Ancient Jewish gravestones found in Germany

A later Jewish gravestone from Mainz

Jewish gravestones from as early as the 12th century were found in southwest Germany.

Some 20 Jewish gravestones were found during excavations for planned housing construction next to the wall of the old Jewish cemetery in the community of Mainz. The stones are among the oldest ever found in the Rheinland-Pfalz region, experts said.

Construction plans have been halted pending a decision from the Berlin-based Orthodox Rabbinical Council. If the site is determined to be a graveyard and not just a repository for stones, it may affect building plans.

The president of the Jewish community, Stella Schindler-Siegreich, said an investigation of objects found at the site will be conducted to determine whether bodies had been buried there. An on-site meeting held recently included representatives of the Jewish community, the city, the rabbinical conference, landmarks preservationists and construction foreman.

Jewish studies expert Andreas Lehnardt of Mainz told a German news agency that the find was a "sensation" and some of the stones included the names of famous learned rabbis.

Mr Bagel: Mainz is a city on the Rhine, it had a large Jewish population that had worn the brunt of the first Crusade, and also suffered initially during the second crusade. There is a long history of Jewish presence in Mainz until the advent of the Nazis.

The Jewish Community in Mainz is one of the oldest in Europe, its tradition long and venerable. Its beginnings reach back to the 10th century when Rabbis such as Gershom ben Jehuda (960 – 1028 or 1040) taught in Mainz. He founded a Talmud academy which was to become a widely renowned centre of Jewish scholarship and heritage. Scholars such as the arguably most famous of commentators on the Bible and the Talmud, Shlomo bar Isaak, known as Rashi, (1040-1105), studied and taught in Mainz. It was due to their work that MAGENZA, the Hebrew name for Mainz, became a synonymous with Jewish learning and academic life.

Except for brief disruptions, Jewish families have lived in Mainz for at least one thousand years. Their history, both splendid and painful, has been documented extensively.

On the History of the Jewish Community of Mainz
Before November 1938, the Jewish Community in Mainz had two august places of worship: the Moorish-style synagogue built in 1879 and the classicist-style synagogue built in 1912. Additionally, there was a “Stibl”, a smaller place of worship for immigrants from Eastern Jewish communities, located at Margaretengasse. The first synagogue had been erected on the basis of plans provided by the still omnipresent master builder of Mainz, Eduard Kreyßig. It was located on Flachsmarkstrasse, and served as the place of worship for the orthodox members of the community. The second synagogue was an impressive, domed structure erected on Hindenburgstrasse; this was the place of worship of the liberal members of the community. The services were accompanied by organ music.

None of the earlier existing synagogues in Mainz survived the Shoah.

Donate to the rebuilding of a Synagogue in Mainz

More about the Jewish history of Mainz (Magendza):
The Magic Land of Magenza, Jewish Life and Times in Medieval Mainz
The Jewish Community of Mainz [in German]
Foundation Magenza

References:
JPost: Ancient Jewish gravestones found in Germany
JTA: Ancient gravestones found in Germany
Foundation Magenza

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The 22nd Kosher Cooking Carnival is up!

The 22nd edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival is up at Me-ander.
Muse is the original founder of the Kosher Cooking carnival and she does a wonderful job every time it comes her time to host this carnival.

Kosher Cooking Carnival 22

If you haven't had a go at hosting the Kosher Cooking Carnival then maybe its time you stepped up to the 'plate'?
Contact Muse, she will be quite happy to provide guidance if its you first go.

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Israel the Land of Milk and Honey

Close-up of one of the ancient beehives found at Tel Rehov in Israel

Excavations reveal first beehives in ancient Near East

Archaeological proof of the Biblical description of Israel really as 'the land of milk and honey' (or at least the latter) has been uncovered by researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology.

Amihai Mazar, Eleazar L. Sukenik Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, revealed that the first apiary (beehive colony) dating from the Biblical period has been found in excavations he directed this summer at Tel Rehov in Israel's Beth Shean Valley. This is the earliest apiary to be revealed to date in an archaeological excavation anywhere in the ancient Near East, said Prof. Mazar. It dates from the 10th to early 9th centuries B.C.E.

Tel Rehov is believed to have been one of the most important cities of Israel during the Israelite monarchy. The beehives there were found in the center of a built-up area there that has been excavated since 1997 by Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen of the Hebrew University. Three rows of beehives were found in the apiary, containing more than 30 hives. It is estimated, however, based on excavations to date, that in all the total area would have contained some 100 beehives.

Each row contained at least three tiers of hives, each of which is a cylinder composed of unbaked clay and dry straw, around 80 centimeters long and 40 centimeters in diameter. One end of the cylinder was closed and had a small hole in it, which allowed for the entry and exit of the bees. The opposite end was covered with a clay lid that could be removed when the beekeeper extracted the honeycombs. Experienced beekeepers and scholars who visited the site estimated that as much as half a ton of honey could be culled each year from these hives.

Prof. Mazar emphasizes the uniqueness of this latest find by pointing out that actual beehives have never been discovered at any site in the ancient Near East. While fired ceramic vessels that served as beehives are known in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, none were found in situ, and beekeeping on an industrial level such as the apiary at Tel Rehov is hitherto unknown in the archaeological record. Pictorial depictions of apiaries are known from Pharaonic Egypt, showing extraction of honey from stacked cylinders which are very similar to those found at Tel Rehov.

Row of ancient beehives found at Tel Rehov in Israel

Cylindrical clay beehives placed in horizontal rows, similar to those found at Tel Rehov, are well-known in numerous contemporary traditional cultures in Arab villages in Israel, as well as throughout the Mediterranean. The various products of beehives are put to diverse use: the honey is, of course, a delicacy, but is also known for its medicinal and cultic value. Beeswax was also utilized in the metal and leather industries, as well as for writing material when coated on wooden tablets.

The term 'honey' appears 55 times in the Bible, 16 of which as part of the image of Israel as 'the land of milk and honey'. It is commonly believed that the term refers to honey produced from fruits such as dates and figs. Bees' honey, on the other hand, is mentioned explicitly only twice, both related to wild bees. The first instance is how Samson culled bees' honey from inside the corpse of the lion in the Soreq Valley (Judges 14: 8-9). The second case is the story of Jonathan, King Saul's son, who dipped his hand into a honeycomb during the battle of Mikhmash (Samuel I 14:27).
While the Bible tells us nothing about beekeeping in Israel at that time, the discovery of the apiary at Tel Rehov indicates that beekeeping and the extraction of bees' honey and honeycomb was a highly developed industry as early as the First Temple period. Thus, it is possible that the term 'honey' in the Bible indeed pertains to bees' honey.

Cultic objects were also found in the apiary, including a four-horned altar adorned with figures of naked fertility goddesses, as well as an elaborately painted chalice. This could be evidence of deviant cultic practices by the ancient Israelites related to the production of honey and beeswax.

Study of the beehives found at Tel Rehov is being conducted with the participation of various researchers. Dr. Guy Bloch of the Silberman Institute of Life Sciences of the Hebrew University is studying the biological aspects of the finds; he already discovered parts of bees' bodies in the remains of honeycomb extracted from inside the hives. Dr. Dvori Namdar of the Weizmann Institute of Science succeeded in identifying beeswax molecules from the walls of the beehives, and Prof. Mina Evron from Haifa University is analyzing the pollen remains in the hives.

Dating of the beehives was done by measuring the decaying of the 14C isotope in organic materials, using grains of wheat found next to the beehives. This grain was dated at the laboratory of Groningen University in Holland to the period between the mid-10th century B.C.E. until the early 9th century B.C.E. This is the time period attributed to the reign of King Solomon and the first kings of the northern Kingdom of Israel following the division of the monarchy. The city of Rehov is indeed mentioned in an Egyptian inscription dating to the time of the Pharaoh Shoshenq I (Biblical Shishak), whom the Bible notes as the contemporary of King Solomon and who invaded Israel following that monarch's death.

A particularly fascinating find at the site is an inscription on a ceramic storage jar found near the beehives that reads 'To nmsh'. This name was also found inscribed on another storage jar from a slightly later occupation level at Tel Rehov, dated to the time of the Omride Dynasty in the 9th century BCE. Moreover, this same name was found on a contemporary jar from nearby Tel Amal, situated in the Gan HaShelosha National Park (Sachne).

The name 'Nimshi' is known in the Bible as the name of the father and in several verses the grandfather of Israelite King Jehu, the founder of the dynasty that usurped power from the Omrides (II Kings: 9-12). It is possible that the discovery of three inscriptions bearing this name in the same region and dating to the same period indicates that Jehu's family originated from the Beth Shean Valley and possibly even from the large city located at Tel Rehov. The large apiary discovered at the site might have belonged to this illustrious local clan.

References:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Picture credits:
Hebrew University photos by Amihai Mazar

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Haveil Havalim #132: The Plain Wrap edition

Haveil Havalim #132: The Plain Wrap Edition

Rafi from Life in Israel is behind the wrap up of Haveil Havalim #132 and although it might be plain wrapped on the outside you can be assured it is chock full of Kosher goodies on the inside.

Welcome to the
132 Plain Wrap edition of Haveil Havalim.

It's a great edition of Haveil Havalim, and I promise thats got nothing to do with Rafi G being an expert with really sharp knives! (err promise, is that alright Rafi??)

If you haven't already checked it out, here it is!

Haveil Havalim #132: The Plain Wrap Edition

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Looking out! There's 21 Flying Frogs

If you haven't checked out the Kosher Cooking Carnival
at Juggling Frogs then you should go take a leap!

Leap to KCC 21

It looks like a Kosher goumet's dream come true.

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Museum’s tablet lends new weight to Biblical truth

Similar Babylonian Cuneiform tablet from same year 595BCE

Cuneiform tablet dating from 595 BCE proves accuracy of Torah

The British Museum yesterday hailed a discovery within a modest clay tablet in its collection as a breakthrough for biblical archaeology – dramatic proof of the accuracy of the old testament. [sic]

The cuneiform inscription in a tablet dating from 595BC has been deciphered for the first time – revealing a reference to an official at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that proves the historical existence of a figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.

This is rare evidence in a nonbiblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.

The tablet names a Babylonian officer called Nebo-Sarsekim, who according to Jeremiah xxxix was present in 587BC when Nebuchadnezzar “marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it”.

The cuneiform inscription records how Nebo-Sarsekim lavished a gift of gold on the Temple of Esangila in the fabled city of Babylon, where, at least in folk tradition, Nebuchadnezzar is credited with building the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. British Museum staff are excited by the discovery. Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the Department of the Middle East, said: “A mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness to one of the turning points in Old Testament history. This is a tablet that deserves to be famous.”

The discovery was made by Michael Jursa, associate professor at the University of Vienna, on a routine research trip to the museum. “It’s very exciting and very surprising,” he said. “Finding something like this tablet, where we see a person mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in Babylon and quoting the exact date, is quite extraordinary.”

Since 1991, Dr Jursa has been visiting the museum to study a collection of more than 100,000 inscribed tablets – the world’s largest holdings. Although they are examined by international scholars daily, reading and piecing together fragments is painstaking work and more than half are yet to be published.

Cuneiform is the oldest known form of writing. During its 3,000-year history it was used to write about 15 languages including Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite and Urartian. A wedged instrument – usually a cut reed – was used to press the signs into clay. This gave the writing system its name, “cuneiform”, or wedge-shaped.

There are only a small number of scholars worldwide who can read cuneiform script. One of them is Dr Jursa, who told The Times yesterday that the British Museum tablet was so well preserved that it took him just a couple of minutes to decipher.

This one – which is 2.13 inches (5.5cm) wide – was acquired by the British Museum in 1920. Dr Jursa said: “But no one realised the connection. They didn’t really read it.”

It was unearthed from the ancient city of Sippar, where there was a huge sun temple, just over a mile from modern-day Baghdad. It was part of a large temple archive excavated for the British Museum in the 1870s.

Dr Jursa, who made the discovery while conducting research into officials at the Babylonian court, said that the tablet recorded Nebo-Sarsekim’s gift of gold to the temple – a gift so large that it would be comparable in value today to the cost of a large townhouse.

On hearing of the discovery yesterday, Geza Vermes, the eminent emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, said that such a discovery revealed that “the Biblical story is not altogether invented”. He added: “This will be interesting for religious people as much as historians.”

References:
Times online: Museum’s tablet lends new weight to Biblical truth

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IDF rabbis ban Israeli radio on Shabbat

Israeli Radio Banned on Shabbat

Listening to Israeli radio stations will be forbidden for religious combat soldiers serving on Navy ships during Shabbat and religious holidays.

According to an instruction publicized Friday in an IDF Rabbinate pamphlet, since a Jew must not benefit from another Jew's Shabbat desecration, religious soldiers who wish to remain alert during Shabbat will be able to turn the radio on before Shabbat commences but only if they tune in to non-Jewish stations.

The new pamphlet is set to be distributed to new naval officers and soldiers participating in naval courses.

The new rules will not apply to secular soldiers who will be able to listen to any station they choose, an IDF source said.

[END]

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