Inside Jerusalem: The Ancient Border Between Judah and Benjamin

Rediscover the famous border between the ancient tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Dr. Peter Ofman will take us on a virtual tour, connecting the verses of the Bible with his photographs of the modern landscape of the border today, and of the sights along it.

Dr. Ofman is a professional cardiologist and an amateur traveler and photographer. He makes frequent trips to Israel, where he hires private guides to help him carefully walk and photograph places that are historically important but not frequented by tourists.

Jerusalem is a city with a long and complicated history. Since ancient times the city has been governed by a sequence of many different nations: the Canaanites, the Israelites, the Babylonian and then Persian empires, the Roman and then Byzantine empires, then various Islamic caliphates and sultanates, then the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottoman empire, and the British empire. Since 1948 the control was divided between Israel and Jordan, and since 1967 the united Jerusalem is under Israel's government.

The landscape of modern Jerusalem combines many structures from all the different historical periods. For a visitor interested in Biblical Jerusalem but lacking profound knowledge of history or archeology, it is sometimes difficult to extract the landmarks of ancient Jerusalem from multiple layers of later development.

This photographic lecture, which follows a trip to the area which took place in December 2023, is intended to point out some of the Biblical sights and terrain which could still be recognized in today's Jerusalem.

Jacob Missaghi, a longtime member of the Adams Street Shul wants to see it:

“I have been to Israel a few times and covered the standard tourist attractions, but now I want to get to know the Land of Israel in more depth. I’m looking forward to this virtual tour”.

Shul Director Jeremy Friedman has a different interest.

“When I study the Torah portion verse by verse, it can be hard to visualize many of the geographical references. A picture is worth a thousand words. I expect Dr. Ofman’s descriptions and photographs of his discoveries following this ancient boundary will be illuminating.”

There is still a lot to be discovered in the Bible with the use of maps and archeology, and by personally walking the ancient routes in modern times. That’s what Dr. Ofman has done.

So pick up your imaginary backpack and walk the Tanach (Bible) chapter by chapter.

The presentation is on Tuesday evening, January 13th at 7:00 PM at the historic Adams Street Shul in Newton MA; and also broadcast world-wide via Zoom.

The event is free, but tickets are required. Donations are welcome. Get your tickets or make a donation here.