Hanukka recently passed and my thoughts turned to oil – olive oil to be precise. This is because only olive oil can be used in the Hanukkia, the special eight-branched candlestick, one candle more of which is lit each night of the holiday. This usage derives from Jewish history: consecrated olive oil was originally used in the Hebrews’ portable sanctuary (Mishkan), which they carried with them during the Exodus from Egypt.

 

When the Temple was built in Jerusalem by King Solomon about 1,000 BCE, olive oil continued to be used in the seven-branched Menorah (carried off to Rome by General Titus in 70 CE). The oil was obtained by squeezing the first drop from a great quantity of olives and stored in special containers. It was then consecrated by the Kohanim (priests) to be used exclusively in the Temple.

 

Olives are primarily cultivated in the Mediterranean region, where 95 percent of the world’s olive trees are located. Spain is the largest producer by far, but my wife Michal and I didn’t have to travel far from home to find a boutique olive oil factory. We buy our olives and olive oil at the Shamna establishment down the road from Alfe Menashe, on Moshav Hagor, a rural, cooperative community. There we met Erez Abramov, whose family immigrated to Israel in 1922 from Russia. In 2004, about 40 years after Erez’ family moved to the moshav, Erez started his olive oil producing company. Erez, whose hobby is

We recently attended a very interesting weekend program in Safed (pronounced Tzfat) in northern Israel. Home to more than 30,000 Jews, most of them religious, Safed is one of Judaism's four holy cities. (The others are Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Hebron.) Safed gained that honor from its association with mysticism and the great rabbis who flocked there. It is known as the center of study of the Kabbalah, a very complicated and esoteric Jewish philosophy.

 

Safed first appeared in Jewish sources in the late Middle Ages. It is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as one of five elevated spots where fires were lit to announce the New Moon and festivals during the Second Temple period. It is most famous as the place where the study of Kabbalah emerged. Famous rabbis like Joseph Caro and Issac Luria (H'Ari -- the Lion) lived in Safed in the 16th century. Residents and tourists can visit and pray in tiny synagogues associated with both of these giants, as well as in the many other unique synagogues.

 

Located at nearly 3,000 feet in the Galilee mountains, Safed has the highest elevation of any Israeli city. It’s population is also among the country’s youngest and poorest. Just 25 years after the 1492 expulsion from Spain, the Ottomans conquered Palestine and the Sultan invited the Jews to move there to enrich his empire. Some came to Safed, to capitalize

According to those in the know, Tel Aviv is the home of one of the world’s premier art glass galleries. The 9,000-square-foot gallery in Museum Tower, a prestigious office building adjacent to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, is home to fabulous shows which display incredible pieces to best advantage. Owner Muly Litvak’s gallery, which opened last year, has 20-foot-tall ceilings and state-of-the-art systems to control every aspect of the display of artwork. It includes niches and rooms especially designed to showcase art glass, as well as an outdoor display area where Tel Aviv’s architecture almost becomes part of the show. The 2010-11 winter show features world renowned artist Dale Chihuly, who is recognized internationally for his use of color, fluid glass forms and large-scale installations, some of which were designed specifically for the Litvak Gallery. Building on the centuries-old approach to glass blowing by working in teams, Chihuly has created the most groundbreaking glass sculptures of modern times. I was given an excellent tour of the show by Roxanne Present Cohen, who informed me about the various pieces and put Chihuly’s work into its historical context. Chihuly has been the recipient of many awards, including ten honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is a co-founder of the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, Washington, which is an international center for glass art education. Chihuly has played a major role in br

Michal and I were about to explore a virtually unknown archeological site dating back 2,000 years, one that is generally inaccessible to tourists. Amit, the young archeologist who has worked for more than a decade on the Herod’s Palace site in Jerusalem, led our group on a recent tour in Jerusalem’s Old City. Our group met at Jaffa Gate, which is easily accessible from the Mamilla pedestrian mall, built on what was “no-man’s land” from 1948-1967. We walked behind David’s Citadel, the venue for Jerusalem’s excellent municipal museum.

 

After ascending the Old City’s exterior wall via a steep circular staircase - past more antique wall ruins from previous periods - we were on the Ramparts Walk, at the top of the most recent, Ottoman-built, section of the Old City wall. We entered the entrance of a 19th century building, built for use as a “kishle” (the Turkish word for winter barracks) for soldiers in the time of Ottoman rule, which ended during WWI. “Inside, lamps ensure a good view on the vertiginous dig. In the 150 feet long rectangular building, it looks like an impossible ski slope or a place where it is easy to commit a murder, with some gruesome deep pits. The facades are still standing, and the roof has been left undisturbed. The kishle was later used as a prison, by the Turks, British and the Jordanians. On the east side there are barred windows, and on the wall are the prison