Bringing Ein Kerem's slopes back to their ancient roots
If it only takes a village, there's no doubt that a handful of dedicated volunteers will succeed in restoring Ein Kerem's biblical landscape.
The group is busy rebuilding terraces that were used for generations, and planting trees to renew The Orchard of the Spring, named after the spring in the village. citizen volunteers like Noa Weiss and Moshe Zuckerman are working to get rid of the trash scattered in the wadi descending from the area around Mary's Well - including a car and a surgical stretcher, among other things - and return it to its former beauty.
The idea of restoring the wadi had been percolating in the minds of several residents, but it was while Zuckerman, a Jewish National Fund forester, was mourning for his son Benaya, killed in a terror attack, that the group was inspired to mobilize and do something positive in Benays's memory.
The project was also a natural outgrowth of the group's appreciation for those who came before them. "People have been farming in this area for thousands of years," says Weiss. "There's evidence of cultivation wherever we walk; we find old mosaic stones and pieces of pottery," she says.
"We find huge terraces and are impressed by the effort that was made," says Zuckerman. He dates the use of the area for terraced farming back to Second Temple times, but Mameluke-Turkish and Byzantine era remains have also been discovered.
The neighborhood itself - primarily a draw for Christian tourists and those seeking a walk through its picturesque lanes or a visit to its pastoral-bohemian cafes - has been around for thousands of years, but the surrounding green areas had been allowed to become cluttered with trash, according to Weiss. To make the space inhabitable again, volunteer teams meet on Fridays to "feel this dear soil that our forebears worked and protected," says Zuckerman. "Our dream is to restore the entire ancient project," and inspire others to launch similar projects.
Zuckerman says that today's "materialistic society [ought to] demonstrate awareness about preserving the landscape. There was a culture devoted to preserving the land." But efforts to maintain an orchard and two small plots for vegetables are seeing volunteers and school pupils (pictured) helping turn back time and make the area, which runs for about 200-300 yards downhill, into a magical retreat. "It has become a fixture - people come down with their coffee in the morning, have meetings, play cello, eat, pray," Weiss says. "To me, that's the most amazing part - they don't even think about the fact that not too long ago you couldn't even walk down there."
As for the work itself, "There's no substitution for getting dirty and feeling the soil between your fingers," says Weiss.
To join in with rebuilding the terraces, clearing out weeds, and maintaining the biblical landscape at Ein Kerem, contact Noa Weiss at 02-642-0190.
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