Kever Rachel, so close to Jerusalem, has always been a popular place for prayers, though it's not for the claustrophobic, or the asthmatic. Today's Kever Rachel is nothing like the Biblical, or even the one I first saw almost forty years ago.
Compare that to Shiloh. OK, the archaeologists will tell you that what is now Tel Shiloh is the remains of the Biblical city heaped on the spot where the Mishkan, Tabernacle rested for 369 years. But the plants are most probably descended from, or somehow related to, the ones which grew when Eli was Kohen Gadol, High Priest, Chana came to pray and Shmuel, Samuel, was sent to be mentored by Eli.
Relax, close your eyes and sense the the Ketoret, the fragrant incense once prepared for prayers. The air feels as pure as it must have been thousands of years ago. Chana, Elkana, Eli, Shmuel and thousands and thousands of Jews were here in Shiloh then.
For the past year and a half, I've been inviting women to join me in Tel Shiloh for Rosh Chodesh Prayers. Tomorrow, Friday, April 24, is Rosh Chodesh Iyyar. We'll be at the Tel at 9:30, G-d willing.
Women's Rosh Chodesh Iyyar Prayers at Tel Shiloh
יום ו' 9:30
יש זמן לפני שבת. נא להזמין אחרות
Friday 9:30am
להתראות,
Even if you enjoy the crowds at Kever Rachel, that shouldn't stop you from coming to Tel Shiloh.
Tel Shiloh is open to tourists all year long. Parties and other events can also be arranged there. For more information email: telshilo@gmail.com or call 02-994-4019.
Chodesh Tov!
2 comments:
Beautiful pictures:)
And thank you for explaining the difference between the tabernacle and temple to me on your A7 blog.
Keli, thanks. It's so beautiful here, so easy to find something gorgeous to photograph.
And it wasn't all tha long ago I didn't know those things either.
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