Rescuing the Past in Israel

ERETZ

COURTESY OF JESSICA STEINBERG

LEFT: Team members who saved the Second Temple Period mikvah. RIGHT: Haviva Ner-David, rabbi, writer and mikvah coordinator at Kibbutz

Hannaton, at the archaeological site where a Roman-era ritual bath was found in July 2021.

Rescuing the Past in Israel

Local tour guides help rescue Roman-era mikvah from being paved over.

NAOMI MILLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Have you ever heard of a mikvah rescue team? Well, one was formed in Israel this past summer to rescue a 2,000-year-old ritual bath from being covered by a new intersection on a major highway in the Galilee.

In Israel, it’s often said that archaeology is the enemy of the building contractor. When construction teams begin clearing and drilling a site, it is not unusual that they come across ancient artifacts or sites.

In Jerusalem, we have been fortunate to witness examples of harmony between the modern city and the archaeological finds; ancient structures are accessible to visitors while being protected by modern buildings and roads. But Jerusalem is unique; most sites in the country are partially excavated and documented by the Israel Department of Antiquities, and whatever is able to be saved (pottery, coins, etc.) is removed and then construction begins.

In July 2021, two unemployed tour guides, Anat Harrel and Steve Gray, both from Kibbutz Hannaton, a pluralistic, egalitarian kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley (which is part of the Michigan-Central Galilee Partnership Region), joined an archaeological dig minutes from their home. Most tour guides would love the opportunity to spend a few weeks playing in the dirt and uncovering history, and COVID gave them this opportunity.

Working with the regional archaeologist and several volunteers, they discovered a massive Second Temple Period ritual bath. They knew the fate of this incredible find and were devastated at the thought that, in a matter of weeks, it would be covered by a highway intersection and would disappear forever.

Anat and Steve decided to create a campaign to rescue the mikvah. They only had a few weeks to raise $75,000, which would cover the cost of the massive machinery and manpower that it would require to unearth and transport the ancient bath to its new home, right next to the modern mikvah at Kibbutz Hannaton. Unfortunately, their crowdsourcing campaign only raised a small portion of the funds needed. Ultimately, after knocking on doors of various government ministries and even reaching the office of the prime minister, they were able to secure the funds. Days before the intersection was to be paved, the mighty Herod (yes, that’s really the name!) Crane Company transported the structure to its new home.

As Anat Harrel said to the Jerusalem Post after the mikvah victory, “We are elated. It’s just 20 meters from our current mikvah. Our motto is, ‘Renewing the old and sanctifying the new.’ We feel we’ve really done it. We’ve taken something very old and are renewing it … We plan to refurbish it and make it usable.”

Naomi Miller is director of Israel Partnerships at the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator and Israel Representative and Missions director for the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. This story first appeared on myjewishdetroit.org. For more information on the mikvah discovery, enjoy this podcast: www.israelstory.org/episode/lost-andfound-part-i.