The tours I lead are always customized to meet the particular demands of each individual group I guide. No two tours are identical. I encourage my clients to let me know what their "must see" sites are, and I develop an itinerary around these. I am very willing to accommodate requests for tours organized around non-standard themes. Below is a list of possibilities; it is by no means exhaustive.
Full-Day Tours
The Sanctity of Jerusalem to the Three Abrahamic Faiths
We are used to hearing that Jerusalem is a city holy to three faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But what does this mean? What are the historical events that forged a bond between this place and these three faiths? What are the fundamental differences between the nature of this bond in each of the three faiths? How does the relationship between each of the Abrahamic faiths and the city play itself out on the landscape today? This tour will visit the most famous sites which are sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Old City of Jerusalem (the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Haram al-Sharif) as well as numerous less famous corners of the Old City.
Jerusalem with the Tanakh in Hand
How did Jerusalem become the symbol that it is today? To answer this question, we must go back to the Iron Age II, also known as the First Temple Era (1000-586 BCE). It was during this crucial period that Jerusalem was transformed from a small hilltop village to the political and spiritual capital of the Jewish people. Is it still possible to see what Jerusalem looked like in the days of King David or the prophet Isaiah? This tour will attempt to "peel back" the surface layers of today's city in order to uncover its Israelite foundations. We will read key passages from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) as we make our way around the following sites: City of David, southern wall excavations, Kidron Valley, Hinnom Valley, Jewish Quarter.
Searching for the Historical Jesus in the Galilee
Jesus of Nazareth is arguably the most famous human being to have ever walked the earth. For believing Christians he is also Christ -- the messiah and the Son of God. What happens if we separate these two identities? What can we know about the actual figure of Jesus of Nazareth once we remove the layers of theological meaning later attached to him by the Church? Do the Gospels portray Jesus accurately? Did Jesus really speak the words found in the Gospels? Are the places and events mentioned in the Gospels historically accurate? This tour will take us through the cradle of Jesus' ministry, the Lower Galilee. We will visit sites such as Nazareth, Sepphoris, Capernaum, and Bethsaida. We will hike in nature to understand the natural setting out of which Jesus emerged. We will study the teachings of Jesus within the context of the emerging rabbinic movement. Rather than merely following the Christian pilgrims' itinerary, we will try to get an interdisciplinary feel for the region of the Lower Galilee in an attempt to appreciate who Jesus really was before he became Christ. Ideally, this is a multi-day seminar, however an abbreviated one-day version exists as well.
Herod the Great: Master Builder
Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) was the most famous of the client kings of Judea during the Roman period. A paranoid megalomaniac and a ruthless tyrant, he was also a tremendously ambitious executor of public building projects. During the three decades that he held power, he oversaw the complete transformation of numerous sites in Judea including: Caesarea, Sebaste/Samaria, Masada and Jerusalem (to name a few). His massive renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem was celebrated across the Roman Empire, making the city internationally famous. We will spend the morning in Jerusalem looking at notable examples of Herodian architecture in the Old City including: the Temple Mount, the southern wall excavations, the western wall tunnels, the Herodian Quarter (Upper City). After lunch, we will drive 7km south to Herodium to view a marvelous example of a Herodian fortress castle on the edge of the Judean desert as well as the site of the recently discovered tomb of Herod.
Understanding the Christian Idea of Jerusalem
At the very core of the Christian idea of the "holy land" stands a difficult contradiction: doesn't the sanctification of one particular physical place contradict Christianity's universalistic spiritual message? This one day walking tour of Jerusalem's Old City will address this meta-question and many others: Why do Christians consider Jerusalem holy? What does Christianity in the holy land look like today? How did so many denominations come about? Our main focus will be on Christian sites including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives and Mt Zion. We will read passages from the itineraries of ancient pilgrims in order to better appreciate the development of today's holy sites. Central to this tour will be an investigation of the concept of "authenticity"; are the sites we visit today the actual places mentioned in the New Testament? If not, does it matter?
The Parting of the Ways
It is common knowledge that the first followers of Jesus were in fact Jews. However, by the time that the Roman Empire legalized Christianity in the fourth century, it was clear that it was to be a Gentile religion, completely disconnected from rabbinic Judaism. When did this break occur? This tour will focus on two cities that served as spiritual centers for these two emerging religions during the late Roman period. First we will visit Caesarea, the provincial capital of Palestine under the Romans and the seat of the first Christian bishopric in the holy land. It was in the celebrated Christian academy located here that the Christian idea of the holy land was developed by such figures as Origen, Pamphilus and Eusebius. Second, we will visit Sepphoris, the seat of the Sanhedrin during the period of Rabbi Judah the Prince. It was here that the Mishnah, the first rabbinic law code, was edited in the early third century. We will investigate how the differing landscapes of these two cities impacted the differing worldviews of these two nascent faiths in the third-fifth centuries and beyond.
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Half-Day Walking Tours in Jerusalem
Leaving the Walls: The Emergence of the New City of Jerusalem
Full-Day Tours
The Sanctity of Jerusalem to the Three Abrahamic Faiths
We are used to hearing that Jerusalem is a city holy to three faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But what does this mean? What are the historical events that forged a bond between this place and these three faiths? What are the fundamental differences between the nature of this bond in each of the three faiths? How does the relationship between each of the Abrahamic faiths and the city play itself out on the landscape today? This tour will visit the most famous sites which are sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Old City of Jerusalem (the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Haram al-Sharif) as well as numerous less famous corners of the Old City.
Jerusalem with the Tanakh in Hand
How did Jerusalem become the symbol that it is today? To answer this question, we must go back to the Iron Age II, also known as the First Temple Era (1000-586 BCE). It was during this crucial period that Jerusalem was transformed from a small hilltop village to the political and spiritual capital of the Jewish people. Is it still possible to see what Jerusalem looked like in the days of King David or the prophet Isaiah? This tour will attempt to "peel back" the surface layers of today's city in order to uncover its Israelite foundations. We will read key passages from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) as we make our way around the following sites: City of David, southern wall excavations, Kidron Valley, Hinnom Valley, Jewish Quarter.
Searching for the Historical Jesus in the Galilee
Jesus of Nazareth is arguably the most famous human being to have ever walked the earth. For believing Christians he is also Christ -- the messiah and the Son of God. What happens if we separate these two identities? What can we know about the actual figure of Jesus of Nazareth once we remove the layers of theological meaning later attached to him by the Church? Do the Gospels portray Jesus accurately? Did Jesus really speak the words found in the Gospels? Are the places and events mentioned in the Gospels historically accurate? This tour will take us through the cradle of Jesus' ministry, the Lower Galilee. We will visit sites such as Nazareth, Sepphoris, Capernaum, and Bethsaida. We will hike in nature to understand the natural setting out of which Jesus emerged. We will study the teachings of Jesus within the context of the emerging rabbinic movement. Rather than merely following the Christian pilgrims' itinerary, we will try to get an interdisciplinary feel for the region of the Lower Galilee in an attempt to appreciate who Jesus really was before he became Christ. Ideally, this is a multi-day seminar, however an abbreviated one-day version exists as well.
Herod the Great: Master Builder
Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) was the most famous of the client kings of Judea during the Roman period. A paranoid megalomaniac and a ruthless tyrant, he was also a tremendously ambitious executor of public building projects. During the three decades that he held power, he oversaw the complete transformation of numerous sites in Judea including: Caesarea, Sebaste/Samaria, Masada and Jerusalem (to name a few). His massive renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem was celebrated across the Roman Empire, making the city internationally famous. We will spend the morning in Jerusalem looking at notable examples of Herodian architecture in the Old City including: the Temple Mount, the southern wall excavations, the western wall tunnels, the Herodian Quarter (Upper City). After lunch, we will drive 7km south to Herodium to view a marvelous example of a Herodian fortress castle on the edge of the Judean desert as well as the site of the recently discovered tomb of Herod.
Understanding the Christian Idea of Jerusalem
At the very core of the Christian idea of the "holy land" stands a difficult contradiction: doesn't the sanctification of one particular physical place contradict Christianity's universalistic spiritual message? This one day walking tour of Jerusalem's Old City will address this meta-question and many others: Why do Christians consider Jerusalem holy? What does Christianity in the holy land look like today? How did so many denominations come about? Our main focus will be on Christian sites including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives and Mt Zion. We will read passages from the itineraries of ancient pilgrims in order to better appreciate the development of today's holy sites. Central to this tour will be an investigation of the concept of "authenticity"; are the sites we visit today the actual places mentioned in the New Testament? If not, does it matter?
The Parting of the Ways
It is common knowledge that the first followers of Jesus were in fact Jews. However, by the time that the Roman Empire legalized Christianity in the fourth century, it was clear that it was to be a Gentile religion, completely disconnected from rabbinic Judaism. When did this break occur? This tour will focus on two cities that served as spiritual centers for these two emerging religions during the late Roman period. First we will visit Caesarea, the provincial capital of Palestine under the Romans and the seat of the first Christian bishopric in the holy land. It was in the celebrated Christian academy located here that the Christian idea of the holy land was developed by such figures as Origen, Pamphilus and Eusebius. Second, we will visit Sepphoris, the seat of the Sanhedrin during the period of Rabbi Judah the Prince. It was here that the Mishnah, the first rabbinic law code, was edited in the early third century. We will investigate how the differing landscapes of these two cities impacted the differing worldviews of these two nascent faiths in the third-fifth centuries and beyond.
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Half-Day Walking Tours in Jerusalem
Leaving the Walls: The Emergence of the New City of Jerusalem
- Until the 1860's Jerusalem was confined to the Ottoman walls of the Old City. This tour explores the first neighborhoods built by Jews in the western half of the city.
- Includes: Cathedral of St James, Christ’s Church, Church of Holy Sepulchre, Church of the Redeemer, St Mark’s, and others if time allows.
- Includes: Notre Dame, Petra Hostel, Tomb of David, Church of Redeemer, Austrian Hospice, St Peter in Gallicantu and more.
- A two-hour in-depth look at the history, architecture and folklore of this world-famous church focusing on inter-denominational relations.
- An overview of the sites that were part of the city that Jesus saw when he arrived for the Passover of 33 CE. Includes: Davidson Center, Western Wall, Herodian houses.
- A tour of a bucolic, European-like neighborhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem known since Byzantine times as the birthplace of John the Baptist.
- An examination of the rich history of a small hill outside the Old City where numerous biblical events are said to have happened, including: the burial of David, the Last Supper, the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the eternal sleep of Mary. We will focus on the cross-fertilization of stories between the Jewish and Christian traditions.
- Rather than a standard walking tour, why not pick up the pace a bit and see twice as much in the same amount of time? Sound daunting? Not to worry. The distance and pace can of course be adjusted to match your ability level. A typical running tour lasts about two hours and covers anywhere between 5km and 12km. Similarly, the route is customized to match your individual interests, usually including a combination of the main historical sites in the area of the Old City and selected portions of the New City. I have been an avid runner for over 25 years, the last ten of which have been spent exploring every corner of Jerusalem on foot. In addition to being a licensed Israel Tour Guide, l am a certified running trainer (through the Wexler Institute) and a member of the running guide staff at RUN-JLM.
