Counting the Days
"Blessed are you, God, our God, King of the world, who has commanded us to count the Omer. Today is the 25th day of the…
A Date for Passover
This year the calendar for Passover comes out very unusually. The night for the Passover Seder, the festive meal eaten to commemorate being liberated from…
Pioneers in Motza
In the days before Corona, I went on an overcast winter's day on a tour with other guides and the education department of the Tower…
Land for Peace or Piece of Land?
In diplomacy and in business, long term leases are often the closest thing to outright sale. In Israel, for example, much of the land is…
Ben Gurion and Shimon
I'm always inspired with Ben Gurion's vision of the Negev desert and its importance to the Jewish people. In contrast to other Ancient Near East…
Dreams of our Fathers
Our ideals lead to dreams and actions, but not always to actualization. Israel Beck was born in Bardichev, Ukraine in 1797. He moved to Israel…
Leaving Home
Archaeology is, in many ways, the guide book for leaving home. As the song reminds me, "There must be 50 ways to leave your lover,"…
Second Pressing
I always enjoyed learning how things work. Especially things we take for granted. There is that great TV show that takes us inside factories to…
A Broken Pot
Today, Israel and the Jewish people lost a great leader, Rav Ovadia Yosef. Rav Ovadia was a child prodigy, publishing his first commentary on the…
Red-Dead
"To whom it may concern, Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program - Invitation to public meetings" Thus read my invitation to presentation of findings on the…
Israel by Leiah 