Desert views from Beersheba

The wonders of the Negev

By Miriam Bradman Abrahams

Issue of Dec. 12, 2008 / 15 Kislev 5769

Most of our friends who are lucky enough to spend the chagim in Israel choose Jerusalem as their base. Our family tends to spend time in the Tel Aviv area where much of our relatives live. My husband and I have cousins living all over Israel, from Nahariya near the Lebanon border down to Beersheba, the capital of the Negev.

My cousin Francoise who made aliyah from Paris by way of New York City has often begged us to spend time with her family and get to know their adopted city, Beersheba. Not expecting much, we spent three days in this desert town and my eyes were opened to a usually overlooked but very special part of the Holy Land.

From the mirpeset and all the windows in my cousins’ small apartment at the southwest corner of the city, you can see the desert just a couple of blocks away. Unlike bustling Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, Beersheba, the sixth largest city in Israel, has streets that are hushed at night with the moon and the stars so close by.

I easily traveled there by train for 90 minutes, on a line from Tel Aviv. Only 75 miles from Jerusalem, this city has satellite towns including Mitzpe Ramon, the three upscale Jewish communities Omer, Lehavim and Meitar, as well as Rahat, the largest Bedouin town in Israel.

Beersheba just built a beautiful concert hall which opened several months ago with the Israel Philharmonic featuring Zubin Mehta. Ben Gurion University is world class, as is Soroka Medical Center with a brand new pediatric wing donated by Haim Saban of Power Rangers fame. The fascinating, kid-friendly, Israel Air Force Museum is located in Beersheba. Beersheba has a small replica of the Statue of Liberty and a World Trade Center memorial. Ilan Ramon, first Israeli astronaut grew up in Beersheba.

Tel Beersheba, an archaeological site just northeast of modern day Beersheba, shows that the region has been populated since the 4th millenium BC. Beersheba was the southernmost city of Israel in Biblical times and the expression “from Dan to Beersheba” describes the entire kingdom.

Beersheba’s logo is the tamarisk tree, which Avraham is said to have planted and hosted guests in its shade. Beersheba is also mentioned in the Bible as the place where Avraham made his pact with Abimelech, and Yitzchak built an altar. Yaakov dreamt about a stairway to heaven after leaving Beersheba.

We spent Simchat Torah in Beersheba and were treated to a fireworks display over the desert on Isru Chag. Although I consider myself a city girl, I appreciated the slow pace, the unique sights and magical desert views of Beersheba. We hope to take up cousin Francoise’s offer to use her home as our base for our next visit to Israel. We look forward to discovering more of the wonders of the Negev.