Rebuilding Jerusalem's Temple

East Face of Mount Moriah  time of  Jacob (~1550 BCE)

On its eastern slope at the lower, southern end of Mount Moriah archaeology on a ridge above Jerusalem’s Gihon Spring leads to one striking conclusion: Features confirm the Matzevah (monument) as Jacob's stone, the one he anointed (Genesis 28:22) to mark his covenant at Beit El, Jerusalem (2Kings 23:4). Therefore, it is the beacon that will ultimately identify the location of the altar for Israel’s third temple!  

It has been confirmed that temple worship features carved into the bedrock preceded King Solomon, dating back to the middle bronze age. Further, that the ‘soft’ burial, between false walls protected the upper ridge for thousands of years until its recent discovery, as confirmed by lead archaeologist Eli Shukron.

East Face upper ridge detail - end of Early Bronze

Elements of the city wall (image below) may have been built above the upper ridge by Jebusites and their allies while Israel was exiled in Egypt. The fortress protruding into the valley below the city wall was constructed adjacent to the Gihon Spring starting in the middle bronze age. It was most likely developed by geopolitical allies to obfuscate and prevent access to the temple complex on the upper ridge, which was cut-off by its construction - see video.

Jebusite City (looking North), fortress over Gihon Spring
and assumed city wall at the time of Joshua (~1300 BCE)
(Temple Mount shown for context)

The next image cuts the mountain (north), immediately south of the Fortress over the Gihon Spring revealing several features in the bedrock. The Upper Gihon Pool cavity, above the deeper round chamber cut passage over the bedrock and up the eastern slope. Archaeologists discovered the cavity filled with refuse from the Iron Age, but it may have been constructed during the middle bronze age as the quarry source of of the adjacent (northern) Double Wall complex and fortress.

Mount Moriah  (north slice) at upper ridge and Gihon pool, outside of city wall

As seen in the image and below, the stairway extending from the Upper Ridge rooms containing the altar and matzevah (as identified toward the end of this article) to the bedrock that once filled the upper Gihon Pool cavity was cut as it arrived (to the pool). I believe this could be associated with the Millo and is not the stepped structure identified by Eilat Mazar. This is a different stairway ~10m south of the Double Wall or Fortified Corridor section of the Fortress over the Gihon Spring (excavated by Reich and Shukron).

 Steps to Upper Ridge cut from the Upper Gihon Pool

Upper ridge as it may have once looked (~1550 BCE)

Iron age King David would not have erected a matzevah because that practice ceased with Israel’s forefathers at the end of the Middle Bronze age, time of Jacob. Additionally, the bedrock was chiseled using stone implements not iron, a sure sign of its earlier Bronze Age origin. Further, middle bronze age pottery discovered around the site confirms its date. Finally the matzevah must have been naturally formed because it is thin, precisely honed and smoothed, well beyond the technology of that time.

Four rooms on the upper ridge  (click for enlarged version)

The impressive features of the upper ridge including, oil and grain press, vessel holders, small animal pen, animal processing area, matzevah, liquids channel and platform of the original altar are definitive signatures of holy worship. Only the bones of kosher animals were discovered in the Upper Gihon Pool below.

Oil remnants exist between the stones supporting Jacob's matzevah

The upper ridge location on the neck of Mount Moriah contradicts mainstream Jewish custom that the only place for the altar of the future temple can be on the summit of the mountain. This issue can be resolved in a number of ways according to the character and stature of Jewish law and custom, but it will take time before it is accepted as a valid location by the authoritative leaders of Israel. From the most ancient sources the neck of a mountain was always the location associated with the altar, but the first and second temple altar followed the location chosen by King David based on events of his life which opposed prevailing thought and present understanding of Jewish law.

As the excavation on the upper ridge nears completion the public will, for the first time in thousands of years be able to make decisions about this amazing discovery. Exposing this phenomenon may just be the beginning of an impressive transformation.  

I Hope Jihad Will Kill Your Apathy Before It Kills You!

A king once summoned a soothsayer to curse Israel. Sensitive to Ethereal opportunity his autospeak, absent of curse was muttered as blessing, a surprise to the king. Still he appealed to the king’s women to afflict Israel’s men via a sordid brand of sexual worship. The recollection ignores Israel’s aging leader whose Ethereal sensitivity had failed, but his most zealous defender arose to defeat the rebellion and kill the soothsayer.

I avoid suggestive images promoting decapitations, gratuitous violence and torture. I don’t need the details, the gruesome facts unjustified by insanity that promotes them. As the years roll on Islamic insurgents invent even more brutal affronts that seemingly meet the intention of their ridiculous ideologies. Still I don’t really want to see, but they just keep creeping directly into media and my social feeds. Now that I have seen so many, am I battle hardened?

Terrorism is such a genteel word considering it describes the acts of murderers, criminals and parasites who rob people of their dignity to further their spiteful cause. Polarizing world views is a well known tactic that progressively makes it ‘ok’ to terrorize for a ‘sympathetic’ cause - can that be correct? Are these images numbing my senses that they and the criminal enterprise behind them become palatable, even acceptable?

Israel’s former Justice Minister was recently asked by BBC of her activist parents - “they were terrorists weren’t they?” “No” she exclaimed they targeted their violence legitimately against the oppressive British Army, not the citizens of Britain or other countries. That BBC would stoop so low illustrates my point such a simple distinction, but the lines are blurred and distinctions already bleeding.

Where are our leaders with Ethereal sensitivity to the righteous cause? The US Supreme Court approved gay marriage declaring the institution that originated as a religious ideal altered forever. Notwithstanding a humans legal right to ‘Marriage’ equality, regardless of sexual preference lawmakers will blend distinction, insensitively eroding the once beautiful ideal of religious cultures and communities that enshrined it in their law.

A gunman shot British tourists in Tunisia. A suicide bomber blew up a mosque in Kuwait. Christians are beheaded in Syria. An angry mob tore down shelves in Tesco’s Birmingham supermarket, another looted stores in France, another burned objects in Sydney’s streets and angry mobs in London clashed with supporters. I’m no longer appalled, just desensitized, awaiting even more terrible moments that will spawn yet more horrific images as “Infidels” in civil societies are pushed aside or to breaking point.

Majorities that subject themselves to the insensitivity of dominant minority ideals and allow their representatives to succumb, signal weakness to even more violent insurgent benefactors. The psychotic condition signals support for those intent on fighting against the views of the majority. Democracies that fail to articulate cultural sensitivities and adopt representative, judicial and enforcement regimes that reflect real community ideals simply beam their collective willingness to concede to the will of opposing zealots. Jihad thrives on apathetic democracies with split personalities and valueless leaders who pursue their agendas at the expense of nationwide sensitivities for the majority. Inevitably the incongruous nature of government, administration and judiciary supports enemies of otherwise libertarian trending societies inviting them to popularize their opposing views to take command.

Your apathy ensures a Jihad will find you and when it does, it will inspire you to fight or lie down and die. Our dynamic world responds to these perceptions and in the end you will be forced to decide which form of zealotry you want for yourself and your future generations. Then, perhaps the world will see Israel’s tentative right shift for what it is and with some luck it will deal fatal blows to criminals whose public incitements prod the majority rule. Until radicals are marginalized and polarized in the civil societies in which they live and minorities respect majority sensitivities, dominance and Islamic terror win!

Deconstructing Prophecy - Hiding the Ark of the Covenant

The recently discovered matzevah or ha-tziyun, is this it?

Every year a story is told about an 8 year old boy, a remnant in the line of King David who was anointed King over dwindling Judea. Inspired to correct the wayward worship of his Jewish people, King Josiah destroyed idolatrous altars and impure objects that had infiltrated Jewish practices over 200 years since King Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. During the turmoil the King hid the Ark of the Covenant[1] that was in the temple, it has never been seen since. His successful efforts resulted in the most celebrated Passover feast in Israel’s history. The nice story[2] is recalled annually, outside of Israel only on the second day of Passover. However, the story that is retold was edited to exclude[3] an intriguing, related prophecy some 300 years earlier.

In the 18th year of his reign, King Josiah sent an order via his royal scribe, Shaphan ben Atzaliya ben Meshulam to the high priest Hilkiah that all donations must be used exclusively to renovate and restore Jerusalem’s aging temple. Hilkiah showed Shaphan a discovery from the restoration of a scroll that Moses himself had written. On hearing the news, the King was most upset because it was found open to the section describing Israel’s curses for disobedience including subjugation of the King and exile of the nation[4]. The King bi-passed Israel’s senior prophet Jeremiah (a doomsayer), instead he requested Huldah the prophetess interpret it, her report was ominous.

Motivated to repent, the King marched his hierarchy into The Temple (denoted using the tetragrammaton [5]) where he read them the open section of Moses Torah. He demanded the nation repent, perhaps to counter the ominous sign and the prediction of Hulda and previous prophets about the dire future of the City and its inhabitants. Everyone accepted his request and immediately set out on their national cleansing. Hilkiah was instructed to remove false altars and all idolatrous objects. He burned them in the Kidron Valley (below the Temple) and carried the ashes to Beit-El (House of God denoted without the tetragrammaton). The King dismissed the priests who had permitted idol worship, burned the Asherah idol from the temple and ground the ashes to dust, which he scattered on the graves of the common people. He removed the Ark of the Covenant from its usual place and hid it.

At this point the story from the Passover passage skips the gory details of idols that were destroyed and a prophecy from 300 years earlier that predicted these events: Also, the altar that was in Beit-el (denoted here with a small “e”) from the high place of worship, set up by King Jeroboam (King of Samaria - 300 years prior), he also destroyed and defiled with human bones. Then, an unlikely continuation the King asked “what is this tombstone I see?” The people of the city answered; it is the grave of the man of God who came from Judea and prophesied about the deeds that you (King Josiah) have done upon the altar of Beit-el. The King responded, leave it alone! Let no man move those bones. So, his bones lay with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. Then the story re-joins the Passover recitation when the King commanded the people to perform the Passover offering and continues to describe the celebration.

Precision is the hallmark of Biblical script. Here the word tombstone (above) is written “ha-tziyun”, used once only in the entire 24 books of the Bible, an apparent alternative to the more common word for head-stone matzevah.

Deconstructing this earlier prophecy; the man of God from Judea usurped King Jeroboam with a prophetic proof that split King Jeroboam’s altar[6] at Beit-el (in Samaria). But, on the way home the man of God from Judea succumbed to the persuasion of a false prophet from Samaria. The prophet from Judea disobeyed his instructions to return and was mauled to death by a Lion that sat peacefully with his Donkey. The false prophet buried the man of God in his grave and requested his sons bury him together in the same grave.

King Josiah’s dueling true (Judea) and false (Samaria) prophets and exclusive reference to ha-tziyun, juxtaposed the defilement's at Beit-El, Jerusalem (in the territory of Judah) with his prophesied defilement of Jeroboam’s altar at Beit-el in Samaria (in the territory of Joseph/Ephraim). This was as predicted by the man of God, the prophet from Judea, who arrived to Samaria, and the false prophet who lived in Samaria. What point was made referring to the place the prophet of God and the King had arrived from?

This edit and its powerful message is as confusing for the reader as the destabilized aberrant Jewish communities and towns as well as foreign residents who had introduced their idolatrous practices. That confusion was amplified by the split Jewish nation who, at the time could worship Israel's traditional God or idolatry at the altar’s of the temple or idolatry at Jeroboam's altar. The last-ditch attempt to unify Israel’s disparate tribes is said to be the reason prophet Jeremiah was absent [7] when prophetess Huldah was consulted. The King buried the Ark of the Covenant a contradiction to his purifying, unifying holy mission.

Although the King held hope, the writers unique choice of 'ha-tziyun' over 'matzevah' may be the most telling of all. The unique matzevah recently discovered on the high ridge above the Gihon Spring, in Beit El at Jerusalem’s City of David could suggest the retrospective state of national confusion, even to the King. This abandoned matzevah may have inspired the King to recall the prophecy before it was respectfully buried along with the ashes and broken idolatrous artifacts. Beit El and 'ha-tziyun' at this location would mark Zion, the northernmost territorial boundary of Judea, which by tradition and Jewish law also mark Israel's coalescent. 

Finally and beautifully on the last day of Passover, Isiah's Messianic prophecy [8] is read. It foresees that the jealousy of Judah and Ephraim (Joseph) will be subdued and peace between the warring nation of Israel will finally arrive. Looking at these two days, we can imagine a time when the mystery of the true Beit El of Jacob (Jerusalem), a man of God from Judea and a prophet who came from Samaria will finally be resolved.

[1] Yoma52b
[2] 2Kings 23:1-9, 21-25
[3] 2Kings 23:10-20
[4] Deuteronomy 28:36
[5] 2Kings 23:1
[6]Kings 13:11-32
[7] http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112503/jewish/Huldah-the-Prophetess.htm
[8] Isiah 10:32-12:6

Impressionable Incantations

In deserts, caves, tents, honed structures and modern buildings over 3300 years the same cantillations have been used to express the words of Torah - the book of Jewish ritual and law. Many distinguish the 79,847 words or 304,805 letters of Torah, but four rarely used, unique tunes (tropes) characterize stand out words and phrases. Why these?

Two cantillations known as Yerach ben yomo and Karne Parah appear once each in the entire Torah and once each in the Book of Esther, which was written 1000 years later. Yerach ben Yomo in Numbers 35:5 on the letter “peh” of the word Alpayim (אלפים, two-thousand) is followed by an equally exclusive Karne Parah on the letter “mem” of the word B'amah (באמה, cubit) in the first of four occurrences of this phrase in the verse.

In the Torah’s weekly reading for Masei (Numbers 35:5) these cantillations are made in the verse that instructs how much land must be set aside for the Levites who were not recipients of tribal land, but were gifted residential land near the temple. The Torah instructs Israel to measure off two thousand cubits outside the town to the east, south, west and north side, with the town in the center:- This will be the Levite’s grazing land. The unique use here may emphasize and remind the nation of the essential nature of this righteous practice at least to the Levites who originated the tunes.

Yerach ben yomo means ‘day old moon’ (think about shape) it looks like a cow’s yoke:

פַּ֪ (peh)

Karnei Parah means ‘cow’s horns’ (think about shape) and looks like the eyes:

(mem) מָּ֟

(Please note on some mobile devices intricate details on the fonts may not appear)

The chapter in which these verses appear also covers; the 42 journey’s of Israel on their exile from Egypt to Israel; their momentary disobediences and the character of their resulting long term enemies; the land boundaries of Israel; details of leadership and tribal inheritance; the land to be set aside for Levite priests; the requirement of witnesses for murder; the cities of refuge for the protection of accidental homicides and; the recognition of women's rights of inheritance.

In the Book of Esther 7:9 Yerach ben Yomo followed by Karne Parah simply reads, “Behold the gallows made by Haman for Mordecai, who spoke well for the king, were standing in Haman’s house, fifty cubits high!” And the king said, “Hang him (Haman) on it!” Here perhaps the trope highlights that its not over till its over, or the threat can disguise the opportunity or what goes around, comes around.

Unlike the containment to one verse above, the Shalshelet appears four times in four different verses in 4 chapters of Torah, it means chain (continuity) and looks like the spring:

שֶׁ֓

In Genesis 19:16, on the word "VaYitmah'maH" (and he lingered), when Lot was lingering in Sodom as it was marked for destruction, to show Lot's uncertainty. In Genesis 24:12, on the word "VaYomar" (and he said), when Abraham's servant Eliezer was trying to find a woman (other than his own daughter) to marry Abraham's son Isaac. It indicates the hesitation of the servant to pass over his daughter. In Genesis 39:8, on the word "VaY'maen" (and he refused), during Joseph's attempted seduction by Potiphar's wife, to indicate Joseph's struggle against temptation. In Leviticus 8:23, the Shalshelet is used on the word (VaYishlach (and he slaughtered)  when Moses was slaughtering an animal in preparation for the anointment of his brother and nephews as priests, a position he coveted for himself.

Each incident above reflects a moment of self-struggle and each verb is preceded by  “and” as if to say without it the outcomes would have been different. Each highlights a  victory over temptation that would otherwise have surely changed the course of Israel’s dynasty.

Our final tune of note is the Mercha kefula meaning double comma, which appears five times.

Genesis 27:25 - and he brought (ל֦וֹ) to him wine and he drank, when Jacob deceived his father and obtained blessings he traded from his older brother. Exodus 5:15 - why (תַעֲשֶׂ֦ה) do (you) do with your servants this way, when the Israelites complained to Pharaoh who was inflicting them with hard labor. Leviticus 10:1 - strange fire they had (לֹ֦א) not been commanded to bring, when Nadav and brother Avihu elatedly brought offerings in their stupor. Numbers 14:3 - were it not (ט֦וֹב) better for us to return to Egypt, when early in their exile, the spies returned and made a discouraging report about the challenges ahead causing Israel to stay in exile. Numbers 32:42 - and called (לָ֦ה) to it Nobah after his own name, when the tribe of Menashe settled the land on the opposite side of the Jordan River.

Perhaps the acts of deception, punishment, transgression, regression and secession expressed using the Mercha kefula instruct future generations about redemption.

In summary, heralding priestly rights, resisting temptation and the tribulations that slow  redemption are emphasized week after week, year after year in the reading of Torah to Jewish communities the world over. For one reason or another these tunes survived thousands of years to emphasize these words, sentences and verses.

Can bleeding heart Jewish liberals be cured?

Was Jesus a bleeding heart Liberal?

I recently read “Out of the Cave”, a philosophical inquiry into the Dead Sea Scrolls research. It is an example of the extreme ignorance, perhaps antisemitic bias against the Jewish record and the desire by many to ignore the evidence of Jewish significance in Israel as far back as 2600 years ago. 

The late Edna Ullmann-Margalit exposed these biases, which occurred over more than 50 years of academic research into the discoveries at Qumran. Her honest rendition of events also exposed her own biases against her Jewish heritage as influenced by the international consensus that quickly formed to shape what many hoped would be a momentous event for Christianity.

After the discovery of the magnificently preserved collection of scrolls, the predominantly Christian academic fraternity, permitted by the Jordanians quickly characterized the texts and people of Qumran an Essene sect. They did this to support their religious conviction that among other elements celibacy, practiced by the Essenes, was a precursor, the missing link between Judaism and Christianity. It was only after 1967 when Israel reclaimed its 1948 land, west of the Jordan River, that qualified Jewish academics began to obtain access to the records and inject their cultural knowledge to restore sanity to the research.

It turns out, Jewish academics familiar with issues of halacha (Jewish religious law) were able to decipher much more than Christian academics ignorant and blind to the ways of ancient, righteous, orthodox, Torah observant communities. They described a priestly scribal community at the Qumran site, people engaged in extensive holy writings. A people who immersed in Mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) each day, especially those involved in writing God’s holy names, a practice that continues among Jewish scribes to this day.

Clearly this community isolated itself from the ravages of Roman influence on the Jerusalem Temple community of Levite priests to the West. Some of the specific rules governing this scribal community also describe the minute details that motivated their departure from other righteous communities in Jerusalem. Greek then Roman insurgence into the region pressurized Jewish life to such a degree that communities with foresight began to question their own devotions, often highlighting differences between the failing branches of Jewish practices and those that would ultimately survive.  

Edna admits to be a proponent of the Essene theory, but as she progresses Out of the Cave seemingly she recognizes the importance of interpretations by halachic authorities and knowledgeable academics of Jewish life. However, she finds their technically proficient interpretations “decidedly unromantic” and hints that the more exciting Essene theory be momentarily permitted to irrationally define her brilliant academic credential. Perhaps this was too much to ask, because deep ignorance of her own culture shattered her academically compromised view, still she refused to submit to its superior logic.  

I once wrote of Winston Churchill's statements on the extreme anti-Israel/Jewish bias that caused him to pass comment. Winston Churchill said "God deals with the nations as they deal with the Jews. Of every fifty officers who come back from the Middle East only one speaks favorably of the Jews. That merely convinces me that I am right." Edna’s remarkable honesty is evidence, a wonderful insight to Jewish people who have drifted far from their cultural practices to a place where in the vacuum, emptiness and self loathing is the expected deeply psychological response. People who have been torn from their indigenous root and modern societies that recognize them and who pay tribute are testament to the long journey home for the Jewish people.

Reconciling the torrential ordeals of their past makes it difficult for many Jews, but with the passage of time they will all fill the void by bleeding their hearts toward the warm, secure comfort offered by indigenous Jewish custom and culture. Jewish healing has well and truly begun and Israel's unique inner source is being restored to shed light on an increasingly desperate world!

Jews - Crawling Out of the Cave!

I recently read “Out of the Cave”, a philosophical inquiry into the Dead Sea Scrolls research. It highlights the extreme ignorance, perhaps anti-semitic bias against the Jewish record and the desire by many to dismiss significant Jewish evidence in Israel as far back as 2600 years ago. 

The late Professor Edna Ullmann-Margalit exposed these biases which occurred over more than 50 years of academic research into the phenomenal discoveries at Qumran. Her honest rendition of events also exposed her own biases against her Jewish heritage as influenced by the international consensus that quickly formed to shape what many hoped would be a momentous event for Christianity.

After the discovery of the magnificently preserved collection of scrolls, the predominantly Christian academic fraternity, permitted by the Jordanians quickly characterized the texts and people of Qumran an Essene sect. They did this to support their religious conviction that among other elements celibacy, practiced by the Essene's was a precursor, the missing link between Judaism and Christianity. It was only after 1967 when Israel reclaimed its 1948 land west of the Jordan River, that qualified Jewish academics began to obtain access to the records and inject their cultural knowledge to restore sanity to the research.

It turns out, Jewish academics familiar with issues of halacha (Jewish religious law) were able to decipher much more than Christian academics ignorant and blind to the ways of righteous, orthodox, Torah observant communities. They described a priestly scribal community at the Qumran site, people engaged in extensive holy writings. A people who immersed in Mikvah (Jewish ritual bath) each day, especially those involved in writing God’s holy names, a practice that continues among Jewish scribes to this day.

Clearly this community isolated itself from the ravages of Roman influence on the Jerusalem Temple community of Levite priests to the West. Some of the specific rules governing this scribal community also describe the minute details that motivated their departure from other righteous communities in Jerusalem. Greek then Roman insurgence into the region pressurized Jewish life to such a degree that communities with foresight began to question their own devotions, often highlighting differences between the failing branches of Jewish practices and those that would ultimately survive.  

Edna admits to be a proponent of the Essene theory, but as she progresses Out of the Cave, seemingly she recognizes the importance of interpretations by halachic authorities and knowledgeable academics of Jewish life. However she finds their technically proficient interpretations “decidedly unromantic” and hints that the more exciting Essene theory be momentarily permitted to irrationally define her brilliant academic credential. Perhaps this is too much to ask, because deep ignorance of her own culture shattered her academically compromised view, still she refused to submit to its superior logic.  

I once wrote of Winston Churchill's statements on the extreme anti-Israel/Jewish bias that caused him to pass comment. Winston Churchill said "God deals with the nations as they deal with the Jews. Of every fifty officers who come back from the Middle East only one speaks favorably of the Jews. That merely convinces me that I am right." Edna’s remarkable honesty is evidence, a wonderful insight to Jewish people who have drifted far from their cultural practices to a place where in the vacuum, emptiness and self loathing is the expected deeply psychological response. People who have been torn from their indigenous root and modern societies that recognize them and who pay tribute are testament to the long journey home for the Jewish people.

Reconciling the torrential ordeals of their past makes it difficult for many Jews, but with the passage of time they will all fill the void with the warm, secure comfort offered by indigenous Jewish custom and culture. Jewish healing has well and truly begun and Israel's unique inner source is being restored to shed light on an increasingly desperate world!

Cyrus, Xerxes, Darius, Mordechai, Binyamin

Modern propaganda can distort retrospectives. To unravel mysteries one must be sensitive to actors and cultures that influenced our perception of people and ancient times. One example is the great Xerxes, a Persian King of mythical proportion about whom modern movie going audiences are unlikely to ever restore a real sense. Historical documents, archaeology, anthropology and punctuated moments during his rule are the only tools we have to reconstruct his story. One such source is the Jewish perspective, you see, Xerxes was the Greek name of the well known King Ahasuerus (Ahashverosh) of Susa (Shushan), from the story of Purim. Ahash - silent, behind, rosh - head, the silent king.

Shushan an ancient Persian city, housed the palace of Xerxes close to the the border of modern Iran and Iraq. It was to Shushan, that the Jewish nation had been exiled by the Babylonians shortly before they were defeated by the Persian King, Cyrus The Great.

The display of confidence in the prophecy of their Jewish leaders, that their exile would be limited to 70 years bewildered Persian officers and King Xerxes. Was this an arrogant prediction of Jews to dominate the will of the Persian King? As the time approached and the intellectual challenge to Xerxes grew more intense, he strengthened his hand, subjecting the Jews to a battle of wits. He hosted an elaborate feast that lasted 6 months and subjected the pious Jewish community to exotic foods, luxuries and practices that were not permitted by Jewish law or custom. During the feasts his sorcerers, who deemed the 70 years was already over served Jews from the holy vessels that had been captured when they destroyed their holy temple in Jerusalem.

Rapid assimilation became Xerxes objective. Ultimately, when that did not appear to shake the confidence of the Jewish leaders he was convinced, by his visor and leading bureaucrat to authorize a Jewish genocide. This leading bureaucrat nemesis, known through the Jewish story as 'Haman' was of the Amalekite bloodline that also became Hitler’s Germany. Primed and ready for the final genocide Haman eagerly negotiated with and paid Xerxes large amounts of silver to obtain the coveted rights to the impending Jewish spoils.

Unbeknown to Xerxes one of his recently isolated harem girls, whom he is said to have favored became his Queens’ envy. During the feasts, in his drunken moment his jealous Queen failed his public challenge, humiliated, Xerxes had her killed and began a courtship with Hadassah, the hidden Jewish harem girl. She was a relative, some say wife of once Jewish nobleman Mordechai, descendant of the Benjamin tribe from Shimei, King David's nemesis. As the true, seventy year prophecy drew closer and conditions for the Jews became intolerable, Mordechai, who had once employed Haman incensed him when he refused to bow down to him. This became the catalyst that led to the events of Purim, one of the happiest events on the Jewish calendar.

In the miracles that followed, Mordechai pleaded with Hadassah, now known as Ester, to approach and influence Xerxes to make him aware of Haman's royal plot. She complained of the insult to her and her people who had fasted and prayed for three days before she approached the King. Xerxes was worried and after reading his book of records he was reminded of an indebtedness to Mordechai. He favored Ester over Haman who was subsequently hanged with his 10 sons. Xerxes and his successor integrated the Jews into Persian society, they became loyal servants of the King and in precise accordance with their 70 year prophecy, under Darius The Second they were permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. Although the prophecy of return from exile had in fact come true, the significant majority of exiled Jews never returned to Jerusalem. Life in Persia had become comfortable, Xerxes had cleverly integrated them into his society and the Jews would empower his dynasty for many generations into the future.

The small number of returnees to Jerusalem under Nehemiah and Ezra, the head of the Great Assembly eventually restored the destroyed temple and rekindled the age old practices of the Jewish people. Jewish influence was then centered in Jerusalem and Persia. For the millions of Jews entrapped in their Persian exile modern day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, France and Spain became some of their eventual homes.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleaded with the US Congress on 13 Adar, the day Jews remember the Fast of Esther. It is reminiscent of Mordechai’s plea to Esther. But, when the annihilation of the Jewish nations is still threatened by Iran, the very people over which Xerxes once ruled one must take a firm stand to defeat the remnant!

The Jewish Ancestral Path

It's difficult to imagine how an ancient city developed into a modern metropolis especially when archaeological records are confounded by settlements spanning many cultures over more than 4000 years. However, Jerusalem has an almost perfect record, the origin of which remained untouched and was only recently discovered. From the site of its origin, the city obtained its holy reputation on the mountain known as Mount Moriah, but one major event in the life of King David left its mark on our modern retrospective.

I watched a video on the Hamas strategy to attack Israel using tunnels built and destroyed during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. It was not the preemptive intelligence of the Israeli Army or the conviction of politicians that exposed the high-level threat, it was the seemingly unrelated brutal murder of three young Israeli Yeshiva students that instantly unified the nation and transferred their nationwide sentiment to an authority to act. Their defense force ultimately finished the job. A similar transference of authority was granted to King David at a crucial moment in Jewish history.

The City of David, the original Ancient City of Jerusalem exists outside of the walls people know as the Old City of Jerusalem. The walls of this higher elevation Old City, built ~500 years ago, during the Ottoman period purposely cut off the Ancient City, disposing it, relegating its lower elevation, to the garbage dump that The City of David  became. In the following image, the Old City walls enclose today’s Temple Mount, Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters isolating the City of David (South).

Click to enlarge

~North⇓

Discovering traces of the first people that lived in the area required a combination of archaeological science, anthropology, cultural narratives and tradition. Each piece had to objectively fit in order that a theory spanning close to 5000 years of occupation could prevail. Remarkably the intact archaeology and narrative of Biblical forefathers seemed to weave into the perfect tale. Its a story of sporadic dwelling, holy attraction, ancestral honor punctuated by invasion, reclamation, growth, unrest, conquest, defeat, occupation, exile and return.  However, without understanding transference of the nationally inspired authority to act, we can’t contextualize the archaeological "bread crumbs".

This historical rewrite dates Jerusalem’s origin to the Early Bronze Age cave discovered behind the bedrock, entered through the cliff face of the Upper (High) Ridge, above the Upper Gihon Pool and Spring. The cave dwelling contains 3-4, hollowed stone places to sleep and internal family seating around a fire pit. The approximate location can be seen (above) in the brown circle on the green boundary around the City of David. Simple dwellings, natural pools and worship on the upper ridge (facing East) preceded the later development of the more structured constructions represented in the image below.

Gihon Ridge - before city walls (time of Jacob)

~North ⇗

The preceding archaeology supports the Biblical narrative of Melchizedek, the Righteous King, High Priest of Salem, said to be Noah’s son Shem. Toward the end of his life he was visited by younger relative Abram, whom he blessed. Then, in the immediate years after Abraham bound and offered his son Issac as a sacrifice to God at Mount Moriah it became Isaac's home. Remarkably, there exists a most intriguing artifact located on the perfectly preserved Upper Ridge. The monument or matzevah on the bedrock of one of four chambers, I argue was erected by Isaac's son Jacob when he accepted his new name Israel and began developing Beit El (House of God) to fulfill his covenant made at that spot. According to many well known Jewish sources this matzevah was erected on Mount Moriah by Jacob and marks the place of the famous Jacob’s ladder dream. The same sources suggest it was located adjacent to the altar on which his father Isaac was offered. According to Jewish Law the altar on which Isaac was bound is the exclusive site of Israel’s Temple altar.

Jebusite City - without Palace or Temple (time of Joshua)

~North⇗

After Jacob left Mount Moriah, him and his descendant nation Israel were exiled to Egypt, Jacob never returned. Some 200 years later, his descendant Joshua returned to find the Gihon Spring, Upper Ridge, Pool and new city occupied and protected by buildings, a fortress and high walls.

Jewish sources tell of the pact Abraham and Isaac entered with the Father or Nation King (Avimelech) not to dispel his peacekeeping descendants from Abraham's ancestral land. Despite attempts by Joshua and the tribes of Israel, until the time of King David some 400 year later, Israel was unable to conquer the city from the Jebusite/Emorite descendants of Melchizedek's brother Ham, progenitor of Avimelech.

Archaeological remnants of the walls of the Jebusite City demonstrate they were later reinforced, at the time of King David after he and his men penetrated the underwater channel of the Gihon Spring, entered the city, occupied it and lived together with Avimelechs’ remaining peacekeeping relatives including their Jebusite King. From this city, Jerusalem his ancestral inheritance King David progressively obtained control, extending the city and building his palace as a symbol of his nations center, but national authority was not easily forthcoming. After an extramarital affair with BatSheva, toward the end of King David's life a nationwide pandemonium inspired the essential, momentary transfer of authority. In the time between disaster and resolution, the King identified the holy temple site, built an altar at the top of Mount Moriah and designated it the location of the nations future Temple, which his son Solomon would build.

King Solomon's City - with Temple (time of Solomon)

~North⇗

King Solomon followed his father’s extensive plan, extending the city walls north to the top of Mount Moriah where the First Temple was constructed and where the second Temple ultimately followed. The national unity engineered by King David did not last long, immediately following the reign of Solomon, his son Rehoboam was denounced by challenger Jeroboam and the nation, once again divided. In part Jeroboam founded his national support in pluralistic idolatry. Since then, some 2900 years ago, despite many royal attempts the tribes of Israel have never been reunited.

Jacob left this site of his ancestors for Egypt and never returned. Joshua was unable to conquer it, King David declared the pact of his ancestors void, invaded and recovered Jerusalem city from occupiers. It's entirely possible they may have already buried the high ridge of the Gihon during the construction of their walls and certainly their citadel cut it off. Eli Shukron the lead archaeologist on the Gihon dig revealed that all four chambers of the Upper Ridge including the matzevah had been preserved in softly packed loose earth between two walls. The dirt contained small artifacts dated back to King Hezekiah. Perhaps Hezekiah had revealed it during his major excavation of the tunnel system that carried water from the Gihon Spring into the city's Shiloah Pool at the base of the Kidron Valley.

Inevitably we must answer the question of the Upper Ridge. Whether King David knew of its existence and purposely obfuscated it, declaring the site on the top of the mountain the altar of the temple is irrelevant. If Jewish law prescribes the site of Isaac’s offering the only place for the Temple’s altar then we must ask - is the Upper Ridge at the Gihon that place and will we finally return to the forgotten cornerstone of our Jewish ancestral heritage?