Israel: Tour Day 8 - Our Journey into Jerusalem, and a visit to see the Dead Sea Scrolls

We departed from our 'beloved' Dead Sea Oasis hotel (I will spare the details, but this Russian-managed hotel was not exactly five-star accommodation!), and proceeded back up the highway, past Masada, on our way to Jerusalem.

While we were traveling, Yehuda indicated that the shifting of tectonic plates under Israel causes the land to move approx 1 cm per year. Like a spring waiting to release pent-up energy, the entire region is prone to violent earthquakes. While on the subject of geology, Yehuda mentioned that the hotels near where we were staying rests above a four kilometer deep salt bed. This is part of a massive hole that was once covered by an inland ocean that extended far into the Highlands. At one time, the hole in the ocean was six kilometers deep. Recently, Israel has discovered oil, in modest quantities under the sea bed.

Rabbi Infeld set the stage for our building excitement about entering Jerusalem. Jerusalem, he said, has been called by Rabbis "the belly button" of the universe. "The entire tour has been planned to build up to a moment that will happen in about an hour's time.... the moment we enter into Jerusalem!"

Qumran revisited

We approached Qumran along the highway, in the opposite direction from where we had seen it a few days ago. This time, we stopped, giving a chance to take some quick photos.

This was the famous site where somewhere between 14,000... to 28,000... to 40,000 pieces of documents were found. The reason for the confusion, Yehuda explained, is that the French didn't organize them systematically. Outside of the caves in the hillside, though, there really wasn't much to see.


However, when we get to Jerusalem, we have the opportunity to do something that very few tourists can do. For, in this 60th year of Israeli independence, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Isaiah Scroll, the most extensive one ever found at Qumran and dated at 100 BCE, is being displayed to the public for just three months, during the time we are in Jerusalem. In fact, we would be seeing them this afternoon! This was especially remarkable, as, because of their value and fragility, the last time they had been displayed in public was over thirty years ago.

We stopped along the way to fill the bus with diesel across from some army vehicles. The cost of diesel in Israel is 3.5 shekels per liter, about a dollar per liter CDN. With a fuel tank of approximately 600 liter, the cost to fill the bus was about $600 CDN. It seems that every time the bus stops, even to fill gas, it takes at least a half hour before kids have made it back from washrooms and adults have extracted themselves from shops, or view the camels on the side of the road, or purchase some extra bottled water, or, simply hang out in the shade. No exception here.


Finally, we were on the way. We traveled along what has become known as a "red highway", the section highway 1 that connects Jordan with Jerusalem. "Red", in this context, means bloody, as this highway has claimed many lives from maniacal (Yehuda would say, without hesitation, Arab) drivers.

As we traveled along (safely, I am happy to say), Yehuda pointed out some of the "modern" Bedouin homes next to the highway. Situated in small patches of desert, with little else around them, they looked only slightly less temporary than the tents that they replaced.

Yehuda told us, lightheartedly, that Bedouin philosophy is to give equal responsibility of thinking and doing between husband and wife. "Men do the thinking", he said, "and women do the doing". Yehuda went on to say if the Bedouin's wife had a problem with this, the husband would simply build a tent on the outskirts of the village for her to live. He would then visit her perhaps once or twice a month if she was lucky. "Israeli men, in contrast", Yehuda said, "always have the last word in a discussion: 'yes, my dear...' "

We enter Jerusalem!

The build-up of excitement in the bus reached a fever pitch as we entered the tunnel into Jerusalem on the Arab side. Suddenly, we emerged, with a vista of Jerusalem in its glory. The bus broke into spontaneous song. We are so excited to be here!

As the bus moved into the heart of the city, Yehuda mentioned that, before 1860, there was nothing outside the walls of Jerusalem other than one house and a monastery. The first Jewish homes outside of the old city were controversial. No one wanted to live there, it was too dangerous. City fathers persisted, though. Eventually, the city ended up paying the first residents to move there! At first, yes, it was dangerous. Some of the new residents were killed. However, security improved, and within a few years additional neighborhoods were built. Eventually, there were twenty five, all built between 1870 and 1890.

As our bus inched its way closer to the heart of the city, one difference was immediately noticeable between Jerusalem and Vancouver. In Jerusalem, drivers honk their horns at every possible opportunity!

The Haas Promenade

Eventually, we made our way to the Haas Promenade, for a special "Shehechiyanu" ceremony to give thanks for this incredible moment. The Haas Promenade provides a fantastic view of the entire Jerusalem landscape, including the Old City.

There, we met Rabbi Solomon, who welcomed us to Jerusalem. A beloved man, Rabbi Solomon led our synagogue at Beth Israel in Vancouver since 1964 until he retired and made Aliayh to Israel fourteen years ago. Before he left, he married Hilary and I in a formal Jewish ceremony after I took conversion classes with him for a year. I therefore remembered him well. It was so good to see him again!

From the Haas Promenade, we went directly into the Old City.










On the way, we passed by Mount Zion, and a catholic Abby that was erected to commemorate the spot where, tradition says, Mary, the mother of Jesus "fell asleep". Bullet marks, however, litter the face of the church, a result of the 1967 war, where it was used as an Israeli army post.

<---effects of the 1967 war

Still proceeding toward Zion Gate, we stopped just outside a small corridor, where, to one side, is the place that many Jews believe king David was buried.

Tomb of King David---->

<----Above King David's tomb is the room where it is believed the Last Supper was held with Jesus and his disciples before he was crucified. Photos were not allowed inside the room.

Looking down from the building where the Tomb of David is located, and the site of the Last Supper---->

Some views of the Jewish District

You can see the Mount of Olives, between the trees---->

Zion Gate

We entered the Zion gate. According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate. This area is part of the Jewish Quarter, an area that was captured and brought under Israeli control during the 1967 war. The actual wall is only five hundred years old. The wall dates to the 16th century, built under the direction of the famous Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman “the Magnificent.” Yehuda said that apparently the Sultan was so pleased with this beautiful wall that he executed the two architects responsible. The reason? He did not want them to build any other walls similar to it so that they might possibly compete with it.

When Israelis managed to retake the Jewish quarter in 1967, they found that the area, which had been constructed in the 1920's, had been completely demolished. It took seventeen years after 1967 to rebuild the site. The long delay was because Israel saw the opportunity to uncover ancient sites that laid below the city, and so turned the property over to archaeologists so that it could be thoroughly examined.

Cardo District
One of these archaeological sites is the Cardo District. This is a section of the city that dates back to Roman times, in the second century CE. The area was built following the second great Jewish Revolt (the first ended at Masada), between 132 and 135 CE. During the second revolt, over 500,000 Jews were killed after Roman armies crushed a revolt led by Simon bar Kokhba, who had managed to create an independent State of Israel that lasted for about two years. In the aftermath, the Romans turned Jerusalem into a pagan city, only allowing Jews to enter the city on Tish B'Av, "saddest day in Jewish History", the day commemorating the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. One of the visible remnants of this latter period is the Cardo district, which in the time of the Romans, was a shopping area, with roofs and shops that were 22 to 24 meters wide.

After 1967, in keeping with the spirit of the original Cardo, the areas around it have been turned into a similar marketplace and is a popular destination for tourists. It was here that Naomi found a beautiful Tallit that she plans to use in her Bat Mitzvah when she turns thirteen.

The Christian Calendar, and a remarkable error
An interesting fact arose when Yehuda mentioned a discrepancy found in the Christian calendar that persists to this day. How Dionysius, the founder of the modern Christian calendar, established the year of Christ's birth and therefore set the year as the starting point of "AC", with dates preceding it as "BC", is not known. However, it is clear from the biblical account that Jesus was born under the reign of King Herod the Great. The problem is that it is well known that King Herod died in 4 BC. So Jesus could have been born no later than that year. Dionysius' calculations were disputed at a very early stage, but, despite this, the calendar was set for centuries to come.

Yehuda showed us the Western Wall, however, we saved the actual trip for tomorrow.

He mentioned, however, that during the time of king David, only a small portion of the wall was built. Solomon added substantial portions of the wall. An additional section was hurriedly built in advance of the Syrian invasion, where they laid siege to Jerusalem in 720 BCE. It turns out that the seige of Jerusalem resulted in the earliest known documentation, written by the Syrians, that indicated the Jews spoke a distinct language.

<----wall built in advance of the Syrian invasion, 720
BCE

As we left the Zion gate and started down the path towards the bus, we saw a huge golden menorah, encased in glass, that was constructed by the Temple Institute and based on extensive research. The creators of the menorah indicate that "it is appropriate for use in the Third Temple", a concept that scares both Arabs and many modern Jews alike. As Yehuda said when viewing it, if anyone tries to build a Third Temple on the site of the Dome of the Rock, we will have World War Three on our hands.

Regardless, the menorah is impressive. Over two meters in height, it is plated with 43 kg (95 lbs) of gold and is the first such menorah that has been constructed since the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

The Israel museum and the Dead Sea Scrolls

This was, in my view, the archaeological highlight of the tour. For it is here that we were able to view, for the first time in thirty years, the Isaiah Scroll, the most famous of the Dead sea scrolls. This document has connections to the modern age of Israel, as they were purchased and therefore preserved for all time, on Israel's Day of Independence, sixty years ago. In honor of this, the actual Isaiah Scroll has been displayed publicly for three months, the first time in Israel since the 1960's.

The museum is created using an interesting architectural motif. There is the dome-shaped "White Shrine of the Book", where are kept the oldest pieces of the Bible known to man. The Shrine of the Book was designed to resemble the lids of the jars in which the Dead Sea Scrolls it houses were discovered. Fountains of water play on the building's exterior, naturally cooling it.

White Shrine of the Book---->

Nearby is a black obelisk, denoting "The Black Scroll", alluding to a central theme of Qumran philosophy, the battle of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness.

Outside, there is a huge model of old Jerusalem, created in 1966, viewed from the vantage of the Mount of Olives. The model reconstructs the topography and architecture of the city as best as can be determined, as it was prior to 66 CE.
This was the year of the first Great Revolt against the Romans, which led to the loss of the Temple four years later and the events at Masada in 72 CE. Originally set on the grounds of the old Holyland Hotel, the model has found a permanent place in the Museum, near the Shrine of the Book. The scale of this model is enormous. Every 2 cm of the model represents 1 meter of the Old City. You can view an on-line, interactive version of what we saw at: http://www.imj.org.il/panavision/walk_eng.html

The Isaiah Scroll was on display in the very first gallery in the White Shrine of the Book. Subdued lighting and careful environmental controls designed to protect it underscored the special nature of this precious document, the "Mona Lisa" of Jewish archaeology. For those who might be interested in what we saw, a near perfect copy can be seen and magnified to great detail can be seen on the Israel Museum web site, located at:
http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/HTMLs/Home.aspx

Click on the red tab to the right to view the scroll. It may take a few seconds to download it as the document is a very large file.

In addition, to the Isaiah Scroll, chapters from an ancient Bible dated from the 7th century, never before published, were also on display.

The Dead Sea Scrolls in the collection are dated from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century ad. There are approximately 40,000 fragments, 125 of which have been identified as biblical. Many non-biblical parchment fragments were also found, including Christian apocryphal texts which were held in high regard by the original keepers of the Scrolls.

We also saw sections of the "Temple Scroll", a document that describes the practices of the Essene community at Qumran, is the longest of all the scrolls found there, at 8.149 meters (26.7 feet) in length. It is estimated that the original scroll may have been over 8.75 meters (28 feet) long.

A visit to the Rochlin Home for the Aged
Our last event of the day was a stop to a rest home in Jerusalem, where the kids, who had prepared for it during the long bus ride into Jerusalem, sang beautifully for them.

Thanks to Herb, residents of Lois Brier Home and BI, a great slide show was presented describing a bit about Vancouver, where it is located in Canada and the Jewish community that is there. Speaking fluent Hebrew, Rabbi Infeld narrated it, bringing smiles to the residents as he added light-hearted stories about our home in Canada.



We finally arrived at the Dan Panorama, a beautiful hotel set in the heart of Jerusalem, where we are to stay for the next five days.

What a day it has been. I can hardly believe we are actually in Jerusalem, the holiest city in the world. Tomorrow, we have much more to explore.