Guest house
Kabbalat Shabbat in heart of Jerusalem hills
In heart of Jerusalem hills there is a pro-bible community dreaming of being a light unto the nations and doing good things for Jews. The result: a great Friday breakfast, afternoon concert, a visit to a bible museum, and a whole Shabbat to rest. Why not every week?
There is another way to welcome Shabbat and to atone for the sins of the week: brunch in the midst of a breathtaking view, a tour of a biblical garden, an afternoon concern in comfortable clothes and a short hike in the hills. Shabbat delight, alternative version.
Yad Hashmona is a small moshav, easily missed if you drive too fast on the way up to Jerusalem. The settlement was established in the 1970s by a group of Finnish Christians trying to atone for their government's abandonment of eight Jews during World War II, handed over to the Nazis and sent to death camps. The community's name is a memorial to the martyrs.
They came to Israel full of good will to live amongst those returning to Zion and to help build the country. Because they found no snow here, they made due with the mountain air, and positioned themselves
חמור יד השמונה הרי ירושלים (צילום: מיכל כרמון)
Over the years, several Israeli families joined the Christian group, viewing the Bible and New Testament on equal footing. Together they continued to develop the site and turned into a mountain gem, making money from tourism and event planning.
They opened a guest house, which, according to the best of the founders' tradition included wood cabins with solid wood furnishings, made by the settlement's factory.
Tasty and nice
The guest house's dining room is situated at the highest point in Yad Shemona, overlooking the coastal plane (on a clear day one can see the Azrieli Towers in downtown Tel Aviv, if you really want to).
On Friday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. brunch is served, including salads, fish, a selection of cheeses, quiches, pastries, fresh bread (sometimes snatched on its way from the oven to the buffet), natural fruit juices, hot drinks and deserts.
After brunch, there is an intimate concert in the wooden hut next to the dining room. Repertoire includes a wide range of local talent and all styles of world music.
This Friday (March 3) the town will dance to the rhythms of Cuba, and next week (March 10) will feature the Apollo Ensemble, and later in the month there will be a tribute to Simon and Garfunkel. Concert-only tickets are available for NIS 75, but it is highly recommended to go for the whole experience (NIS 155 for brunch + concert).
Bible now
The biblical garden at the bottom of the guest house demonstrates the community's strong affinity for the Bible, and for the lives of our great-great-great grandfathers.
"During the intifada, while people were throwing rocks – we gathered them up," says Salo Kapusta, the community's sales manager. "We built the garden with our own hands, with a goal of bestowing both Jews and Christians with knowledge about the biblical period."
They enlisted the help of the antiquities authority and expert researchers and recreated an ancient village with a mikve (ritual bath) from the second temple period, a 2,400-year-old textile mill, a biblical threshing floor, an ancient burial cave and more.
Next to the ancient cistern Salo sweetly reveals one of his secrets of life: "One mustn't put new wine in an old leather bag. For self-renewal and flexibility one must always renew the wells of knowledge and soul."
Afterwards, we go down to the remains of a 2,000-year-old synagogue used throughout the summer months to host weddings and other events.
Could this be the "constant renewal" our host spoke about? Or perhaps he means the soon-to-be restored 800-seat amphitheater?
Entry to the biblical garden is free for hotel guests and concert patrons. Guided tours are also available for a fee, but must be booked in advance.
Herbs, drinks, food
And if all that isn't enough, there's biblical chef Moshe Basson.
Basson, a former owner of Jerusalem's Eucalyptus restaurant, specializes in biblical and Land of Israel dishes. He came to Yad Shemona as a culinary consultant and to instill biblical tastes and smells to the restaurant. Between blazed eggplant and stuffed wild spinach, he guides food tours amongst the wild mountain growth that serve as his gourmet subjects – Arab bread, wild asparagus, wood-sorrels, nettle, and other edible flowers better known to most of us in the dried forms found in supermarkets.
The tours are spiced up with many explanations and stories, and an unplanned route leads back from our hunt for herbs and in keeping with field conditions.
We simply pick, scrape, taste and roll down the green slopes.
Song of Songs
As part of a country food festival taking place until March 9, Yad Shemona is presenting Thursday night "Song of Song" meals, presented by Chef Basson. The party, which runs from eight to midnight, includes special dishes, including wrapped sage leaves, beef strips in tomato sauce, okra with wild thyme, and Jerusalem apple cake with "land dripping with halva and honey" cream.
Who said our ancestors didn't eat well? The evening is NIS 170 per person, reservations required.
On the way home, one can stop at one of the carpets of flowers flourishing with color as spring approaches and covered with tourists, breath a bit more of the relaxing air and perhaps even pick a few wild leaves for your Friday night salad.
And after all that we can be thankful that tomorrow, there is Shabbat. And for those with nothing better to do on Shabbat, weekend bed-and-breakfast packages are available for NIS 700 a person. Call (02) 534 3956 for details.
