Photo Friday (vol. LXIV) [Mikveh edition]

Today the big kids and I went for a short tiyul (hike) just over the far side of the hill opposite our house.  Our destination was an ancient road called Derech Avot (Patriarch's Way), so named because it is thought by many to be the path that Avraham took while bringing his son Isaac to be sacrificed.

Even if it was not the exact route taken by the Biblical Patriarchs, it was certainly a very ancient road that was heavily used during Temple times to approach Jerusalem from the south (meaning from the direction of Beer Sheva and Hevron).

There are a few reason we know this.

First and foremost we know it is an ancient road because there are Roman milestones (the markers set up by the Roman Legion to mark the miles between major cities).  They can be found all over Israel, but this one marks the spot on the road 12 miles from Jerusalem:

BTW, I only know it is the stone marking 12 miles from Jerusalem because right next to it is this marker put up by the Dept of Antiquities (translation milestone 12):

Anyway, after we'd taken a couple of pics of the kids (happy now Val???) next to the milestone we went up the road to see proof that this was the road Jewish Pilgrims traveled from the south in order to reach Jerusalem for the three major Festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot).    The proof was in the form of two large Mikvehs (ritual baths) sitting off to the side of the road.

[Very] Loosely translated, the sign below says that this mikveh is from the second Temple period and sits along the main route from Hevron to Jerusalem with no paths leading to any nearby town.  It makes note of the large wall between the two sides of the mikveh and points out this was certainly built here for use by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem (feel free to provide an exact translation if you have a moment). 

For those not clear on this concept, before one could go into the Temple grounds or eat any part of a sacrificed animal (such as the Passover offering), you needed to be in a state of ritual purity. Therefore EVERYBODY heading for Jerusalem would either have to visit a mikveh just outside of the Jerusalem, or take their chances on using one once they got there.  This location just south of Jerusalem was likely a very popular spot.

The two mikvehs were discovered by a farmer plowing his field about 10 or 15 years ago and were excavated by the Department of Antiquities.  They are right next to each other and each has a double entrance and a dividing wall down the center inside the cave  (I think this is what the sign is referring to).    This allowed the tameh (impure) to enter on one side... immerse themselves in the water inside... and emerge up the stairs and out the other side as tahor (pure).

Here are the two (in and out) doors to the first mikveh  One would go down the stairs on one side... dunk in the mikveh... and come out the other side.  Can't you just picture the pilgrims lining up?:

Here is what this one looks like inside.  You can see the actual bath is partially filled with rubble but it still has water in it.  Also, the dividing wall inside the cave is mostly gone but you can see where it once stood so you would have to go into the water before emerging out the other side:

The walls were once covered with a plaster or stucco-type coating.  Remnants of it are still apparent in the corners such as here:

And here:

Looking back towards the door(s) looks like this:

And this:

Only a few feet away was the second mikveh's double entrance:

Inside this one was a massive central column carved from the stone:

It's hard to see from the outside, but one of the two entrances (on the right) to the second mikveh was partially sealed up.  This picture from inside makes it easier to see:

On the way out of the mikvehs we ran into a van full of American tourists who were coming to see the mikvehs.  I introduced myself and it turned out they were a group of 10 legislators from the Great State of Georgia on a tour of the holy land.  I shook hands all around and even got a business card from Emanuel Jones, A very nice State Senator from District 10.

Once we were back on the ancient road the kids started talking about the milestone we had seen and asked a pretty obvious question: "If we go a mile up that way (towards Jerusalem) will there be another Roman milestone?"

I didn't know the answer, so we did... and guess what we found:

And to confirm it:

So that's about it for today.  It was really fun to walk on a road that had felt the tread of thousands of Jewish pilgrims and Roman soldiers... and to step inside two mikvehs that had been used by thousands of people on their way to celebrate in the Temple in Jerusalem. 

And to think... all of it is walking distance from our back door.

Shabbat Shalom.