Historic Discovery

Jerusalem
f Dr. Richard Mark of West Bloomfield didn't make history
on the Mission, there is no doubt he uncovered it. "The guide
just freaked out;' Mark said of the first reaction to the
inscribed shard of pottery dug out of the dirt at Beit Guvrin, a site
open to tourists who want to try their hand at archeology
. According to the chief archeologist at the site, who was sum-
moned immediately and quickly cordoned off the area where
Mark had been digging, the palm-sized piece with ten lines of
writing in Aramaic is of museum quality and potentially verysig-
nificant. Another guide familiar with Aramaic said the inscription
seemed to be a list of names making it particularly prized and
historically useful.
"They said they hadn't seen anything like it in years:' Mark
said. "The only similar piece found there only had one line of
writing. To think I was the first person to touch it in 2,000 years
was ama z ing. I felt like I won the lottery"
The find became the talk of the Mission, with a bus mate say-
ing the piece was more impressive than much of what she had
seen at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
"They told me they would let me know exactly what's going
on with it," said Mark, who is eager to hear.
Don Cohen; special writer

I

aura Zausmer paints

a banner with -cnifdren •

at the PACT Program

in Netaicya.

Photo by Debbie Hill

Mission of Discovery from page 33

-

Hills and her grandson, Koby Spiegel,
13, of Toronto took the P2K track to learn
about the project and meet some of the
Israelis involved. Krohn-Medwed had
taken 12 of her 13 grandchildren and
step-grandchildren to Israel, and it was
time to bring No. 13.
"I liked that they made it just like the
olden days:' Spiegel said at the Settlement
Museum on Kibbutz Yifat, dedicated to
the chalutzim (pioneers) who worked
and defended the land before Israel was
established. He listened intently as a
guide engagingly portrayed the mother of
a 1920s pioneer, explaining the difficult
conditions, long workday and the social-
ist ideology of early kibbutzniks.
"I'm not sure I could do what they did;'
admitted Spiegel, as he snapped pictures.
He was particularly concerned about the
early mornings. "They had to get up at 5
a.m., and it's hard enough to get up at
6:30',' he said.
The visit also included music by youth

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Jenna Blanck, - 13, and

Ashley Simmons, 17, .both

of West Bloomfield, work

on a clay pot with an

Ethiopian child at

the PACT progra

in Netanya.

involved in Sounds of Harmony,
which brings young Jewish, Arab
and Druse Israelis together, and the
jazz band of the Excellence in Music pro-
gram that involves children ages 12-18. A
visit to the extensive archaeological find-
ings at Tzippori and home hospitality
rounded out the day.
Another day groups visited the
Federation-sponsored PACT (Parents and
Children Together) in Netanya, a Head
Start-type project where Mission-goers
got to play with Ethiopian children. At the
Jewish Agency Absorption Center in
Ranana, they heard from new immi-
grants and helped put together
Chanukah gift boxes for soldiers. A spe-
cial surprise was a Chanukah concert by
Israeli great David Broza.
The mission, which is co-sponsored by
the Detroit Jewish News and the Michigan
Board of Rabbis, ended with a final
Shabbat in Jerusalem. A beautiful day of
services, walking tours and visits with
family and friends ended with a frenzy of
shopping and a mega-event of food,
music, fun and frolic held on Dec. 31 at
the Jerusalem Convention Center. The
next day it was time for the first Mission
group to board their flights to leave their
home ... in order to go home. E

Dr. Richard Mark with his

remarkable archaeological find,

surrounded by his bus mates.

JN Hosting Federation
Mission Photo Contest

We want to

see your vacation photos — really! Enter the IN's
Federation Family Miracle Mission photo contest. Prizes will
be awarded.

All entries will appear on JNonline.us. Winning entries will
be printed in a mid-January issue of the Jewish News. All
other entries will be posted on our Web site — a great way to
share photos with new friends from the Mission.

For rules and to enter, go to JNonline.us and click on the
Photo Contest button on the right side, just under the Family
Miracle Mission banner. We'll be watching for your photos!

34

January 5 2006