MOUNT TABOR

view of Mount Tabor, courtesy, Wikipedia

Mount Tabor is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, about 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. Today situated off Highway 65, in ancient times, it lie on the road of the Via Maris, an ancient trade route, which stretched from the Jezreel Valley to Damascus. Shaped almost like half a sphere, it is an independent-standing mountain, suddenly rising from rather flat surroundings and reaching a height of 1,886 feet above sea level, overlooking the town of Kfar Tavor. At its base it is almost fully surrounded by the Arab and Bedouin villages of Daburiyya, Shibli, and Umm al-Ghanam. Its summit is accessible by road via Shibli. A hiking track, as part of the Israel National Trail, starts from Shibli and is about three miles long. Its location on the road junction and its bulgy formation above its environment gave Mount Tabor a strategic value resulting in wars that were fought for its possession in different periods in history. The mountain was a major factor in the defeat of Napoleon’s armies in 1799 that halted his Middle Eastern ambitions and eventually drove him back to Europe.

The mountain is mentioned for the first time in the Bible in the Book of Joshua, 19:22, as the border of three tribes: Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali. According to the Book of Judges, Mount Tabor was the location of the Battle of Mount Tabor between the Israelite army under the leadership of Barak and the army of the Canaanite king of Hazor, Jabin, commanded by Sisera. Deborah the Jewish prophetess had summoned Barak of the tribe of Naphtali and gave him God's command, "Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun" (Judges 4:6). This resulted in the Canaanites’ total defeat. A cave near the top of the mountain may have been the original sanctuary of the Greek god Zeus Atabyrios (from which, the name “Tabor” supposedly derived). Centuries later, this sanctuary was revived by the Israelites, calling forth the wrath of the prophet Hosea (5:1). In the days of the Second Temple (c. 516 BCE – 70 CE), Mount Tabor was one of the mountain peaks on which it was the Jewish custom to light beacons in order to inform the northern villages of the start of the holy days and of the beginning of the new months. In 55 BCE, during a Hasmonean rebellion against the Roman proconsul of Syria, Aulus Gabinius, Alexander of Judaea and his army of 30,000 Judeans was defeated in battle at Mount Tabor. As many as 10,000 Jewish fighters were killed in the battle and Alexander was forced to flee, apparently to Syria. In Christian tradition, Mount Tabor is the site of the transfiguration of Jesus. In 66 CE, during the First Jewish-Roman War, the Galilean Jews retrenched on the mountain under the command of Yosef Ben Matityahu, better known as Josephus Flavius, the later historian, whence they defended themselves against the Roman assault. Itabyrium, as Josephus called it, was one of the 19 sites fortified by the rebels in Galilee under his very orders. According to what is written in his book The Wars of the Jews, Vespasian sent an army of 600 riders, under the command of Placidus, who fought the rebels. Placidus understood that he could not reach the top of the steep mountain with his forces, and therefore called the fortified rebels to walk down the mountain in order to negotiate. Figuring it was a trick, a group of Jewish rebels did so supposedly for that reason, but instead, they attacked him. The Roman forces initially retreated, but while they were in the valley, they returned towards the mountain, attacked the Jewish rebels, killed many of them, and blocked the road for the remaining rebels who tried to flee back to the top of the mountain. The remaining rebels on the mountain surrendered after their water ran out. They then handed it over to Placidus. After the destruction of the Second Temple, Jewish settlement on Mount Tabor was renewed. Several centuries later, the Jewish inhabitants left, for various reasons, for other parts of the Levant and the site was subsequently fought over between Christians and Muslims as well as between various Arab tribes. At the end of the 19th and the beginning the 20th centuries, the Bedouin tribe Arab Al-Sabehi settled on the mountain and became one of the strongest tribes in the region. Eventually, other branches of the tribe were formed, most notably the Shibli, and they settled around the base of the mountain. Jews first returned to the region in 1901 with the establishment of Kefar Tavor. In 1933, the Kadoorie Agricultural High School was founded north of the village by the monies of the legacy of Sir Ellis Kadoorie, a Baghdadi Jewish merchant from China. The Jewish inhabitants had fostered good relations with many (but not all) of the Arab tribes in the region, like the Arab-Al Heib, who began their military cooperation with the Jewish underground forces since the late 1930s. In 1944, the kibbutz Beit Keshet was founded on the northern base of the mountain.

During the War of Independence (1947-1949), members from the Al-Sabehi fought in the Arab Liberation Army under the Syrian Arab Fawzi al-Qawuqji and among other atrocities, they murdered seven members of Beit Keshet in cold blood. At the start of May 1948 the Israeli Golani Brigade occupied the mountain itself. Most of the Sabehi were forced out to Arab-occupied Syria and Jordan, except for the Shibli branch. After the war, the surrounding property of the Kadoorie School became the Kadoorie Regional Center and the local Jewish and Arab towns came under its administration. Since 1953, the regional council of Lower Galilee holds a 12-kilometer race around Mount Tabor, held in April each year, in memory of Yitzhak Sadeh, the first commander of the Palmach and one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel.

Meanwhile, the Shibli village of Arab al-Shibli was established and today, it is part of the village of Shibli-Umm al-Ghanam.  It was admitted as a tourist village by the Israeli government and the locals are famous for being hospitable and very friendly to visitors. Since the late 1960s many of the tribesmen joined the Israeli security forces (such as the IDF, Border Guards Unit and police, etc.).

As part of the Jewish National Fund's efforts to recreate the Biblical landscapes of the country, during the 1960s and 1970s the area was reforested with trees which were similar to its original vegetation such as Mount Tabor Oak, “Palestine” oak, the Persian lily, Mt. Tabor larkspur, and Galilean alkanet. The woodland vegetation provides a good habitat for such fauna as wolves and jackals, foxes, porcupines, hyraxes, mongooses and the broad-toothed field mouse. In addition, reptiles and birds of various species have also settled in the woodland areas.

SURA

depiction of an ancient or medieval school at Sura, courtesy, notebookm.com

Today, the site of the ancient city of Sura is located in the southern half of Arab-occupied Iraq. At one time, a mixed Assyrian and Jewish town and part of the Assyrian/Babylonian Empires, Sura came under Roman control in the time of Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) during which time, the Assyrians, especially in and around the town, had adopted Christianity giving rise to the Assyrian Church of the East. By the year 253, it was conquered by the Persian Sasanian emperor Shapur I and at some point, Sura became solely inhabited by Jews becoming a major center of Torah scholarship and home to an important yeshiva - the Sura Academy founded by Abba Arikha - which, together with the yeshivot in Pumbedita and Nehardea, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud in the 5^th/6^th century. Sura was also well-known for its agricultural produce, which included grapes, wheat, and barley.

The town was a Byzantine garrison of some importance in the Persian campaigns of military commander Belisarius. A full account is given of the circumstances under which it was taken and burned by the Persian Emperor Chosroes I (532 CE); incidental mention of the bishop proves that it was then an episcopal see. Its walls were so weak that it did not hold out more than half an hour but it was afterwards more substantially fortified, by order of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. Sura declined as a Jewish center in the 6^th and 7^th centuries due to constant subsequent wars and upheavals and remained in ruins ever since. In the 7^th century, the approximate area was conquered and colonized by the Arabs, who introduced Islam, in which state it remains to this day. Sura itself was never again re-inhabited, not by Jews or Christians or anyone else.  

According to Sherira Gaon, Sura was identical to the town of Mata Mehasya, which is also mentioned in the Talmud, but Mata Mehasya is cited in the Talmud many times, either as a nearby town or a suburb of Sura, and the Talmudic academy in Mata Mehasya served as a branch of the Sura Academy. A contemporary Syriac source described Sura as a town that was completely inhabited by Jews, situated between Māḥōzē and al-Hirah in the Sawad. A responsum of Natronai ben Hilai says that Sura was about 3.7 miles from al-Hirah. Today, the Assyrian Christians, the indigenous inhabitants of the land who are mainly followers of the Chaldean Catholic Church, inhabit areas around Sura, the nearest communities being around 40 to 85 miles away. For example, the Chaldean Church of the Virgin Mary is located approximately 44 miles to the north in the town of Hillah. In the town of Ayn al Tamr near Karbala, approximately 80 miles northwest of Sura, is the Al-Aqiser Church, an ancient church built in the 5th century CE and considered to be among the oldest eastern Christian Churches in the Middle East outside of Israel. Until recently it was in active use.

 

SODOM AND GOMORRAH

supposed site of Sodom and Gomorrah, southern shore of
the Dead Sea, courtesy, BibleWalks.com

In modern-day usage, the words “Sodom and Gomorrah” have become bywords of evil and debauchery. But most people forget that Sodom and Gomorrah were actual places, twin city-kingdoms, the location of which is, what the majority of scholars and archaeologists agree, at the southern end of the Dead Sea in Israel, or the approximate area.

When Israel was called “Canaan” during the time of Abraham, the inhabitants of the land were Canaanites of various tribes, including Sodom and Gomorrah. According to the Torah, these two cities, along with the cities of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela (later called Zoar) were known as the "cities of the plain" and this plain was often compared to the garden of Eden as being well-watered and green, suitable for grazing livestock. The Book of Genesis in the Torah is the primary source that mentions Sodom and Gomorrah. The Battle of the Vale of Siddim is described in Genesis 14:1–17. Lot, nephew of Abraham, was encamped within the borders of Sodom at a time when "the men of Sodom [are] wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly". Sodom and Gomorrah were ruled by Bera and Birsha, respectively, although their kingship was not sovereign because the Jordan plain had been under the rule of Chedorlaomer king of Elam for twelve years. In the thirteenth year of their subjugation, the five kings of the plain — those of the two cities, as well as Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the unnamed king of Bela — allied to rebel against Elam. The following year, Chedorlaomer gathered forces from his allies - Shinar, Ellasar and Goyim to suppress the rebellion in the Siddim. The cities of the plain took heavy losses and were defeated. Sodom and Gomorrah were despoiled and captives were taken, among them Lot. The tide turned when Lot's uncle, Abraham, gathered an elite force that slaughtered the hosts of Chedorlaomer in Hobah, north of Damascus, freeing the cities of the plain from the grip of Elam.

The story of the judgment of the two cities is told in Genesis 18–19. Two men (angels?), emissaries of god, came to Abraham in the plains of Mamre. After they received the hospitality of Abraham and Sarah, the Lord revealed to Abraham that he would confirm what he had heard against Sodom and Gomorrah, "and because their sin is very grievous." The two men then proceeded to Sodom, and Abraham inquired if the Lord would spare the city should fifty righteous people be found within it, to which the Lord agreed. He then pleaded for mercy at successively lower numbers — forty-five, then forty, thirty, twenty, and finally ten — and the Lord agreed each time. Upon arrival at Sodom, the men were met by Lot, who convinced them to lodge with him. “But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both young and old, all the people from every quarter. And they called unto Lot, and said unto him: 'Where are the men that came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.'” Lot refused but instead, offered them his two virgin daughters "which have not known man…do ye to them as [is] good in your eyes". They refused and proceeded to break down his door. Lot's guests rescued him and struck the men with blindness. They informed Lot of their mission to destroy the city, then they commanded him to gather his family and leave. As they made their escape, one angel commanded Lot to "look not behind thee". As Sodom and Gomorrah were being destroyed with brimstone and fire from the Lord, Lot's wife looked back at the city, and she became a pillar of salt. It has been theorized that if the story does have a historical basis, the cities may have been destroyed by a natural disaster. One such idea is that the Dead Sea was devastated by an earthquake between 2100 and 1900 BCE and the resulting upheaval might have unleashed showers of steaming tar. This idea might be a possibility especially if the cities lay along a major fault such as the Jordan Rift Valley, however there are no known contemporary accounts of seismic activity that corroborate this theory.

Since the cities’ destruction, they remained partly in ruins and partly covered over with sand and debris until their exact locations became lost to history. It wasn’t until the advent of local explorations and archaeology, beginning in the 19^th century, that the scientific study, and attempted locations, of Sodom and Gomorrah commenced, notably by an American expedition in 1849 under Naval Commander William Francis Lynch who studied the Jordan River and Dead Sea areas. He based himself on the Biblical text which, according to Genesis 13:10, clearly stated that “…the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)” And in fact, later explorers have discovered a ruined site at the southern end of the Dead Sea coast which some have identified as Sodom and they hypothesized that Gomorrah, as well as the three other cities, were nearby, on the seabed under water. In addition, a salty outcropping near the site was called, by the local Bedouin, Lot’s Wife. Other sites proposed, in various locations on both the northern and southern coasts were, Har Sedom, Bab edh Dhra, Numeira, al Safi, Feifa, Khirbet al Khanazir, and Tel el Hamam. However, no widely accepted or strongly verified sites for the cities have been found.  In 1929 the Palestine Potash Co. (today, the Dead Sea Works) was established at Kalia in the northern Dead Sea area. The opening of the Sedom branch works in the south was built a few years later. The carnallite extracted at Sedom was ferried over the Dead Sea to Kalia, where, during World War II, potash production reached an approximate 100,000 tons annually, thus supplying about half of Great Britain's requirements at the time. The relatively small quantities of bromide also constituted an important contribution to the Allied war effort. The 1947 UN Partition plan provided for the inclusion of Sedom and the Dead Sea shore as far north as En-Gedi in the proposed Jewish state. During the War of Independence, the Sedom Works, accessible only by boat, were completely cut off for many months. Reinforced by the workers and residents from Kalia and Bet ha-Aravah, who were expelled by Arab forces in May 1948 and could only be transferred to Sedom, the core of the laborers held out under severe hunger and thirst until contact with the rest of Israel was renewed in "Operation Lot" (December, 1948). After the war, the Kalia works found itself under Arab occupation and were completely razed by the Arab Legion; thus the renewal of production at Sedom had to be deferred until 1954, after the Beersheba-Sedom road was built. In 1955, the Bromide Company was founded, and it set up its factory near the Sedom Works. Soon after, both enterprises were integrated into the Dead Sea Works. In 1964, a workers’ camp for the Dead Sea Works was founded at Neve Zohar a few miles to the north. Later, two other villages, not necessarily connected to the Dead Sea Works, were founded a few miles to the south: Neot Hakikar in 1970 and Ein Tamar in 1982.

 

POOL OF SILOAM (SHILOACH)

a view of the ancient Pool of Siloam (Shiloach), courtesy, 123rf.com

The Pool of Siloam (Shiloach in Hebrew) is an ancient rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David in Jerusalem, situated outside the walls of the Old City, to the southeast.

During the time of Joshua, the site where the Pool would be located, was in the southern point of the tribal territory of Benjamin. Centuries later, it was built during the reign of King Hezekiah (715–687/6 BCE), in order to prevent access to Jerusalem’s water source at the nearby Gihon Spring by the besieging Assyrian armies under Sennacherib. The pool was fed by the newly constructed Siloam tunnel which connected it with Gihon. An older Canaanite tunnel had been very vulnerable to attackers, so under threat from the Assyrians, Hezekiah sealed up the old outlet at Gihon and built the new Siloam tunnel in its place (2 Chronicles 32:2–4). During the Second Temple period, it was centrally located in the Jerusalem suburb of the Acra also known as the Lower City. Often, it would have an excess of water due to an overflow of water in the tunnel caused by an overflow in the Gihon. The pool was reconstructed no earlier than the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE). According to the Jerusalem Talmud, since Siloam was a freshwater reservoir, it was the starting point and major gathering area for those who made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and where they ascended by foot to the inner court of the Temple Mount to bring their sacrificial offerings. It remained in use during the time of Jesus. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus sent "a man blind from birth" to the pool in order to complete his healing. “…And [Jesus] said unto him [the blind man], Go wash in the Pool of Siloam. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." The Mishnah tells us of the practice of filling stone cups (clearly the so-called "measuring cups") with the Pool’s waters (Par. 3:2). One should also mention an interesting text from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt – a fragment of an uncanonical gospel – which refers to a mikveh-like pool close to the Temple area with separate stairs for going in and out. It served as a landmark in Josephus' descriptions of Jerusalem during the siege by the Roman General Titus, and marked the boundary between the sections defended by John of Gischala and Simeon Bar-Giora (Wars, 5:140, 252). After the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion in Jerusalem in the year 70, the pool was destroyed and covered but served as a refuge for the rebels afterwards (6:401).

In the 1870s, the pool was visited by the French Jewish traveler and explorer Joseph Halevy. In 1884 Jews from Yemen established themselves in Shiloach village which overlooked the pool but in 1936, they were ethnically cleansed by the Arabs and British authorities. In 1967, after the Six-Day War, the village and the pool itself became incorporated into the Jerusalem municipal area. In 2004, the pool was the site of a major archaeological expedition in preparation for a building project. The expedition was conducted by Ir David Foundation workers, following a request and directions given by archaeologist Eli Shukron accompanied by Ori Orbach from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

SHILOH

ancient Tel Shiloh, courtesy, Wikipedia

Shiloh is an ancient city in Samaria, located about 27 miles north of Jerusalem, including about 2 miles north of the Arab settlement of Turmus Aya, with the archaeological mound of Tel Shiloh adjacent on its west. In 2019 it had a population of 4,356, which includes the neighborhood of Shvut Rachel.

Shiloh is mentioned in the Book of Genesis as part of the benediction given by Jacob to his son Judah: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:10). This passage could refer to a person, perhaps the Messiah, or a place, as mentioned later in the Books of Judges and Jeremiah 41:5. When the Israelites arrived in the land, they set up, in Shiloh, the wilderness tent shrine – the “Tent of Meeting” as described in Joshua 18:1: “The whole congregation of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the tent (or tabernacle) of the congregation there.” This was also where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. The Tent remained in Shiloh for the next 369 years; the Ark, until its capture by the Philistines. From Shiloh, Joshua and Eleazar divided the land among those Israelite tribes who had not yet received their allocation (Joshua 18:1–10) and also dealt with the allocation of cities to the Levites (Joshua 21:1–8). Subsequently, Shiloh, which would come to be located in the tribal territory of Ephraim, became one of the leading religious shrines in ancient Israel. The people made pilgrimages there for major feasts and sacrifices, and Judges 21 records the place as the site of an annual dance of maidens among the vineyards. According to 1 Samuel 1–3, a young Samuel was dedicated by his mother Hannah, to be raised at the shrine by Eli, his own prophetic ministry having begun there. The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas are noted as malicious in their dealings with those who came to the shrine to offer sacrifices (1 Samuel 2:12–17). And it was under Eli that the Ark was lost to Israel in a battle with the Philistines at Aphek. “Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn…” This was the first ever recording of a marathon, centuries before the Greeks. (After the Six Day War in 1967, the founder of the Macabiah Games, Yosef Yekutieli, sought to revive that path that was taken. Eventually, it became, what is known today, as the Bible Marathon, held every September/October.) The high status of Shiloh in ancient Israel was held until shortly before David made Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. Still, the town played a major part in the subsequent history of ancient Israel. According to the Biblical account, Ahijah the Shilonite, who instigated the revolt of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, against David's grandson Rehoboam (I Kings 11, 14) was a native of Shiloh. But according to archaeological radiocarbon dating, Shiloh was abandoned around 1050 BCE, a century before the revolt, and then sparsely repopulated during the Iron II period, well after the revolt. What is certain though, is that during the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah (7^th-6^th centuries BCE, Jeremiah 7:12–15; 26:5–9, 41:5), Shiloh had been reduced to ruins. Jeremiah's admonition in the course of his temple sermon, "Go now to my place that was in Shiloh" (Jeremiah 7:12), would have occurred during this era. Jeremiah used the example of Shiloh to warn the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem what Yahweh Elohim will do to the "place where I caused my name to dwell," warning them that their holy city, Jerusalem, like Shiloh, could fall under divine judgment.

Shiloh is in the vicinity of the road that connects Meron with Rama, and the proximity to this route seems to have brought Jewish pilgrims to it since the time that the annual ziyara was established during the Ayyubid period (late 12^th century). Many would describe the former location of the Tabernacle as well as the burial place of Eli the priest and his sons. Eli’s tomb also appears in a lamentation called “Kivrey Avot” (“Tombs of the Fathers”), whose author is unknown and which was dated to the 12th or 14th century. This work also mentions the well-known phenomenon of multiple tombs around a central tomb. “To the two sons of Eli the Elder in Shiloh and he has a place and there is where the mother of Ichabod is buried”. Prominent Jewish visitors to the site included: R. Samuel ben Shimshon (Rashbash), who accompanied R. Jonathan of Lunel, one of the greatest sages of Provence, Yaakov Hashaliach (Jacob the Messenger) author of Simaney Hakvarot, who was affiliated with R. Yechiel of Paris, Ishturi haParhi the 14^th century traveler and writer from France, and Isaac Chelo, an explorer from Spain who wrote: “…There are the tombs of Eli the High Priest and his two sons Hofni and Pinhas, a very fair monument where Jews and Muslims light candles constantly. One kabbalist old man sits by this gravestone. He is from Ashkenaz and he supports himself by copying holy books…” Several years later, in 1335, the Augustine monk Jacopo of Verona paid a visit, accompanied by his Jewish guides. There seemed to be a consensus especially among Jewish, as well as Samaritan pilgrims, that Biblical Shiloh was identified as the contemporary Arab settlement of Seilun as indicated in the Samaritan book of Joshua, written in Arabic in 1362. Shiloh is mentioned as one of the holy places in the Land of Israel in a record from the Cairo Genizah from the 14th or 15th century. The last Jewish mention of Shiloh was in the “Sefer Yuhasin” (“Book of Genealogy”) from 1442. Since then, the site remained an Arab settlement but the Jews often took part in common rituals together with local residents. Once the village declined and disappeared in the Ottoman period, the various pilgrims who had visited disappeared as well, and only in the 1830s did American archaeologist Edward Robinson suggest the identification anew resulting in a renewed interest among pilgrims and other visitors. In the mid-19^th century, Rabbi Yehoseph Schwarz visited Shiloh and there, alluded to the Tomb of Eli.

In 1948 during Israel’s War of Independence, Shiloh, as with the rest of Judea and Samaria, fell to Arab forces from Jordan, and it remained under Arab occupation until 1967 when Israel liberated these areas in the Six Day War. Beginning in 1974, Shiloh was considered a potential site for resettlement as the ancient site was legally situated on state-owned land. In January 1978, a modern community was established adjacent to the ancient biblical site, Tel Shilo. In 1979, Shiloh was officially included in the list of towns under the Jurisdiction of the Settlement Section of the Jewish Agency. (Today, the village is administrated by the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.) Yeshivat Hesder Shilo was founded in 1979 by Rabbi Michael Brom who continues to serve as Rosh Yeshiva. Rabbi Aharon (Arele) Harel served as co-Rosh Yeshiva for five years before resigning from his position prior to the start of Hebrew year 5771 (October 2010). Midreshet Binat in Shvut Rachel, a midrasha headed by Rabbi Ronen Tamir, was established in 2000 as a branch of the Yeshiva. Shiloh is also home to its main synagogue which is designed as a replica of the Biblical Tabernacle. It contains replicas of many of the utensils used in the original Tabernacle. In 1981–1982, Zeev Yeivin and Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun excavated at the presumed site of the tabernacle. An extensive excavation was done by Israel Finkelstein during the years 1981–84. In the summer of 2010, excavations at Tel Shilo were carried out under the auspices of the Staff Officer for Archeology in the Civilian Administration Antiquities Unit in cooperation with the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. One notable find was a Roman coin from the period of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Digs are currently led by Scott Stripling.

Other local places of interest in Shiloh include: Lady Feyga Jewelry Store, Ohel Shiloh School, Sofer Zol Grocery Store, Marelo Italian Restaurant, the Shiloh Industrial Zone, the Shiloh Winery, the Dvorah Pinokim Cake Shop, Armon Hasfarim, Siun Tzovirei Beauty Supply Store, Bet Tachshitim Jewelers, Shiloh-Jerusalem Puzzle Quest tourist attraction, Wadi Musa on the easter, southern, and western outskirts, and Wadi Ali on the northern outskirts.

SHECHEM (NABLUS)

Tomb of Joseph, Shechem, courtesy, KeverYosef.org

Nablus, originally Shechem, is an Arab-occupied city in the heart of Samaria situated in between the Biblical mountains Ebal and Gerizim. A Jewish and Samaritan presence had existed in the city since time immemorial but early in the 20^th century, Shechem was ethnically cleansed, first of Jews, and much later, of Samaritans. Today, with a population of over 126,000 Arabs, it is one of the most dangerous and fanatical of Arab Muslim cities in Israel.

Elon Moreh, just outside of Shechem, was the first place where Abraham settled upon his arrival in Canaan and his grandson Jacob would often visit the city itself. When the Israelites reentered Canaan after fleeing from slavery in Egypt, they had brought with them, the remains of Joseph and buried him, it was said, in a field on the city’s outskirts. This burial spot became a place of Jewish and Samaritan pilgrimage ever since. Also buried nearby were Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe, as well as the sons and grandsons of Aaron – Eleazar, Ittamar, and Pinhas. In the time of Joshua, Shechem was a major city allotted to the Israelite tribe of Menashe. During the period of the Judges, the Israelite rebel judge Abimelech ruled from there. When the Kingdom of Israel divided in two, Shechem served, at various times, as capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel. During the Second Temple period, the majority of its population was Samaritan. After the Roman destruction of Judea in 70, Emperor Vespasian decided to call the city “Flavia Neapolis” or “Neapolis” – New City. In 362, the Samaritan high priest Akbon built a synagogue on Mount Gerizim, the holiest site for the Samaritan people and it remained their chief synagogue for many centuries thereafter. During the Byzantine period, Christians and Christian converts began to colonize the city creating tension with the Samaritan inhabitants. In 484, the city became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to remove the remains of Aaron's sons and grandsons. Consequently, the Samaritan side was summarily crushed by a Byzantine military force and as a result, Emperor Zeno erected a church dedicated to Mary on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans from travelling to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies, and expropriated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards the Christians further. Thus, they rebelled again, reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently, however, reconquered by the Byzantines. A third Samaritan revolt which took place under the leadership of Julianus ben Sabar in 529 was perhaps the most violent. The forces of Emperor Justinian I were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of many Samaritans in the city. But the community, on the whole, survived however and they were later joined by a resurgent Jewish community. With the Arab Muslim conquest and consequent Arab colonization in the 7th century, the city’s name was thereafter Arabized from Neapolis to Nablus. The Samaritans regained their synagogue on Mount Gerizim and, in spite of several periods of persecution, they, as well as the Jews, prospered. 

At the beginning of the Crusader period (1099) and the accompanying wars to take the Land of Israel away from the Muslims, the Jewish community of Shechem addressed a formal letter to Rabbi Aviatar, Nagid (Chief Rabbi) of Egypt, who also ruled over the Jews in the Land of Israel, asking for positive information concerning the messianic era due to the situation. But as the Crusaders secured its control over the land, the Jews were persecuted and driven out of the city. The Samaritans, on the other hand, were not, and kept as a tolerated minority, probably due to their positive portrayal in the New Testament. In 1120, the Crusaders drafted the laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Council of Nablus which, by and large, allowed for the opportunity of the city’s Muslim, Christian and remaining Samaritan inhabitants to prosper. However, they converted the Samaritan synagogue into a church prompting the Samaritans to build a new synagogue a decade later. Meanwhile, Jewish and Samaritan pilgrimages to the Tomb of Joseph continued. This fact is first mentioned by Benjamin of Tudela who also related that in his time there were no Jews at all in Nablus but a large Samaritan community and that they had possession of the tomb. In 1210, the city was visited by Rabbi Shmuel ben Shimshon who came from France and in 1215, by Rabbi Menachem ben Peretz of Hebron. In 1244, the Samaritan synagogue was forcibly converted into, what became known as, al-Khadra Mosque. By 1267, Shechem had an established Jewish community as was alluded to by Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman who was given a Torah scroll from the city and brought it to his synagogue in Jerusalem. 

After the Crusader period, the Samaritan community regained control of Mount Gerizim. In the fourteenth century there occurred what may be called a literary renaissance among the Samaritans, due to the initiative of their high priest Pinhas ben Yosef, who held office from 1309 to 1363 and who was a man of high character and strong influence. He was assisted by his sons Eleazar and Avisha, and by the writer Yosef Harabban. They wrote liturgical works in Hebrew rather than in Aramaic, the Samaritan language of prayer. But there were others who wrote literary works in Arabic such as the scholar Abu al Fath. Avisha died before his son Pinhas was born. The child was then brought up by his uncle Eleazar until he was in his eleventh year when his uncle died. But before he died, he appointed a certain Abdallah ben Shlomo as his nephew's guardian to whom, Pinhas pays a grateful tribute in one of his compositions. Abdallah (who was a kohen) wrote a great number of liturgical pieces himself, especially in regards to the marriage ceremony. His collaborator was Sa'd Allah ben Ṣadaḳah al-Kathari, who was probably of a Damascus family, and who also wrote many pieces of his own. Throughout the 14^th century, Shechem received many Jewish pilgrims and other visitors as well such as Ishturi haParhi in 1320, and Isaac Ḥelo c. 1330 who stated that people came from afar to Nablus to visit the tomb of Joseph and Jacob's well, and that there were in the place few Jews, but many Samaritans. 

Under the Ottomans, the fortunes of the local Jews and Samaritans often ebbed and flowed depending on the ruler of the city. In c. 1538, the Samaritan high priest, Pinhas VIII of the Damascus community, in order to escape the bloody persecutions of the Arabs of that city, removed, with most of his followers, to Nablus, accompanied by his assistant, Abdallah b. Abraham. The latter was an important author who came from a great literary family. In c. 1550, Rabbi Gershon ben Asher, author of the "Yiḥus ha-Ẓaddiḳim", and Rabbi Uri of Biel, made pilgrimages to Shechem. Rabbi Gershon precisely placed the Tomb of Joseph in the village of Al-Balaṭah, near Nablus, adding that visitors recite over the tomb, Psalms 77, 80, and 81. The anonymous author of "Yiḥus ha-Abot" said that the village Al-Balaṭah, which contained Joseph's tomb, is a Sabbath-day's journey north of Nablus. In 1623(4) the last member of the Samaritan high-priestly family, which claimed descent from the eldest son of Aaron brother of Moses, died. The office then devolved upon the junior branch, descended from Uzziel, the son of Kohath. Since that date the priest was bestowed with the title "ha-kohen ha-Levi," instead of "ha-kohen ha-gadol" as previously. At this time, the local Arabs were led by a sheikh, Muhammad ibn Farukh. He was well-known as a corrupt leader as well as a persecutor of Jews and Samaritans. The persecutions lasted until c. 1625 when he had bribed his way to become pasha of Jerusalem. By the 18^th century, Samaritan literary activity seemed to enter a second renaissance. This was especially so among members of the Danfi family: Marjan Ab Sekhuah b. Ibrahim (about 1700), his son Meshalmah, his grandson Marjan, and his great-grandson Abdallah. Of the Levitical family the best-known is the priest Ṭabyah Ghazal, a prolific writer, who died in 1786. In 1749, renovations to the Tomb of Joseph were carried out under the direction of Rabbi Eliahu ben Meir, who came from Egypt and had probably served as Chief Rabbi of Shechem. During the course of the century, Jews came to the city and left, probably more frequently than any other city in Israel, owing to the fanaticism of the local Arabs. 

By the first half of the 19^th century, all but 1 family were immigrants, having coming from various parts of the Diaspora as well as from other cities in Israel. Many were living well in spite of constant persecution by the Arabs. Many were successful, or moderately successful, merchants such as David Seton from Aleppo, Menashe Matalon from Iraq who came in 1834, and Yitzhak Lisbona from Damascus who came in 1835. At this time, Joseph’s Tomb was frequented by both Jews and Samaritans as well as by Muslims and Christians and it was custom that Jewish and Samaritan pilgrims would write their names on the walls of the Tomb. It was recorded that the site was "kept very neat and in good repair by the bounty of Jews who visited it." Samaritan pilgrimages to Mt. Gerizim had also continued through the centuries and so did the Passover sacrifices. There were, however, several occasions during all this time, when the Arabs banned any pilgrimages to the site. But by the 19^th century, under British pressure, such pilgrimages resumed. In 1838, the Polish Jewish traveler Louis Loewe, who served as secretary to Sir Moses Montefiore, had visited Shechem where he met the High Priest Shalma ben Tobia who told him, "We alone possess Mount Gerizim, and we alone offer sacrifices there". In 1842, under British influence and in order to alleviate their suffering, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Haim Gaggin, declared that the Samaritans were a branch of the House of Israel. But in the 1850s, there were, again, terrible pogroms when the Arabs attempted to force both the local Jews and Samaritans to convert to Islam. Some “Arabs”, such as members of the Kasem family who were themselves of Samaritan origin, saved many of the victims from the mobs. But the Samaritan population diminished even further. On the other hand, the small Jewish community, even though they became poor and in dire straits, managed to consolidate itself and even established several institutions to serve their needs, headed by men of good standing. The Tefilah l’Moshe Synagogue had been established earlier in what was known as the Jewish courtyard and was named after Sir Moses Montefiore who provided for its upkeep. Its president was Rabbi Mordechai Levi, the treasurer, Nissim Menahem Betzalel, the cantor, Mordechai Azari, the prayer leader, Rabbi Haim Levi, the beadle, Mordechai Alfassi, and the secretary and scribe, Shaul Yaacov. Another synagogue was the Me’arat Shechem located in an Arab courtyard. As the congregants of this synagogue were also very poor, the treasurer (Nissim Menahem Betzalel), cantor (Shaul Yaacov who was also prayer leader and scribe), and beadle (Mesud Turdjeman), would do their work pro bono. Its president was the Chief Rabbi of Israel. There was also a school attached to this synagogue. Its sole teacher was Shaul Yaacov. Another school, Torat Moshe, was also named after Montefiore and located in the Jewish courtyard. Although maintained by Montefiore as well as the Sephardic Kollel, this school had trouble staying afloat and was too poor to hire a teacher. The Yesud Olam Burial Society, headed by Nissim Menahem Betzalel, was the only institution in the city which provided all funeral and burial arrangements and food for the guests of the departed. At mid-century, this society found itself deep in debt. By the latter part of the century, the Tomb of Joseph fell into ruin, but it was again renovated in the 1890s. At the same time, sources would report the Jewish custom of burning small articles such as gold lace, shawls or handkerchiefs, in the two low pillars at either end of the tomb, in Joseph’s memory. According to an 1878 description: “A stone bench is built into the east wall, on which three Jews were seated…book in hand, swinging backwards and forwards as they crooned out a nasal chant–a prayer no doubt appropriate to the place.” By 1900, Nablus had a population of about 24,000, including 150 Jews, and 170 Samaritans under their High Priest Yakub ben Aharon, who had assumed his position 26 years before. In 1905, the English Jewish traveler Elkan Adler, in the course of his tour through Israel, had visited Nablus and while there, obtained a copy of a Samaritan chronicle which he had edited for western audiences. Later on, because of high taxes and oppression on Jews and Samaritans by the Turks and Arabs, the Jews fled and by 1906, there were no more Jews left in the city. Only the Samaritans remained, however precariously. 

After the city was captured by British forces during World War I and the establishment of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1922, Nablus was incorporated into the territory. Attempts to renew Jewish settlement were made in the 1920s, but because of the hostility of the Arabs and the 1929 anti-Jewish riots, such plans were thwarted and most of the remaining Jews were ethnically cleansed from the city. In the course of the British Mandate period, Shechem became, even more so, a hotbed of Arab Muslim fanaticism. Pilgrimages to the Tomb of Joseph ceased and did not resume until after the Six Day War in 1967. In 1947, Shechem was slated for inclusion in the Arab state envisioned by the United Nations General Assembly's partition plan for Palestine. But this resulted in the Arabs embarking on a war of annihilation against the Jews. After the war, Shechem came under Jordanian rule together with the rest of Judea and Samaria. After the Six Day War, Israel regained control of the city. Contact was then made between the Shechem Samaritans and those who had settled in Holon during the partition period. Pilgrimages to the Tomb of Joseph were renewed – but under heavy armed guard. In the 80s and 90s, a yeshivah was established on the site, Yeshivat Od Yoseph Hai. Even though an established Jewish community was prevented from being renewed, the Jews did the next best thing and establish communities near the city. Unfortunately, this brought in a number of extremists, on the Jewish side this time, who had no ancestral connection to the land. On June 2, 1980, Bassam Shakaa, the Arab mayor of Nablus/Shechem, survived an assassination attempt by the Jewish Underground, considered a terrorist group by Israel, which resulted in Shakaa losing both his legs. But as a long-time outspoken supporter of the PLO terrorist organization, in the spring of 1982, the Israeli administration removed him from office and installed an army officer who ran the city for the following three and a half years. In January 1986, the Israeli administration ended with the appointment of Zafer al-Masri as mayor. He was assassinated in 1986, purportedly by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Jurisdiction of the city was handed over to the Palestinian National Authority on December 12, 1995, as a result of the “Oslo Accords Interim Agreement on the West Bank”. In the 1990s, Nablus was a hub of Palestinian nationalist activity in Judea/Samaria even though roughly 13% of Arab settlers had no problem working in Israel. When the Second Intifada began, the Od Yoseph Hai Yeshiva was expelled, the Tomb of Joseph was desecrated, and a Druze soldier, Crprl. Madhat Yusef, who was guarding this Jewish holy site, was wounded by gunfire. Prime Minister Ehud Barak, in cooperation with the Arabs and Israeli army leaders, prevented the army from rescuing him, and they happily watched as Corporal Yusef bled to death. Later, Barak ordered the army to allow the Arabs to take over the Tomb. With his approval, they set fire to the site and later, painted its dome green, the color of Islam. Since then, the Tomb has been restored. In April 2002, following the Passover massacre—an attack by Palestinian terrorists that killed 30 Israeli civilians attending a Passover seder dinner at the Park Hotel in Netanya—Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield, a major military operation targeting in particular Nablus and Jenin. In 2008, Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said that Nablus remained the “capital of terror" of the “West Bank”. 

Today, apartheid is alive and well in Shechem – Jews are prohibited, by Zionist and Arab law, from entering the city (as well as many other places in Judea and Samaria) and pilgrimages to Joseph’s Tomb is severely restricted. It has been suggested that about 2/3 of “Palestinian” Muslim families in the city are of Samaritan ancestry – Muslimani, Yaish, and Shakshir among others. According to historian Fayyad Altif, large numbers of Samaritans converted to Islam, especially in the 19^th century, due to persecutions. But today, they are practicing Muslims and most identify themselves as Palestinian Arabs. The remaining Samaritan population was ethnically cleansed during the Second Intifada but the Israeli government built for them, the village of Kiryat Luza nearby and in close proximity to Mount Gerizim where their ancient synagogue is still in use.  On the opposite side of Shechem is Mount Ebal where the archaeological remains of Joshua’s Altar are located. It was recently vandalized by local Arabs. 

For more information on Shechem and the surrounding area, see postings on MOUNT GERIZIM and SAMARIA.