Author: Ben Zion
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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…
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Galil – lecture 11
We learned (Lecture 8) about the wise woman who prevented the destruction of the Galilean city “Avel Beit Maacah”. In this lecture, we will see the broader picture of that story. In the background is a rebellion by “Sheva Ben Bichri” against King David. A rebellion that caused a huge rift between Judah and Israel…
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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!…
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Galil – lecture 10
We will continue to see in the sources differences between Judea and Galil – not only in Halacha, but also in customs. We wil ask – why are these differences no longer relevant today? How has modern life affected many laws and customs that once separated Judea and Galil. As approaching Tisha B`av, it seems…
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Galil – lecture 9
What does the Halacha teach us about the Galil? The Mishnah in several places divides the Land of Israel into two regions: Judea and Galil. From the Mishnah and the Halacha, we can learn about the way of life in the Galil, the unique pace of life in the Galil, the security conditions, the topography,…
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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…
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Galil – lecture 8
One of the most important and mysterious characters of the Galil, who is also mentioned in this week’s Parasha – Pinchas, is: “Serach the daughter of Asher.” According to the Midrash, she lived for 700 years! And managed to give advice to both Jacob and Yoav, David’s army chief-of-staff. We will learn about her miraculous…
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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…
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Galil – lecture 7
The Galil throughout history – from biblical times, when the Galil symbolized the place where the Israelites did not settle, through the Hasmonean period, who conquered the Galil and made it the most central place for the Jews of the Land of Israel during the Mishnah period, and up to the Sykes-Picot Agreement that determined…
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Galil – lecture 6
The city of “Kedesh” in the Galil – was one of the cities of refuge. Why does the Bible indicate, both that Kedesh was in the Galil and also in the mountains of Naphtali? It turns out that there were many cities called Kedesh, many in the south, and also some in the Galil. “Kedesh…