You Smell That? That's 3,000 Years of History

I was totally cramped and I had just banged my head on the low ceiling. My knees were sore from crawling and my hands were filthy. We finally emerged from the tunnels feeling an odd sense of accomplishment. A group of Year Course participants, including myself, had just finished worming our way through these intricate man-made tunnels. We were all tired and in the midst of assessing our various minor injuries; all the while though we were thinking about the people who actually needed to travel through those tunnels, all those years ago.

The story goes like this: Around the year 130 or so, when the Romans controlled Israel, Shimon Bar Kochba led the Jews in a revolt against their despotic rulers. This tunnel system was used in that rebellion for storing and transporting weapons and soldiers. Here we were, almost 1900 years later, making our way through the very same tunnels. Now, we did make some small jokes; when we were really uncomfortable and cramped, someone would say something like "No wonder this rebellion failed." But all the while, we understood just how significant what we were doing was. We were re-living history.

I had been through these tunnels before, on a summer tour I went on two years ago. The difference now, though, was tremendous. I am no longer visiting this country- I live here. The story of Jews wishing to live freely in Israel rang so much more meaningful now that I am a Jew living freely in Israel.

Also, I had learned more about Bar Kochba in my Jewish day school at home than I knew about him then. Getting to see, touch, smell, hear and taste what you've only learned about is one of the most rewarding parts of my stay in Israel.

Just before we went to the Bar Kochba tunnels, we stood above a valley, where the battle between David and Goliath is said to have taken place. Listening to that amazing story was so much more thrilling because we were actually there. As our tour guide told us, here in Israel you can use the bible as your map. For instance, when I take the number 18 bus to Tel Aviv, it passes by the old city of Jaffa. The port of Jaffa is where Jonah is said to have left Israel from, when he hopped on a boat before being swallowed by that helpful whale. When I sat in synagogue on Yom Kippur as they read the story of Jonah, I was reminded of my bus rides through Jaffa. "I was there last week," I said to myself, "I bought a backgammon set from the Jaffa shook [marketplace]."

No matter where I go, I can not avoid tripping over something historical. We are literally living and breathing Jewish history here. One last story to illustrate my point: When I spent a Shabbat on a moshav (settlement) near Modi'in, our host decided to show us around his estate. He took us around his beautiful house and we saw the different fruit trees in front of his house. Then, as he concluded the tour, he said "Wait, I want to show you the ancient Byzantine wine press that archeologists found in my backyard."

Oh ya, of course, the ancient Byzantine wine press that archeologists found in your backyard.