Herodian Family Tomb

Unique Sukkot Tours and Activities in Israel

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Looking for things to do on Sukkot in Israel? Unique Israel Tours brings you a sampling of some great options to make your vacation unforgettable on this Festival of Booths.

Four Species Tour

 

Discover Israel’s Biblical nature reserve. Sift through the Bible and rabbinic writings to discover and understand which fruits and plants are required to celebrate the Succot holiday. Explore the many different ways you can build a kosher (and non-kosher) Succah by visiting an outdoor exhibition of full-scale models. Travel to Jerusalem and experience a modern Four Species market where Jews from all walks of life scour the selection for the perfect set – and choose a set of your own.

Enjoy a day of study, discovery and exploration that will help you experience the festival as never before.

 

Tekhelet Tour

 

Come learn how a two-thousand year old mystery has been solved, enabling Jews to return to a forgotten mitzvah! Study history, archaeology and Jewish sources all while scuba diving on one of Israel’s most beautiful beaches. Travel to nearby Zichron Yaakov, one of Israel’s first moshavim (cooperative farms). Experience one family’s emotional journey of hardship and triumph in the Land of Israel in a unique historical museum. No Unique Israel Tour is complete without some succulent local cuisine. Enjoy the daily catch at Atlit’s famous Ben Ezra fish restaurant.

 

Throughout  the year, Unique Israel Tours offers Jerusalem walking tours.

This Succot we will explore and enjoy Jerusalem’s justly famous open air market (shuk). Our tour will eat their way through history and traditions while answering the mystery why, contrary to Jewish law, a famous rabbi is buried is the middle of the adjacent residential neighborhood. We will then walk to Jerusalem’s city hall Succot display and discover the winner of this year’s ‘ecological’ Succah competition. End the day with a short walk through one of Jerusalem’s hidden parks filled with pools and ancient tombs.

 

During Succot as well the rest of the year, Unique Israel Tours will create a customized itinerary, special for your family or group.

Kosher?

Kosher?

Herodian Family Tomb

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A two minute walk behind Jerusalem’s King David Hotel brings us back two thousand years of history, possibly to the era of a different king of Judea. The small, minimalistic sign informs us that we’re standing at the “Herodian Family Tomb”.

Where are we?

Towards the end of the 19th Century, the Greek Orthodox Church began acquiring thousands of acres of land outside Jerusalem’s Old City. Today this land includes some of the wealthiest parts of the city. In the summer of 1891, while preparing the land near the neighborhood of Mishkenot Shannanim for farming, the Greek monks discovered remains of ​​large ashlar stones. The educator and archaeologist, Conrad Schick (a fascinating figure in his own right) conducted intensive excavations on the site and concluded that the destroyed building was part of a burial complex.

At the entrance to the cave one finds a complete rolling stone. These stones would block the entrance to the cave and could be rolled back when needed. The use of rolling stones (called: golel) and family burial caves was very common among the Jews of Jerusalem, especially during the Second Temple Period. (Cf. Matthew, 28:2). Picture Credit: Segula Magazine

At the entrance to the cave one finds a complete rolling stone. These stones would block the entrance to the cave and could be rolled back when needed. The use of rolling stones (called: golel) and family burial caves was very common among the Jews of Jerusalem, especially during the Second Temple Period. (Cf. Matthew, 28:2).
Picture Credit: Segula Magazine

Schick believed that he had found the Herodian family tomb. What did he base this identification on? In brief, he based it on two factors: 1) we’ve already mentioned the size and beauty of the structure which leave no doubt regarding the wealth and prestige of its owners. 2) Secondly, the great Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, in his seminal work, History of the Jewish War against the Romans (5: 108), writes regarding the Roman General Titus’s urban planning:

the whole space from Mount Scopus to Herod’s monuments, adjoining the spot called the Serpents’ pool, was smoothed out.

The cave was carved up into several small rooms. Each room had hewn burial niches, and was covered with white chalk. Inside, Schick found several sarcophagi and other remains. The size and expense of this complex seriously points in the direction of this cave belonging to one of the privileged and wealthy families of Jerusalem of old.

The cave was carved up into several small rooms. Each room had hewn burial niches, and was covered with white chalk. Inside, Schick found several sarcophagi and other remains. The size and expense of this complex seriously points in the direction of this cave belonging to one of the privileged and wealthy families of Jerusalem of old.

Unfortunately, however, Josephus does not describe this monument. However, based on his research into Jerusalem in the year 70, Schick thought he had identified this ‘pool’ as what is known today as “Sultan’s Pool” and adjacent to it is our burial cave complex.

However, not everyone accepted this identification, mainly because the caves failed to produce any remains or inscriptions indicating the owners of the cave.

Ok, enough with the archeology. Why should you schlep in the Jerusalem heat to see an old cave? You shouldn’t! And, luckily, you don’t have to. Today, this site remains prime real estate in the modern Jerusalem. This site is situated in the middle of a beautiful public park, a few minutes away from both the Old City and the quaint but chic German Colony. Within the park, if you are lucky and the weather is right, you may even spot a bride taking photos on her wedding day in this most picturesque of locations.