Judean Desert | "Cave of Letters" & the story of Babatha the Judean woman.

Israel video tour and hike with David Hyman, professional tour guide. Join Shiri and me on our adventure in the wilderness of Judea. After camping out in the Tseelim camping ground we started climbing the Tzruya ascent from Kibbutz Ein Gedi, to the Judean desert plateau. The climb is a grueling 500-meter steep ascent. Once at the top, you are rewarded with one of the most beautiful vistas imaginable, the Dead Sea, the mountains of Moav, and the vast desert terrain from horizon to horizon. This is when the story of Babatha should be told. In the early 1960s a survey of the caves of the desert was launched, to rescue any scrolls or items from looters and thieves. The director of the project was Professor Yigael Yadin, an archeologist and former chief of staff of the IDF. Yadin's team decided to search two caves that were on both sides of Nachal Hever only 4 KM away from Ein Gedi. Both caves returned valuable treasures, you can read about them in Yadin's books. In the cave on the north face of the cliff, now called "the cave of letters" Yadin found a basket with the possessions of a young woman called Babatha. Babatha and her son Yeshua escaped the Roman army attack during the Bar Kochava Jewish revolt in the year 132 AD and found refuge in the caves of Nahal Hever. She took her most valuable possession with her and hid them in the cave under a rock. 2000 years later, her basket was found by Yadin's team. Among the very precious objects, a later bag was found that was holding 35 letters owned by Babatha. These are her legal documents that shed light on her life as a wealthy Judean widow, living in Judea during the 2nd-century ad. I encourage you to read about her and her family affairs, it is amazing that not much has changed and how legal matters can be a window into our believes and values. Thanks so much for watching, happy Pesach and Easter to you all. Thanks, Michael Negev @michael.negev #michael.negev and Eli for participating in this video. Thanks, Shiri my lovely wife and soulmate for joining me on my crazy adventures, sleeping in tents, climbing mountains, and listening to my way-too-long lectures... Love you so much My Instagram -   / dtalesisrael   My website - https://davidhymanisrael.com/ Edited by David Hyman with Imovie Apple, mini Ipad Recorded by David Hyman with GoPro Hero 7 Black Music track: Spanish Rose - Chris Haugen