Friday morning, the other students, Rabbi Eli, and I took a bus to Jerusalem. On the way to the bus-stop, we stopped at two sites, the tombs of the Arizal and of Shimon bar Yochai. On the bus, I re-read the book of Ezra-Nechemiah from the pocket Tanakh that I obtained last week (see last entry). We arrived in Jerusalem at just past noon, and moved into our rooms in the Mayanot Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and met the full-time students there, most of whom were very friendly, and very easy to meet. I felt as if I could have stayed there several weeks, feeling very much at home. While the other students with Rabbi Eli visited the marketplace or the Mount of Olives, Alex helped guide me to where I was supposed to meet one of my favorite people living in Israel right now!
After we got a little bit mixed-up and turned around in the Jerusalem market, we found Peninah! Alex stayed with us for a while, while we walked around a little bit more in the marketplace, making our way to the bus station, because Peninah was leaving Jerusalem that evening. We had some conversations that we needed to have, and she reminded me of why I'm in Israel. She really re-ignited my enthusiasm in learning, and I know that the next week in Israel will be just fine, now, thanks to her.
I felt really great after I spoke to her, and walked back to Mayanot happy, and barely got lost at all on the way. I studied more and took a shower, until Minchah-Kabbalat Shabbat-Maariv. Everyone at Mayanot really loves and respects Rabbi Eli, who has taught there for some time. At Shabbat dinner (which he apparently sponsored), he spoke at length about the history of European Jewry. I stayed up late learning, and got to bed fairly late.
Saturday morning, I panicked when I saw light flowing through the window of my bedroom; I thought that it was nine or ten, and that I had missed my Chasidut lesson at 7:30. It was actually 6:00, but I was fully awake, and so I went to the Beit Midrash to read Mishneh Torah, to resolve a disagreement I had had the night before. Rabbi Eli was also up early, but nobody else showed up for the lesson on time, so I got some more reading in. Anyway, Rabbi Eli spoke well in class, as he did later, to everyone, at our very late second meal. There was almost no vegetarian food, and having little else to consume, I had a fair amount of wine, and got rather sleepy. I spent most of the rest of the day reading Mayanot's copy of the Judaica Press edition of the first part of the book of Chronicles. It was a Saturday well spent, with copious amounts of cocoa and learning.
Sunday morning, before we left, I had time to visit a tallit store, and buy myself a new tallit from the bargain bin. Someone in Tzfat had objected to the length of my tallit (it covered me fully at my Bar Mitzvah, but it's gradually gotten shorter and shorter on me, and it's now several centimeters too short for my height). It's 60cm long, and someone of my size only needs a 48cm-long tallit, according to a stringent opinion, so I no longer have any reason to fear criticism (even Hillel, who is Charedi, has told me that he thought that my old tallit was long enough).
At around 11:00, we met up with Prof. Ben Artzi again, who was ready to take us on a tour of the region around Jericho, stopping at a few other sites on the way. Our first stop was Mount Scopus, a hill overlooking Jerusalem, which I recognized mostly from having read Josephus. However, it's also where the Tanakh (Bible) describes King David as having stopped to mourn, on his flight from Jerusalem, during the rebellion of his son (though it was then called the Mount of Olives, when it was still covered with olive trees): "David was going up on the ascent of [the Mount of] Olives, crying as he ascended, with his head covered, going barefoot. And all the people with him wrapped their heads and went up, crying as they ascended" (Samuel II 15:30-31). Prof. Ben-Artzi also pointed out the low-lying region, in sight of Scopus, where the book goes on to describe a man cursing "King David came until Bahurim, and behold -- a man of Saul's family was coming out from there, named Shimei sone of Gera, and he was cursing as he was coming out. He pelted David and all of King David's servants with stones, as well as all the people and the soldiers, to his right and to his left" (ibid. 16:5-6).
Our next stop was the site of one of my favorite Haftorot, that of Parshah Behar (the full reading is Jeremiah 32:6-27), the Bat Mitzvah portion of one of my favorite people (see above)! Pretty much, the prophet was in prison, and his cousin Chanamel wanted to liquidate all of his property before the Babylonians arrived to destroy it all. And the prophet received a command to buy his plot of land, in Anatot; he then takes the title deed, and has it placed in a jar. Well, we sat in Anatot, and looked down on a valley, with some of the best farmland in the region. It was really a beautiful spot.
The next Jewish site on our winding path to Jericho was where archaeologists believe that ancient Gilgal was located. Gilgal, in the book of Joshua, was the location where the Tabernacle was first set up, after the people had crossed into the land: "The people ascended from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamped at Gilgal at the eastern end of Jericho" (Joshua 4:19). There is a Greek Orthodox church located there now (it's also a Christian holy site, because of an incident involving a Roman soldier climbing a tree). The Biblical description mentions a spring at Gilgal, and the site we visited is the only known spring in the region. The site is also close to where the Ark's crossing of the Jordan is believed to have taken place (see below), and there is also a local oral tradition identifying this site with biblical Gilgal.
It was getting into late afternoon by this point, and the heat was quite intense, in the Israeli desert. We stopped at a pomegranate farm, where an Israeli woman is reclaiming wilderness, albeit illegally. From her home, we began walking into the desert, towards the nearby Jordan river. We passed close to the caves where it is believed that Elijah the prophet hid with Elisha, and were probably in sight of where the book of Kings describes his ascent to heaven. As we approached the Jordan, we saw the golden dome of a mosque on the banks, where local tradition locates the exact place of the Jews' crossing. We also saw a green patch on the mountains on the other side of the river (i.e. in Jordan itself), where local tradition is held that Moses died (not where he was buried, though), and the site of the fourth and last covenant of the Torah. This is also where he spoke the words of the book of Deuteronomy. Eventually, we arrived at the rocky hill Professor Ben-Artzi believes to be Giv'at-Ha'aralot. What exactly is this place? Well...
"At that time Hashem said to Joshua, 'Make sharp knives [or "flint knives," char'vot tzurim] for yourself and circumcise the Children of Israel again, a second time.' So Joshua made sharp knives for himself and circumcise the Children of Israel at Giv'at Ha'arlot [Hill of the Foreskins]" (Joshua 5:2-3).
The hill we stood on lies directly between Gilgal and the site of the crossing of the Jordan. Moreover, it is the only hill in all the region which has the stone which some archaeologists associate with tzur, which is sharp enough to make an effective cutting tool. Some of these stones we found were sharp, like arrowheads in the United States.
We dropped off Professor Ben-Artzi, drove back to Jerusalem, and parted ways. Rabbi Eli left to make his way to the airport, because he's leaving the country; the remaining students and I waited for the bus back to Tzfat; it finally arrived, and we were back in Tzfat by around 10:30.
I'm thinking of you all! I mean that! I can't skype with any privacy here, but I'll be able to when I'm in Tours!
~JD
"Rabbi Chelbo said: One must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man's home only on account of his wife, for it is written And he treated Abram well for her sake (Genesis 12:16). And thus did Raba say to the townspeople of Machuza, honor your wives, that you may be enriched" (Bava Metzia 59a).
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