Tzafon: The place of reckoning

We spent today in the North of Israel, "Tzafon" in Hebrew. The word literally means "hidden" or "place of mystery." Indeed much of the mystery of Israel is rooted here. Safed, the home of Lurianic Kabbalah and so much Jewish mysticism is here. This is the center of the Jewish quest for secret treasures embedded and hidden in the Torah. Safed is all about the mystery and the Divine hidden things that we seek to reveal.

It is also taught that things will be judged and great reckoning will take place here. The Bible tells us that in ancient Israel each tribe had its own assigned place. The tribe of Dan was given the coastal plain near today's Tel Aviv, but in the days of the Judges they moved north. During a period of civil unrest, the Danites marched through other tribal territories and took the northern land. Commentators point out that the word "Dan" is a cognate of the Hebrew word "to judge" (i.e. din, dayan). From a literary perspective the story of Dan's move to the North is a story about judgement - Israelites reckoning their difference with other Israelites, God closing some unfinished business with people, and nations versus each other in the Middle East.

This is the place where we started our touring today, at Tel Dan, a nature preserve and site of an important archeological dig. Here you can see the ruins of the ancient city of Dan and its gates. Here archaeologists found the only extra-biblical references to King David. Here we can see one of the springs that feeds the Jordan River. It's a beautiful nature preserve with hiking trails, pools, and flora ranging from eucalyptus to bamboo and all types of flowers.

But this is a place whose beauty belies its underlying tension and explosive potential (truly... there are volcanoes just over the Golan Heights, about 15 miles away). From here Israel staged its sorties and troop transports into Lebanon in the 80s and 90s. From here, Hizbollah kidnapped soldiers and drew Israel into prolonged conflict. From here, the most precious resource - water - can be drawn or dammed. As in those days when Dan first traversed the country, Israel today judges itself and reckons with its neighbors from here.

We hear that the Knesset voted to approve a swap: known terrorist murderers for Israeli soldiers, Regev and Goldwasser, and some information about Ron Arad, missing since the 1980s. We hear about possible negotiations with Syria and about giving back the Golan. This is a tense time and Israelis are conflicted. They want peace and they want security. They want their soldiers repatriated and they are willing to pay a steep price for them. They want water and all the luxuries that come with it (irrigation, lawns, cold drinks, etc.).

They look to the north like the ancient Dan ancestors. We can't make it by the coastal plain alone. We must go the place of mystery to the Tzafon. The country is moving and judgement moves with them. There will be a reckoning of Israel with its neighbors, with itself, with its water and resource supply. And no doubt, as in ancient days, that judgement will involve the Tzafon.