Jerusalem Old City, Burnt House & Davidson Center

Less than two weeks ago, my Tanach/Bible learning group, aka chevruta, went to a couple of Jerusalem's Old City-- Rova Yehudi-- Jewish Quarter museums. The Burnt House and Davidson Archeological Center, which are extremely different.

First we went to the Burnt House, which is the same sort of "museum" as Plugat Hakotel, which I've visited a few times. Plugat Hakotel is in the building we had lived in when we first made aliyah-- moved to Israel, so it's very special to me. Both museums are located in accurately historic locations and offer a fictionalized versions of what had happened there.

In the Burnt house the movie is in Hebrew, English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and French

Davka, both museums write it up as a young man's story to help people identify with the history. The big difference is the eras when the stories happen, the Burnt House a couple thousand years ago and Plugat Hakotel close to a hundred years ago. Heroism is idealized, of course, which is good. 

The Burnt House is comfortable and recommended for those who can't walk easily, since you sit to watch the movie.

After the Burnt House we walked to the Archeological Garden Davidson Center, which can best be described as a "mixed bag." First with the good things. We took the tour led by a very charming young lady. Yes, there's a lot of walking and steps, so if you or some of your group isn't up to it, find out about an easier version. There are indoor parts of the tour which would be much easier, but we all managed quiet well. You can also do the tour on your own, following the instructions they'll give you when you pay and enter.

We walked around a section of the Kotel, Western Wall of the Temple Compound and around to the Southern Wall. It's all so majestic. Our guide explained why the building stones are so different in the same wall, the time periods and the builders.

We were mesmerized by the views and the stories. Luckily we were all up to the walking and steps. 

Following our guide, we ended up inside the archeological museum where there were movies, mostly short and one longer. One movie explained the significance of the seven branched menorah, but they made a mistake. They started off correctly saying that the seven branches were for the seven days of the week, but they got the days wrong. they stated that the middle, tallest branch was Wednesday, the fourth day of the wee, but that's wrong. The middle branch is for Shabbat, the most important day of the week.

Judaism has Shabbat at the center of the week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday one prepares for Shabbat, and then Sunday, Monday and Tuesday one "cleans up" from Shabbat and can make the Havdala prayer, which ends one's observance of Shabbat. I checked this out with a rabbi friend, who said that I'm correct. I'm surprised that the mistake hadn't been caught and corrected soon after the museum reopened a few years ago.

We followed our guide further and I can't imagine going through this museum without a guide...

Then we got to the movie they had about Jerusalem which I remembered from my visit soon after the Davidson Center had reopened. I was very upset with the movie then and even more so this visit. 

The best way of describing it is that it's a "woke" version of the history of Jerusalem, intentionally masking and confusing the timeline, history of the city to give the impression that Judaism, Christianity and Islam have been around in the same timeframe. 

The truth is very different. Judaism began about two thousand 2,000 years before Christianity. The Jewish Bible begins its story almost six thousand 6,000 years ago. Christianity is barely two thousand years old, and Islam began about five hundred years later.

The Jewish People were ruled by Jewish Kings in Jerusalem and had two Holy Temples there before either of those religions even began. 

I was terribly disturbed by the sections about Islam. They were like knives in the back. It's clear that whoever wrote the screenplay for that section has an agenda, and it's not a good one. As you can see here, an Arab man and boy are playing chess. The man is showing the boy how to win. There's no actual history; it's sneaky at best. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. There was no need at all to add it. It doesn't relate to the rest of the movie in any way. Jerusalem isn't even mentioned in the Koran. It's political, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.

I hate to end this blog post in such a negative way, because I really did enjoy most of my time in the Davidson Center.

Great KAR-BEN Publishing Books for Young Readers

I received a box of goodies recently from KAR-BEN Publishing. It included children's books on all levels, from toddlers to young readers. 

This first review will be of two books written for young readers. Both books begin with the main characters being bullied at school. Apparently, it's a big issue in the United States and including the problem and how to deal with it makes the books more popular and marketable. Another thing they have in common is that a parent of a main character in both books has passed away, which is a reason why their grandparents are helping to raise them.

The books are well-written chapter books, printed clearly with the added bonus of Jewish history, which don't feel like school work. Actually, the topic, Sephardic Jewish History, isn't very well-known. 

Let's start with The Button Box by Bridget Hodder and Fawzia Gilani-Williams. Ava and Nadeem are first cousins who share a Ladino speaking grandmother, who's their after school caregiver. Ava is Jewish, and Nadeem is Moslem, as the children's religions follow their mothers'. 

Within the family, the intermarriage of Nadeem's parents is ignored as an issue; it's just accepted, non-judgmental. But in school, which apparently has mostly Christian and Jewish students, there is prejudice against Nadeem, and Ava is encouraged by some of the Jewish kids not to hang out with him, a Muslim.

Ava and Nadeem are both exposed to their mutual Jewish Sephardic heritage by their Jewish grandmother, and that's how a magic button brings them to meet their ancestors and learn a fascinating story based on history. 

The Button Box is full of surprises. The success of Harry Potter has shown book publishers how much children, and adults, love fantasy. I'd also recommend reading the book out loud, chapter by chapter and discussing it.

There's a very helpful Glossary at the end, plus additional information about Sephardic Jews, Muslims and relevant historical background.

When Lightnin' Struck by Betsy R. Rosenthal is another amazing book that kept me in suspense. It's set about a hundred years ago in Odessa, Texas.  James, called Butch by his grandfather, has a lot to deal with. In school a bully keeps attacking him, and he only has one real friend, Paul, a recent immigrant from Odessa, Russia. 

A few years before the story begins, James's father had been struck by lightning and died. Later on his alcoholic mother was jailed, so he began living with his grandparents. And then his beloved grandmother, a healer from Mexico with many secrets, passed away. Minutes before her death, she gave James a strange, secret and special coin.

When not in school, James keeps himself busy by helping his grandfather in their diner and spending time with Paul's family. Paul's family is different from the rest of the town in two big ways. They are recent immigrants and seem to be the only Jewish family in Odessa, Texas. That's how they end up helping James decipher his grandmother's secrets.

There's lots more to When Lightnin' Struck, because James is an interesting and complex character. He's an excellent student and had learned a lot of his grandmother's healing techniques before she passed away. All of this helps him with other issues, besides giving him a direction, a purpose in life. 

I highly recommend both The Button Box and When Lightnin' Struck and have already promised them to one of my grandchildren and told her she should pass them on to her cousins from her Sephardic side.

The Button Box- Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kar-Ben Publishing ® (April 1, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 152 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 172842397X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728423975
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 13 years
• Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 770
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7

When Lightnin' Struck- Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kar-Ben Publishing ® (February 1, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1728420539
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1728420530
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 13 years
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 7

DISSONANCE, An Amazing Adventure In The Days of The USSR- A Book Review

DISSONANCE A Novel by Carol Cosman is set in the USSR on the eve of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Cosman deftly weaves the struggles of Soviet Jews, USSR dissidents, spies, Israel's security and the difficulties for elite musicians in this fast-paced historical novel.

Young Soviet pianist Natalia Aronovich is poised for international stardom when, in one shocking act, a Red Guard officer interrupts her performance and removes her from the stage. She later learns the KGB has arrested her father, Pravda journalist Mikhail Aronovich, for his undercover involvement with Soviet dissidents, refuseniks, and Israeli Intelligence.

For those too young to remember that era, DISSONANCE is a good introduction. Though I must say that to my knowledge, Cosman may have sanitized and underplayed the dangers. 

DISSONANCE has very well drawn characters and a fast-paced plot. Actually the book could have been at least fifty or more pages longer if we had been able to read the escape, rather than just a summary. I really enjoyed reading DISSONANCE and recommend it to readers of all ages.

I became an activist for the Soviet Jewry movement as a high school student in the 1960s and even met my husband at a demonstration. In addition, he went on a short mission to the USSR in the mid-1970s from Great Britain where we had been doing Jewish Zionist youth work. Later on back in Israel we were active helping new immigrant Soviet Jews adjust to life in Shiloh. 

It would be wonderful if Cosman could write a sequel, so we'd learn what happened to the very talented and brave Natalia Aronovich.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Booklocker.com (March 10, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 404 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1647192978
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1647192976

Tower of David Museum with Friends

Yesterday I met with a handful of friends from around the country, and we toured the Tower of David Museum. The only time I had been there was a half a century earlier, when I was a student in Machon Greenberg, and it was then just an ancient site.

The Tower of David is next to the Jaffa Gate and you can get there by public transportation, any bus to Mamilla Mall or the lightrail stop at Safra Square, the Jerusalem Municipality. Yes, it's a bit of a walk. The museum does require walking including stairs, so it's not for the handicapped or baby carriages/prams/strollers.

Even though it's called The Tower of David, it was built much later by Herod, and it's one of the only two remaining structures he had built. The other one is Maarat Hamachpela, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. The other Herodian edifices have been destroyed, though sections and foundations remain.

Give yourself a few hours to wander around. There are public toilets at the exit and near the special exhibit section where there is now an exhibition about Har Habayit, the Temple Mount. My friends and I didn't have enough time, since we also had reservations at a nearby restaurant. Our time was much too limited.

Since it's not a planned museum, the rooms are small. Visiting students made it hard for us to see everything, also. One of our friends said that she has brought grandchildren, who really enjoy the Tower of David Museum. As a senior citizen, I only paid NS20 to enter, so maybe I'll be back. Yes, I recommend visiting it.

These photos should give you a good idea, but they don't tell the whole story.

"Maybe Esther-A Family Story," Book Review

A few months ago, a neighbor invited us to meet some friends of hers, who were visiting from abroad. They were Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern and his wife. Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern is the brother of Katja Petrowskaja, the author of Maybe Esther-A Family Story  We found them to be charming, intelligent and fascinating people. And then a few weeks later, my neighbor gave me Petrowskaja's family memoir/history book which is totally amazing.

"Maybe Esther-A Family Story" tells not only about Katja Petrowskaja's family but about herself, too. She grew up in the Ukraine not knowing all that much about her family's history. There were things like the great-uncle Judas Stern who was an assassin, a crucial tidbit which nobody wanted to talk about. Nobody was certain of her great-grandmother's name; it might have been Esther.

Petrowskaja left the Ukraine as a young woman and, davka, chose to make her life in Germany. "Maybe Esther-A Family Story" was originally written in German. The English translation by Shelley Frisch is excellent. I have no idea how it compares to the original, but it's very readable and flows nicely.

As a young woman, Petrowskaja attempted to distance herself from her Jewish Ukrainian roots, while her brother became a religious Jew. Their ancestors also went in different directions, and Petrowskaja tells of the challenges she took on to search for and document their amazing sagas.

Petrowskaja is descended from teachers, but not the usual academic, science, math or history teachers. Her family taught the deaf and had unique techniques for teaching clear speech to those who couldn't hear.

Of course, as with any Jewish Ukrainian family there are two large "elephants in the room," the Soviet Union and the Holocaust. Petrowskaja manages to deftly weave all of this together in a very readable tapestry. I highly recommend Maybe Esther-A Family Story.

Product details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harper (January 30, 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062337548
• ISBN-13: 978-0062337542

New Discovery in Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh

On Rosh Chodesh, when my friends and I were walking from the entrance, coffee/souvenir shop to the site of the Mishkan, Tabernacle for prayers, we noticed a new, active section being dug by archaeologists.  We stopped by to chat with the archaeologist in charge, and he pointed to a stunning piece they had just dug up, the base of a pillar, with exquisitely detailed carvings. I tried hard to photograph it, but then was told that it wasn't to be publicized yet.

Then we continued on our way, prayed together, and then each of us continued our day.

Imagine my surprise when just a few hours later, Shiloh Hakeduma, Ancient Shiloh, the administrators of Tel Shiloh davka publicized the discovery:

photo by Batya Medad

photo by Batya Medad

To summarize:

It's believed that the pillar was part of a Byzantine church, the 6th discovered at Tel Shiloh. And one must remember that many holy sites to Judaism, like the Biblical Shiloh, were later adopted by other religions. We, the Jewish People, were in Shiloh before them and after them, too.

This is the perfect message and reminder as we Israelis and Jews celebrate seventy 70 years of modern statehood. We have returned to our Ancestral Homeland, the Land of Israel, the Land of the Bible, our Jewish Bible, the Tanach.

No other people ever had an independent country here, just the Jewish People.

Chag Sameach!

Shiloh Views and Memories, Celebrating 40 Years

I always enjoy being able to walk around my hometown of Shiloh. Views are always changing. Sometimes I try to reconcile the new with the tiny community of a few dozen families we moved to at the end of summer, 1981. Even in our wildest and most unrealistic dreams none of us could envision the large, vibrant, stunning and growing town that exists today.

Shiloh has grown and prospered despite our modest plans and dreams.

Absolutely nothing in these pictures existed or was even planned when we first came to Shiloh. It's clear that Shiloh's great growth and change from "the middle of no place" to being the center of a "settlement bloc" with easy travel to the Jordan Valley, Yarkon Junction, Rosh Ha'ayin-Petach Tikva, Ariel University and Jerusalem is miraculous. During the years I was on our "absorption committee," it became very clear that publicity/recruitment principles didn't hold with us. Something mystical was really controlling the traffic of new families to Shiloh. 

Ironically, or maybe more accurately, siyate d'Shmaya, the Hand of Gd has made the Gush Shiloh area the largest and most popular in Eastern Binyamin, rather than the two communities which had been favored by our regional council Mateh Binyamin in the 1980s.

During Biblical times, Shiloh had been the Jewish Capital City. I don't expect Shiloh to replace Jerusalem in any way, but I see our role in modern Israel growing, just like the gorgeous flowers pictured here.

Historical Novel, "The Quality of Mercy"

I borrowed an old Faye Kellerman book, "The Quality of Mercy," and found it very long and overstuffed with plot and history. Some people may consider it strange that I'm reviewing a book that's over twenty years old, but it's still for sale new, used and audial.

The copy I read had been bought by someone in a 2nd hand bookstore very recently. Print is small, and there are just under six hundred, yes 600, pages. If you have good eyes and lighting, that can keep you busy on a very long flight or two. This copy followed me around for about two months, during which I also read a couple of other books.

The Quality of Mercy is a historical novel that tries to give answers to a few questions. Literary historians for centuries have been trying to discover more about William Shakespeare:

• Was Shakespeare a real person?
• Was Shakespeare Jewish?
• Was Shakespeare a homosexual?
• About which people and events did Shakespeare write his great plays and sonnets?

Kellerman's novel tries to answer many of these questions. Actually, she does answer the first three in The Quality of Mercy and poses some interesting possibilities concerning the fourth. She does this by expanding on a Jew/converso who did live at the same time as Shakespeare, Doctor Roderigo Lopez, and his family. The book revolves the supposed relationship between Shakespeare and a daughter of Lopez. Kellerman embroiders an amazing and complex tapestry of love, intrigue and adventure. 

Like in every good historical novel, it's all "possible." I think that it would be much more readable and successful if it had been better edited. We really don't need all of the subplots, backstories and details to get the main points of the book. Kellerman is a good writer and obviously invested a lot of time and energy (or staff) researching. 

If you enjoy long sagas based on real history, especially if you're well acquainted with the works of Shakespeare, this is the book for you. I must admit that at times it was tedious, but I'm glad that I persevered, because it was worth the effort. So if you spot the book second hand some place, and you have the time to invest, get it. Tell me what you think afterwards.

"Playback" Celebrating 40 Years in Shiloh

This past Motzei Shabbat, Saturday night, we, the renew-returned Jewish community in Shiloh had another forty years celebration.

I miss the early days when all of our parties, events were totally homemade, and not just the food. If I'm not mistaken, there wasn't even a "sound-system." There would be a turnout of 90+%, and the patrolling security guards, neighbors taking turns, would also be listening for crying babies. Everything was arranged and performed by volunteers.

The artist and art teacher, Gretta, telling
her story to the newcomers.

Today is a different world. Not only are the guards and coordinators salaried, but professional entertainers are brought in. One popular performance medium is what's called "playback." It's a form of improvisation based on the reminiscences/stories told by others. The actors then "perform" it with a bit of exaggerations and their own interpretations.

At events, such as the one we had on Saturday night, the actors look for what they see as the humor in these stories. Sometimes when the narrative isn't clear to them, they'll ask the storyteller a few questions. What interested me was the reactions of the actors, who are a generation younger than those who established yishuvim, communities like Shiloh. They just couldn't get into the skin/mind of the first story told, which was by someone who was an active participant in that pioneering time. And the storyteller, who so embodies those early days, didn't really understand what they were asking.

The actors did a better job with some of the other stories, but I ended up leaving the event rather depressed. It's so clear that fifty years after the 1967 Six Days War, the profound significance of our miraculous victory is still lost on most Jews, including those living in the State of Israel.

Vacationing Up North

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

Last week I posted a few pictures from our A Bissel Vacation up north taken and posted on my phone. Yes, a smartphone is very much like a mini laptop computer. I don't see the need for a tablet, even though my Samsung J7 isn't the most powerful of phones. But typing on a tiny/mini-keyboard and saying really interesting isn't for the phone. So now I'll tell you more about our vacation.

My husband works for the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, and they had joined with the Kinar-Galilee Hotel for a truly interesting program that began Thursday evening, then a tour Friday morning and a Shabbat full of activities. As an employee of the Begin Center Education Department, my husband was needed to guide one of the buses. As a result we had a wonderful weekend and finally made it to the Kinar, which is really a great hotel.

As the sun set, I took some amazing photos of the hotel grounds and Lake Kinneret:

Dr. Udi Lebel, PhD

Here are more of the photos I took. Thursday night we heard a lecture by Dr. Udi Lebel, PhD, "Beyond the Pantheon": Bereavement, Memory and the Strategy of De-Legitimization Against Herut, which was totally fascinating. He talked about the enduring hatred Ben-Gurion had for anyone who had been associated with the Etzel and Lechi. For example the two men on the screen behind Lebel were twin brothers who had both been killed during the War for Independence. The difference was that one had been with the Haganah and the other Etzel, so the family only got bereavement benefits for the son killed while in the Haganah. They were told they'd lose those benefits if they made a joint memorial for their two sons.

After that we watched the excellent one-man show, "Mr. Begin," which was totally amazing. If you have the opportunity to see it, go. It was in Hebrew.

The following morning we were off to tour to Shlomo Ben-Yosef memorial and grave in the old cemetery in Rosh Pinna, the Memorial for Mishmar HaYarden and Tel Chai.

There were two busloads of people, and we heard very positive reactions. On Shabbat there were two more lectures,  "From Ben Gurion to Levi Eshkol" by Muki Tzur and Herzi Makov, Director of the Begin Center spoke about From Menachem Begin to Yitzchak Shamir.  The veteran singing duo Tzemed Re'im were also there to entertain and act as part of the choir at the Ashkenaz synagogue.

All and all it was a really excellent program which ended after Shabbat. If they repeat the program, try to attend if you can.