Travel writer provides a uniquely Jewish Jerusalem itinerary
(c) Jacob Kamaras
THE JEWISH STATE
June 11, 2010
Jewish tourists know that the
Kotel is the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, but for most, their understanding of the site stops there, Jay Levinson says.
That's why
Levinson, a Newark native who holds a Ph.D. in Near-Eastern studies and has written about his experiences in more than 50 countries in a column called
"Annals of a Traveler" (which occasionally appear in The Jewish State) gives tourists historical background on the Kotel as well as practical advice
like the best times to go there for serious prayer (avoid days when bar mitzvahs lead to overcrowding) in his latest book, "Jewish Journeys in
Jerusalem: A Tourist's Guide."
You won't find any churches or mosques among the sites in Levinson's book. Rather, he focuses on Jewish aspects of
Jerusalem to give readers a better Jewish understanding of the city and a genuine Jewish experience when they travel there.
"They need a guide that
tells them the Jewish background of a lot of these places," Levinson said in an interview with The Jewish State.
Levinson does include secular
sites of general interest in his book. Prices and hours are provided, but not the hours for museums that are open on Shabbat. He said he doesn't give
sites ratings on a scale from one to five stars, as is the case in some other tour books, because "There are certain places in Yerushalayim that don't
need stars. The Kotel doesn't need a star." As far as what is worth seeing in Jerusalem, Levinson said "I don't want to be the one who makes that
judgment" and would rather give readers as much information as possible to arrive at their own conclusions.
However, Levinson does give his honest
opinion when a site doesn't provide much in terms of a Jewish experience, or if the site isn't worth more than the amount of time it takes to snap two
or three pictures.
Levinson gives practical tips like what kind of shoes to wear when walking through Zedekiah's Cave, which experiences are
enhanced by a tour guide, and halakhic reminders such as the prohibition of Kohanim visiting gravesites. Since virtually all rabbis forbid entry into
the Temple Mount, Levinson writes about vantage points that offer impressive views of the location.
Many tourists might already be familiar with
King David's Tomb, but Levinson also points out lesser-known places like the grave of Nicanor, who traveled from Alexandria to bring gates for the
Second Temple. That grave was discovered during the construction of Hebrew University.
"The average tourist doesn't know about a grave like this,"
Levinson said.
While the typical Jewish tourist will visit the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Geula and for Judaica shopping on main street --
Rechov Straus -- Levinson outlines the history of the street to give tourists a better understanding of the place. He explains that Rechov Straus was
named in memory of New York City Parks Commissioner Nathan Straus, who increased his philanthropic work as a gesture of gratitude after he was slated
to board the Titanic but didn't make it on time, thus avoiding the ship's sinking. His brother, Isidor, did board the Titanic and died with his wife
Ida.
Learning those types of stories allows tourists to "at least know what is there and why," Levinson said.
Levinson also includes a number of
libraries and centers of Jewish learning such as Yad Ben Zvi, where scholars can find unique items such as the copy of the first printing of the Zohar
kabbalistic text from 1550 and take courses or tours on topics ranging from Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple to more modern
issues like settlements.
"Particularly for repeat visitors to Israel who have seen basic sites, these tours (or privately arranged tours) are a
practical method to broaden understanding," Levinson writes.
Besides for the sites to see, Levinson provides useful information on transportation,
kashrut, laws pertaining specifically to the land of Israel, and where to find a "minyan factory" -- a shul with continuous morning, evening, and
afternoon services one after the other throughout the daytime and evening hours.
Levinson said he has personally visited every site he wrote about
in "Jewish Journeys in Jerusalem"; he has lived in the city for more than 25 years.
"I've done the footwork, and I enjoy it," he said.
"Jewish
Journeys in Jerusalem" is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and select Judaica stores.
Tour book of Jerusalem -- more than sum of its
parts
(c) Aaron Leibel Washington Jewish Week
His book, says Jay Levinson in an e-mail from Jerusalem, was written to fill a void -- the lack
of a "tour book of Jerusalem specifically for religious Jews."
Jewish Journeys in Jerusalem certainly would seem to meet the needs of the
religious Jewish tourist. You want to know about food grown in Israel during the shmitta, sabbatical year, the answer is here. How about finding out
about buying a shatnes-free (fabric that doesn't mix linen and wool) coat or where there is a Shabbat eruv? No problem. Are you curious about the
difference between the strict mehadrin and regular kashrut in Jerusalem or want the lowdown on kosher wines?
The author, a former Silver Spring
resident and member of the Summit Hill Congregation, which became Woodside Synagogue-Ahavas Torah, has the answer.
But -- like the magnificent
city itself -- there's so much more. For example, readers encounter Batei Galicia, a small Jewish enclave in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, which
traces its establishment to the mid-19th century. It was then that 16 Jewish families from Galicia -- "tailors and blacksmiths, teachers and students"
-- built a synagogue, Tziyon HaM'tzuyenet (Wonderful Zion) Synagogue, surrounded by 20 one-room apartments.
In 1936, during riots by Arabs, Batei
Galicia was abandoned for security reasons. The synagogue was rebuilt in 1982. Six years later, a yeshiva was started on the site and families moved
back into the reconstructed apartments. "Hebrew letters that designated apartments predating the destruction in 1936 can still be seen over some
doorways," Levinson, 60, writes.
Or, take the Begin Heritage Center in the city. The author relates a story by Harry Hurwitz, who founded and ran
the center until his death in 2008. Every Saturday night, following Shabbat, a group of people would come to Prime Minister Menachem Begin's residence
to discuss the weekly Torah portion.
One Saturday evening, an aide interrupted the session to tell Begin that President Jimmy Carter was on the
phone.
The prime minister said: "Please tell him to call back in two hours. I am now busy studying the Bible."
After a brief discussion of
Begin's life, the author notes that he will be most remembered for signing the peace treaty with Egypt.
"There were hard decisions and strong
opposition in the negotiating process, but Begin rose above entrenched philosophic ideas and looked to the future," Levinson writes. "The champion of
Greater Israel approved the evacuation of Jewish settlements from the Sinai in favor of the promise of peace."
Then, there is Rehov Straus, the
main street leading from Rehov Jaffa, in the heart of downtown Jerusalem, to Kikar Shabbat -- Sabbath Square -- in the Orthodox Geula neighborhood.
The street is named after an American philanthropist, Levinson writes. Brothers Isador and Nathan Straus, owners of Macy's department store, were
touring Europe in 1912 and decided to make a side trip to Palestine.
Nathan was so disturbed by the poverty he saw that he decided to remain
behind while his brother, Isador, returned to Britain to sail back to America. Isador and his wife were lost at sea when their ship, the Titanic,
sunk. As a result, Nathan increased his philanthropic efforts.
When Israel became independent, that Jerusalem street -- and the town of Netanya --
were named after Nathan Straus.
The book is divided into two sections. Section I, "Background Information," provides information on a variety of
miscellaneous matters, including the city's history, borders and topography; kashrut; and how to get around in the city.
The second section,
"Touring Jerusalem," gives background, descriptions and other information about various spots of interest, including the Old City (Western Wall,
Jewish Quarter), Mount Scopus, the Mount of Olives and the New City (Machane Yehuda, Mea Shearim, Zion Square). And the whole book is illustrated by
photos from different periods.
But like Jerusalem itself, the book is much more than a sum of its parts.
(c) Image Magazine in
Brooklyn
There is a seemingly endless selection of tour books about Jerusalem, taking the reader through a maze of sites, but Jay Levinson’s
Jewish Journeys in Jerusalem is different. This book is designed as a guide specifically for the
tourist in search of a Jewish experience.
Some of
the sites described in the book are well known, but Levinson provides new information about them. The Western Wall (HaKotel), for example, needs no
introduction, but the book explains the history and construction of the Kotel Tunnel, as well as HaKotel HaKatan in the Moslem Quarter. Addresses are
also given for points from which one can see the Temple Mount without halachic problems.
Today there is a large open plaza opposite the Kotel. This
was once the Moghrabi neighborhood, built during the Ayyubid period. The area takes its name from the Arabic word meaning “western.” The name does
not come from the plaza being located west of the Temple Mount. Rather, the name derives from the homeland of the original Moslem occupants, Morocco,
which is located in the western part
of the Islamic world.
After the Israeli capture of the Old City, General Moshe Dayan ordered the impoverished
houses of the Moghrabi neighborhood to be destroyed quickly under the cover of the night, before there could be international objection. One building
was left standing at the end of the area farthest from the Western Wall in the northwest corner of the leveled neighborhood—the “police
station.” The structure had been a private Arab residence. As the book explains, soon the “police station” became an office of the Ministry
of
Religious Affairs, and then the Israel police took over most of the edifice and gave it its informal name. In 2007 it was demolished to build a new
police station and visitors’ center.
As soon as construction crews started to dig at the site, historic artifacts were found under 10 to 12 feet
of landfill. Unearthed was part of a street similar to the Cardo, beneath which there are the bases of pillars and the floors of several stores. This
was evidently a street from the later period of the Second Temple. If one were to continue further south on the street, one would presumably reach the
small Roman-era pedestrian gate not far away in the Old City wall.
The book provides many details to well-known sites not familiar to many people.
For example, the Biblical Zoo started in today’s Downtown Jerusalem on Rechov HaRav Kook. There is a history of the zoo and its animals.
Lesser
known places of interest, such as the remnants of Herod’s “Third Wall,” the Cable Car Museum, and the Grave of Nicanor are also
included.
Overall, Jewish Journeys in Jerusalem is an excellent travel guide and the perfect book for any Jew visiting the city who wants to visit
sites instilled with Jewish history.
