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Three days after Jerusalem's heaviest
snowstorm since February 1950 (!), I was in
the Garden of Gethsemane which was still
covered with patches of frozen white snow.
I was dumbstruck by the sight of the vibrant
silver-green leafy branches of the gnarled
two thousand year old olive trees. |
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At this time thousands of Jerusalem
residents were still without electricity
because so many trees, unable to bear the
weight of the snow, had fallen over electric
lines. Yet the olive trees in the
Garden of Gethsemane appeared to be
completely undamaged and even unstressed. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Gethsemane's sturdy old
olive trees after heaviest snow since 1950! |
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It was here in the Garden of Gethsemane,
nearly two thousand years ago, that Jesus
told Peter and the sons of Zebedee, "My soul
is exceedingly sorrowful even to death. Stay
here and watch with me." But the disciples,
perhaps having imbibed too much wine earlier
at the Passover-type meal, kept dozing off
as Jesus faced the fate of imminent arrest
which would lead to his crucifixion.
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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The ancient olive trees
are to the left of the Church of All Nations |
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On my mid-December visit, I realized that
the Garden of Gethsemane of 2,000 years ago
where Jesus took refuge, would indeed have
had such hardy olive trees. And, during the
Passover season, the tiny white olive
blossoms would probably have been visible by
the light of the full moon. |
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As Jesus prayed, he may have even noticed
the branches that shoot out of the root of
the tree, reminding him of Isaiah's
prophecy. "A branch will come forth out of
the root of Jesse." (Isaiah 11) Or
remembering Psalm 52, "But as for me, I am
like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God forever
and ever." |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Magnificent two thousand
year old olive tree in the Garden of
Gethsemane |
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Luke tells us that an angel appeared to
Jesus from heaven, strengthening him. But
"being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of
blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22) Gethsemane itself means "oil press" from the
Aramaic, "gat shemani". Here in the Garden
of Gethsemane Jesus was pressed so that he
sweat blood. And then he was arrested.
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The trees we so admire today may have been
witnesses (as young shoots) to that
agonizing night of prayer and subsequent
arrest. We can't know for sure, for olive
trees don't have rings. All other olive
trees in Jerusalem and its surroundings were
apparently cut down by the Romans as they
were besieging the city in 70 AD. These,
however, survived, or at least their roots
did. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Ancient tree dripping with
olives in the Garden of Gethsemane |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Close up of olives on new
branches from the same ancient tree |
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Nearly a thousand years earlier, the kings
of Judah were anointed with oil from the
olive trees on the Mount of Olives and the
Garden of Gethsemane. In Jewish tradition,
the redeemer came to be called the “Anointed
One,” meshiach in Hebrew. Its English
derivative is “messiah.” |
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COMING TO
JERUSALEM?
BOOK GILA for your customized private tour |
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Come to Jerusalem to experience the Garden
of Gethsemane for yourself. If you visit
during the months of September, October or
early November, you’ll see the trees, even
at such an advanced age, heavily laden with
fruit. We should only be so healthy!
And
you'll note that olive trees are just like
us. The older they get, instead of getting
taller, they just get wider! |
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Copyright 2014 Gila Yudkin. Permission
needed for any reuse. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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View of the Eastern Gate
from the Garden of Gethsemane |
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Gila Yudkin, who calls herself a Connecticut
Yankee living in King David's court, has
been visiting the Garden of Gethsemane in
all seasons for well over three decades. She
even knows the best times to bring her
groups when the garden is least crowded. |
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If you are a solo traveler heading for the
holy land, you may want to
book
Gila for an awesome day in
Jerusalem and Bethlehem, according to your
own particular interests and pace.
Read
what solo travelers say about her
memorable customized funky Jerusalem tours.
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In November, a month before the historic
snowstorm, Gila took her groups up to a
spectacular barely visited vantage point
over the Sea of Galilee. When it became too
scorching hot for her Canadians to bear,
Gila sat them under a couple of very robust
olive trees which provided enough shade for
thirty people! They then saw the olive tree
as a symbol of beauty, just like Hosea who
prophesized, "His shoots will sprout and his
beauty will be like the olive tree." (Hosea
14:5) |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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In Hosea's prophecy, the
olive tree is a symbol of beauty |
