There was once a wise Jew, who said that everything boils down to you have in your head.

His name was Moses

After him came a second wise Jew, who said that everything boils down to what you have in your heart.

His name was Jesus

After him came a third wise Jew, who said that everything boils down to what you have in the stomach.

His name was Marx

After him came a fourth wise Jew who said that everything boils down to what you have between the legs.

His name was Freud

And finally came the wisest of them all. His name was Einstein and he said that everything is relative.

As if Jerusalem needs more landmarks, what with the Old City, Mt. Olives, Temple Mount, Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, just to mention a few.

But Jerusalem also wants modern landmarks, and the latest is the Harp Bridge, or as it is often referred to in English – the String Bridge. It is one of those things that will not leave you cold. Either you hate it or you love it. For sure, it can be seen from long way away. On entering or leaving Jerusalem by Route One, you can’t help seeing it.

The Harp Bridge has been built to serve the light rail being installed in Jerusalem to relieve congestion and to get rid of some of the busses that today make up all of public transport in the city. Though construction of the rail is way overdue, the bridge was inaugurated a couple of years ago, and expected to be taken into use within two years. The only ones so far using the bridge are pedestrians, who can now safely cross the extremely busy intersection at the entrance to the city.

However, as a landmark is can also claim to be a world landmark. It is the longest, curved single support suspension bridge in the world. The support, or the Finger, rises to a height of 183 meters. I don’t know how long it is, but it is long. The whole structure was designed by the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrav, the world’s expert on suspension bridges. It was built to the tune of $73 million, way above what a more conventional bridge would have cost. This alone was the subject of much of the controversy over the bridge. Discussions were also over the whether it fit into the Jerusalem landscape.

It became know as the Harp Bridge or String Bridge due to the massive wires strung from various points of the finger down to the bridge itself.

So now Jerusalem has its new landmark, whether we like it or not, whether we agree to the extraordinary cost (after all its already built). The citizens of Jerusalem have become used to it by now, and may already have forgotten, what they thought about it at first. You will see it, no doubt, when you visit Jerusalem.

Here is a news item on the String Bridge that give you different perspectives from around the time of its inauguration.

Megillat Esther

Purim is the lightest and most fun of all Jewish holidays. That does not mean that there is not a lesson to be had, but at least on the days of Purim we are allowed to go outside our normal behavior, dance, make parades, have parties and other fun activities.

The holiday or festival of Purim celebrates the story as related in the Book of Esther. The story takes place in ancient Persia empire. The king, Ahashuerus, had an advisor,vizier, Haman, who plots the extermination of the Jewish people there. Ahashuerus makes some bad decisions due to his excessive drinking, i.e. being drunk. Luckily one of his wives, Queen Esther learns about Haman’s plot and that Ahashuerus has given permission to carry out the plot. Esther turns to her her uncle and foster parent, Mordecai, and together they foil Haman’s evil plans to exterminate the Jews.

The day following the defeat of Haman was declared a day of festivities and rejoicing.

Observance and Festivities

As all other Jewish holiday, Purim begins with sunset. During the evening it is customary to go to synagogue and hear the reading of the Book of Esther (Megillat Esther). During the reading, every time the name of Haman comes up, the community is supposed to make so much noice that the name can’t be hear. Why? To wipe out evil. How? Through shouting or the use of rattlers (noise makers, ra’ashan).

Since the holiday of Purim is about having as much fun as possible it became the custom to dress up and have purim plays and parties. It is also costumary to give out mishloat manot, literally sending out portions, but really baskets with sweets, candies and cakes. Talking about cakes the special food for purim are oznei haman (haman’s ears), also know as hamantaschen. This is a cookie like pastry folded into a triangle with chocolate, puppy seed or jam filling.

In Israel

In modern Israel this is the day for the kids in particular to dress up, to put on make up, to become whatever they want for a day or two. Purim is a two day holiday from school and studies. On the last day before Purim the children come to school dressed up, and of course there are no studies on that day. No wonder that Purim has become so popular.

On that same day, or more commonly, on the Friday closest to the holiday many places hold adloyadot, a combination of street carnival and parade. These adloyadot can be elaborate affairs, with floats and themes. But this is not just for the children. Adults also dress up and participate. The adloyadot are for the children, young adults take the opportunity for creating their own parties in the evenings.

As I often work during the holiday of Purim I don’t always have the chance to participate. But I have been known to turn up for work wearing a wig or a funny hat. We all find our own way to celebrate.

A few pictures representing a local Purim festivity

It is just coincidence that Jerusalem’s International Annual Half Marathon, the 18th, falls on March 18th this year. Participating in sports events of this kind is definitely being alive, and bringing more life to the city.

As in previous years participants come from all over Israel and all over the world. The route begins and ends in the Givat Ram Stadium of the Hebrew University and goes through some of Jerusalem’s unique and pictoresque landscapes. The route will take runners on a slightly hilly and challenging route and past the Shrine of the Book, housing the Dead Sea Scroll, the Israel Museum, the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and the Jerusalem forest.

The Marathon is set with two lengths: half marathon of 21.1 km and the fun run of 10 km. There are 18 different race categories, split by gender and age, from below 16 to 73 and above. 6 prices will be given out.

Participants of the half marathon are invited to participate in a gala dinner of pasta the evening before the race. All runners will receive a t-shirt and a certificate and medal.

Price for participation is $25-$40. Registration can be done online through marathon page in English on the municipality’s site www.jerusalem.muni.il.

If you are lucky you may run side by side with Nir Barkat, the mayor of Jerusalem, and an avid marathon runner himself.

In ancient times olives and olive oil had a much greater use. It was used in food. One of the greatest uses of the oil was for lighting in the oil lamps. It was used for offerings in the Temple in Jerusalem, as anointing oil of kings and priests, in cosmetics and in medicine. What was left over after extraction of the oil was used as fuel and as fertilizer. No wonder that the olive became one of the prestigious ‘Seven Species’ of Deuteronomy (8:8).

The Olive Tree

There are still many wild olives in Israel, but it is the domesticated varieties that are seen throughout the country from the southernmost parts of the Hills of Judea to the high mountains of the Galilee.

The tree flowers in May, small inconspicuous flowers. The fruit ripens in late fall, and harvest goes on from late October through November, sometimes into December. The traditional way of harvesting is to shake the branches and allow the fruit to fall unto burlap spread underneath.

Even at this stage when the fruit is ripe, don’t do what I once did – eat the fruit straight from the tree. As I said at the time: I ate the fruit three times – the first, the last and never again. The fruit is so bitter as to be inedible.

But take the time to crush the olive, or place it in a lime solution for a couple of days, and then marinate it in water with garlic, lemon or other spices, and you get the wonderful fruit that many of us like to eat.

Olive Oil Press and Production

Harvesting the olive and producing olive oil is extremely labor intensive. Once the fruit has been harvested the farmer now brings it to the press. In some occasions the biblical farmer had his own press, but usually a privately owned or community press would serve a large area. We are fortunate that many of these presses have survived till today and been found in archaeological excavations. In a few places they have been restored to show the visitor the full process.

Today we are advised to buy only cold press oil. When heated the olive and the oil looses some of its nutritional value. This was also known in ancient times, though occasionally the farmer would heat the fruit at home, in order to get a larger quantity of oil.

"Crusher" in Capernaum

In the olive press the olive must first be crushed. This was done in large “crushers” consisting of a container and the round upper stone, the crusher. The two were connected with an upright pole and a horizontal beam running through the crusher. This stone would be pulled either by people, or in the lucky cases by donkeys.

After running the crusher over the olives for app. half hour, the crushing was completed. This mass was now scooped up and placed in large baskets to be placed on the press. Before this process began the baskets were soaked in water, so that all the oil could be retrieved.

The baskets were now stacked over the press-bed, either with a basin underneath, or a rim around it, to catch the liquid being pressed out. The liquid would run into the catching basin where it would be left, so that the water and oil would separate, the light oil on the top, which would then be ladled off into storage jars.

Presser in Nazareth Village

The earliest form of presses was through a weight system, with three 600 pound weights hung from the cross beam. These weights could be lowered to apply more pressure as needed. In the first century BCE a screw system came into being, making the pressing somewhat easier.

Pressure would be applied at different stages to get the maximum amount of oil out. The time needed for full pressing was 24 hours, and so there would usually be two presses to one crusher. In this way while one press was pressing, the other would either be emptied or filled up again.

The Olive Oil

This production process gave three separate qualities of oil. The first, the purest and most expensive, was the only one used for tithing to the Temple. All three qualities were used for food, for fuel, in cosmetics and medicine, to allow all to be able to buy it.

Ancient oil lamp

By far the most common use of olive oil was for lighting. It is so easy for us to forget how blessed we are that all we have to do when it gets dark is to flip the switch. Until not that long ago, if you wanted see in the dark you had to have candles, or as in the case of the Middle East and Southern Europe – oil.

The olives and the oil could and was exported long distances. The oil from Israel was considered one of the finest, and was much sought after. For Israel the olive oil was the golden oil of biblical times.

The Left-overs

The ancient world did not waste. Everything could and was used, and so also with the pulp left over from the pressing. The pips still contained a great amount of oil was excellent for burning in cooking or heating ovens.

The pulp could be used as fertilizer around growing trees and vines. It was often also used in the plaster mixture painted on the walls of houses. This helped to keep away insects. It was also poured over grain to protect it from mice and insects. This as well as lower quality oil was also used eventually for making soaps.

The tree needs to be trimmed occasionally. The wood lends itself beautifully for carving with its soft undulating lines in different hues of brown, and was therefore much in demand for furniture and doors. In the First Temple in Jerusalem the doors to the inner sanctuary were made of olive wood.

Some Places to see Oil Presses
One of the easiest places to see an olive press in its original location is within the grounds of Capernaum.
For the slightly more off the beaten track traveler, Tel Maresha in the Beit Guvrin area has a beautiful example of a restored olive press. In the Talmudic town of Katzrin on the Golan Heights there is also a fine restored olive press.

Crowds at the Western Wall

My tourists go crazy with me sometimes. Here I have traveled the country, crisscrossed the country, been up and down more times than I can remember and for so many years, and I still carry a camera, and take pictures almost to the same extent that they do.

But there’s a reason I keep taking pictures. Every time I go somewhere I see something new, or something different. The light may be different, a different season. Sometimes it is just catching that special moment or that special something.

That’s what happened the other day, when once again I had some spare time at the Western Wall, while my tourists were visiting the Wall, maybe putting their note into one of the cracks in the Wall, maybe a moment of quiet contemplation. I never know, and I don’t ask.

As I was standing there looking at the activity and the bustle, I saw something and I was able to catch it on camera. I decided I wanted to share it with you here.

Join me for your own special moment at a very special place.

Join me

Nahal Saar is one of those experiences. Nahal Saar flows between the Hermon Mountain and the Golan Heights in the north of the Israel. The word nahal means stream, and as with many streams in Israel water can only been seen in late winter and early spring. This on condition that there has been a good amount of rain through the winter, and hopefully also some snow on the Hermon Mountain and the northern Golan Heights.

This year has been like this. I was fortunate that the other day I was touring up in that part of the country with my tourists, and I had the time and they had the interest to stop for this special experience. The day was glorious, way too warm for this time of the year, but we made the most of it. So we stopped at Nahal Saar, where it has created a fairly large waterfall.

I have to tell you that we were not the only ones there. Though I did not film it, I could hardly find parking place on the other side of the road. Some people even hiked up for an even better view, but we made do with the low view. This is what I am sharing with you here.

Overlooking excavations toward Tel Beit Shean

Beit Shean is located in the Jordan Valley, some 30 km south of the Sea of Galilee. It is considered one of the oldest towns of Israel. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the first human settlement took place in the Calcholitic period (4th millennium BCE). But it is most famous as the Roman city Scythopolis.

Origins and Name
As with many other ancient towns it was travel routes that determined location. Beit Shean is situated on the cross roads of the north-south route through the Jordan Valley and the eastern entrance to the Jezreel Valley at a point, where there is easy crossing over the Jordan River. It could therefore serve as a stop on the trading routes, as well as a buffer town and defense of the Jezreel Valley, the largest and most fertile valley in Israel.

The origin of the name is lost in the mist of time, but place names beginning with Beit (house) is an indication of the age of the site. The name may have derived from a god by the name of Shean, once worshiped in this place. Excavations have revealed almost continual settlement from the beginning to 8th century BCE, when it was conquered and destroyed by Tiglath Pileser III of Assyria, when he conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 732 BCE.

From the theater toward Tel

It was resettled in the Hellenistic period, but attained its finest hours in the Roman and Byzantine periods, when it became known as Scythopolis, one of the cities of the Decapolis. It is mainly this period that is Beit Shean’s cause to fame, and part of the Israeli touring map.

Excavations and History
The excavations have revealed a strong Egyptian influence in 15-12th centuries BCE. According to the Bible it was one of the cities that were NOT conquered by Joshua, and it continued as a Philistine-Canaanite town till the early part of the 10th century BCE, when it was destroyed, possibly by King David.

Although not part of the areas settled by the early Israelites, Beit Shean in mentioned in the Bible (I Samuel 31:10-12) as the place where the bodies of King Saul and his sons were impaled after their defeat at Mt. Gilboa to the south. It is also mentioned as an important administrative center during the reigh of King Solomon (I Kings 4:12). After its conquest by the Assyrians in the late 8th century BCE, it declined in importance and very little evidence has been found from this period.

Greek and Roman
In the Hellenistic period (beg. 323 BCE) the town sees a revival. But only with the advent of the Romans under General and triumvir Pompey in 67 BCE does the town rise to new importance. As part of the new administrative order Beit Shean is given a new name, Scythopolis, and made part of the Decapolis, Union of Ten Cities, with the other nine towns being on the east side of the Jordan River.

As the name indicates, it became an autonomous town (polis) with extensive self-ruling rights, including the right to mint its own coins, as well as counting the years from this date. Dionysis was accredited with having founded the city, and was therefore the main Roman god worshiped here. Nysa, Dionysis’ nursemaid, was believed to be buried there.

Massive new public and private construction begins, little of which can be seen today, due to reconstruction in later periods. It is primarily in the 2nd century CE that Scythopolis reached its final shape that we can see today.

Following the earthquake in 363 it was rebuilt and expanded. Many churches were built in the city, often on top of the former Roman temples. The expansion continued through the fifth century , when Scythopolis became an important resting place for Christian pilgrims journeying between Galilee and Jerusalem. It reached its greatest size then, some 40.000 residents.

Arab and Crusader
As a result of wars in the early seventh century and the conquest by the Arabs in 636 the city begins its final decline. The collapse of the city was finalized on January 18, 749 during the massive earthquake that shook the whole region. Although an Arab village was built on the ruins, and a Crusader fortress was built nearby, Beit Shean never recovered and got buried under the earth and sand of time.

Only the modern excavations have begun to reveal the glory that was Beit Shean/Scythopolis.

A tour through Beit Shean should include
The Theater
The Great Bath House
The Street of Palladious, The Sigma Square, Mona Lisa Mosaic
The Monumental Building
The Amphitheater

The tour can also include:
Sylvanus Street, Nymphaeum, Colonaded Pool
Tel Beit Shean

We live in an age of a great religious war.

The Islamist enemy seeks to overwhelm and subjugate the planet. Their goal is to erase all other religions and belief systems. This attack on cultural diversity and freedom of thought has come at a time when the West is most vulnerable. Most people in the West seem to have lost their religious belief and cannot really accept that they are facing an enemy that truly believes that they are carrying out the orders of an omnipotent, supernatural being.

These Westerners, blind to the truth, are convinced that there must be some “other” motivation behind the suicide bombings, the rioting, the terrorist attacks, and the hatred! Some motive that could be satisfied by improving economies, fighting poverty, relinquishing land, or some other “rational” concession. Strangely, even the government of Israel refuses to play the religion card and to announce that we are the Chosen People living in our Promised Land, having returned from exile as prophesied in both the Bible and the Koran.

An exception is, of course, the millions of Evangelical Christian Zionists in America. A community that a majority of Jews have been taught to mistrust. If you are one of those Jews please check out CUFI, Christians United For Israel.   (ed. I agree especially with the last paragraph)

As a tour guide I am always on the road. I see the same places again and again. But every so often land and nature give me surprises.That happened yesterday, as I was touring Masada and the Dead Sea.

On purpose we had chosen yesterday to go to Masada and the Dead Sea. Weather forecast was for rain and storm, and the previous days had been just glorious. It’s always good to get out of Jerusalem, when there is that kind of forecast. At least down at the Dead Sea there is less chance of rain. After all, it only rains 5-10 days a year in the southern part and a little more in the northern part.

Despite the extraordinary strong wind we were able to see Masada in all its glory. And this time the starlings played along, and I was able to get a lot of good shots.

Just as we had finished seeing the model of the water collection system, a jerbil decided to come out and get some sun, and allowed me to take a picture of it.

But most spectacular was the view traveling back up northwards. Most of the time the water of the Dead Sea is smooth as a mirror, but yesterday the strong wind ripped up the water, so that small white tops appeared. A rare sight I could not catch in on film, but there were even small whirl winds on the water, as if the beginning of a hurricane.

The clouds were heavy over the mountains of Jordan, and I was happy that Jordan also is getting some much needed rain. There were still some sun coming through, and it lit up the clouds. Enjoy the few photos I was able to get of this.