Charms, Waterfalls & Barbed Wire #UpperGalilee #HulaValley #GolanHeights #Amuka

photographed by Nino Shaye Weiss

ACCORDING to tradition the burial place of famous Rabbi Jonathan ben Uzziel is to be found near Amuka, which is located in Upper Galilee near Safed, in the North of Israel, just east of the valley where the Arab village Ammuqa was located until its depopulation in 1948. It is reported, that the Arab population too, had honored the grave of Rabbi Jonathan ben Uzziel. The Rabbi was one of the eighty tannaim, Rabbinic sages, who studied under Hillel the Elder, more than 2000 years ago. Some people attribute special powers (segulot) to him. Segulot being a protective or benevolent charm or ritual in Kabbalistic and Talmudic tradition. Today there is a shrine inside the ruin of a building raised around the burial place, which is said to have been a synagogue.

By the way, the visitors pray at Rabbi Jonathan ben Uzziel’s graveside for a good marriage partner, for children, satisfaction from one’s children, a good livelihood, health, and happiness.

The Hula Valley with the Jordan River, which in summer is often nothing but a small creek, separates the Upper Galilee from the Golan Heights. Even though the latter is a small and notoriously disputed and dangerous plateau because of its utmost military importance, has nonetheless a few trails for hiking, waterfalls, and creeks to offer. From the top of Merom Hagolan, a strategic hill in the north of the Golan Heights, one has a panoramic view over this tight neighborhood, the north of Israel till Mount Hermon, Lebanon, and Syria.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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