B’nai Jacob Welcomes New Members

Steve Fulop and Adam Weiss

Steve Fulop is the Jersey City Councilman from  Ward E (the waterfront area).  He is a shining light in our City's political scene and we look forward to his rise in that department! Steve has worked tirelessly for improvements that are sorely needed in Jersey City and he brings youth, vitality and intellect to his position. He finds time to participate in various B'nai Jacob programs and events and how he does that is amazing because he always has more on his schedule than one person can fulfill! (stevenfulop.com).

Adam Weiss is the founder of Hudson Jewish Forum , a county-wide organization that brings together both affiliated and non-affiliated Jews and provides programs for Jews in Hudson County and beyond. Adam's dedication to this immense project has been successful because of his insight into the needs of our community. He truly dreams a dream and makes it happen. A lot of hard work on his part has made the annual Hanukkah Celebration a very popular event; 1,700 people are now on an email list where they can obtain information about our synagogues and synagogue programs; publicity and coordination of these programs and services is now widely available (hudsonjewish.org).

We welcome Adam and Steve to B’nai Jacob! - Jane Canter

Jane and Sid Canter recently returned from a trip to Israel. Here is Jane’s report:

Recently Sid and I and our sons Michael and Barry took a family trip to Israel. It was wonderful. We all agreed it was the best vacation ever. There is so much to see and to learn. Every step brings new excitement while walking the bible and at the same time seeing a nation that has succeeded in the midst of more problems any other has lived through. Friendly people, food that can compete with French and Italian cuisine, glorious weather and breathtaking scenery make it the most perfect place to spend your leisure time - although it is not a leisurely vacation because every day you want to see everything - and revisit spots like Masada, the Old City of Jaffa,  of course all of Jerusalem, walk on the sea front in Tel Aviv and breathe the Mediterranean air etc. I am tired but would go back in a minute!

I want to talk especially about an archeological site we visited called Beit Shean in the Jezreel Valley. According to the Talmud Beit Shean may be the gate to the Garden of Eden. On a prior visit in 1991 we visited Beit Shean. At that time the dig had just begun and some exquisite mosaic tile floors were discovered leading the archeologists on to whatever other treasures were to be found and boy did they find them.* There are several of them,  some were synagogue floors and others from various important buildings of the time. These mosaics have traveled to museums around the world and were on display at the Brooklyn Museum about a year or two ago. When they were shown in Brooklyn they were each on the floor in a sand pit to make them look as they were found in Israel.  Very effective! To preserve the tiles they are now housed in a museum, replaced with replicas at each site. However, in 1991 the dig was just beginning. It was surrounded by an area that was not too developed and covered with grass and full grown tall trees. Now, in 2009, only 19 years later, the trees are gone and the archeologists have dug down well over hundreds of feet to find a town that existed over 2000 years ago. It was ruined in an earthquake in the year 749 CE, but today we can see what it looked like.

The area uncovered must be the size of 10 to 15 football fields - maybe more - and there is much more to dig up. Upon entering Beit Shean the first thing you see is a large Roman theater (photo below) with a current seating capacity of 7000. The theater was originally bigger! Entry to the theater is via the vomitoria (self explanatory!). There is an area of Roman baths and a colonnaded street indicating that it was a financially successful community. There are remains of community rooms that were used for activities such as games and gambling. The baths had hot and cold water and steam rooms. The floors of these areas rested on raised stone pedestals and ingenious methods provided the steam. Many of the original steam and hot water pipes can still be seen. The walls were often covered with very colorful paintings, parts of which are still visible and of course the floors were of detailed mosaics with pictures depicting local flora and fauna and the occasional beautiful woman or very manly man.

There are dozens of enormous pillars throughout the site, depicting the outlines of buildings and roads in the area. All the pillars - which are about 50 or more feet high - are reconstructed from the ruins except for one that was the only one left standing after the earthquake. Some pillars were left as they were found so visitors can get the full impact of the destruction of the quake and the amount of work necessary for restoration. It was explained to us that a mathematical formula was used to build pillars. The height determines the diameter of each pillar. Each one is made from marble or limestone and is a feat of engineering unmatched in today’s world.

The original roads have been uncovered.  A main intersection, because of its width, indicates that it was a very important crossroad, enabling travel from east to west and north to south. The area is not far from Jordan and was very active for more than 1000 years.

The site is overlooked by a hill, perhaps several hundred feet high. One can climb the hill via many, many steps to get a complete view of Beit Shean. Sid and I didn’t make the climb but our son Barry did and was awed by the scene.  There is so much more to dig up, to reconstruct so we can see what life was like thousands of years ago, or to leave as ruins. Like all of Israel it is a perfect example of living in the present with a firm base from the past. Go to Israel if you can.

*This dig was financed by funds raised in Los Angeles. At the present time there is no further digging because the Israeli government can not afford it and currently Los Angeles is not raising money for that purpose but hopefully in the future it will begin again.