Articles by Eli Wolicki

Shomronim and Shilo

This is actually a tour that I planned for a large family group for sometime last year which was canceled

for extenuating circumstances,yet I still think is an interesting, fun and meaningful day.

We begin at Har Grizim National Park, overlooking the city of Shchem or Nablus we will see a mizbeach

that dates back over three thousand years. and according to the Shomronim or Samaritans , the original

site of the Mishkan or Tabernacle, which they believe should also be the location of the Beit Hamikdash

due to Hashem saying he would show the place (not specifying Jerusalem) This is also where 1⁄2 of Am

Yisrael camped to receive the Brachot and Klallot regarding how to live your lives within the broders of

Israel,

After exploring and learning about these ruins, we continue to a visit at the Samaritan Museum to learn

about their history and their connections to Judaism of today. To be honest if you have never been, be

prepared to have your mind blown. They have some very interesting artifacts including a family tree that

traces back from the family of their current Kohen Gadol all the way back to Aharon Hakohen. If you are

lucky you might meet his brother , who is a scholar in his own right of their version of the torah. He has

also written several sefarim discussing the the specific differences between it and ours. There are maps of

the travels of Am Yisrael in the desert, a model of a Samaritan Sukka, and of course lots of pictures.

Including wedding ceremonies and Korban Pesach.

Nearby there is also one of if not the most highly recommended tahini factories in all of Israel. It is owned

by the Samaritans but also has on of the strictest hashgachot in the country.

We will now continue to the other famous Mishkan location, Shilo. This is where Shmuel apprenticed to

Eli Hakohen. It is also the home of the Mishkan for 369 years. We will tour the sight including an audio

visual presentation, and a life size model of the Mishkan. There is also quite a bit of fascinating

archaeology , and if you go in the right season there are some children's activities.

After all of this a treat for the adults. A tour and tasting at the Shilo Winery. Here our tour ends and we

continue back home . Hope you had a good day.

Now, most of these stops do request if not require advance reservations, but they are so worth it,

especially if you have an experienced guide to take you there.

Rosh Hanikra and Acco

When thinking about sites of interest in Israel some are so famous, they are often overlooked. Rosh Hanikra is one such place.

We've all seen the postcards, but due to it being a site that is so far away from everything and not taking much time to see in it's entirety, it is often skipped. However, I love it. It has history both in ancient times as well as modern. Alexander the great is said to have come ashore there with his armies on his way to India and there was a well known railway that was eventually sabotaged by the Jewish underground in the early 20th century. There is also a great meat restaurant (mehadrin kashruth) overlooking the cliffs.

The view from on top from the northernmost point on the Israeli coastline is nothing short of spectacular and of course there are the grottos below which provide the views for the aforementioned postcards.

What is less well known is that you can buy combination tickets at Rosh Hanikra that also inlude discounted entry to the Crusader Citadel in Acco (Akko, Acre). It is a quick drive of around 20 minutes and you will be able to visit the most complete and well preserved castle from the crusader period I have ever seen. There are pillars in the refectory so big that to encircle them requires between 7 and 8 adults with arms outstretched. Banners of the various orders of crusader knights decorate the halls and courtyards, and of course there is a great kosher restaurant within the walls.

Thirty five years ago if you visited Acco, all you checked out was the Jail, the wharf, Napoleon's hill,maybe the Ramchal Shul and that was about it. Today after the excavation of the citadel, there is so much more to see. There are even Templar tunnels that run under the city for secret escape routes. There are also some old moslem sites like the old Hamam al Basha bathhouse turned museum or the Al Jazzar Mosque. There is a museum called 'Treasures in the Walls” with much more modern historical artifacts . Acco is both a modern and ancient city. There is a section of artist galleries in the shuk. You can watch cliff diving youths in summertime. Basically something for everyone and just a short trip from Haifa visible across the bay.

Masada

When I initially meet people and they find out what I do for a living, the first question they usually ask me is “What is your favorite place to visit/guide in Israel?”. While there are many places more beautiful, holier, older, or with more archaeology, no place has all of those , and an amazing story like Masada.

I first visited Masada in 1978. There was a dirt parking lot and the cable car held about 10 people maybe less. Now there is a whole complex including an audio visual museum, field school, restaurants and gift shops, and the cable car holds 82 people. This is of course due to UNESCO recognizing Masada as an international heritage site. What many people don't know is that the reason for this recognition has nothing to do with what's on top of the mountain,but rather the ruins of Roman encampments around the bottom. However when guiding the site our focus is the ruins above.

Upon ascending to the top of this 450m tall mountain we find ourselves ironically at just about sea level with a truly amazing view of the Dead Sea, the Judean Desert, and of course the Moabite/Edomite mountains in Jordan. We enter through the Snake Path Gate and can already see the stylized construction, trying to make small stones appear large by covering them in plaster and cutting grooves to give the look of large Herodian style stones. This gives us a hint of the grandeur we will discover in the rest of this mountain fortress.

Herod was known for his great building. This is just one of seven places of refuge built by him. Originally a small Hasmonean outpost, Herod spared no expense constructing two palaces, barracks for troops to defend him, special commanders quarters overlooking the entry gate, and 17 massive storehouses. These last he stocked full with wine, honey, oil, grain and many other items. As far as we know he never lived here, but almost 70 years after his death when Jewish zealots were running from the Romans during the ”Great Revolt” it was still fully stocked. This provided them with what to live on, and the basics for defense, until such time when they “heroically” took their own lives.

To explore everything up here would require at least a full day if not two. Among the key sites to visit are the Northern Palace, carved deep into the north side of the mountain extending over 100m down. There are also the Western Palace with it's beautiful mosaics, the Roman Style Bathhouse with well preserved frescoes and remnants of the heating system. There are also several mikvas (Jewish ritual baths) , massive water cisterns, as well as a synagogue. It's most likely that the synagogue was something else before the Jews arrived during the revolt. Nowadays there is a scribe at work in the synagogue, and sometimes if he isn't too busy he will inscribe tourists names for them using Hebrew letters and a quill, the same method as used in days of old.

On the southern tip of Masada there is an echo point. Generally this is lots of fun with kids in the group. On the west side we can get a view of the attack ramp built by the Romans using Jewish slave labor. This was of course the way the Romans finally broke in,

The most important room in my opinion is behind the bathhouse near the stairs down to the Northern Palace. This is where Yig'al Yadin, famed archaeologist and tour guide license #3 found the potsherds with the names on them, These were lots drawn by the leaders of the families of zealots to decide who would in the end of their mass suicide, take the others' life and then fall on their sword. Finding these proved the writings of Josephus to be correct, thus making it history rather than just another story.

I of course go into much more detail in person. Suffice it to say I love to guide Masada.

Beit Guvrin

When looking for a place to spend a day , or even just a half day touring, especially if you live in Beit Shemesh, there aren't many places better than Beit Guvrin National Park. It's close proximity makes it ideal, as well as having something for everyone.The park includes various different cave systems to crawl through and explore, as well as plenty that can be walked into, several convenient parking areas, full restroom facilities, gift shops and most importantly, plenty of history. Children of all ages can enjoy going into one cave and popping out somewhere else, as many are connected.

There is the section of the park known as Maresha which is partially an active archaeological site, run by “Archaeological Seminars” also known as “Dig for a Day”. This is one of the only places- if not the only – where a tourist (local or foreign) can actively participate in all stages of a dig. I can tell you from personal experience that this is fun and educational for pretty much anyone, regardless of age or background. Side note; for some reason the coolest discoveries are usually made by 6-8 year old girls.

The reason this is possible is due to the fact that the area of Maresha was abandoned once and never resettled and as such is all from one time frame. The period of time in question is approximately that of the Macabees, which at least in my opinion makes this all the more interesting. In fact one of the items discovered there is the Stellae Heliodorous which confirms the Macabees existence and is on display in the Israel Museum. (for more info on the importance of this , I recommend you contact a local tour guide.)

In the other parts of the park are also numerous hiking trails, ruins of Byzantine Architecture, an underground columbarium, or dovecote, olive oil factory, and the Sidonian Burial caves. The burial caves have some truly beautiful artwork painted inside and date back to around the 2nd century BCE.

A different part of the park contains the truly beautiful an somewhat astounding Bell Caves, recognized by UNESCO as an International Heritage site. There is no place else in the world like this. As a result there were actually several movies and television shows over the years that used them as a location. Most notable would probably be Rambo III , and back in 1973, J.C. Superstar. These are not naturally formed, but man-made. There are noticeable chisel marks all the way down. These caves have some carvings on the wall from Jews, Moslems, and Christians, which is how we know they were occupied much later than Tel Maresha.

When you exit this area of the park and cross the street (Rt 35) behind the gas station is the part of the park from which it gets it's name. The ruins of Beit Guvrin also known as Beit Jubrin in the Arabic pronunciation or Eleutheropolis in Greek/Latin. The first thing you come to after a small display of the archaeological method is the large amphitheatre, complete with trapdoors in the middle to release wild animals. You can enter into hallways behind the scenes where gladiators would have gotten ready to risk their lives on the sand. It's also always fun to stage a mock battle using toy swords and shields, This amphitheatre is still used today from time to time for various events. (FYI the “amphi” in Beit Shemesh is actually not an Amphitheatre but a theatre at best )

Beyond this we can explore the ruins of the ancient city. There are roman columns, and a roman bathhouse under the large villa. There are a lot of Byzantine era and Crusader era ruins as well most built on top of one another. This was for a time the home of the 9th and then the 10th legions of Rome. There is a point , just inside the first doorway where you can go up to a lookout point above the city to get a view of it in its entirety.

This city was occupied as recently as the early ottoman period. For this reason there is a pedestal that appears much like a sundial at the entrance to the villa. This was used for determining the direction of prayer.

I hope this gives all who read it a taste of what is to be seen and experienced so close to home.

Recently, I was in a pharmacy at my local Kupat Cholim, and as I entered my Teudat Zehut number a friend from my neighborhood commented, asking how I got such a low number. I never really thought of it before but now that he mentioned it my number does begin with a 0-1-1 and has more digits in it now than when I received it. I told him I had made aliyah over 40 years ago and that the numbers are given out in consecutive order. He then commented that he had on a trip with his family not to long ago to Sde Boker and had seen that David Ben-Gurion had Teudat Zehut number 003 and wife Paula was number 004. He also wondered aloud who were numbers 001 and 002. So being always I tour guide mode in my mind, I immediately responded “Chaim and Vera Weizmann” . I then asked if he'd ever been to the Weizmann Institute . Of course the answer was no, hence the subject of this article.

I've always found it interesting to discuss the differences between the lifestyles of Ben-Gurion and Weizmann. Ben-Gurion A very simple home in Sde Boker without any unnecessary embellishments, in fact so intentionally simple that supposedly his wife may have complained about it. Weizmann on the other hand built a mansion and when one tours The Institute one sees just what it meant to live in style in those days. You will see some beautiful art works, a kitchen obviously designed for use by servants, Chaim's top-hat and tails and Vera's ball gown are laid out on the beds in their separate rooms. And all of the doorknobs are crystal. His presidential custom made Cadillac is also preserved out side the house under glass.

That's not all there is to see . The Weizmann Institute is one of the foremost multidisciplinary science research and education facilities in the world. Unlike other universities in Israel, it only offers post graduate education. The visitors center has an amazing,kid and adult friendly interactive set of displays and an audio visual 360 degree immersive virtual tour. Also being located in Rehovoth makes it really easy to get to.

Now that we're in Rehovoth, we can pop over to a site that it seems just keeps becoming more and more popular. Machon Ayalon or The Ayalon Institute aka The Bullet Factory.

This is a site that no matter how much you hear or read about it, must be experienced in order to understand. It is an underground (literally) factory that was so secret that people living in the kibbutz under which it was operating had no idea it was there. And it wasn't quiet. In fact the main entry and exit was through a laundry that operated as a real/cover business and the people operating the laundry didn't know. The British officers would get uniforms washed and pressed there, yet never discovered the factory. There was even a firing range underground.

The factory produced almost three quarters of the bullets used in the Israeli war of independence, yet remained a secret held by a bunch of kids in their late teens and early twenties. Mind boggling.

I highly recommend both of these sites, and if you're looking for a subject matter connection, Chaim Weizmann made most of his money due to scientific discovery of his acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation process for the manufacture of cordite explosive propellants (aka modern gunpowder) for the British during World War One. The same type of gunpowder is used in making modern bullets. I also recommend, time permitting stopping in close by Rishon LeZion and the museum of the first settlers.

See you out there!