The Tanakh / Bible Comes Alive
Words of Wisdom with Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar
This week’s parsha, Vayechi, concludes the book of Bereisheet / Genesis, and with it the story of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. When we read the book of Shemot / Exodus next week, this family will have become a nation. Vayechi describes how Yaakov / Jacob dies after blessing his sons, and the haftarah connected with this parsha describes how King David dies after giving his last will and testament hundreds of years later.
There is nothing like reading about something written in the Tanakh / Bible and then standing right where it happened.
While in Israel, Avi and I took a wonderful tiyul (trip) to Tel Azekah, just southwest of Beit Shemesh, where we were staying.
What makes Tel Azekah worth visiting beyond being an interesting archaeological site and nice little JNF park?
Once I parked my car, I ascended a path to the Tel (an elevated mound with many years of history in its layers).
Along the path are plaques (in Hebrew) on which are engraved one verse of this story.
Thus, as I climbed up to the top, every 6 feet or so, I was reading another verse of the story of David vs. Goliath, which happened close to the Tel, as noted above.
And then, once I had climbed up to the top, I kept following the plaques, reading the story, literally step by step, and arrived at the final group of plaques with the final verses of the story right on the far side of the Tel overlooking a valley.
And then I looked up from reading and down into the valley and it hit me… what I had just read happened right here, right next to Tel Azekah! And I got the shivers as I always do when I’m standing in Israel in a place where the Bible comes alive.
And then as I looked further into the distance to the east, I realized I could see Hebron in the distance, and as I turned to look southwest, I could see Gaza in the distance, and once again I realized… indeed history repeats itself.
And I prayed: “Please give us the strength to live in this ancient, beautiful land, with all its challenges, for the Jewish generations to come.”
