First Tiyul:  Tel Gezer

by Dani Pattiz,     12^th grade,      California

Kitat Yarden entering the ancient water system at Tel Gezer

We spent our first Jewish history tiyul of the semester at an initially unimpressive archaeological treasure trove known as Tel Gezer.  Driving through the countryside to Gezer, it seemed to me like an impossible feat for historians and archaeologists to randomly discover Tel Gezer.  After walking to the top of Gezer, however, the historical importance of the site became clear.  The tel - an artificial hill composed of generations of civilizations piled atop one another - is home to architecture, language, and, most importantly, ancient culture.

walking up the ascent to a look out point on Tel Gezer

            Over the millenia, 27 different societies have called Tel Gezer home.  Because of its central location on a major highway, Gezer was alternately conquered by the Egyptians and the Mesopotamian civilizations.  As a result of the revolving door of conquerors, societies came and went much more quickly than in other regions.  Among the first civilizations to make their home at Tel Gezer was the Canaanite people in circa 2000 BCE. A technologically, linguistically, and otherwise advanced people, the Canaanites are remembered for a number of things - not least their pagan traditions.  The Canaanites based much of their society on agriculture, but living in a dry area meant that they often did not get the rain that they needed to grow.  In times of drought, they prayed to their god Baal for rain, and offered him sacrifices to ensure his goodwill . . . human sacrifices!

students in Kitat Yarden stretched out across the Canaanite defense wall at Tel Gezer

            As they wandered through the surrounding area, the founders of the Jewish people Abram and Sarai encountered the Canaanite people.  As righteous people and followers of the God of Israel known in Hebrew as יהוה, they knew of the sins of the Canaanite people and did as the commanded in the Tanakh: they walked through the Canaanite city, refusing to settle there, despite the luxuries of advanced society.  In true biblical fashion, Abram and Sarai (later re-named Abraham and Sarah) were not tempted by the easiest path, but stayed true to the commandments of their God.  So the story goes.  However, those with a modernist viewpoint on biblical events question this narrative.  After all, the Canaanite city allowed its citizens a plush existence, and Abram and Sarai’s life as nomadic shepherds certainly left some comfort to be desired.  Even more importantly, the land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) is repeatedly referred to in the Tanakh as “the land of Canaan.”  Is it possible that these righteous ancestors succumbed to the temptation of life among pagans and murderers?  

Alex and Joanna enjoying our first tiyul to Tel Gezer

Regardless, the ancient Hebrews at some point settled in Gezer (whether alongside the Canaanites or long after them). Archaeologists have discovered artifacts left by both the Canaanites and the Hebrews, and have commented on their differences.  While the Canaanites left a sacrificial altar with the bones of murdered children, the Hebrews left an ancient calendar.  The calendar is written in a whimsical rhyming pattern, indicating that it was created with the express intent of helping educate children and teach them the months of the year.  

replica on display at Tel Gezer of an ancient Hebrew calendar that was discovered

Of course, education has always been an unalienable value of the Jewish people.  If Abraham and Sarah did indeed simply walk past the Canaanite city, the contrasting artifacts and the tales that they tell paint a wonderful, moral picture of the ancestors of the Jewish people.  The truth, however, is often much more complicated, and it is entirely possible that they lived among those who both sacrificed and cherished their children.  On Tel Gezer, that ancient treasure trove of historical discovery, two (or possibly one) societies with totally polar traditions are separated by nothing more than a biblical story of questionable reliability and a few layers of dirt and stone.