A day in the Galilee

MAY 30—The Sea of Galilee is a pretty lake, not very large by Canadian standards but freighted with tremendous significance here in the holy lands. It’s a welcome geographic oddity in a land where lakes are largely unknown. (The Jordan River both feeds it and drains it. The lake is located more than 600 feet below sea level.)

The whole region is defined by the lake and simply called The Galilee. It’s the area where Jesus grew up and began his public ministry. The names of the places around here are well known to Bible readers. It’s familiar territory.

But we began our explorations in some places less trafficked by Christians, travelling to the mountain town of Safed where the Jewish mystic tradition (Kabbalah) was nurtured and brought to fruition in the 16th century. Poetry written in this town in those days remains prominent in Jewish liturgy today.Our next stop was Sepphoris (Zippori). This was the most important town in the Galilee region in the first century, and it’s just a very few miles from the village of Nazareth where Jesus grew up.

Strangely, Sepphoris is never mentioned in the Bible although it’s likely that Joseph plied his builder’s trade in the regional capital. And one of the women who followed Jesus and supported his ministry was the wife of Herod’s steward. Herod Antipas was based in the town.

It was a very remarkable place, blending a strong Jewish presence with Greco-Roman culture. Today a large national park protects and presents the fruits of many years of archeological excavations. Of particular interest are the phenomenal mosaic floors depicting scenes from Greek and Roman mythology, as well as a Jewish synagogue with its own curious mosaics.

The site is well known for “the Mona Lisa of the Galilee,” a beautiful woman depicted in small mosaic tiles. But the place is most significant for the role it played in the development of Judaism after the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD and the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the earth.

Many fled Jerusalem settled in the Galilee and pondered anew how to worship their God, the God of the Torah. The forms of their religion were ripped away. The temple was gone. The system of sacrifice was gone. The priests were gone. All that was left
was the oral tradition of the Pharisees, who tirelessly sought to interpret the ways of the Torah into the contemporary context.

Sepphoris became at this time an important centre for gathering these interpretative statements and compiling them in written form. Today these collected writings are known as the Talmud, the binding agent of modern Judaism.

Our final visit of the day was to Nazareth Village, a fabulously crafted re-creation of a first century Jewish village. The buildings were produced with minute attention to the state of the art at the time of Jesus. Sheep and shepherd wander the grounds. Olive and almond trees thrive.

There is an ancient wine press on the site, and a re-created olive press. A functioning carpenter’s shop is a key part of a tour that includes timely references to the parables of Jesus, who often drew parallels from his physical surroundings to make a spiritual point.