By Jacob Rutner
On October 7, amidst the swirling confusion surrounding the horrific events taking place in Israel, Rabbi Eliezer Muskin stood up to the pulpit of Young Israel of Century City to address the congregants. Rabbi Muskin’s message to the scared, bewildered group was simple: the Lulav will always outlast the Roman sword. No matter who rises up to attack the Jewish people, and no matter what calamities befall us, we will always prevail over our enemies. Upon returning from the YU-run trip “From Rome to Jerusalem: An Archeological Journey With Chazal,” which traveled from the ancient ruins of Italy to several of the core archaeological sites of Israel, I gained a new appreciation for that powerful message.
The trip was led by Professors Steven Fine, Ronnie Perelis, and Jill Katz and graciously supported by the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs, and Shevet Glaubach Center for Career Strategy and Professional Development. Participants spent a week in Rome, exploring the remains of the most prominent city of the ancient world. We then headed south to Naples to see the stunningly well-preserved cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which were destroyed in 79 C.E. due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. After that, we flew to Israel and were able to compare what we had seen in Italy to contemporary sites in Israel, including the ancient village of Ein Gedi and the remains of second-Temple era Jerusalem. Dr. Katz explained to the YU Observer that the goal of the trip was to “provide a meaningful lens in which to understand Jewish history and archaeology” and “appreciate ancient cultural interactions between Jews and Romans.”
The significance of Rome in Jewish history did not merely end with the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., Dr. Perelis told the YU Observer. “Rome offers a unique vantage point for understanding the migrations and cultural resilience of Jews in the medieval and early modern age.”
As we walked through Rome, the experiences of the first diaspora Jews came alive. Fittingly, our first stop was the Coliseum, which stands as the perfect foil to the Temple, whose riches were plundered and used to build the massive amphitheater in Rome. The Colosseum, where hundreds of people, many of them Jews, were led to their deaths daily to the delight of cheering crowds, personified barbarism and cruelty. The Temple stood as the holiest place on earth, where God himself resided.
We then headed to the Roman Forum, with the Arch of Titus as its entrance. Standing underneath the Arch, Dr. Fine explained how the reliefs on its sides were originally colorful and vibrant. One student participant on the trip told the YU Observer that she “witnessed Jewish history come alive” when seeing how the Arch of Titus looked in ancient times and what thousands of exiled Jews had to walk by every day.
Walking through Rome and Pompeii also illuminated the profound influence Roman culture had on Israel. Standing in the streets of Pompeii, one is easily transported to ancient Jerusalem. The temples that dot the Roman landscape could be facsimiles for the Beis Hamikdash in Jerusalem. In the Kotel tunnels, the colonnades and walls, built by the Romanized King Herod the Great, feel like they were transported directly from Rome.
Rome is particularly special in that it provides a window into numerous eras of Jewish history. Listening to the davening on Shabbos and all of the unique aspects of the Italian nusach allows you to experience prayer as it existed 2,000 years ago. “I was moved to sit in the great synagogue in Rome and hear the tunes and piyyutim (Jewish liturgical poems) that were lovingly preserved through the centuries, which reflects the rootedness of Italian Jews,” Dr. Perelis said.
The transition from Rome to Jerusalem painted an empowering portrait of Jewish history. Modern Rome seeks to glorify a society that is long gone and a religion that has been dead for millennia. Jerusalem on the other hand, is a thriving, vibrant city still alive with the same people and practices from 2,000 years ago. The Lulav will always outlast the Roman sword.