Like cities around the world, Jerusalem looks entirely different since the onset of the pandemic. And its not only because the city is void of international tourists visiting on a holy land tour. As the cradle of faith for the three monotheistic religions, the holy
According to an ancient collection of legends (Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer-The Teachings of Rabbi Eliezer), the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul marks the beginning of an especially solemn period of forty days that concludes with Yom Kippur. When you add the 30 days of
A rare stone mask dating to New Stone age period was discovered several months ago in the southern Hebron hills region reinforcing the theory that there was a stone-mask production center in this region. Its characteristics, in addition to other findings reveal that the mask
The Promised Land (Genesis 47:28-50:26) This week we will read the last section of Genesis. We will read about the end of Jacob’s life, and how he asked Joseph to swear not to bury him in Egypt but in the Promised Land, in the Cave
A brand new Holy Land attraction was all set to be unveiled in Jerusalem in time for the Easter holiday but with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Jerusalem like cities around the world have ground to a halt. There are no tourists. But that
Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christian pilgrims around the world to be the site of Jesus’s crucifixion and his burial tomb, closed its doors indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic last week. This is the first time that this fourth century Church
The Desert Wilderness in the Bible and in Monotheistic Tradition I have been to Israel several times; however, on one of my last Holy Land tours, Elisa Moed, CEO of Travelujah, suggested that we include Saint George’s Monastery on our itinerary. The site was an
With the dramatic decline in covid-19 infection rates (now under 20 new infections/day as of this writing) Israels tourism industry sector is now opening up to domestic tourists. Restaurants, Museums, and major Israeli hotel companies including Dan Hotels, Fattal Hotels, Inbal, and Isrotel along with
Isaac the meek (Genesis 25:19-28:9) The hero of this week portion is Isaac. Isaac is a very interesting figure. In contrast to the rather dramatic life of his father Abraham and his son Jacob his life is calm and pleasant. In the Jewish tradition he
The Israeli government announced today, May 20th, that houses of worship will be allowed to reopen, with up to 50 people in the building, maintaining two meters’ distance between worshippers, as well as the appointment of a corona official for the house of prayer and