Beit Wittenberg, Batei Wittenberg (Shaarei Moshe) and Maaleh Hazeisim©

In 1881, 60-year-old Rav Moshe Wittenberg, a Chabad chassid, arrived in Eretz Yisrael from Vitebst (Wietebsk) in Belarus. As he was childless, he wanted a “shem v’zecher.” Consequently, he invested his huge fortune in building housing for the destitute of Yerushalayim, within and outside the walls. He hoped the verse in Yeshayahu (56:5) would be fulfilled in him: “I shall give them My house, and within My walls a memorial better then sons and daughters.”

Beit Wittenberg

To achieve this goal, at first, he decided to buy a courtyard near the Damascus Gate, close to the

Austrian Hospital, and started to negotiate with the Christian-Arab owner. At that point, the Latin Catholic convent bypassed him and bought the courtyard. It took him two exhausting years of intensive lobbying and bribery to acquire the property. Using his connections, Reb Moshe negotiated with the Latin Patriarch directly, but since the latter spoke only French, he needed an interpreter to assist him. Eliezer Ben Yehudah filled this role.

The courtyard was eventually redeemed for the estimated sum of half a million rubbles (an enormous amount in those days), in addition to huge “bakshish” (bribe/gift) of a thousand napoleons. Reb Moshen established a shul called “Tefillah l’Moshe” in the complex — Beit Wittenberg. The complex contained approximately 20 apartments, that were later populated by Chabad chassidim who made aliyah. It is claimed that the famous Mediterranean Hotel, in which Mark Twain stayed when he visited the city in 1867, was in this courtyard.

At the beginning of the First World War, due to hardships and severe famine, Jews left the compound. They returned at the beginning of the British Mandate. The Arab riots, in 1929, once again drove Jews away. All the residents had to be transferred by the British police to the Jewish Quarter, due to Arab violence.

Today a huge Israeli flag drapes from the windows of Beit Wittenberg that runs south of the Via

Dolorosa (as one walks from the Kosel plaza toward Shaar Shechem/Damascus Gate). In the 1980s (almost exactly 100 years after its original purchase), Ariel Sharon bought the building. Sharon took up legal residence in it, although it was never his primary residence. It is now one of the most famous of the Ateret Kohanim-owned properties

Batei Wittenberg (Shaarei Moshe)

It is quite unbelievable that not far from the hustle and bustle of Kikar Hashabbos lies a quiet, pastoral neighborhood, which will transport you about 120 years back in history. Located behind the Zupnick building on Rechov Strauss, the neighbourhood of Batei Wittenberg will surprise you with its calm and loveliness.

In 1885/6, Reb Moshe also built Batei Wittenberg (Shaarei Moshe) comprising 50 houses near Meah She’arim. Being that he was a Chabad chassid, the nusach of the shul in his new neighbourhood was according to Chabad.

During World War I the residents left the area and the shul was bolted up for a year. Then Avigdor Ender came and broke into the shul, whereupon davening started there again, this time in nusach Ashkenaz, the nusach which is used there until today.

There were two clocks in the shul. One, known as the Arabisher zeiger (Arab clock), was set to the time of Eretz Yisrael, moving each day according to shekiah. The other kept time as we do today. In addition, a matzah was kept in the shul as eiruvei chatzeiros for Shabbos.

There was a large communal oven to which all the residents would bring their cholent before Shabbos. The oven was then sealed, and on Shabbos morning, the owner would come and break the seal so the pots could be retrieved.

The homes in the neighbourhood are built in an oblong square, around what once was a stone-paved courtyard that covered a huge cistern. At each end of the paving, a waterhole accessed the cistern (sealed today). The women washed and dried their clothing outside. Downspouts, from the gutters on the side of the roofs of the dwellings, used to reach underground and directed the rainwater to the cistern. On each rooftop there was a black barrel to collect the rainwater, which was later used with a filter on Pesach. Some of these barrels can still be seen today.

As with the tents in the midbar, none of the entrances of the homes faces each other. The houses each had two rooms and the walls are very thick, keeping out the winter cold and the summer heat. The keys of the inner doors are extremely large and heavy. The doors can be barred from the inside with a large crowbar that is attached to a nearby wall.

The large, arched windows are set back in a large cavern-like area. During the War of Independence, when Batei Wittenberg was near the border, the wide area in front of the windows was blocked off with mattresses, for safety. Until today, one can still see bullet and mortar holes in a yellow wall of a nearby building, on Rechov Strauss, facing the Zupnick courtyard.

In front of some homes were tiled-roof balconies. Every year the tiles were removed in order to make a sukkah, and were later replaced. The inhabitants of the homes paid an initial lump sum (shlissel gelt — key money) and now pay a minimal monthly rent. In his will, Rav Moshe Wittenberg required that all revenue acquired from Batei Wittenberg be distributed among different yeshivos and chessed/tzedakah organizations and funds. Administrators were appointed to see that all was done according to the last testimony of Rav Moshe Wittenberg.

Maaleh Hazeisim

In 1886, Rav Moshe Wittenberg and Rav Nissan Beck bought the area of Maaleh Har Hazeisim, adjacent to today’s so-called “Ras el-Amud.“ They transferred the land to the Chabad and Wohlin Kollelim, who planned to build a cemetery there. Between 1886 and 1948, as the legal owners of the land, the kollelim paid the property taxes on it. During this period, as the Turks did not permit the Jews to bury their dead there, the kollelim leased the land to Arab farmers for the purpose of growing wheat for the production of matzah.

During the Jordanian occupation of eastern Jerusalem, all Jewish property, including this one, was transferred to the “Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property Office.” In 1951 an Arab leaseholder had the Jordanian Land Registration Office transfer the land to his name. A meticulous Jordanian clerk discovered the land really belonged to Jewish owners and applied to

the Jordanian Court to invalidate the false registration by the dishonest Arab.

Following the Six Day War, with much of the area already densely built up by Arabs, the two kollel communities pursued the case in Israeli courts. In 1984, the High Court ruled in favour of the true Jewish owners, validating their claim. In 1990 the kollelim sold their land to Dr. Irving Moskowitz, who planned to build a 132-home Jewish neighbourhood on this land, which is his privately-owned property.

But these plans, in September of 1997, provoked an international outcry. Despite American pressure to halt all construction, the area slowly developed. In 2009 Egged launched a bus route from Maaleh Hazeisim to Silwan and the Kosel. A hundred families were living Maale Hazeisim by 2011.

Rav Moshe Wittenberg also built a compound of homes in the Musrara neighbourhood. In addition, he was on the committee that Dr. Wallach formed in 1894, whose goal was to build Shaare Zedek hospital.

Reb Moshe Wittenberg passed away on 18 Nissan of 1899, and is buried in the cemetery of Chabad Chassidim in Yerushalayim.

Blessing of Praise and Gratitude - Birchas Ha'Ilanos©

Pomelo Blossom

Upon seeing fruit trees in bloom during Nissan (this blessing may be recited only once each year.)

"Blessed are You, HaSh-m, our G-d, King of the universe, for nothing is lacking in His universe and He created in it good creatures and good trees, to cause mankind pleasure."

Korban Pesach©

By  V. Littmann

Winter is ebbing, blossoming into spring. The days are becoming lighter and warmer. The entire Eretz Yisrael, carpeted with wild flowers, is a kaleidoscope of bright spring color. Pesach is approaching.

We long with an all-encompassing intensity, born of a deep, over 2,000-year-old yearning, to go to the Beis Hamikdash and bring the korban Pesach. It pains us deeply that so many years have passed since this marvelous mitzvah was performed in our holy and beautiful Beis Hamikdash, which is no more. We deeply desire the rebuilding of Hashem’s house and the arrival of Moshiach.

It is our heart-felt prayer that the s’chus (merit) we will have from studying how the Korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice) was performed and some of  its accompanying miracles will bring the Geula (redemption) closer and expedite the coming of Moshiach Tzidkanu. We should be privileged still this year to eat from the Pesachim  and Zevachim (the two sacrifices eaten on the Seder night).

Arriving in Yerushalayim

The number of people who ascended to Yerushalayim on Pesach was greater than at any other festival, as the only place the korban Pesach, the Pesach offering, could be sacrificed was in the azarah – the courtyard – of the Beis Hamikdash.

Eating the korban Pesach is a positive, time-bound mitzvah. Women are usually exempt from such mitzvos, but eating the korban Pesach is an exception. As women experienced the Exodus from Mitzrayim with all its miracles, they, too, are obligated in its performance in the same manner as men. On the festival of Pesach women were also obliged to come up, to partake in the korban Pesach.

Anyone within thirty days’ (-/+ 900 miles) distance of Jerusalem who did not come and participate in the korban Pesach transgressed a positive mitzvah and was chayav kares, liable to be spiritually cut off from the Jewish people. Many people who were even further away also came, as they wanted to participate in this uplifting mitzvah. S o we find that on  Pesach, most of Am Yisrael in their multitudes, converged on Yerushalayim.

Calculating the Numbers, Counting the Miracles

The Gemora in Pesachim 64b tells us that King Agrippas wanted a census of the number of oleh regel, to know how many pilgrims traveled to the Beis Hamikdash to bring a Pesach offering. As it is forbidden to count Jews, the Kohen Gadol advised him that the left kidney of each Pesach sacrifice be put aside and counted. Twice six hundred thousand (twice the number of males who came out of Egypt) -A full 1,200,000 Pesach sacrifices were counted through this method Each sacrifice had a chaburah, or group, of at least ten participants. Therefore, the minimum number of Jews in Yerushalayim that year was 1,200,000 times 10, which amounts to 12 million Jews. Rav Chiya says some sacrifices had groups of up to forty or fifty people participating, and Rav Bar Kafra says even a hundred could participate in a chaburah. This means that there were many more than 12 million people in Yerushalayim that Pesach . But for convenience’s sake we will work with the minimum count of twelve million yidden.

The heads of the Sanhedrin commanded the animal dealers to bring their sheep and cattle to Yerushalayim so there would be enough animals to sacrifice. They hurried joyfully to obey the Sanhedrin and drove their flocks toward Yerushalayim. The mountains and hills around Yerushalayim, as far as the eye could see and even further, seemed as if covered in sparkling snow, as the animals were so numerous.

It is an open miracle that 1,200,000 healthy male lambs or kids under a year old were found for the korban Pesach.

 As it says in the Torah, “On the tenth of the month, each man shall take for himself a lamb for his father’s household, a lamb for a house” (Shemos 12:3). Therefore, each chaburah sent one of its members to be in Yerushalayim by the tenth of Nisan so the korban Pesach could be examined at least four days before it was slaughtered. Even though there is no obligation to remain in Yerushalayim after the first day of Yom Tov, most, if not all, of the people only went home after the festival was over. It was so uplifting and inspiring in Yerushalayim, who could go home?

The Sanhedrin made sure there was enough food for at least ten days for all the millions thronging to Yerushalayim. A person needs two kilograms of food per day. Multiply this by ten; i.e., twenty kilograms per person for ten days. Multiply this by 12,000,000 people, and you’ll see that 240,000,000 kilograms of food were needed! That’s in addition to the twelve million bottles of wine needed for the four cups consumed on the Seder night.

All the millions who had come up to Yerushalayim had to sleep somewhere. The Sanhedrin established a gemach of available apartments. Also, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim invited the oleh regel to their homes.

And somehow, miraculously, a minimum of twelve million people all fit into Yerushalayim with comfort and expansion during Pesach. Each one had lodgings with a bed to himself. No Jew ever complained that there was no place for him in Yerushalayim. Like a mother always finds room no matter how many children come to visit, so too with Yerushalayim.

One who had come in contact with a human corpse and was thus ritually impure from it could not bring the korban Pesach. To be purified, such a person needed to be sprinkled with mei chatas (red heifer ash mixed with spring water). There was a special street in Yerushalayim where people were sprinkled on the third and seventh day of their purification, called “Taharah Street.” Mei chatas was thrown from a window. The amount of water thrown was so great that the whole street resembled a great channel of water. People slipped when walking on this street from the sheer volume of water found there.

In order to ensure that they were ritually pure, every one of the 12,000,000 people in Yerushalayim immersed in a mikveh on Erev Yom Tov. It takes at least ten seconds to immerse. Twelve million times ten seconds equals one hundred and twenty million seconds. Divide this by sixty twice (first for minutes then for hours), then divide by twenty four, equals one thousand three hundred and eighty eight days which means that for all the people to do so would have taken at least three years and nine months of nonstop immersion!

As it neared two and a half hours after midday (three and a half hours before nightfall) people began streaming toward Har Habayis, the Temple Mount, their korban Pesach in tow.

To direct the great mass of people entering the azarah, twelve leviim stood outside the entrance, each holding a silver stick. On the inside of the doors stood another twelve leviim with golden sticks. When about 530,000 people, with all their 530,000 lambs and kids, had entered, the gates closed miraculously by themselves. In spite of the fact that there were so many hundreds of thousands of people and so many hundreds of thousands of animals, everything ran smoothly, to perfection.

Inside the Beis Hamikdash

It must have been a truly remarkable and awesome sight: One hundred and twenty-six rows of hundreds of kohanim each spanned the distance between the place of slaughter and the north of the altar, forming lines across the width of the Temple courtyard. This arrangement gave the maximum amount of kohanim the ability to participate in this elevating mitzvah.

Each kohen held a vessel designed to receive the blood, called a klei sharet. These cone-shaped containers were wide on top and tapered to a point. The bottom of the vessel was pointed so the cone could not be put down, thus preventing the kohanim from placing it on the ground which may have allowed the blood to congeal if left long enough. One row held silver vessels and another row held golden ones (Mishnayos Pesachim 5:5). The uniform appearance of the rows enhanced the festive spectacle,  thus beautifying the mitzvah.

The kohanim were so nimble, the vessels flew from hand-to hand like arrows from a bow. The cones moved so quickly, it looked like bolts of gold and silver lightening were traveling through the azarah. A vessel full of blood would race up the row to the altar, where the contents were poured on the side of the Mizbei’ach above its base. It came back again empty, ready for re-use by the kohen, who gathered the blood of the korban Pesach, which was slaughtered by the yisrael. after the Yisrael  had recited a bracha on the slaughtering.

Before the slaughtering began, silver trumpets were blown. Thousands of leviim stood on the duchan, accompanied by hundreds of leviim playing numerous different musical instruments. The soprano voices of the of the thousands of levite children mingled with the alto and the base of the adults. The strains of the music were heavevnly. The crowds joined in the singing with enthusiasm. The hundreds of thousands of Jews seemed like angels. Hallel was sung only twice in the first two shifts, and before each commencement of a new recitation of Hallel, trumpets were blown. A third round of Hallel was never needed. Imagine, about forty to fifty minutes to bring 530,000 sacrifices, and skin them all.

A little calculation shows that 10,600 kids or sheep were sacrificed each minute (530,000 sheep divided by 50 minutes = 10,600 sheep a minute. Divide this by 60 = 176 sheep per second. A rough calculation yields that each of the 126 rows slaughtered about three sheep in two seconds. This is less than a second per sheep.)

Even More Miracles

The Ezras Yisrael  (Israelites’ courtyard )was 135 amos by 110 amos in size. This is 14,850 square amos (135x110 =14,850 sq amos), which according to Rav Chaim Na’eh is 67.5 meters times 55 meters, equaling 37,125 meters (67.5 m x 55 m = 37,125 sq m). A person takes up an amah by an amah, meaning that four people fit into a square meter. If we calculate, we find 35 men with 35 animals stood within a square amah (i.e., 140 men and 140 animals in a square meter) during the first two shifts. In this calculation, the administrating kohanim were not included, ( also it would  seem that  probably more then one person came form each chaburah, these extra people were not included in our calculations  )

After the whole procedure, the gates of the azarah opened wide and the Jews jubilantly streamed out, their korban Pesach lifted high on their shoulders. They were replaced by the next group. (The Korban Pesach was brought in three shifts, as alluded to in Shemos 12:6.)

To realize the greatness of this nes, consider how long it takes to leave shul after Ne’ilah. If the hundreds of thousands of people had gone out at the slow “after Ne’ilah” pace, how many days would it have taken for them to leave the azarah? Yet, they all went out and were replaced with the new shift within a few minutes.

All the Yidden went home and roasted their Pesach sacrifices. The halachah mandates that the korban Pesach can only be roasted and eaten on the ground floor. Roofs and upper stories cannot be used (Pesachim 8). Yet, no pilgrim ever said he could not find an oven in which to roast his korban Pesach. How many ovens were there in Yerushalayim that there was never a pilgrim who did not find a place to roast his korban Pesach?

The wonderful night of the Seder is the holiest night of the year. The heavens are open. Brachah descends like a deluge of heavy rain. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, with His whole Heavenly court, comes down and listens to our Seder.

In the Yerushalayim of old, when the Bais HaMikdash was in existence, the Seder night was so exalted and stirring. People sang in praise and thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu all night, expressing so much joy and happiness for the Exodus, for having been chosen by Hashem to be the nation to sanctify Him, for having been chosen as His firstborn – such a glorious privilege. The outpouring of unrestrained simchah knew no bounds, and it seemed as if the ceilings in Yerushalayim were cracking from the sheer magnitude of people’s gratefulness. The roofs seemed to detach themselves and hover above the houses from the volume of the Hallel recited within. After the Seder, people went on their rooftops and continued dancing and singing and praising Hakadosh Baruch Hu all night.

On the morning after the Seder, every male over thirteen went up to the Temple where he sacrificed an olat re’iyah and a chagigah sheilmim. The 6,000,000 men and 12,000,000 animals packed into the azarah.

It is hard to describe the glorious, thunderous sound of more than 6,000,000 people calling out with all their strength and might “Amen, Yehei Shmai Rabah!” The very foundations of heaven and earth shook and brought down so much brachah and goodness to the world. What a minyan that was ! ‘B’rov am hadrat Melech’ (in a great multitude is the King praised)

May the All Merciful help us to see, soon, with our own eyes, the rebuilding of Yerushalayim with its Holy Temple, and that our ears should hear the great, rolling call in praise of Hakadosh Baruch Hu once again.

Sources:

 "ההלל" בהקרבת קרבן פסח – רב הלל בריסק

A Nation is born - Rav Avigdor Miller,  זצ"ל

Torah Nation – Rav Avigdor Miller,  זצ"ל

Guidelines to Pesach – Rabbi Elezar Barclay, shlitah

      and Rav Yitzchak Jaeger, shlitah

The Art Scroll Mishnayos Seder Taharos Paro,

The Art Scroll Mishnayos, Seder Kodshim Tamid

The Art Scroll Mishnayos, Seder Kedoshim, Middos

The Art Scroll Mishnayos, Seder Moed, Pesachim

The Book of Our Heritage – Rav Eliyahu Ki Tov,  זצ"ל

Three Special Days – Rav Yakov Meir Strauss, shlitah

Seven Special Weeks – Rav Yakov Meir Strauss, shlitah

Classes of Rav Raphael Auerbach, shlitah

Classes of Rav Shalom Meir HaCohen Wallach, shlitah

Tapes of Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincas, זצ"ל

Published in Israel in "Hamodia" 14 April 2011
In America in the Friday Hamodia 15 April 2011

Gerald Halbert Park and Observation Plaza©

At Gerald Halbert Park and Observation Plaza, located at the edge of Jerusalem’s bustling city life, the beautiful, austere wilderness of Midbar Yehudah is observed in full view. The contrast between the city and desert is stark and startling.

Today the whole vicinity of the Hebrew University, including the Gerald Halbert Observation Plaza, is called Har Hatzofim (Mount Scopus), even though the area is actually an extension

of the Har Hazeisim range that is famous for its cemetery. Not wanting their university to be referred to as “Der Toiter (The Dead) University,” the University’s founders called the area Har Hatzofim.

Over and down in the valley on the other side of the road (and not visible from the G.H.P.

Observation Plaza), the Emek Tzurim valley lies between Mount Scopus and the Old City of

Jerusalem. In the center of the Emek Tzurim National Park one can see the Temple Mount Archeological project, located in a large tent. In this tent, artifacts uncovered in illegal Muslim excavations of the Temple Mount and discarded as trash, are gathered up by Israeli archaeology students and sifted carefully, with many remains supplying evidence from the periods of the first and second Beis Hamikdash. This project is but a small effort to stem the problem whereby Muslims are destroying centuries of history.

The G.H.P. Observation Plaza straddles the boundary somewhere between the Shevet of Yehudah and Binyamin’s allotments. (Nowadays it very hard to define exact Biblical borders.) If we had been at this spot during the time of the Beis Hamikdash, we could have crossed the road andlooked down over the Tzurim Valley directly onto Har Habayis. We would have been privileged to see the Beis Hamikdash in all its glory. Even at the place of the lookout point, the perfume of the ketores would have enveloped us and the smell of the korbanos would have wafted over to us. On Yom Kippur, the sa’ir l’Azazel goat was led though the expanse one sees.

During the time of the Beis Hamikdash, a month before the arrival of Pesach, a special official was appointed to oversee those labourers who were sent to restore the weather-beaten roads. He would also make sure that the wells and mikvaos were renovated, and that the fruit trees, planted along the way for the olei regel, were in good condition. The official was also responsible for checking and repairing all the byways, including those in Midbar Yehudah, ensuring they were in excellent shape.

There were 40 roads leading to Yerushalayim. One passed by Jericho and continued on to where

Maale Adumim is today, then moved downward and cut through to arrive directly at Har Hazeisim, perhaps passing the spot where the Gerald Halbert Park and Observation Plaza is now found.

On a clear day, looking out from the G.H.O. Observation Plaza over Midbar Yehudah, the Dead

Sea is visible with the purple Harei Moav mountains behind it. These hills are the portions of the Shevet of Gad in the north and Reuven in the south. Somewhere in the region of the areas of these tribes is Har Nevo, the burial place of Moshe. Midbar Yehudah is the smallest desert identified in the world: 30 miles wide and 70 miles in length (from north to south). The fact that it is in a lowlying region puts it in the “rain cloud shadow,” thereby making it desert. (A “shadow” is a place bereft of sun. A “rain cloud shadow” is bereft of rain.)

The rain clouds coming from the west (Mediterranean Sea) move inland until they encounter the height of 800 meters above sea level (this is approximately the height of Jerusalem), where they unload their water. They then travel downwards into Midbar Yehudah. This combination of lowering of land height and resultant air pressure seems to curtail the clouds from discharging their water; it even seems they have no water to provide. As they approach Harei Moav, the altitude increases and this somehow activates the clouds to give rain again. Therefore, this area became known in Biblical times as the “bread basket.” It is where Elimelech, Naomi and their two sons fled, to avoid helping the poor during the famine in Eretz Yisrael. It was from here that Nomie brought back Ruth the ancestress of Dovid.

The expanse of Midbar Yehudah, as one can see from the observation point, has for most of its history been barren. It is only in the last few decades that both Jewish and Arab housing has sprung up here. Such settling occurred after the Six Day War, when there was a “political land grab” and anyone settling in any given area could claim it as their own.

The red roofs of Maale Adumim are distinguished far ahead, to the right. The name Maale Adumim is derived from sefer Yehoshua (15:7), in which Maale Adumim is described as a border area between the tribes of Yehudah and Binyamin. Maale Adumim means the “red ascent”; this is the only significant uphill section of the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho and the Jordan Valley, and the route is dominated by reddish hues in its rock formations.

Today’s city was launched by 23 pioneer families on the seventh night of Chanukah, 1975. The population of Maale Adumim in 2011 numbered above 39,000 and it is the third-largest settlement in the area regained by Israel in 1967.

The Arab settlements of al-Isawiya, Bitana, Anata and al-Za’im can also seen relatively nearby, large and sprawling. Located 4 kilometers northeast of Jerusalem, Anata is identified by some as the Biblical Anatot, birthplace of Yirmiyahu. Also observed is Road number One, the lowest road on earth, which curves beneath the G.H.P. Observation Plaza. Running parallel to it is the security fence. In July 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague officially ruled that Israel was not allowed to build a barrier. The U.N. endorsed the ruling. Some of the hate-filled nations who claim that Israel has no right to a defensive fence, themselves have fences to keep out migrant workers. Note: their barrier is for financial gain and not for pikuach nefesh as with us Yidden. However, this should not surprise us. As we declare on the Seder night "Bechol dor vador ....." "In each generation they rise up against us, to destroy us and Ha Kodosh Buruch Hu saves us from their hand." 

  

The Gerald Halbert Park and Observation Plaza is not wheelchair- or stroller-friendly, being that it is covered with coarse gravel, which makes manoeuvring wheels very difficult. Nevertheless, quite a bit of the view can be seen from the tarmac road.

Buses that reach Mount Scopus:

From the central bus station: 68 and 69.

From other areas in Jerusalem: 4A, 17, 19, 30, 42 and 46.

The last stop of Hebrew University at Mount Scopus is opposite the Observation Plaza.

Ein Avdat, Oasis in a Spectacular Canyon©

Read about this magnificent location and plan on taking your family on an exhilarating trek through the canyon on Chol HaMoed.

 By Vardah Littman

 Nachal Zin

Ein Avdat with its impressive cliffs is a place to look up and around and exclaim, "Wow, ein zur ke’Eloknu” - who can paint as magnificently as Hashem?"  Ein Avdat is a spectacular narrow canyon flanked by tall white cliffs occasionally streaked by dark flint. It is part of Nachal Zin, the largest wadi or dry riverbed in the Negev. While it is wise to watch your step, make sure to look up and ahead to take in the view of the canyon as it rises above you.

The 120 kilometer-long riverbed of Nachal Zin begins at the northwestern tip of Makhtesh Ramon and heads north. At the Ein Avdat canyon Nachal Zin's route changes abruptly and starts veering sharply eastwards. This change of direction is beneath the hanging Tzinim Cliffs where spectacular canyons, rich in water resources, are found.

The springs in Ein Avdat feed several small rock pools year round, making it a rare water source with luxuriant fertile vegetation in the parched Negev desert. They are active all year round although the flow varies throughout the seasons. Even in the middle of summer, they pour forth water to create a cool and deep pool. These springs emerge from between horizontal layers of rocks. The definite source of the water is unknown. The region is arid, and during rainfall the runoff does not infiltrate, but drains away along the wadis. The current theory is that the springs come from flash flood water that has seeped down through the stream bed gravel.

 The Ibex, King of the Cliffs

 The water source of Ein Avdat sustains a variety of fauna and flora. The flourishing environment is caused by the water of numerous springs that begin at the southern opening of the canyon and descend into deep pools in a series of waterfalls.

Ein Avdat is the home of the king of the cliffs, the graceful ibex, a species of wild goat, which thrive on the vegetation of Ein Avdat. With their brown hide, solid and muscular body, and specific feet/leg structure, they are perfectly suited to the surroundings. As it says in Tehillim 104:18; Hashem creates a perfect setting to suit each species and cites the ibex’s habitat.

These animals are famed for their ability to climb steep hills that provide them with refuge from predators. An interesting behavioral pattern was observed in groups of ibex in the Negev Desert area. All the young were placed on a steep cliff which they were unable to leave. From time to time, the mothers would come to feed them. The offspring would leave this special “nursery” only when they grew and were old enough to fend for themselves. This is how the ibex protect their young from predators such as wolves and leopards.

Males and females can be clearly distinguished from each other. Adult male ibex stand out for their scimitar shaped horns (large and bent backwards). The male's horns serve as a means to reduce the number of male rivals. The male is large, muscular, and heavy, and the back of its neck is well developed. The females are smaller with slender, short horns that bend slightly to the rear. The ibexes live in separate male and female (plus kids) herds.The ibexes can be spotted early in the morning and in the afternoon and are most friendly to people. They descend the cliffs to eat and drink near the springs. At one point, ibexes were endangered. Today, due to enforcement of nature preservation laws, the number of ibexes has increased. 

Ibex are mentioned in Tanach many times by the name “yael.” For example, in Shir Hashirim (Chapter 2), Shlomo HaMelech uses the swift leaping of the ibex as a metaphor for how swiftly Hashem redeemed us from Egypt and will redeem us again, may it be, in our times, soon.

The Rich Variety of Flora and Fauna

The lush vegetation of the area of the springs attracts a rich variety of insects such as dragonflies, as well as songbirds.  There are the Bulbuls, swifts, rock pigeons and doves. The area serves passing waterfowl, such as coots and land fowl like partridges and herons.

The canyon cliffs are used by eagles as nesting spots. Other birds of prey that can also be found are vultures, hawks, and bustards. There are rising airflows near the edge of the cliff which the birds of prey use to fly up high. Frogs and rodents also inhabit the place. The ostrich egg shells and onager bones found in the area show they also once lived here.

Around the springs and bubbling brooks grow salt-loving plants such as Atriplexes, commonly known as saltbush, which can tolerate high salinity. Tiny hairs on its leaves absorb the salt and then fall off, allowing the plant to survive. The accumulated salt makes the green leaves look silvery.

A lone Atlantic terebinth tree estimated to be 350 years old can be seen to the left of one of the trails. Poplar trees common to oases and known for their variegated leaves, grow in the streambed.

The poplar is a tall tree which flourishes on riverbanks and can tolerate a certain amount of salinity in the ground. It has two types of foliage: the younger long leaves and wider more mature diamond-shaped leaves. This is a deciduous tree which loses its leaves in winter. The poplar may be the tree referred to in Bereishis 30:37 which had a major role to play in the genetic feat that  Yacov performed on the sheep.

The leaves of the poplar have prominent gallnuts, shaped like a white half ball (gallnut means a swelling or growth in the leaf following penetration of a foreign body, such as laid eggs or insect sting). The poplar gallnuts contain pests that excrete a sweet substance which the weaver-ants inside the tree feed on.

The weaving ant weaves a nest to protect the cicadas (sound producing grasshopper-like insect) from the sun. The cicadas drink the plant sap of the tree. Here we can see the workings of a wonderful harmony that Hashem created in nature.

Ein Avdat Throughout History

 As a water source in the middle of the desert, Ein Avdat and its surroundings have been visited and inhabited by different peoples for thousands of years, but apparently only sporadically. Abundant flint artifacts such as arrow-heads, man-made knives, and other hand held stone implements have been found dispersed throughout the area.

During the Hellenistic period, the nearby city of Avdat was a station along the Nabataean Spice route (an ancient trading route stretching across Egypt to India through the Arabian Peninsula). The name of the area is derived from this period. “Ein,” the Hebrew word for spring or water source, refers to the various springs located in the canyon, while the word “Avdat” stems from the neighboring city of Avdat situated south of the canyon. 

Avdat’s wind-blown ruins are located on a mountainous limestone ridge overlooking the Negev Desert highlands.  The city of Avdat was apparently named after the Nabataean King Obodas I who was buried there according to tradition. The name was then Arabized to “Abdah” and finally Hebraicized to “Avdat.” Thus, Ein Avdat is the Spring of Obodas. Located near the northern entrance of the Ein Avdat is a spring called Ein Mor, named for the spice myrrh.

In the Byzantine era, Avdat developed into a Christian city, and the Ein Avdat Canyon was inhabited by monks who lived in its caves in the cliffs above. These monks sculpted out stairs and water systems all over the area. In the several small caves which served as monks’ cells they carved out closets, shelves, benches, and niches that were cut open to create windows. After the Moslem conquest, the region was abandoned.

Ein Avdat Today

Ein Avdat became easily accessible in the 1950s after the establishment of Kibbutz Sdeh Boker in 1952 (home of Ben Gurion) and the Highway 40 to Eilat. The trail going through Ein Avdat was constructed in 1956, and now it is included in the Israel National Trail. The stairs that lead to the beginning of the Avdat waterfall were first carved out by Israeli teenagers in 1956, and then improved by the National Parks Authority.

Due to the magnificence of the steep canyon in which it is located, it has become a popular hiking spot. There are a number of hiking trails throughout the canyon that were designed to protect the enchanting landscape from wear and tear. These hiking trails range in levels of difficulty from easy to moderately challenging. Some require climbing up ladders of iron rungs in the rock faces. One trail ends at the observation terraces showing a magnificent and exhilarating look down the canyon.

The following is required equipment for trekking in Ein Avdat: hats, 1.5 liters of water per person (drinking the water from the springs is not recommended), sturdy walking shoes with non-slip soles, clothing appropriate for the season, sun protection cream, and a camera (you'll be sorry if you don't). And last but not least, bring along bags to take your rubbish out of the canyon with you.

The most direct entrance to the canyon is from the south (the top of the canyon), but many hikers choose to begin at Sdeh Boker (the kibbutz several kilometers north) and walk southward to see the whole length of the canyon.

Ein Avdat is located on Road 40 between Mitzpe Ramon and Beer Sheva in the Negev Desert. The entrance to the northern parking lot is by Road 40, some 45 km to the south from Beer Sheva. The road sign shows a turn to the left for the Ben Gurion burial ground and for Ein Avdat. To get to the southern parking lot, continue some five km. to the south.  A leaflet with a site-map is available at the admission booth. There are rest rooms and water facilities in both parking areas.