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).

Our Daily Bread and Ancient Wheat

“You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, 

and it shall be well with you.” 

Psalm 128:2 ESV

From the Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 58a, we learn that in ancient times, getting ones ‘daily bread’ involved a great deal of hard work,

“Look at all the work Adam had to do before he had bread to eat! He ploughed, he sowed, he reaped, he bound [the sheaves], he threshed and winnowed and selected the ears, he ground [them], and sifted [the flour], he kneaded and baked, and then at last he ate; whereas I get up, and find all these things done for me....”

Deuteronomy 8:8 lists wheat as the first crop of the seven species of Israel,  

“Land of wheat and barley and vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey.”

This essential Israelite staple for bread and porridge was harvested after the barley. Due to the cereal’s high maintenance it often was food of the privileged, while the poorer people mainly ate barley. Measuring the grain harvest was crucial in preparing dry food for the coming year. 

Bread was a symbol for sustenance and life.

During the 50 days between Pesach and Shavuot both the barley and wheat harvest was counted. 

At the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) two wheat loaves were presented to the Lord as ‘first fruits’ of the grain harvest.

In 1906, Israeli botanist Aaron Aaronsohn discovered the ‘ancestor’ of wild wheat in Rosh Pina, near Safed. Other botanists found the wheat growing in other parts of the country as well - even in the Jerusalem mountains!

Aaronsohn believed this discovery could help improve cultivated wheat and today, his vision is being fulfilled.

The wheat from which our daily bread is made is already 10.000 years old, but worldwide, the modern variety fights a constant battle with all kinds of fungi that often destroys a large part of each harvest.

In 2009, a team of Haifa University scientists found the wild emmer wheat to be rich in diseases resistance genes and one that increased the protein and mineral content. By studying the species of the past, the scientists use biotechnology to improve our future ‘daily bread’.

 

In Israel, the self-pollinating wild wheat usually blooms between

March-April, reaching a height of 70-100 cm. Between May-June it grows and ripens, with a minimal amount of rain, on rocky, chalky and basaltic soil. The ancient Gezer calendar also mentions the month of “reaping the wheat”.

Each of the wild plant’s spikelets are separately shed, enabling them to spread its seeds and grow a new generation. Domestic spikes on the other hand, don’t shatter, enabling the farmer to collect the yield.

At present, Israeli farmers mainly grow genetically engineered crops, but a change may be coming. European countries demand for ‘heirloom strains’ of grains that are grown organically and resilient to survive the weather extremes. European farmers are not interested in growing these antique strains themselves but have them grown in their indigenous environment and import them from countries like Israel and Jordan.

This means that there is more work to be done for the Israel Plant Gene Bank, which is responsible for the collection, preservation and assessment of plant species indigenous to Israel.

The golden fields we can see from the Negev to the Galilee, remind us to pray for the truth of Elijah’s words, “For the Lord, the God of Israel has said that the jar of wheat shall never run out.” 1 Kings 17:14

And... may we never forget to pray for ‘our daily bread’ (Matthew 6:9-11).