WNEW11-4-SamaonTrail-Adulam-France-eng
April 2011
Touring Israel's Central Region with KKL-JNF on Pessah
As is the case every year,
KKL-JNF invited the
public to visit and tour its
parks and forests during
the
recent
Passover
holiday, free of charge. In
addition,
KKL-JNF
organized
various
activities for the entire
family, including hikes
through nature, some with
a
strong
historical
emphasis.
In
Israel's
central region, visitors
were invited to AyalonCanada Park for a hike
through Springs Valley, to
the Mexico recreation
area in Ben Shemen Forest and a hike to the Shomrim monument, and to Adulam France
Park and Samson's Trail at Tzora. We joined the many vacationers taking advantage of
KKL-JNF activities at Adulam and Tzora, and saw for ourselves how KKL-JNF guides made
history come alive on Passover 2011, two or three thousand years later.
Above the Ground and Underground at Adulam France Park
Asael Lavi, our KKL-JNF
guide, met our group at KKLJNF's
offices
in
Givat
Yeshayahu. Before directing us
to Adulam France Park, he took
us for a tour of KKL-JNF's
archaeological garden at this
site. Visitors saw how flour was
ground by hand or by donkeypowered mills, learned about
burial customs during the
Second Temple period, and
more. Asael also spoke about the
region: "On the other side of the
highway, there is KKL-JNF's
British Park, 40,000 dunams of
forests, natural woodlands and various sorts of recreation areas. Today we will be visiting
Adulam France Park, so called because it was adopted by friends of KKL-JNF from France.
"After 1948, this entire region was
largely abandoned, which allowed the
natural flora and fauna to return. A few
villages were built, and both the army
and also real estate developers had
their eyes on this area. KKL-JNF was
able to thwart their designs and today,
the entire region is a huge biospheric
park where farmers, animals, trees and
many species of vegetation live in
harmony and balance, ensuring that the
region's biodiversity will be preserved
for future generations."
Asael led the group up a hill from
which there was a 360 degree view of
Adulam France Park. This was the site
of the Second Temple era town of
Burgin, or as it is called in the Talmud
and Josephus, Kfar Bish. Asael
explained: "When English explorers
came here towards the end of the
nineteenth century, they asked the
local Arabs what the name of these
ruins was, and the answer was 'Um elBurgein', which literally means 'the
mother of the two towers'. In fact, both
the Talmud and Josephus relate that
there were five Jewish towns here, and
one of them was Kfar Bish, which had
two very impressive towers. We are standing next to the remains of one of them.
"Before the Romans conquered Jerusalem, they decided to first destroy the Jewish hinterland
around the city. One of the five cities
was Kfar Etri, just a couple hilltops
away. The Romans destroyed the city
and the inhabitants of Kfar Bish saw it
going up in flames from this very
hilltop. They met the Romans with an
olive branch, a symbol of surrender at
that time. The Romans accepted their
gesture and did not destroy the city."
Asael had an adventure in store for our
group. He led us into an underground
cave, from which a number of narrow
passageways branched out. "Jewish
settlement in the Adulam region did
not stop with the destruction of the Second Temple. In 130 AD, the Bar Kochva Rebellion
began, and in anticipation of the fighting, Jewish communities throughout Israel dug out
underground living quarters to hide in while the men fought the Romans, using guerilla
tactics. Unfortunately, the Romans discovered them and smoked the Jews out of their tunnels.
When the smoke forced the Jews to come up to the surface for air, the Roman soldiers
decapitated them."
After crawling through the underground passageways, we came back out to the brilliant
summer sun, and Asael led the group to another hollow, a very impressive Byzantine burial
cave. Asael talked about the Byzantime monks who used to live here, and could have gone
on, but unfortunately, it was
time to go back to the cars. It
seemed
as
if
Asael's
encyclopedic knowledge of
history, flora and fauna could
hold the group spellbound for
many more hours.
Shmuel and Yehudit Saltzman
of Rishon Letziyon said that
they always made a point of
spending at least one of the
intermediate days of holidays on
a KKL-JNF activity: "We also
go on a lot of KKL-JNF's 'Free
on Friday' outings. We didn't
know what we were getting into today, having to crawl on our stomachs through the bowels
of the earth, but we certainly have something to tell our grandchildren about. It's incredible
how learning about the region's history makes it come alive. It also reminds us how Jewish
existence in the Holy Land was threatened all through history, each time with a different
excuse. Asael said that KKL-JNF brings schoolchildren here. Learning about our past in the
field rather than out of textbooks is really important for the next generation."
In the Footsteps of Samson
In the Lower Judean Plain, near
Tzora, KKL-JNF, with the help
of its friends from Sweden,
created a trail that tells the story
of Samson, taking visitors
through the area where Samson
roamed in biblical times. The
trail is part of Sweden Park,
which is located in President's
Forest (Ya'ar Hanasi), and
begins by the Sweden Park
donor appreciation columns,
which are located in a recreation
area that is fully accessible to
people in wheelchairs.
The trail is comprised of a
number of stations, each of
which has signposts with verses
from the bible describing
different chapters of Samson's
life. Under the shade of the
carob tree at the first station,
Passover holiday visitors heard
about
the
extraordinary
circumstances of Samson's birth
and how his parents decided that
he should be a Nazerite.
After reading about how Samson
tore a lion apart with his bare
hands, visitors proceed to an
area where KKL-JNF built a
long wooden table with tree
stumps for chairs. The signposts
tell the story of how, after
Samson took his first Philistine
wife, he made a banquet and
invited all his Philistine friends,
where they had a riddles contest.
People hiking the trail sit around
the table and have something to
eat while they hear the story of
how Samson's first wife tricked
him into revealing the answer to
his riddle to her and of Samson's
terrible revenge.
No visit to this site is complete without climbing up to the Tel Tzora scenic lookout, from
which there is one of the most beautiful views in Israel. The weather during Passover was
excellent, and it was possible to see all the way to Gaza and the Mediterranean. It was not
difficult to imagine Samson journeying
between Tzora and the coastal plain,
where he was to fall in love with yet
another Philistine woman, Delilah.
Since the surroundings of Sweden Park
are so beautiful, many holiday visitors
choose to make their holiday barbeque
here, seemingly oblivious to Samson's
trials and tribulations. The Levi family
from Rehovot was camping out under
the shade of the carob tree near the first
station of the Samson trail. "We're here
together with our cousins from
Givatayim," said Yishai Levi, the head
of the family. "The truth is, although
Samson had some bad times, he also had
some good times, and he made a party
here, just like it says in the Bible. So we
are sort of like the guests at his banquet.
I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
For Articles, comments or use please contact
Ahuva Bar-Lev
KKL-JNF – Information and Publications
Email: ahuvab@kkl.org.il
Phone: 972-2-6583354 Fax:972-2-6583493
www.kkl.org.il/eng