TIME TRAVEL: VISITING THE TEMPLE MOUNT 2,000 YEARS AGO - Yael Freidson JERUSALEM JOURNAL

TIME TRAVEL: VISITING THE TEMPLE MOUNT 2,000 YEARS AGO (Video Incl'd)

 by  Yael Freidson

 Monday, September 19, 2016

 JERUSALEM JOURNAL

• Media

What was it like to visit the Temple in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago? How did it look to the thousands who thronged there, including people like Jesus and his apostles? Now we can see for ourselves.

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Ten million visitors come every year to the Western Wall to view the sole remaining part of the Second Temple complex. Now they can see it in a whole new way.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation is presenting a new, high-tech tour of the complex and the Temple as it was 2,000 years ago.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW THE VIDEO

The foundation's virtual reality tour of the site allows visitors to remain seated. Putting on on goggles and headphones they are immersed in the 360-degree experience.

Up until this point, the foundation has organized tours of the Western Wall tunnels and archaeological excavations, but only for organized groups that set them up in advance. As the new virtual reality tour is individual, lone visitors can take part.

The experience brings visitors to the time of the Second Temple, permitting them to view the pilgrims and priests at work and to visit the important sites on the Temple Mount. These include Robinson's Arch in the southwestern corner, the Royal Stoa, the courtyards of the Temple and the sanctuary.

The tour and technology was developed by ArchTour. Historians, rabbis, and archaeologists carried out comprehensive research on the structure of the Second Temple to provide the most accurate representation possible.

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This is a lightly edited version of the original article published by YNet News at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4855837,00.html

THIS SCALE WEIGHT BELONGED TO A PRIEST IN ISRAEL'S SECOND TEMPLE by Eli Mandelbaum - JERUSALEM JOURNAL

THIS SCALE WEIGHT BELONGED TO A PRIEST IN ISRAEL'S SECOND TEMPLE

 by  Eli Mandelbaum

 Tuesday, September 13, 2016

JERUSALEM JOURNAL

"I went pale and ...felt a small tremble to see the name of the high priest."

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Nearly 2,000 years after the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, archaeologist Dr. Oren Gutfeld of Jerusalem's Hebrew University has found a scale weight from that period. Apparently, it belonged to the family of the high priest—and which has his name carved on it.

The weight was found as part of the excavation carried out at the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. The Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out the dig together with Hebrew University, and it is being funded by the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Ltd.

This is the second time that such a weight has been uncovered. Excavations at the nearby Burnt House found a similar weight.

Gutfeld explained that he himself unearthed the weight, which has two lines of Aramaic text and a lyre between them. This was initially obscured by a burnt layer, which is presumably from the burning of Jerusalem. While the first line of text has not been fully deciphered, the family name of the high priest was discernible.

"It doesn't happen very much that I get emotional when I find artifacts. But here, I went pale and even felt a small tremble to see the name of the high priest."

The Tiferet Israel Synagogue was built in the 19th century, but when the Jordanians seized the area, it was destroyed. In 2014, a cornerstone was laid for its rebuilding, but an excavation of the site has since expanded. Artifacts have been uncovered from the Ottoman, the Mamluk, the Byzantine, the Second Temple and the First Temple periods.

Gutfeld expanded, "New mikvehs (ritual baths) that we didn't know about and their heating system have been uncovered."

The findings from the Second Temple period were about a meter beneath the building's floor. They also include stone and glass tools, rings, pottery and candles that were put there for storage.

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This is a lightly edited version of the original article published by YNet News at http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4854160,00.html

'ISRAEL POISED TO BECOME KEY PLAYER IN REGIONAL GAS INDUSTRY' (Video Included) by Hezi Sternlicht - JERUSALEM JOURNAL

'ISRAEL POISED TO BECOME KEY PLAYER IN REGIONAL GAS INDUSTRY' (Video Included)

 by  Hezi Sternlicht

 Friday, September 9, 2016  JERUSALEM JOURNAL

From London to Singapore, Israel is recruiting investors for gas and oil development of massive reserves in beneath its waters in the Mediterranean. As world powers hear the pitch, like in the video below, everyone is keen.

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Israel is courting foreign investors ahead of a planned natural gas and oil explorations tender that the Energy Ministry plans to issue in November, Israel Hayom learned Wednesday.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz is currently visiting London, meeting with dozens of energy and financial services companies ahead of the tender. He is scheduled to continue on to Singapore next, for a series of similar meetings.

WHAT IS STEINITZ TELLING INVESTORS? THIS VIDEO IS THE IMPRESSIVE, VERY IMPRESSIVE, ESSENCE OF HIS PITCH. THE ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW.

The ministry has mapped out a series of future exploration sites, which Steinitz is presenting to potential investors. The presentations also outline projected and expected timetables, competition and regulation guidelines, market reviews, and projected revenue for future gas and oil exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Steinitz's presentations have reportedly garnered great interest, including from the international financial media. The energy minister has been able to snag the attention of dozens of the world's top energy firms, such as Woodside Petroleum, the Edison Energy Group, Santos, and the Indian Oil Corporation, to name a few.

"We have embarked on a dialogue with neighboring countries, and after years of delays and putting a uniform regulatory framework in place, things are moving forward," Steinitz said. "Israel is poised to become a key player in the regional gas industry."

The tender is expected to be finalized by the end of March 2017.

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This is a lightly edited version of the original article that was published by Israel Hayom at http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=36249. The original article did not include the embedded video.

RELICS FROM THE CITY WHERE DAVID FOUGHT GOLIATH by Efrat Forsher JERUSALEM JOURNAL

RELICS FROM THE CITY WHERE DAVID FOUGHT GOLIATH

 by  Efrat Forsher

 Tuesday, August 30, 2016

 JERUSALEM JOURNAL

Artifacts from an ancient city near the Valley of Elah open up a window to the time - and place - where David fought Goliath and killed him with a single stone. Swords on display could have been used in the battle.

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The Bible Lands Museum (BLM) in Jerusalem is inaugurating a new exhibition next week featuring unique artifacts from Khirbet Qeiyafa, an ancient Judean city that may have played a key role in the famous biblical battle between David and Goliath.

BLM has named the exhibition "In the Valley of David and Goliath." The biblical reference is to the Elah Valley lying below Khirbet Qeiyafa, where the famous battle between the Israelites and Philistines took place.

The museum's website asks:

Who lived in this anonymous city when it was first built, during the time of King David?

Could we have found the biblical Sha'araim – literally the city of two gates, mentioned in the Bible in the description of the battle between David and Goliath?

According to BLM, the exhibition will include "original finds from the city's ruins, its structures, gates, dwellings and many other remarkable artifacts." Visitors will also get to see up close a famous Hebrew inscription, portable shrines -- referred to as "shrine models" by archeologists -- and three iron swords.

The city, which lies close to modern day Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, is believed to have been inhabited by the ancient Israelites during the time of King Saul. The long archeological excavations on the site have provided some of the strongest evidence that ancient Israelites lived in the area at the end of the 11th century BCE.

Archeologists say that swords at the site could have been used during the battle of David and Goliath.

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This is a lightly edited version of the original article published by Israel Hayom at http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=36041