Back in their own land

The ancient site of Ramat Rachel (Rachel’s Heights) is located high on a hilltop above the Rephaim Valley, midway between the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 

It is strategically situated, overlooking the roads that in antiquity were the major arteries leading from Jerusalem to the south and the coastal plain in the west.

 

view of the Judean Desert

Overlooking the panorama of modern day Jerusalem’s Old City, the Dead Sea and the Judean Hills, kibbutz RAMAT RACHEL is a place with a rich history. Today, the kibbutz is within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries. The kibbutz was established in 1926 by 10 pioneers of the Gdud haAvoda* labor brigade.  

The Battalion that built Ramat Rachel 

Joseph Trumpeldor

Gdud haAvoda, a socialist Zionist work group in Mandate Palestine, was founded in 1920 by pioneers from the Third Aliyah.The group had three work focuses: work, settlement and defense. In order to avoid antagonizing the British authorities, the "defense" part was dropped. The Brigade, initially consisting of 80 members, was named after Joseph Trumpeldor, who had been killed at Tel Hai by Arabs. The group drained swamps, paved roads, (like the Tzemach-Tiberias road), worked in agriculture and construction. In Jerusalem, they built the garden suburbs of Rehavia, Beit Hakerem and Talpiot and constructed the YMCA building and the King David Hotel. The Battalion established several kibbutzim, including Ein Harod, Kfar Giladi, Ramat Rachel and Tel Yosef. Later, many former members joined the Solel Boneh construction company after learning their trade in the battalion. Despite an ideological split, in 1925 the group had over 650 members. Gdud haAvodah was dissolved after several kibbutzim (Ramat Rachel amongst them) formed the HaKibbutz HaMeuhad movement. 

The stony plot of land, situated on a 803-meter high hill south of Jerusalem, had been purchased from the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

During the 1929 Arab Riots, Ramat Rachel was burned to the ground. The settlers returned a year later and rebuild the kibbutz, which began to flourish. They had a chicken coop, a dairy, bakery and laundry and even established a trucking company.

Ramat Rachel, 1944

When the 1948 War of Independence broke out, 200 members and 150 children made Ramat Rachel their home. 

During the heavy fighting, the kibbutz changed hands several times but eventually was conquered by a Palmach unit. 

The Arab Legion, comprising of Egyptian and Jordanian soldiers, had been based at the nearby Mar Elias Monastery.

After the war, only 42 kibbutzniks returned, among them a few war widows, who believed in the kibbutz’s future. The enclave was now located on the new border with Jordan and surrounded by Arab villages. Everything had been destroyed during the war, and the Israeli government offered no help – they were on their own.  

Ramat Rachel was now located directly on the new border with Jordan, surrounded by Arab villages, and completely cut off from any other Jewish settlement. 

Added to that, the dairy, bakery, laundry and chicken coops had all been destroyed by the enemy.

In 1967, during the Six Day War, Ramat Rachel was the target of intensive artillery shelling from Jordanian positions. On one side of the Kibbutz, the well-entrenched Jordanian Bell Outpost was strongly fortified. A small IDF force surprised the Jordanian Legionnaires. Presuming the post had been secured, they were killed by enemy soldiers who had been hiding out in one of the trenches. There is a monument to the fallen soldiers near the trenches of this outpost. 

Memorial to the fallen IDF soldiers at the Bell Outpost

After the Six Day war, the future of the kibbutz began to look brighter because they were now within the boundaries of the Jerusalem municipality. 

When the youth hostel proved successful, a big hotel and sports center was built. 

On the outskirts of the kibbutz, one still can visit the bunkers and trenches and a memorial to those who fell during the heavy fighting between 1948 and 1967.

Most tourists staying at the hotel, or those attending a convention, don’t realize the many other attractions Ramat Rachel has to offer. There are many.

• The Yair Overlook was named after a Yair Engel, who was killed in a military accident in 1966.
• Eyal’s Farm was created in memory of another kibbutznik, Eyal Yoel, who was killed during the 2002 Defensive Shield Operation. 
• Between 1931 and 2004, six archeological digs took place at Ramat Rachel. The archeological garden has finds dating from the Frist Temple period to the Byzantine era, spanning a period of 1,600 years.

And then there is art. Lots of it.

David Polus

David Polus immigrated to Eretz Israel at the end of the third wave of immigration and joined Yitzhak Sadeh's group of quarry workers in Migdal Zedek, near Petah Tikvah. Eventually, he became a sculptor. Each work depicted some heroic event in the history of the Jewish people from biblical times to the birth of Zionism. 

"Eretz Israel is a temple,

 I don't wish to bring just ordinary statues into it." 

David Polus 

The sculpture of mother Rachel was inaugurated in 1954 at Ramat Rachel. The matriarch Rachel holds a torch in one hand while sheltering two children.

“Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Thus says the Lord: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country.” 

Jeremiah 31:115-17 (ESV)

Israeli artist Ran Morin is known for his art involving full-sized living trees and two of his creations can be found at Ramat Rachel.

Oak Tree at the Yair Overlook 

Ran Morin 

At the Yair Overlook, Ran Morin’s oak tree growing out of a large pile of stones is a ‘small’ piece of art compared to the majestic “Olive Columns” in the center of the Olive Park. The original plans were to place the statue in the Ramot neighborhood, but Morin wanted it to be in an open area. 

Ramat Rachel was a fitting place, as Morin’s grandfather, one of the kibbutz founders, is buried in the nearby kibbutz cemetery. 

Seventeen rows of olive trees lead to the central monument – three olive trees planted atop 15 meters high columns. The 80-year old trees are connected to a computerized built-in system that monitors the irrigation. Three paths lead away from the triangular base of the trees. 

This unique piece of art is full of symbolism:

The hidden roots of the olive trees, symbolizing the past, bring forth the tree standing in the present. This tree will continue to grow into the future. The artificial columns raising up the trees represent Nature which is controlled by man, who restricts its growth by the stone base. Three pillars; three olive trees; three steps from three directions; three times past, present and future.

Three, often used in ancient cultures, are the minimal elements needed to build either a physical or spiritual structure. This number is prevalent in the Jewish culture (three Patriarchs and Matriarchs) but also in Christianity: the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The Olive tree, one of the seven species growing in Eretz Israel, represents beauty, freshness and fertility. This work of art symbolizes the return of the Jewish people to the land, whose roots again will be joined to the earth. 

Exactly like the Lord God promised:

“There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, 

and your children shall come back to their own country.”

A memorial and a name

“Que vivra verra” - "Time will tell." 

French proverb

"To them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name 

better than sons and daughters; 

I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever" 

Isaiah 56:5

Charlotte Mina and her twin sister Lilly Johanna Samuel were born on March 18, 1909 in Antwerp, Belgium. During the First World war the family moved to Hamburg, Germany. In 1929 they settled in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Lot studied drawing and painting and Lilly studied photography in Berlin.

Then WWII broke out and also the Netherlands were occupied by the Nazis. In 1941, Lilly lived on Prinsengracht 824 ^III in the center of Amsterdam until in 1942 the razzias and deportations forced the sisters to go into hiding.

Lilly had been the photographer of pastor Bastiaan (Bas) and Johanna (Jo) Ader’s wedding. 

The couple  had moved to a small village in the eastern part of Groningen province, not far from the German border.

“One person of integrity can make a difference.” 

Elie Wiesel

“Take the last train from Amsterdam and come as quickly as possible,” Mrs. Ader answered Lilly who had asked them if she could hide with them. Under cover of darkness she arrived in the summer of 1942. 

Calling herself ‘Lily Salomon’ she was also nicknamed ‘little mouse’.

Lilly’s friend Elly van Gelder, Johanna Ruth Dobshiner and another Jewish person also found a hiding place in the parsonage. The following winter two students joined them.  Refusing to work for the Nazis, Dik 1 and Dik 3, cousins from Pastor Ader, had no other option than to go into hiding.

Being a professional photographer, Lilly had taken her camera and a few precious rolls of film with her to Groningen. However, the pictures taken while they were in hiding could of course not be developed during the war. Together with Jo Ader’s diary, the rolls of film were hidden in a milk can and buried near a friend’s farm and beehives placed on top to conceal the hiding place. 

Lilly: second right

After the war, Jo’s diary was published, first in Dutch and later translated into different languages; Lily’s 81 pictures now give us a unique glimpse of daily life in hiding.

Throughout de day, the pastor and his wife could always expect visitors, so the people in hiding had to keep quiet and stay put in a few square meters. You never knew whom to trust, for the danger of betrayal always lurked around the corner.

In 1944, a villager (who never confessed nor denied his deed) betrayed pastor Ader. Forced to find a hiding place for himself, he was captured a month later and thrown into prison. Those hiding in the parsonage also had to find a new hiding place. Lilly and her friend declined the resistance’s offer to help them to travel to the recently liberated southern part of the Netherlands. Instead, they returned to Amsterdam, were caught and sent to the Westerbork transit camp. Lilly’s name is on the Auschwitz transport list of September 30, 1944.

On November 20, 1944, the Nazis executed pastor Ader and five resistance fighters in a forest in central Netherlands. Bas Ader and his team of resistance workers had saved between 200 and 300 Jewish people; he also sheltered English pilots and resistance workers.

“If life is not a celebration, why remember it? 
If life - mine or that of my fellow man - is not an offering to the other, 
what are we doing on this earth?”  
Elie Wiesel

Charlotte (Lot) survived the war by hiding in eight different places, only to learn that her twin sister had been murdered by the Nazis. When she made Aliyah, among her possessions was a cardboard box with some of Lily’s photos, which nobody was allowed to see during her life time. 

Lot Samuel, who in Israel worked as a physiotherapist, became a good friend of Hannah Yachin. When they named their newborn daughter Ora, Lot asked them to add her name as well. From then on, it was “Oralot”.

While growing up, Oralot loved the book by Erich Kästner (1899 - 1974) “The Double Lotte” – the English title is “Lisa and Lottie”. This book inspired the movie “The Parent Trap”. Surprisingly, the Hebrew book is titled, “The Double Ora”. 

After ‘Grande Lot’ (as she was called by the Yachin family)  passed away at the age of 97, the cardboard box went to her friend Hannah, who stored it on the highest shelf in their book case.

Later, when 'Petite Lot' went through an emotionally very difficult time, Hannah gave her the cardboard box.

Sifting through the pictures, Oralot also found Lilly’s last letter. It was written while she was imprisoned in the Westerbork transist camp, exactly 70 years earlier, on May 3, 1944!

“We don’t know what will happen to us,” she wrote to her sister. “Who will live, will see.”

Those words became Oralot’s lifeline and the starting point of a special exhibition.

“I felt that it was me who lives and must see, me who has to collect and rebuild myself though the will of the hidden twin sister inside me,” Oralot wrote in the exhibition’s  introduction leaflet.

After having immersed herself for four years in the lives of Lot and Lilly Samuel, she decided to share their art - Lilly’s pictures and Lot’s etchings - and their lives with the public.

Lilly's picture and the book about the Groningen parsonage where she was in hiding

And by doing so, not only did Oralot find her way to live and hope again, but through this exhibition bore witness, for the dead and the living.

“Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, 

must tell the story. That is his duty.”

Elie Wiesel

Oralot with Lot and Lilly Samuel

REFERENCE: 

Books:

“Selected to Live “ by Ruth Dobshiner

https://www.amazon.com/Selected-Live-Johanna-Ruth-Dobshiner/dp/0340910100

“A Groningen Parsonage in the Storm”- Johanna Ader

„Lisa and Lottie“ by  Erich Kastner

https://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Lottie-Erich-Kastner/dp/1939601339

Links:

Yad Vashem: Ader family:

http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=4042995

http://www.dvhn.nl/groningen/Inkijkjes-in-donker-onderduikverleden-20830898.html

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/179393/lilly-johanna-samuel

http://www.hetkruisopdeberg.nl/

Sataf – a corner of hidden beauty where time seems to have stood still

In the heart of the Jerusalem Hills, on the eastern slopes of Mt. Eitan, lies a green area of 1,000-dunam (250 acre). Two springs flow from the mountain, irrigating agricultural terraces – a reminder of the ancient Hebrew culture, dating back thousands of years, which was almost lost to the world.

Archeological research indicates that Sataf was first settled about 6.000 years ago, and its inhabitants began building terraces about 4,500 years ago.

The site flourished in the Second Temple and Byzantine period. During the Crusader and Ottoman periods, its situation deteriorated and improved intermittently.

During the Israelite period, (Iron Age I (IA I) 1200–1000 BCE) the easily workable lands in the valleys were occupied by the veteran local populations, which only left them the rocky ground and forests in the Judean Hills and southern Samaria. Thus, Joshua told the new immigrants:  “Go up to the forest and clear ground for yourselves....” Joshua 17:15

The labor-intensive job of clearing the rocks (the Bible describes as izuk) and removing them to the edges of the natural terraces (sikul). These stones were then used to build supporting walls for a layer of fertile soil imported to the area. This is how the agricultural terraces were constructed. ‘Terrace’ is derived from the Latin word ‘terra’ = land.

Leftover stones from izuk and sikul were used to build watchtowers to guard the crops. 

Their construction is described in the Parable of the Vineyard:

“...My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it;” 

Isaiah 5:1-2 ESV

A prototype vineyard as described in the parable has been created at Sataf. The restored path from the Bikura spring was a traditional mountain trail, passing between the vineyard that is enclosed by stone walls and gates. 

In this area, 26 of the ancient types of vines that grew in Eretz Israel are now cultivated by use of roof, pole and ground trailing methods.

  

The terraces and ‘watching places’ thus became part of the landscape op the Judean Hills and of Jerusalem.

Most of the terraces were used for dry farming, relying solely on rainfall. In the Judean Hills, the chief produces consisted of grapes, olives, figs and pomegranates. 

dry farming

In the few places that had water, larger terraces were built on several levels in order to make the most of the rare opportunity to raise different crops all year round through irrigation. It was exhausting work, yielding only limited arable land. Crops were maximized by building the terraces as close as possible to natural springs.

Ein Bikura

The Bikura and the Sataf are layer springs. They form where the water-filled permeable limestone meets the impervious yellow marl (clay and flint) rock strata. Weathering and erosion expose the top of the marl layers, at which point the water emerges from underground as a spring. 

These layer springs’ exits were artificially widened; their waters are collected in cisterns and directed through a system of channels to the levels of the crops that need them most. 

Since the springs did not supply a great deal of water, the early inhabitants increased their supply by tunneling into the water-bearing strata. The water was then stored in large pools and ducted via a system of channels to the terrace plots. 

Tunneled springs thus came to be an integral part of the terrace systems in the Judean Hills.

A village near a spring was built above it, so as not to waste any land that could be irrigated. 

Ein Sataf was the main spring in the village. 

The cave was partially quarried out of the rock to increase the output of the spring and a tunnel was built to convey the water to the large pools, which as a capacity of some 180 cubic meters. 

A small room is built in the back wall, where the village women apparently did their washing.

Man-made plastered channels duct the water to the agricultural plots, using different devices to overcome the varying terrace height.

In 1949, Moshav Bikura was founded by new immigrants from North Africa on the ruins of Sataf, and Arab village that was abandoned during the War of Independence. Before long, the new residents too had to leave and over time, the supporting walls collapsed, and dirt and debris covered the two storage pools and the conduits bringing spring water to them. In the 1950’s the site served as training grounds for the UNIT 101 special operations force and the paratroopers Brigade.

In the early 1980’s, KKL, with the help of JNF Switzerland, began renovating the agricultural terraces in the area. It restored the storage pools of the Sataf and Bikura Springs, repaired the terraces and redug the irrigation channels.Volunteer soldiers and pupils help with the restoration work and learn first hand about the ‘sealed well’ , ‘irrigated agriculture’ and ‘dry farming’. As a result, biblical hillside agriculture can once again be seen in action and in future, also industries will be established for olive pressing for oil, grape treading for wine, etc.

Sataf’s Bustanof project, named form the combination of the Hebrew words for “fruit garden’ and ‘scenic view’ is unique in Israel. For a nominal feel, JNF enables Jerusalemites to cultivate small plots for their enjoyment in their spare time. In doing so, they can breathing in ‘mountain air as clear was wine’ and relive the passage: ”Each man under his own vine and fig tree.”

Organically grown vegetables and herbs grow in the furrows and beds of the irrigated plots.

The Eretz Israel tree garden cultivates by traditional methods fruit trees of the original strains known in the country.

The hanging stairs on the terrace wall are an efficient wat to save precious ground.

 In Sataf, the Bible comes alive. 

Looking at the vineyard through the bars of the ‘locked garden’ or entering the Ein Bikura, the visitor begins to visualize Song of Songs 4:12:

“A garden locked is my sister, my bride, 

a spring locked, a fountain sealed.”

Sataf definitely is a place where time seems to have stood still!

Jerusalem of Gold and SIX DAYS OF MIRACLES in 1967

"Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O Lord… 

Rise up, O God, and defend your cause…" 

Psalm 74:18

In 1967, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq signed military alliances with each other. Egypt closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and told UN troops stationed in Gaza to get out. The young nation of Israel then knew it had to prepare and brace itself to fight another war.

June 5, 1967 – Deaf to Israel's entreaties not to engage in war, Jordan attacked Jerusalem from the east. At this time, Irene Levi (then Duce), was head mistress of the Carmel school in Haifa. She took on extra duties of teachers who had been called up by the IDF. Many believers flocked to the school to pray for God's intervention.

That first day was the beginning of many miracles: Israeli pilots destroyed the Egyptian air force on the ground; the Jordanian air force followed suit and two-thirds of the Iraqi Air Force were in shambles.

June 6: Irene kept the school open, and while telling the flannel graph story of David and Goliath, the radio news came on. 

""Israel has turned back the enemy at the Sinai Desert and has almost reached the Suez Canal". 

The children's mouths fell open. "The West Bank is now in Israeli hands", the announcer continued, "including Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem."

June 7: With beaming face, a Bible School teacher hurried to the school to tell the great news: "All of Jerusalem is now united under Israel's rule!"

That morning, Motta Gur and his paratroopers broke through the Lion's Gate and liberated the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.

 "The Temple Mount is OURS!" Israelis would never forget those words coming over the radio. IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren had blown the Shofar. With tears in their eyes, the dust covered soldiers, for the firs time in their lives, touched the ancient walls. 

Many stood with head bowed, reciting Psalm 122,  "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning".

At the Haifa School, Irene (2nd from right) put up the Israeli flag with  "Jerusalem of Gold" -
 Naomi Shemer's song that became famous. 

Israelis found it hard to believe that after 19 years, all of Jerusalem was back in Israeli hands.

Irene knew that the war wasn't over yet, and continued to fast. She knew in her spirit that Adonai Tzva'ot (The Lord of Hosts) was fighting alongside and strengthening the soldiers on the Golan Heights.

June 8 – The Syrian positions on the Golan, which for so many years made life a living hell for the Israelis, because of their constant rocket barrages, had been conquered by Israeli soldiers.

June 9 – After the cease fire with Jordan, from all over the country people rushed to Jerusalem.

June 12 – After taken six days of heavy fighting, the war was over! Slowly, the magnitude of the Israeli victory dawned upon Israel and the rest of the world.

The "Six Day War" as it became known, had been a miracle from beginning to end.

Haya and Menahem Ben Haim had moved to Eilat in 1963, only to discover they were the first American couple to settle there. Despite the primitive living conditions, and the fact that in summer it felt like hell (as described in the Bible), they lived there for 14 years. With war imminent, the people in Eilat were also ordered to cover their windows (blackout) every night. Men prepared to be call up, and medics stocked up their supplies. The atmosphere was so tense you could cut it with a knife.

"Are we to live? Are we to die?" Haya and Menachem wondered.

Because most of the bomb shelters in Eilat were not yet finished, many left the town. All the hotels emptied out of tourists. The international press drove around in their vans, interviewing people at the airport and in the cities, Menahem one of them. Haya and Menahem decided to stay put in Eilat. It had been a wise decision, as those who fled to Jerusalem had to spend three days in a bomb shelter.

"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. 

I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time." 

Isaiah 60:22

Little Israel had become a strong nation, as the Lord had promised.

"I will hasten" – achishana could be two Hebrew words: shana (year) and achi (my brother). The numerical value of these letters is nineteen – the years from Independence (1948) to 1967. It happened swiftly (in His time, in six days). Jerusalem had been united on June 6 and 7. Even the newspapers spoke about the meaning of that amazing date: 6-7-'67 and 'achishana'.

Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day.

Throughout the world, (including the USA), Zionist Jews mark Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem's reunification, with a range of events. These include: recitations of the Hallel prayer for praise and thanksgiving in synagogues; street parades, parties, singing and dancing; special meals; and lectures on the history and future of Jerusalem and Zionism. In Jerusalem, a public reception by the mayor of Jerusalem, state ceremonies and memorial services for those who died in the Six-Day War are also held.

The so-called "Parade of the Flags" usually begins at Sacher Park. Happy participants (mostly religious young people) sing and dance their way to the Old City, where the parade ends at the Kotel (Western Wall).