Visitors to the Ophel archaeological site at the Davidson Center can now follow a new path that winds between 2,000 mikvehs -- ritual baths -- once used by pilgrims to the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The path forms a circuit through the site and offers shaded corners, lookout spots, gathering area, and informational displays about the archaeological discoveries. Visitors will be able to cross bridges and climb stairways constructed between the ancient ruins. Educational material explains the characteristics of the mikvehs and their role in Second Temple-era Jewish society in general and on the route to the Temple in particular. The Ophel site was continually inhabited from the Iron Age through the Crusader period. The accepted interpretation of the Biblical word "ophel" is an elevated portion of the city where a king resided or an administrative center was located, which was probably both high and concealed. In Jerusalem, the ascent was from the south: Pilgrims ascended -- both physically and spiritually -- from the Siloam Pool by way of the City of David to the Ophel and its ritual baths and from there to the Temple Mount. At the same time, festivities and events departed to this area from the Temple Mount in the north. Thus, the Ophel constituted an area of transition between the secular and the sacred and the sacred and the secular, the pinnacle of a personal, religious and national journey that took place three times a year at the holidays of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. The first part of the path descends south along the Ottoman-era southern wall outside the Temple Mount, where visitors are treated to a reconstruction of the past that includes a display of stone tools and an explanation of how tools, clothing, and personal objects were purified. Visitors are introduced to the aspects of Jewish law pertaining to the mikveh and an explanation of how the site's mikvehs and water pools were operated. The second part of the path heads upward, viewing the monumental Hulda stairs and the double gate on the southern wall of the Temple Mount. In ancient times, a Jew who reached that spot could enter the Temple compound and carry out the commandments of the pilgrimage. Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Zeev Elkin will inaugurate the path, which the Israel Antiquities Authority built with help of a donation by businessman and philanthropist Kevin Bermeister, at a ceremony on Thursday. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and other public figures are also scheduled to attend.
