Congregation Ohav Sholom

Travel in Israel - Hazan Caves

Off the Beaten Track in Israel - The Hazan Caves

by Michael Rosenbloom (spidermr@aol.com)

This is the first article in what I hope will be a regular Israel travel column intended for all travelers to Israel but especially for those who are traveling with children and for those who can plan their own itinerary. If you do plan your itinerary, you may want to purchase a parks pass at the first site you visit, for a one-time fee, which grants you unlimited access to the sites run by the Israel Parks Authority.

Like most of the sites I’ll write about in this column, you and your family can tour the Hazan caves without the help of a guide. You will receive a brochure at the site, in English where tickets are purchased. The brochure will explain the main function and highlights of each room.

The Hazan caves are a network of rooms and caves, built underground by the Jews, as a hiding place from the Romans, during the time of the Bar-Kochba rebellion, in the 2^nd century A.D. The Hazan caves are located near Lachish, about 10 miles southeast of Kiryat Gat, in an area of the country which has its unique beauty: the last green area before you reach the Beer Sheva and  Negev area. The scenery on the way to the caves is very pretty, hilly with natural plant growth as opposed to Jewish National Fund forests. When traveling to the site by car, you will certainly agree that it is off the beaten track.

The caves are tall enough so that in most places you can walk through them, while crouching as opposed to crawling. The Jews who hid there, evidently sustained themselves by the production of olive oil. As a matter of fact the most interesting rooms are those with rows of notches carved in the floors, in which clay jugs of olive oil were placed for storage. In between each row of notches were additional narrow rows in which oil from any broken jugs would seep and flow into a central location so that no oil would be wasted.

Kids will enjoy navigating their way through the caves. At the same time they will learn lessons in Jewish history at the very site where important events took place. If you are claustrophobic, you may want to wait outside while the other members of your party enjoy the caves. My advice to you, however, is do not miss the Hazan caves.

Next article: Mitzpeh Ramon

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