Israel by Leiah

A Great Miracle Happened (W)here? – Capharsalma

THE TRAP After the turmoil in the Seleucid government settles down, focus is again returned to Judea. The new emperor, Demetrius I, who lied and…

FAILURE AND LOSS The fifth battle, the Battle of Beit Zecharia, is one that Judah Maccabeus does not win. It took place between Beit Tzur…

NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM After the routing in the Battle of Emmaus, Lysias himself comes to wage war against Judah Maccabeus. He also changes tactics…

DAVID VS. GOLIATH When we arrive at the third battle, there is a paradigm shift. Josephus and I Maccabees, which gave only a few sentences…

MAKE ME FAMOUS The second battle of Judah Maccabeus which occurred less than a year after the first battle is spearheaded by an ambitious fellow -…

We celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah by lighting candles for 8 nights. Why 8 nights? Some say because of the miracle of the oil -…

I just returned from a trip to the Dead Sea - one of my favorite places. Like for many travelers, the Dead Sea has me…

In my neighborhood in Beer Sheva, the streets are named after the Negev region of Israel. Places, people and animals are prominent and serve as…

Alexander Yannai, Jewish king, creator of an empire unrivaled since the time of King Solomon, is a colorful figure in Jewish history. The third son…

15 seconds. That's how long it took me to find my phone in my purse and check where the latest siren went off. My phone…