Oral Law Tiyul - Maya

On Tuesday, March 5th, we started our day bright and early to get on the buses and say goodbye
to Tzuba as we began our second full day Tiyul. On the bus, the sleepy teenagers of Kitat Nevel
looked out the window as the diverse Israeli landscape rushed past us in a colorful blur. After
being transported from the dry, rocky Judean Hills to the lush rolling hills of the northeast, we arrived
at our first destination: Beit She’arim National Park.

After a quick bathroom break, we sat down at a few picnic tables beneath a canopy of green
trees to begin learning about the basics of Jewish Oral Law. Evan began by reviewing our six
most important rabbis during the Oral Law Period, with emphasis on the last two: Rabbi Akiva
and Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, or just Rabbi. Rabbi Akiva gave us the Six Orders of the Mishnah
as well as insight about the importance of economy in Jewish Society. Akiva stated that
without flour, there would be no Torah; in order for our people to survive and study Torah, it
is entirely necessary to uphold a strong and stable economy. Evan explained that the ancient
town at Beit She’arim perfectly exemplified this philosophy, with an economy centered around the
production of glass, stone, and perfume. However, we quickly moved onto a discussion of Rabbi,
the most important Rabbi of the time and our most influential contributor to Oral Law. Rabbi
accomplished many important tasks in his lifetime, the most important being the codification
of the Mishnah. His influence allowed us to continue on as a people and gave way to the
practice of Judaism as we know it today. Previously, oral law had little significance in Jewish
Culture; no one had a clear idea of what true oral law included, since Jews had been exiled
an persecuted for centuries, rendering us unable to codify any form of oral law. However, the
era of Rabbi was one of peace and prosperity for the Jewish people, finally allowing for the
codification of the Mishnah. There is much more to say about Rabbi, but the moral of the
story is that he was an incredibly influential figure in Jewish history.

After our brief period of note-taking, we transitioned to a more active form of learning and trekked
over to the burial caves of Beit She’arim. By looking at the tombs in these burial caves we were
able to learn a great deal about the culture of the Jewish people at the time of oral law. Some of
our findings were quite surprising, however; although there was a large menorah in the cave,
showing us that we were, indeed, standing in a Jewish burial site, most of the tombs had depictions
of animals or symbols of the Roman Empire—an example of Avodah Zara. However, we would later
learn that in the period of oral law, many strict Jewish laws were interpreted as to only apply in
certain contexts, therefore often allowing for the depiction of so-called idols during this era. We
then travelled to Rabbi’s tomb, first having a discussion atop the cave on the yeshiva, then
travelling inside to the actual burial site. Rabbi asked for a modest tomb, so the inside may not
have seemed special, but the yeshiva is evidence of the people’s immense respect and appreciation
for this influential figure.

Shortly after visiting Rabbi’s grave, we left Beit She’arim for our next destination: the natural
springs at Sachne. We ate a delicious pizza lunch and took a much-needed break from learning
to swim in the warm, turquoise water of the natural springs where fish nibbled at our feet. However,
we realized all good things must come to an end as we hesitantly got back into clothes and headed
to our next destination to begin learning again.

Our next and final stop was the Beit Alpha synagogue. When we first arrived, we watched a
movie about the construction of the synagogue and the intricate mosaic floor. What was interesting
about the floor is that it included zodiac symbols which may be interpreted as avodah zara, like the
symbols in the burial caves. However, we learned after that the Mishnah allows for the depiction
of “idols” in artwork because it is merely decoration. Finally, we had tefillah outside Beit Alpha and
got back on the bus to return to Tzuba. Continuing on the activity we did outside, how do you feel
about continuing a strong Jewish identity in a non-Jewish land?