ancient water system that Michener wrote about has been preserved, as have three Canaanite temples.
“The philosophy here in Israel is to leave things as they are, with sometimes a partial reconstruction to show what (the site) was like,” says Baretz. “We never remove an entire level; we always leave some things for future archaeologists.
”Megiddo is also to be the site where the last great battle of the world will take place: Armaggedon (from the Hebrew Har Megiddo), according to the New Testament. “This is where the final battle will be fought,” says Baretz. No sign of a battle today, though. Only some vehicular congestion at a nearby intersection.
Why was this site chosen for Megiddo? “The view? suggests Sandra Benjamin of London, Ont. “Strategic reasons,” I posit. No. “The intersection was the most important in the land where the east/west and north/south trade routes met,” says Baretz. “Right where the traffic lights are.”
“The philosophy here in Israel is to leave things as they are, with sometimes a partial reconstruction to show what (the site) was like,” says Baretz. “We never remove an entire level; we always leave some things for future archaeologists.
”Megiddo is also to be the site where the last great battle of the world will take place: Armaggedon (from the Hebrew Har Megiddo), according to the New Testament. “This is where the final battle will be fought,” says Baretz. No sign of a battle today, though. Only some vehicular congestion at a nearby intersection.
Why was this site chosen for Megiddo? “The view? suggests Sandra Benjamin of London, Ont. “Strategic reasons,” I posit. No. “The intersection was the most important in the land where the east/west and north/south trade routes met,” says Baretz. “Right where the traffic lights are.”
“Traffic lights? They had traffic lights?” quips Art Benjamin.
We turn from history and archaeology to botany when we visit Neot Kedumim, near Lod, for a quiet stroll through this Biblical Landscape Reserve. In the early years of the nation, the hill was barren; in the late ‘60s, centuries-old olive trees were transplanted here and from that initiative the land bloomed. Along the path is the flora of the Bible: almond trees, apple trees, sage, myrtle, hyssop, the “rose of Sharon” (Song of Songs 2:1) or the Sharon tulip, a bright reddish-orange flower that blooms in February and March. It is a peaceful oasis, but for the sound of gunfire from the adjacent military training base.
On the day before we leave Israel, we turn to forestry. We plant trees at the Weizmann forest, named for Israel’s first president. We hope the experts will repair our novice efforts. Nevertheless, we, too, have left our mark upon the land of Israel.
For more information about Israel, go to www.goisrael.ca.
© Vivian Macdonald, 2008.
We turn from history and archaeology to botany when we visit Neot Kedumim, near Lod, for a quiet stroll through this Biblical Landscape Reserve. In the early years of the nation, the hill was barren; in the late ‘60s, centuries-old olive trees were transplanted here and from that initiative the land bloomed. Along the path is the flora of the Bible: almond trees, apple trees, sage, myrtle, hyssop, the “rose of Sharon” (Song of Songs 2:1) or the Sharon tulip, a bright reddish-orange flower that blooms in February and March. It is a peaceful oasis, but for the sound of gunfire from the adjacent military training base.
On the day before we leave Israel, we turn to forestry. We plant trees at the Weizmann forest, named for Israel’s first president. We hope the experts will repair our novice efforts. Nevertheless, we, too, have left our mark upon the land of Israel.
For more information about Israel, go to www.goisrael.ca.
© Vivian Macdonald, 2008.
