Metulla, built on lands built for Jewish farmers by the Baron de Roshschild in the late 19th century, became the northernmost town in the state of Israel. It sits right on the Lebanese border, hard up against territories controlled by the Lebanese Shiite political party Hizbullah which is associated with Iran and is committed to Israel’s destruction.
Genesis records the first known monotheist in history, the Patriarch Abraham. He dwelt here when the land was called Canaan. A thousand years later the land came to be named after Abraham’s grandson Israel. At this time the prophet Elijah was sent to warn Abraham’s descendants to be true to the one God of Israel.
Abraham was a pastoralist, shepherding his flocks and herds across the land in search of good pasture. But his descendants, a couple hundred years removed from slavery in Egypt and the trek through the Wilderness of Sinai had settled down to work the land. Observation of their pagan neighbors sacrificing to the local deity named Baal began to give the Israelites ideas. Farming was hard work and there were never any guarantees. Sudden storms in the Spring, droughts, heat waves could all destroy a season’s crop. So why not take out an insurance policy in the form of a sacrifice to your neighbor’s God? Perhaps it could help? How could it hurt matters? It was into this ambiguous, muddled scenario that Elijah the Prophet approached the assembled Israelites with absolute and complete faith in the idea of the one God, the God of Israel. We understand by this story that even 1000 years after the idea of monotheism is introduced into history not all of the people’s of the Earth are convinced of the existence of only one God, serving a small nation apart.
Just ten minutes from the coastal highway, the streets of Zichron Yaacov retain the feel of an earlier time, when cars did not dominate the landscape. The main street has been turned into a midrichov, or a pedestrian.way Situated in the Heights of Menashe and only 30 munutes from Haifa, residents of Zichron have enviable views towards the coast, and the sea beyond. The town is also one of the best preserved examples from the era that we refer to as the first Aliyah, i.e. the ascent to the land of Israel, which began in 1882. This was the beginning of the modern Zionist movement, the Jewish people’s return to their ancient homeland.
Homes, trees and cobblestone streets combine to preserve the feel of that era. The name Zichron means “in memory of” and ”Yaacov “means “of Jacob”. But who is this Yaacov? He is the father of Edward, Rothschild who took a strong interest in the communities of the first Aliyah and is virtually single-handedly responsible, through his financial intercession, in saving those communities from abandonment. Zichron has two museums which compete for your time and they are both worthy. One is the Museum of the First Aliya, located just a minute’s walk off of the midrichov. The other is the Aaronson House, a museum dedicated to an early Zionist visiionary, the brilliant and tragically short-lived Aaron Aaronson.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by three beduin shepherd’s in a cave near Qumran, a dry rocky site below towering cliffs, near the Dead Sea.
Just a minute off of the Jewish Quarters main square you will find the Four Sepharadi Synagogues. Jews have lived in the current Jewish Quarter of the Old City for approximately 600 years (except for the 19 years after the establishment of the modern State of Israel, when the Jordanians would not permit Jews to live there). However in the late1500’s the Ottoman government, rulers of Jerusalem, closed the Ramban Synagogue, named after the great Jewish sage who actually founded the modern Jewish Quarter. As a result there was no synagogue in which the Jews of Jerusalem could pray. But then, at the beginning of the 17th century the first of the four synagogues to comprise this site, the Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue, was inaugurated. Over time three more synagogues were built in this complex. These are not museums. They are active houses of worship, used daily by the community.
The view from the top of the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley at the Old City of Jerusalem, with the New City in the background.
And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zechariah 14:4
The view from the Mount of Olives of the Temple Mount and the Old City is unparalleled. Don’t let a tour guide tell you that the alternative view from Mount Scopus suffices. This is the perfect place to sum up 3,800 years of Jerusalem’s history. You should begin your discovery of Jerusalem from here. But one caution: if you come here in the early evening beware. Aggressive salesmen aren’t really interested in sales. They’re looking for your wallet. With this knowledge fear not and go for the sunset. There’s a police station just below the lookout point and rest rooms.
Surrounded by walls built almost 500 years ago by the Ottoman ruler Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Jerusalem’s Old City is the critical center to Biblical stories of the Old and New Testament and features in the Islamic Hadith and as such ranks as the most important geographic site in the world for Billions of people.
The view from atop Masada towards the Dead Sea, lowest place on Earth.
Masada combines a powerful story with a stunning physical backdrop. The result is a must-see site even though there’s no discernible biblical connection to this place. Masada is only an 80 minute drive from Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. it can be seen in the course of an easy day trip from the capital.
One usually approaches Masada from the east, near the Dead Sea. Driving up the road we begin to see a slivery path below the plateau. That’s the Snake Path, the only way to the top until the Israel Park’s Authority installed the cable car in 1971. The cable car takes three minutes to the top. Walking will take the average hiker 40-45 minutes and shouldn’t be attempted after the early morning hours. If you’re very fit expect a 25 minute ascent.
Upon arrival at the summit expect to spend between 45 minutes and two hours. Most people suffice with the former. Stops to make include the Bath House, Northern Palace, Water System demonstration, ancient synagogue (most days it contains a scribe writing scrolls in an air-conditioned room, don’t miss this), and Roman ramp on the western side of the plateau.
Masada features strongly as a part of the Israeli psyche. When you learn about this place and what it represents for Israelis you may begin a wide-ranging exploration of Israeli’s connection to their ancient culture and modern state. Masada Shall Not Fall Again.
