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Road 443 – lecture 1
Introducing the new site: The Biblical Road to Jerusalem (now known as Route 443). We will see a video that describes the road on the map, and – as usual – we will conduct a “Kahoot” quiz with questions about the new site: What important events occurred there? Where did Joshua stand when he said: “The sun stand still at Givon”? Where did Judah the Maccabee fight? Where is the “Mitzpah”? And who is buried there? These questions and more…
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Road 443 – lecture 2
The biblical road to Jerusalem – why was it the main road in biblical times? We will get to know the main city on this road – Givon. Where is it mentioned in the Bible? Where is it today? And the amazing archaeological finds that were found there in our time – a storage handle, with the name “Givon” written on it! And a huge pool where the armies of Saul and David fought, just as it is told in the book of Samuel. And as Purim approaches, we will also learn from the Gibeonites how to make a costume!
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Road 443 – lecture 3
Givon and the Fast of Esther An important battle took place near Givon between Judah Maccabee and Nikanor. This battle took place on the 13th of Adar and was designated for generations as a day of joy – “Nikanor Day”. So how did they establish a day of joy on a fast day? In many periods, the Fast of Esther was moved to different day, because of Nikanor Day! But in our days, we celebrate the re-establishment of the road to Jerusalem on Independence Day, so we returned to the custom of the Geonim: fasting on the 13th of Adar
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Road 443 – lecture 4
One of the important places on the road to Jerusalem: Gibeon. The battle between Abner and Joab took place in Gibeon, as did King Solomon’s famous dream. But the most famous is the miracale of the sun that “Stood still in Gibeon”. We`ll ask a few questions: Why was this miracle needed at all? And why did Joshua involve the moon in this miracle? The relationship between the sun and the moon, the tension between them and the attempt to find some kind of compromise – will be a central motif in the idea of the biblical road to Jerusalem
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Road 443 – lecture 5
We hypothesized that the recurring theme of the biblical road to Jerusalem is the need for compromise. We will examine two stories that took place in Givon and express a missed compromise. The meeting of Yoav, David’s army chief, with Avner at the pool in Givon, and Asael’s meeting with Avner – also in Givon! Both stories ended tragically because of a missed compromise. And interestingly – when the Gemara cites the source from the Torah for the need for compromise, it cites an example of two camels who meet … on the way up to Beit Horon, on the…
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Road 443 – lecture 6
Pesach and Yom Hashoah Givon is one of the first places the Israelites arrived at after the exodus from Egypt and it also symbolizes the final destruction – because it was there that Gedaliah was murdered before the exile. This connection between Passover and the Holocaust, which occurs every year in the Israeli calendar, raises the question: Why does the world always “stand against us to destroy us”, as the Haggadah says? We will analyze “Vehe Sheamda” (והיא שעמדה) from the Haggadah, and try to understand both the historical hatred and the divine promise that always accompany the Jewish people.
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Road 443 – lecture 7
Beit Horon and Yom Ha`Atzmaut Four times a Jewish state was founded in the Land of Israel and the biblical road to Jerusalem played an important role in every one. We`ll see the interesting parallels between the First Israeli Kingdom in the days of Saul, and the Second Kingdom in the days of Judah Maccabee. Both describe a great miracle of few against many, and a great salvation in the same place – on the ascent to Beit Horon on the biblical road to Jerusalem. The same exact elements return again in the Fourth Kingdom of Israel – in our…
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Road 443 – lecture 8
The central theme of our site – the importance of compromise, is expressed in another important story taking place in Givon: King Solomon’s dream, in which he requests wisdom, and the famous story of Solomon’s trial between two women and the baby. Many questions about the story: How did Solomon know who was right? Did he even know? What is the “great wisdom” in this trial? As one of the sages in the Talmud said: If I was there, I would have put a rope around Solomon’s neck! And why does the Bible emphasize that this story took place in…
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Road 443 – lecture 9
In honor of פסח שני (Second Passover), we will see an interesting connection between this holiday and the biblical road to Jerusalem. We will examine who is exempt from the Passover sacrifice and eligible for the second Passover, namely “one who was on a distant road.” Halachic literature discusses the question of whether a distant road includes the road to Beit Horon and the road to Jerusalem. In addition to this discussion, we will continue to analyze the Solomon trial, and come closer to the greater understanding of the story, and the connection to Givon, in the next lecture.
