Birthright: My First Time in Israel – Day 3
June 1 – The Sabbath
I missed breakfast today! My alarm went off at 8:30 but I decided to sleep a little extra… until 11:00! I was really disappointed because I wanted some more of the delicious cheese bourekahs the hotel had to offer. Today is a pretty chill day because it is Shabbat, the day of rest, so we don’t have any planned activities until 6:00. Lunch was at 1:00 and for the next five hours I had some Marina time!
Notice the intricately designed tombstone, depicting the story of Nathan’s tragic death.
At 6:00 Chen took us on a tour of the Kinneret Cemetery.
Some of the people in our group didn’t go inside because they are Kohans. What does this mean? The Jewish people are split up in many different ways – denominations, ethnic groups, you name it! But one overarching separation is the tripartite grouping of Kohans, Levites, and Israelites. Descendants of the patriarchal line of Aaron, Moses’ older brother, are considered Kohans and were the high priests during the time of the Temple. Levites, descendants from Levy, one of Jacob’s sons, were the servants to the high priests. Aaron was part of the Levite Tribe! The term Israelites describes the rest of the Jewish population. So why can’t Kohans enter a cemetery? In order to perform ceremonies in the Holy of Holies (located where the Dome of the Rock is today), they had to be completely pure. This meant that the priests were not allowed around dead bodies. You might wonder why this practice is still followed today, now that the Temple has been destroyed twice. It is a superstitious and hopeful practice, as Kohans hope for a time in their life when they can regain their place as high priests for God. Other students decided not to go into the cemetery because they were lazy, but they definitely missed out on a great learning experience!
Kinneret is the Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee. There are many ideas regarding the derivation of the name. A Canaanite goddess known for being associated with water rituals may be the name’s origin. Further proof of this comes from the fact that an artifact dedicated to said goddess was found in the Tiberias area. The Kinneret might also be named after an ancient violin/harp played by the likes of King David. The shape of this ancient kino is the same shape as the water body! The large lake isn’t the only thing named Kinneret, though. In the same area there is also a town and a kibbutz! Did you know that Tiberias sported the first kibbutz in the area – Deganya?
To the left of Rachel’s grave is a compartment which holds a book of her poetry.
The Kinneret Cemetery is the home to early Zionists. There are multiple stages of Zionism, and the featured one in this cemetery is the second wave and its successors. They helped make Israel what it is today in terms of culture and overall attitude. Most came from Eastern European orthodox families but rejected that life. Some of them, like Nathaniel and Rachel (a famous Israeli poet), threw away their last names. This was symbolic of throwing away the past and taking on a new identity. Boundaries were tested all over the place – some kibbutzim even became strong cults in their attempt to deviate from the Eastern European norm. Nathan “The Farmer” ended up killing himself due to strange ritualistic practices sometimes involving blood and sexual acts. Relationships were more casual and often times people had multiple partners. Berl Katznelson is a prime example of a man with multiple lovers. He is buried alongside his wife and his “mistress,” and this was planned before his death with his wife’s full knowledge! She even encouraged the relationship! All of the older graves are written only in Hebrew to acknowledge the beginning of the foundation of Israel.
He stands closer to his wife on the left, but in Kabbalah and Judaism, the right is more meaningful.
Chen then took us on a personal journey to his grandparents’, father’s, and uncle’s graves. His grandparents escaped from Iran early in the twentieth century. His grandmother was only twelve when she married and began motherhood. She was a very strong woman. Both she and her husband walked the thousands of miles between the two countries with their children – some of them died on the way. His uncle went to a kibbutz and left behind his last name like many of the others I mentioned. This was hard for Chen’s grandmother as her husband died quite early on, and she found this to be an extremely disrespectful act to his memory. He finished the tour of the cemetery at the grave of his father. Many of the tomb stones in Kinneret Cemetery are very unique, and Chen’s father’s is among them. Chen personally designed the grave, picking a natural rock from the family’s Kinneret backyard shaped similarly to the Galilee. He said that his father was a “man of the sea,” as he was born on the lake and was one of Israel’s first Navy Seals. It was quite amazing to go from learning about well-known Israeli figures to personal family members. I realized how integral every single Jewish person is to the foundation and growth of Israel.
I’m really glad we went on this excursion at the end of today, because I was getting really restless just waiting around for Shabbat to end!
