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What’s Old is Holy Again? Professor Doron Bar on Israel’s Creative Holy Places

Prof. Doron Bar
| 04/01/2018

Preparations are underway for Tu Bishvat, the New Year of the Trees, which falls on January 30th and 31st this year. Professor Doron Bar, President of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, describes how during times when Jews did not have access to particular holy sites, they created and ‘discovered’ new ones based in history and in Biblical stories.  One of these places, Eshel Avraham, has been associated with the site where Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and is celebrated on Tu Bishvat.

What other sites in Israel were developed in this way?

Doron Bar, former president and dean of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, is a professor of Land of Israel studies. He earned his PhD from The Hebrew University in Historical Geography. Professor Bar is researching the development of popular and national holy places. He is a seventh generation descendant of an Old Yishuv Jerusalem family.

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