10/31 to 11/2 | Two Quizzes and a Visit to the Botanical Garden

The last few days have been consumed with an Archaeology of Jerusalem quiz followed by a Hebrew quiz.  My quiz in Archeology of Jerusalem was much harder than I anticipated, so I am a little nervous to get that back.  Hebrew, however, went very well considering all the new subjects we learned, including the future tense which is particularly difficult to memorize.  Fortunately, I am done being tested for the time being.  Even better, the weekend is not far away!  I will be spending this shabbat at the home of my chavruta, Ben.  Ben and I study text together every Monday night at the Beit Midrash program in the Hecht Synagogue on campus.  I am really looking forward to an authentic Israeli shabbat, not to mention being fed!

To celebrate the completion of my quizzes, I took a walk around the Hebrew University Botanical Garden, which I have been meaning to do for quite some time.  This small patch of green is in incredible because the entire campus is surrounded by the dry, dusty Judaean desert.  It is often said that the Jews made the desert bloom; this proves it.  Here are some pictures from my walk around the gardens:

At the edge of the Hebrew University Botanical Garden is the Louis H. Boyar Building.  The Rothberg International School is centered here and it is where most of my classes are held.

Across from the Boyar Building is the Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies in the Yitzhak Rabin Building.  The blue sculpture in front says "Shalom Al Yisrael" or "Peace upon Israel" in the ancient Hebrew script.

Behind the botanic garden is an incredible view of the Arab village of Issawiya.

The main entrance to the botanic garden leads to a beautiful circular area.  From this spot, it is possible to go to any of the different sections, which are themed by the different regions of Israel.  The garden was built when the Sinai Peninsula was still part of Israel, so there is a plot located to flora from the Sinai, as well as the Negev, Galilee, etc.

Which direction to take?  They are not in this picture, but there are two more corridors to different sections of the garden.

This is the Cave of Nicanor, an ancient burial cave from the Second Temple Period.  In the 1930s, Leon Pinsker, a Zionist pioneer and activist, was buried here.  Menachem Ussishkin, then-head of the Jewish National Fund, suggested that the cave become a national pantheon for Zionist leaders.  Unfortunately, this never came to fruition because Mount Scopus became an Israeli enclave within Jordanian territory after the State of Israel declared independence.  Besides Leon Pinsker, only Menachem Ussishkin is burried here.

The graves of Leon Pinsker, top, and Menachem Ussishkin, bottom.

A room full of (replica) ossuaries dating from the time of the Second Temple.  One of them was found with an inscription to "Nicanor the door maker," thus giving the cave its name.

A green area featuring plants from the drier parts of Israel.

A steady stream of water, or mayim in Hebrew, flowed throughout the garden.

Just for contrast, this is what the surrounding region looks like.

A large cloud of smoke billowed over the village of Issawiya.

The beauty of the Mount Scopus campus is not just limited to the botanical garden.  The entire campus is perfectly landscaped:

The Alfred A. Davis Family Building of the Harry S. Truman Research Institute.

The amphitheater where the founding ceremony of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem took place in 1918.  This ceremony was attended by such greats as Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and Chaim Weizmann.

A small plaza on the edge of campus.

The Nancy Reagan Plaza near the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria.  The tilted tree monument memorializes those who lost their lives in the bombing of 2002.

One of the most interesting details of this campus is the signposts.  On the top of every signpost is a red crown designed to look like the top of a pomegranate, or rimon in Hebrew.  The pomegranate features prominently in Jewish tradition.