Today almost felt like a day off! A short stage, that also allowed Rafi to get back early to his wife D’vorit who is still recovering from a nasty fall where her head struck a rock.
We dithered a little about where to finish the day and drove around unnecessarily for 40 mins looking for somewhwere closer to our start before leaving Rafi’s car by the Iftachet junction of Routes 77 and 79 – precisely what we had planned to do at the outset!
We started with a steep climb to the centre of the arab village of Meshad, where there is a beautiful new mosque, and then walked steadily downhill towards Zippori. After about 2.5km we left the tarmac. The trail was broad and clear through shaded pines – but painful on the feet as it was uneven and covered in sharp rocks. We passed a group of around ten 70+ year old army veteran hiking the trail from the south in memory of a Brigadier colleague who had died, but otherwise again we had the peaceful trail to ourselves, part from pairs F16s occasionally roaring across the skies.
We soon arrived at Zippori but did not have the time to see it as we were conscious of the need to finish early, and it needs time to appreciate.
Zippori is a village and archeological site 6 kilometers north-northwest of Nazareth. It lies 286 meters above sea level and overlooks the Beit Netofa Valley. The site has a rich and diverse historical and architectural legacy that includes Hellenistic, Jewish, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, Arabic and Ottoman influences. Josephus Flavius described it as “the ornament of the Galilee”.
The main attractions today include a restored third century villa with a magnificent mosaic of scenes from the life of Dionysus, the god of wine, and the beautiful “Mona Lisa of the Galilee”. There is also a synagogue with the magnificent “Nile Mosaic” dating fron the 5th century CE, a partially restored 4,500 seat Roman theatre and an ancient water system. the Crusaders believed that Ann and Joachim, the parents of Jesus, lived in Zippori where today a 5th-century basilica is excavated at the site honoring the birth of Mary. There are in fact two early Christian churches, a Crusader fort renovated by Zahir al-Umar in the 18th century, and over sixty different mosaics dating from the third to the sixth century CE.
“Mona Lisa of the Galilee”, 4th-century Roman mosaic in Zippori
Following the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–135CE, Zippori was one of the Galilean centres in Galilee where rabbinical families from Judea relocated. The remains of the synagogue were discovered on the northern side of town. In the 7th century, the town was conquered by the Arab Rashidun armies during the Muslim conquest of the Levant. Successive Arab and imperial authorities ruled the area until the Crusades.
Until its depopulation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, ‘Saffuriya’ (as Zippori was called) was an Arab village. Moshav Tzippori was established adjacent to the site in 1949. It falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council, and in 2018 had a population of 970. The area occupied by the former Arab village was designated a national park in 1992.
This is a definite place to return to…
I was then astonsished to find just a kilometre further on the tomb of Rabbi YehudaHaNasi who completed the editing of the Mishnah, finalising it into its current form.
There are two opinions regarding the burial location of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, either in Zippori or in Bet Shearim, 
sourced in conflicting passages of the Talmud. It is probable that a tomb was original created for Rebbe in Bet Shearim but since he passed away on a Friday (on 15 Kislev – his Yahrzeit is my hebrew birthday), he may instead buried in Zippori, where he was located at the time.
An alternative view (we are talking about Mishnaic times…) is that he was buried in Bet Shearim, and this is the tomb of his grandson.
The tomb was small, restrained and had an impressive stillness. It was extraordinary to think, as I prayed there, that this may be the tomb of the man who, born on the date of Rabbi Akiva’s passing and following the Kar Kochba revolt, essentially secured the future of Judaism at a very dark time.
We walked on into Resh Lakish Park, for a while accompanied by a young Israeli girl fresh out of the army and hiking the trail on her own – a welcome reminder that in many ways Israel is still an extremely safe country. We parted as we reached our car just 4 hours after starting (against the 6 hours allowed in Rafi’s guide).
A relaxed day to finish this 3 day stint: we look forward to our next one in December.
Hiking the Israel National Trail 