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 | Jerusalem Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 124 |  |
 | |  |  | Outside the Wall: A Religious Tug-of-War | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
The Cenacle on Mt. Zion, also known as the Room of the Last Supper, is an example of the kind of religious tug-of-war that has gone on in this country for thousands of years. Over the centuries, a tradition grows up about some religious event occurring at a certain site – and all the religions want to get in on the act. According to a Christian tradition, the second floor of the building housing King David’s Tomb is the place where Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with his disciples before he was arrested. There is also a tradition that he appeared here again after his resurrection. The word “cenacle” means dining room. The hall we see today was built by the Crusaders, with ornate capitals and vaulted ceilings. One capital is decorated with pelicans – a symbol of Christ, based on the observation of the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder that pelicans will feed their young with their own blood, sacrificing themselves if need be. The Franciscans bought the site in 1335. In the early 15th century, the Jews tried to purchase the building to gain control of the tomb on the first floor. At that point the Muslims stepped in, banned the Christians from setting foot there, and transformed the site into a mosque honoring Nabi Daoud (the Prophet David). A “mihrab” (prayer niche) and a “minbar” (pulpit) were added, along with various Arabic inscriptions. The Room of the Last Supper is thus a mish-mash of Crusader and Islamic architecture: columns, vaults, stained glass windows, prayer niches. Even so, the room has a kind barren look. The latest addition is a rather sad-looking bronze olive tree - the gift of the Catholic association that renovated the building in more recent times. Somehow, none of this looks anything like the venue of the Last Supper in Leonardo da Vinci's painting... Leave a Comment
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| | | | A Tomb in Town | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Wherever you dig in Israel, vestiges of the past leap up at you. Build a road, excavate foundations for a building, install an underground pipe – any kind of earthwork leads to archeological finds. Many blueprints have had to be changed and roads rerouted as construction teams stumble upon old burial caves, ancient arches and ritual baths. Wedged between the homes on a quiet street in the middle of Rehavia, an upscale residential neighborhood, is a funerary monument with a pyramid-shaped roof from the late Hellenistic-early Roman period: Jason’s Tomb – in Hebrew, Kever Yason. No one knows for sure who this Yason was, but he is believed to have been a high priest from a wealthy priestly family forced out of Jerusalem by rivals in 172 B.C.E. (according to the writings of the famous historian Josephus). The tomb, dating to the 2nd century B.C.E., was discovered accidentally in 1956, when a house was being built. It sits back from the street, inside a little courtyard with vines growing up around it – a kind of secluded secret garden you would never see unless you were specifically looking for it. Inside the tomb are rock-cut burial niches. A charcoal drawing of naval vessels discovered on the wall has led to speculations that Yason may have had some connection to shipping. A Greek and Aramaic epitaph reads: A powerful lament make for Yason, son of P…(my brother) peace…who hast built thyself a tomb, Elder rest in peace. Thanks to this tomb in town, Yason, long dead and gone, still lives on in some people’s minds (admittedly, not many…). (10 Alfassi Street - Make a left on Radak Street and then a right) Buses: 9, 19, 31, 32 Leave a Comment
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| | | | A Tree Grows in Jerusalem | Tip Rating: | | | | |
In the heart of Jerusalem sits the Monastery of the Cross, a 7th century Greek Orthodox church that could be mistaken for an ancient fortress (although the dome topped with a cross is probably a give-away). Located in a valley between Rehavia and Nayot, it is built on the site of the tree that provided the wood for the cross on which Jesus was crucified, marked by a gold-encircled hole in the floor. In fact, the whole valley is full of old, gnarled olive trees, which can live for thousands of years. This is not one of those mobbed Christian holy sites. It is in an out-of-way, secluded place, although it is visible from the busy highway that runs just above it. Only a few monks live there today. The mosaic floor dates back to the 7th century, and the walls are covered with frescoes claimed to be over 1,000 years old. In the 12th century, the Georgian national poet, Shota Rostaveli, author of the epic poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin," lived here. There is a portrait of the white-bearded Rostaveli on one of the walls (now covered with a plate of glass). This is the portrait that almost sparked an international incident in July 2004, when the president of Georgia came to visit. While sprucing up the church in honor of this visit, someone apparently repainted the beard and made a mess of it. A huge fight broke out, with some of the monks and Georgian delegates physically assaulting one another. According to Christian tradition, Abraham the Patriarch asked Lot to plant the staffs left by the three visiting angels (Genesis 18:1-2) in this spot. He was told to sprinkle them with water from the Jordan to atone for his sins. The three shoots then grew into a single tree. Passed over by Solomon when he built the Temple, the wood was eventually used for the cross. This story is illustrated in the panels lining the dark chapel with the hole in the floor. Hours: 8:30 am - 4 p.m.; Sun. until 6 p.m. Admission: NIS 15 The path outside the monastery goes up the hill to the Israel Museum. Leave a Comment Phone: 052-2215144
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| | | | Judaism: The Wild Side | Tip Rating: | | | | |
If you are visiting Israel with a group, are willing to spend a little money, and want to do something different, call up the Zoo Rabbi – Rabbi Nosson Slifkin. This British-born rabbi gives 2.5- 3 hour tours of the zoo (in English) that mix zoology, Bible, ethics and stand-up comedy. I haven’t done this myself, but I read some articles about his tours in the paper, and spoke to him personally before writing this tip. He takes a flat rate of $250 (admission to the zoo is separate) and needs a few days’ advance notice. The monkey in the photo is a Golden Lion Tamarin, a highly endangered primate species. There are only about 1,000 of them left in the wild. The Biblical Zoo is one of a number of zoos in the world trying to breed these cute fellas in captivity, to save them from extinction. Leave a Comment Phone: Rabbi Slifkin: 0554-995058Website: zoorabbi@zootorah.com
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| | | | Its Bark Was Worse Than Its Bite | Tip Rating: | | | | |
At the intersection of Jaffa and Hanevi’im Streets in downtown Jerusalem is a historical monument that barely gets a second glance nowadays: the Davidka (“little David”). Next to a large, ugly looking stone block with a funny bulge on top sits a little black mortar. It doesn’t look like much, but this metal contraption helped defend besieged Jerusalem when the newly declared State of Israel was attacked by the Arabs in 1948. Every day, from April to June, Jerusalem was shelled by Arab artillery. The Jews of Jerusalem had no artillery to retaliate with, so an engineer named David Leibowitz devised a makeshift cannon from a mortar and some pipe. It wasn’t very good as a weapon, but it made a lot of noise. As Jason Fenton, who fought in the war, told The Jerusalem Post Magazine a few years back, it was a “monstrous and highly unpredictable weapon” but it served its purpose: “We filled it with nails and garbage and bits of old equipment. It made a terrible noise, scaring everyone to pieces, including us.” The Arabs thought Israel had the atom bomb and ran for their lives. Inscribed on the monument is a verse from II Kings 19: 34 (The Lord says:) "I will defend this city, to save it." Leave a Comment
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| | | | Jerusalem's Other Windmill | Tip Rating: | | | | |
This is not the famous Montefiore windmill in the Yemin Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, but a windmill on Ramban Street in Rehavia that most people don't know about. I happen to know it very well because my mother-in-law lives right across the street. The Takhanah (the Mill), as it is called today, was built by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in the late 19th century. What it was actually used for is a good question - presumably it was a flour mill. In the 1930s, a famous German Jewish architect by the name of Mendelsohn lived there. In the 1950s, appropriately enough, it was the residence of the Dutch consul. As a boy, my husband played there with the consul's children. After many years of sitting empty, the windmill was renovated and a small shopping arcade was built around it. Today, it houses a restaurant, some trendy women's clothing shops, an optical center and I'm not sure what else. Next time I visit my mother-in-law, I'll check it out. Update: March 2006 The current restaurant (they keep changing for some reason) is Sheyan, a kosher Asian Chinese restaurant that looks quite attractive. One of these days I'll have to eat there and write a review. Leave a Comment Other Contact: 8 Ramban Street, Jerusalem
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on March 10, 2007
Jerusalem
on November 25, 2004
