VISITING THE GUSH

 

Although we live so close to Efrat and Gush Etzion, we have not visited either for many years. On a recent day out with Christian friends we arranged to visit The Centre for Jewish- Christian Understanding and Cooperation whose Chancellor and Founder is the well-known Rabbi of Efrat, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. We were shown round by Rabbi Riskin’s daughter-in-law, Limor, and greatly impressed by the beautiful, purpose-built building that houses this organization and provides spacious accommodation for visiting groups. It is the first Orthodox Jewish institution in Israel which has taken the initiative to create dialogue between Christians and Jews and so is a project very close to our hearts. Here, Christian groups visiting Israel can learn about the Jewish roots of Christianity, working interactively with Jewish scholars, rabbis and educators. Since its creation, tens of thousands of Christians have visited CJCUC and most of them considered it to be the highlight of their time in Israel. After our visit we drove around Efrat, enjoying this wonderfully green, well-kept town of beautiful villas with large, lush gardens.

GUSH ETZION

We then proceeded to Gush Etzion where we had a delicious dairy lunch at the Gush Etzion’s winery restaurant, set in the middle of miles of flourishing vineyards and in the yekev, (winery) received a short explanation of the methods used in making the wine. Having purchased a couple of bottles of their 2006 red, we can definitely recommend it. Our next stop was the community of Bat Ayin where we walked round the ruins of an ancient mikvah and of a wine-press where the remains of a Byzantine mosaic floor can still be seen. It is believed that the wine that was made there was destined for use in the Temple in Jerusalem.

KIBBUTZ KFAR ETZION

Not far from Bat Ayin is Kibbutz Kfar Etzion where our friends had told us there was an excellent presentation portraying the bloody history of the kibbutz which was founded in 1943. While waiting for the sound and light show to be put on for us in English, we walked round the small museum, viewing the archives and old photographs and marvelling at the dangers and hardships endured by the first kibbutzniks in the Gush. The show is very impressive and extremely moving, recounting the story of the heroism of the inhabitants of Gush Etzion when it was attacked by the Arab Legion in May 1948, the day before the Israeli Declaration of Independence, and all but four of the 133 inhabitants massacred. As the presentation ended, the audience was asked to move into an adjoining room where we found ourselves standing at the edge of the bunker where the last 55 survivors of the battle were murdered when the Arabs threw in hand grenades. We all trooped out in silence, thinking how hard the battle has been for our tiny land and that it is not yet over.

THE LONE OAK

We were happy to be outside again after this disturbing glimpse into some of israel’s bloodiest history and drove a short distance away to see the famous Lone Oak. By the way, don’t visualise a British oak tree, although they do have a small version of acorns, the Mediterranean Oak has completely differently shaped leaves and appearance. This famous, if somewhat battered but still flourishing tree, believed to be 700 years old, is situated In the heart of the Gush and was, for 19 years after the destruction of the kibbutzim, in enemy territory and for those gazing at it longingly from the ‘other side,’ became a symbol of the exiles’ dream of returning, of their hope and faith for the future. Now the green and fertile area of Gush Etzion has a population of more than 50,000 people and thousands of visitors come to look at the Lone Oak every year. While we were there, we got talking to a group of Hayalim Bodedim, (lone soldiers,) some from Canada and America, who had been brought to this historic spot to learn about its history. This very special tree has become a beloved symbol of Jewish hope and resilience in the face of hatred and destruction and is certainly well-worth a visit if you have never seen it.

HEROD THE GREAT: THE KING’S FINAL JOURNEY.

 

The above titled exhibition is apparently the largest archeological exhibit that Jerusalem’s Israel Museum has ever mounted and is certainly the most fascinating and exciting one that we have ever attended.

ISRAEL’S GREATEST BUILDER

King Herod, who was Israel’s greatest builder, is described as one of the most controversial figures in Jewish history. The journey refers to the one taken by his body, at the end of his life, from Jericho, where he died to the site of his burial in Herodium. Herod the Great who ruled Judea in the first century B.C.E. as a Roman ‘client’ king was born in Idumea, south of Judea, around 74 B.C.E. and is not only famous for his amazing building feats but also for his extreme cruelty and paranoia, including the murder of his three elder sons and his third wife, Mariamne. Roman commentator, Macrobius, wrote of him,” It is better to be Herod’s pig than his son!” This exhibition, however, focuses on his building achievements and not his character.

HEROD’S SARCOPHAGUS

The centerpiece is a restored section from the mausoleum at Herodium inside which is Herod’s sarcophagus made of beautifully decorated, reddish limestone which has been carefully reconstructed. There are over 250 artifacts and installations which include frescoes, busts, coins, columns, pottery, furniture, a giant bathtub, basins, ossuaries, sarcophagi, a reconstructed throne room, fragments of a parapet, artwork, mosaics and excellent, explanatory videos. It was in one of these videos that we learnt that it was the renowned Israeli archeologist, the late Professor Ehud Netzer, who was responsible for recovering all these remarkable remains, having been searching for Herod’s tomb for 35 years. He just couldn’t locate the mausoleum until, in 2007, he found it accidentally, at the side of the mountain, where nobody had expected such a famous king to be buried. Tragically, Professor Netzer fell to his death in 2010, when a railing at the Herodium site collapsed , so he never lived to see the wonderful display for which his perseverance and knowledge of archeology was responsible.

REBUILDING THE SECOND TEMPLE

Herod the Great is largely known for his rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem but he was also responsible for building palaces and fortresses, many still under excavation, in Jericho, Massada, and Jerusalem as well as Herodium. he also built major aqueducts in Jerusalem, Massada, Herzilya and elsewhere, the port and town of Caesaria (including a temple, hippodrome and theatre) and so the historian, Josephus recorded, various constructions in Akko, Damascus, Tripoli, Tyre, Beirut, Sydon and more.

HERODIUM

Although the site of Herodium is not far from Gilo, in fact we can see this distinctive, flat topped, man-made mountain every time we drive to the Hebron Road from our home, we had never seen it from close-up. It is in Arab territory and a number of nationalistically inspired murders have taken place in the area. Recently, out for the day in a hired car with Australian, Christian friends who feel perfectly safe going into these, to us, dangerous areas, we accepted their offer to take us there with alacrity and, armed with the knowledge gained from the exhibition, marvelled at the amount of work that was entailed in creating this artificial mountain. The historian Josephus, wrote : “He (Herod) did not neglect to leave memorials of himself, thus he built a fortress called after himself Herodium, an artificial rounded hill, sixty furlongs from Jerusalem” and of the construction he wrote “so they threw down all the hedges and walls which the inhabitants had made about their gardens and groves of trees, and cut down all the fruit trees that lay between them and the wall of the city, and filled up all the hollow places and the chasms, and demolished the rocky precipices with iron instruments; and thereby made all the place level from Scopus to Herod's monuments, which adjoined to the pool called the Serpent's Pool.” It was wonderful to finally see this place for ourselves but not having an official guide, we could not enter inside the mountain or burial chamber.

A NASTY SHOCK

Our day, however, ended on a very unpleasant note when, for the first time, we encountered large red signs on all sides of us, reading in Hebrew, Arabic and English - This road leads to Area “A” under the Palestinian Authority. The entrance for Israeli citizens is forbidden. Dangerous to your lives and is against the Israeli law. We can’t imagine how great the world outrage would be if Israel’s Arab citizens, who share our streets, health clinics, hospitals and shopping malls were confronted by large, red notices conveying such a threatening message to them.