Starting with the superficial part of
the tiyul; it was a beautiful trip. Regardless of the educational focus, which
by itself was enjoyable, I had such a great time exploring the Tel. The views
(nofim) were breath taking and the ruins were more than impressive. I would also like to thank Evan for his
amazing guidance and teaching leading up to and during this tiyul. Yasher
Koach.
The Canaanite people at Gezer were an
amazing civilization. As said by one of our own, “The Canaanites really had
this civilization thing down”. Referring to the 4 D’s, they had everything
necessary.
Their casemate wall system, with a large fillable gap in between two
25 ft thick walls (as portrayed by a few of us), provided defense.
Their water system allowed for them to
keep a large supply of water while simultaneously keeping it protected from
invaders, thus covering drink.
Being located smack “dab” in the
middle of the fertile crescent, the Canaanites had access to Gezer’s large
variety of animals and their fertile lands for farming. Diet was well supplied
by this. Being smack “dab” in the middle also put Gezer in the crossroads of
civilizations and on the Derech Hayam (Road of the Sea/Trade Route). Most of
the trade occurred by the gate (sar) where people frequently came in and out of
the city. These covered their deals/dollars requirement. The fact that a civilization as ancient as this one had the
ability to build structures as advanced as these is very impressive.
Biblically, there is a question of
why Abraham did not just stop at Gezer rather than continuing on his journey. Abraham
did not settle in Gezer due to evidence suggesting that people practicing
polytheism were living there when he arrived. This is supported by a number of
monoliths assumed to be part of a temple. It is also inferred that sacrifices,
possibly human, could have occurred there. This immediately deterred Abraham
from settling.
Several archaeological findings were
dug up at Gezer that revealed a variety of different things about the
people who settled there. One of these was the Gezer Calendar. This important ostracon (shard
with writing on it) showed that agriculture was a major aspect of the early Jewish Civilization. It also proved that many Jews were literate and that they
valued teaching their children. This ostracon is from a later period than the Canaanites and helps us to see how Gezer was settled throughout history.
Another finding was a set of 11 ostracons written in two
languages. Greek faced away from the city while Hebrew faced inside. It said,
“Closed area of Gezer during Shabbat”. This displayed a devoted religious
observation the early Hebrew settlers held for the Sabbath (they lived there hundreds of years after the Canaanites). Another much larger finding
was the Canaanite Gate, which showed off excellence in architecture and
suggested an active trade life. In fact the gate was considered to be the heart
of the city as people would be constantly meeting traders and clients.
Lastly, the Solomon Gate was found. Although this is
anachronistic and not part of the Canaanite city, it reflects the meaning of a
Tel. It demonstrated that a civilization was built not only on top of another,
but around another thus expanding the settlement.
Question: We study the Torah and Judaism through reading and discussing the stories found in the TaNaKh. But until now, they have been only that, stories. After visiting Tel Gezer and exploring its historicity, these stories may now seem more relevant. Does this at all change your beliefs about how accurate and realistic the TaNaKh is?
I agree 100% with your blog. Glad you took away so much from the Tiyul! I think this first tiyul was validation that maybe the things written in the Tanakh must be true, though as you say, they have only been stories up until now. I think it's a great way to look at history because it's more than just numbers, dates and people; it makes up who we are. Very interesting question. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog and how in depth it went into all of the aspects we experienced and learned about. Seeing that historicity is a huge part of our class, I think this is an exceptional question. And, I think that this trip really brought together a lot questions some people may have had. We saw places where things are said to have occurred, read the tanakh to see how it validates the places and things, and even information of other cultures. I think it definitely opened our eyes to how the tanakh really tells the history of our people quite accurately.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was not only detailed, but informative and clear as well. At first I was skeptical of the vast majority of stories in the Tanakh, but after seeing this post, I believe there could be a grain of truth in some of the stories. However, that being said, I still have doubts about the Tanakh and its stories. This trip to Tel Gezer was enlightening and enjoyable and I look forward to continuing this semester in Israel with all of you.
ReplyDeleteI certainly see the Tanakh in a whole new light. Before this Jewish History class, and this Tiyul especially, I did not have any experience studying the Tanakh and exploring all that it has to offer. Due to this, I had the preconceived notion that the Tanakh was entirely religious based, theological literature. However, now that I have seen a parallel between the details of the Tanakh and a real, tangible, place, I understand that the Tanakh has a strong foundation in historical fact as well as being a religiously based book.
ReplyDeleteI think this blog post had a lot of great information about our tiyul, it is definitely something we will be able to look back at if we want a refresher about what we learned. The trip definitely connected what we learn in class and the Tanakh to this whole wonderful country that we are able to use as our classroom. It definitely proved that some of the things we mentioned earlier did in fact exist, and did happen so it curbed some doubts of mine. Although I do still have a few questions about the validity of some stories in the Tanakh, I'm sure throughout this semester they will be answered!
ReplyDeleteWhile my religious beliefs are certainly up in the air at the moment regarding the Tanakh and all of the stories that are told in Jewish religion, being part of this class has opened my eyes to just how much we read is actually fact. It is one thing to read about Tel Gezer and to talk about what happened there, it is another thing to ACTUALLY GO THERE. Seeing the ruins and knowing that what I am reading is not just nonsense made up by old men thousands of years ago is very reassuring to me regarding my Judaism. While I may not fully believe all of things that are talked about in the tank, I will never doubt that these things don't have at least some actual historical context.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful post! The question of the relationsip between historicity, archaeology, the Tanakh and politics is complex. I had a professor of ancient near eastern studies in college who opened his first lecture by asking, "If the Exodus story is true, the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert, why have we not found mountains and mountains of quail bones as there should be given the story of the Israelites demanding meat in the dessert. If there were 600,000+ men alone, plus women and children, imagine how tall the mountains of quail bones should be?"
ReplyDeleteEspecially once we leave the formative stories of the Five Books of Moses, however, we find enormous amounts of archaelogical evidence that serves as proof for the narratives of the Tanakh, places such as Tel Gezer.
So, how do we know when archaelogical finds serve as factual evidence for narratives in the Tanakh and when don't they? That is a question for which I do not have an answer.
Thanks for the beautiful writing and the thought-provoking question.
Beautiful post Alex! Personally this does change some of my thinking, only because some of the stories are continued into the medrash.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! I think that seeing Tel Gezer might have changed my views on some historicity in the Tanakh, but overall, my views have stayed the same. It did open my eyes to see a little more historicity in the Tanakh because I haven't looked into that very much, but I still question other stories
ReplyDeleteThis is a very fascinating blog post! I have never studied Jewish history by going on trips like this and I think that it does make these stories seem more accurate. Although I don't believe that every detail of every story is true, going to Tel Gezer gave me a better understanding of how these stories came to be.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Alex! You raise a very interesting question and one that I'm not sure I can answer. Much of what we learned about at Tel Gezer is based on historical fact and allows to better understand the happenings of both the ancient Canaanite and Jewish civilizations. Many of the findings at Tel Gezer help to point to the existence of our early ancestors and their practices... However, when it comes to the stories we read through the Torah (the five books of Moses), for me it's a matter of belief. As Rabbi Loren mentioned above, there is an incredible amount of archaeological evidence that supports much of the rest of the TaNaKh... Even as the teacher, questions like these are still hard for me to answer. Great work on the first blog and I look forward to a semester of challenging and thought provoking questions (as well as fun tiyulim). Toda raba!
ReplyDeleteI really think that going to Tel Gezer did help change my point of view but I still question some of the midrash
ReplyDeleteAlex, your post was so great and detailed and really brought up every aspect we learned on the Tiyul! Great Job! After going to Tel Gezer I definitely believe that the stories in the Tanakh are real, maybe not all of them but most of them are. We read about theTel Gezer many places in the Tanakh and it was so cool to actually go to the place we read about. I cannot wait to learn about other places and be able to see them in person.
ReplyDeleteI think our trip to Tel Gezer was amazing. It helped show me how advanced these ancient civilizations were. It was very impressive to me there ability to build things without the knowledge of modern engineering. It also helps me validate the Tanakh. Although, I always enjoyed the stories, I thought they were just that, stories. I now feels there is significant truth behind the wonderful stories of the Tanakah. Thank you for the well written blog!!
ReplyDeleteAfter our tiyul to Tel Gezer, my paradigm of the Tanakh has completely changed. After being exposed to actual evidence of the events and existence of the people described made me realize our history has historical relevance outside of the Jewish faith.
ReplyDeleteThe post was beautifully written, great job Alex. I feel that many, as for myself, have questioned the information, statements, and stories in the Tanakh. I think that this tiyul did a good job at holding down the fact that the Tanakh is NOT purely fiction. I have always believed that there is some degree of relevance in the Tanakh and I hope that belief strengthens as we go on more tiyulim.
ReplyDelete