In and around Jerusalem

The views of the wadi are absolutely awe inspiring on this wonderful hike along the side of Nahal Tekoa. The Hariton Cave is also worth exploring. Return to your starting point via the settlement of Tekoa. 

Time: 2½ hours 

Distance: 4¾ Km

Type of hike: Circular

Difficulty: An easy trail along the side of the wadi, but a few areas are slightly difficult. The entrance to Hariton Cave is on a rock ledge, but there are metal supports fixed to the rock to help you climb up. Bring a flashlight and appropriate clothing if you intend crawling in the cave. The final ascent from the wadi is minimally difficult with some climbing on rocks.

Security: The Jewish settlements in this area are in an island surrounded by Arab villages. However, Route 398 to Tekoa is usually regarded as being safe. Bedouin are forbidden to graze in the wadi. Nevertheless, it is probably advisable not to go alone unless there are people around. For concerns before or during the hike call (02) 626-9797. 

Starting point: The intersection of the road to the Hariton Cave and Derech Hashalom. The junction is recognizable by white huts on the left and a sign that points to רפואות חדרים to the right and חוות סוסים straight ahead down the hill. 

Driving direction and parking: Enter “Hariton Cave” into Waze. This will direct you to a parking lot by the start of the footpath along the side of the wadi. However, this approach road, although paved, has a lot of potholes and it is better to park on the side of of Derech Hashalom just before the approach road becomes difficult to drive on. 

Public transport: There are buses from Jerusalem. Enter “האישה החכמה” into Moovit. This bus stop is about a 5-minute walk from the start of the hike. 

OVERVIEW

AMOS-COUNTRY 

Sometime between 760 and 750 BCE, God called upon the prophet Amos to leave his home town of Tekoa in the southern kingdom of Judah to prophesy about the social injustices and eventual destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. He therefore moved to Bethel, then the capital of the northern kingdom and the royal residence of Jereboam II. However, he was denounced by the head priest to Jereboam II and forced to leave Bethel. His book was written when he returned to Tekoa. In this book, he emphasizes that he is not a professional prophet, but that he received a calling, and this becomes the pattern for prophets such as Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Amos was an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah.

The site of the biblical Tekoa is Tel Takua, which is about 2 km east of modern-day Tekoa. This tel also contains ruins from Roman, Byzantine, Crusader and Mamluke times. The settlement of Tekoa began as a military-sponsored nahal outpost in 1975 and changed to a civilian settlement in 1977. Adjacent to Tekoa is the Arab village of Tuqu, which was established in 1948 by Bedouin tribesmen.  

At this time both the northern and southern kingdoms had become prosperous because of the non-interference of the great powers Assyria and Egypt. However, this wealth was not spread evenly and the rich were also oppressing the poor:

"Therefore, because you have trodden on the poor, and the burden of grain you take from him, houses of hewn stone you have built but you shall not dwell therein ...For I know that your transgressions are many and your sins are mighty; you who oppress the just, taking ransom and turning aside the needy in the gate." (Amos 5:11-12)

The writing of Amos seems to downplay the role of ritual and the sacrificial cult: 

"I hate, I despise your festivals, and I will not smell the sacrifices of your assemblies. Even though you offer up to Me  your burnt offerings and your meal offerings, I will not accept them and the peace offerings of your fattened cattle I will not regard  .....  but let justice well up as waters and righteousness as mighty stream" (Amos 5:21-24).

Nevertheless. reading into the words of Amos the ideas of a religious reformer is probably inaccurate, and he was as much bound to the Mosaic law as the other prophets. Rather, he was pointing out how the rich were covering up the social injustices rampant in their society with false piety. He may also be emphasizing the people's duplicity in their straying after foreign gods:

"For they rejected God's Torah, and they did not keep His statues and their lies misled them, which their forefathers followed" (Amos 2:4)

Amos was a sheep herder and not surprisingly, he spoke and wrote in terms he was familiar with from his daily work at the edge of the wilderness. Thus, he says: “the pastures of the shepherds will wither and the best of the fertile feeds will dry up.” (Amos 1:2), and “Just as a shepherd can rescue from the mouth of a lion but two legs or the cartilage of an ear so will the children of Israel dwelling in Samaria be saved in the corner of a bed or in the corner of a couch" (i.e. very few will be saved) (Amos 3:12). He also used analogies from the agriculture work he saw around him: "Behold, I will oppress your dwelling place as a wagon full of sheaves is oppressed" (i.e. from its weight) (Amos 2:13).

At the conclusion of his book he envisions a new reality when Israel will be redeemed:

“Behold days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall meet the reaper and the treader of the grapes the one who carrries the seed, and the mountains shall drip sweet wine and all the hills shall melt. And I will return the captivity of My people Israel; and they will rebuild desolate cities and settle them: they will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will cultivate gardens and eat their fruits” (Amos 9:13-15).

If Amos was to appear today and walk over from biblical Tekoa to the settlement of Tekoa, he probably would not be surprised at everything he sees around him!

 WHO WAS HARITON?

Chariton, or Hariton the Confessor as he is known, was an important figure in the monastic movement and his name comes up a lot during this hike.

He was born in Asia Minor at the end of the 3^rd century CE.  We know quite a bit about him because a monk in the 6^th century wrote an anonymous book about his life. Hariton was persecuted because of his Christian beliefs and tortured, but later released from prison. He subsequently went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 275 CE, and was abducted by bandits. He managed to escape from their clutches and decided to remain as a hermit in the cave in which he was captured in the upper part of Wadi Qelt. He founded what is called a “laura”. This consisted of a group of cells or caves where monks would spend time in solitude, with a church and perhaps a central dining room. His monastery in Nahal Tekoa is the third he established. His monasteries became extremely popular and people flocked to them. Hariton was later made a saint.   

The Judean Desert was a convenient location for this type of monastery, since although a desert it was still close to civilization. Other monasteries subsequently established in the Judean Desert include the monastery of Saint Euthymius (377-473 CE) in the Mishor Adumim section of Ma’ale Adumim, the laura of Saint Sabba the Sanctified in the Kidron Valley (died in 532 CE), and that of Saint Gerasimus in the Jordan Valley in the 5^th century.

In the 4th century in particular, monasteries became popular also in the deserts of Egypt and Syria, as Christian ascetics rejected the worldly values of society and attempted to recreate the simple values of the very early Christians. The world hermit comes from the Greek word for wilderness.

The hike:

• From its junction with Derech Hashalom, walk down the paved path towards the horse farm. This road soon becomes a paved blue-marked trail that ends at a parking lot by a large empty pool, which may have been the main water supply of the Hariton Monastery. The footpath, which is black-marked, begins from here.

• Walking along the black-marked trail you will come to a junction. Straight ahead leads to the Hariton Cave. If you wish to explore the caves there are metal supports on the rock to help you climb up to the ledge.  

Hariton Cave is the largest known karst limestone cave in Israel, and the entire system has been mapped. You can easily enter the first chamber, although to go further requires some crawling. Despite its name, these caves were not part of the Hariton Monastery, and they used a cave further along the wadi. However, it was used by Jews during the Bar Kochba revolt and its length of 3-4 Km and 55 “rooms” made it an ideal hideout from the Romans. 

• Return to the junction and descend on the black-marked trail. The buildings you see on the other side of the wadi are those of the Jewish settlement of Nokdim. 

• You will soon come to two small pools called Mayan A Natuf that fill from drips of water from the cliff above. These pools were also a water source for the Hariton Monastery. There is a water cistern below the pools, but it has been closed up since a member of the settlements died here. 

• A short distance after this can be seen caves in the rock cliff used by the Hariton Monastery. 

• The black-marked footpath eventually ascends to the main road. There is parking area here and a picnic bench. At the paved road, which is also black-marked, turn right. You will now be walking through the settlement of Tekoa.

• At the top of the hill, turn left at the intersection and continue straight ahead to your car. 

Nearby places of interest:

Herodium: This unique archeological site is described on our webpage “Herodium”

Sde Bar Farm: This has a store that sells cheeses manufactured in the farm and wine, and also a restaurant overlooking the Judean Desert that serves hot drinks, salads and cheese plates. The restaurant is open Sunday to Thursday 10.00 AM to 6.00 PM, and Friday 9.00 AM to 4.00 PM. It is kosher lemehadrin and closed on Shabbat. Their phone number is (052) 525-5710 and email address info@sde-bar.com. A farm and petting zoo can be visited during the summer - "The Exotic Animal Experience". Call (055) 666-0897 for hours or visit their website. 

The views of the nahal are quite awe inspiring. The nahal goes all the way to the Dead Sea, but you will be hiking along only a small section of it.

These pools are formed from water dripping from the rocks above.