A bit about modern Beit Shemesh. Under the United Nations Partition Plan, Beit Shemesh was slated to be part of internationalized Jerusalem. A displaced persons camp was set up here in 1950 and the first permanent housing was built in 1952 for new immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Romania, Bulgaria, Morocco and Kurdistan. It was typical of a development town. Investment in the town increased during Menachem Begin’s Likud government. Ramat Beit Shemesh is an extension of Beit Shemesh, and has a large, diverse orthodox population.
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The Stalactite Caves
The Stalactite Caves are in the Judean Mountains and not in the Shefela. Nevertheless, this site is only a short distance from modern-day Bet Shemesh and overlooks the city, and it is a shame to miss it if you are nearby. This is the largest and most beautiful stalactite cave in Israel. Visiting it is a magical experience.
Time: About an hour for a visit starting from the parking lot.
Directions: Enter “Stalactite Cave” into Waze and click on “Soreq Stalactites Cave” or “ שמורת טבע מערת הנטיפים“. Be aware that from the parking lot to the Visitor Center there about 155 stone steps. There are handrails and benches along the way. You can ask for special permission to drive down to the caves. There are restrooms by the parking lot and also by the visitor center. The view from the parking lot over the quarries and Bet Shemesh in the plain below is impressive.
Admission: This is a site of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The site is open Sunday to Thursday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday and holiday eves 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Entry is up to an hour prior to closing. It is advised to prebook your time slot to be assured entry, although this is not always essential. Drinks and snacks can be purchased at the visitor center. Strollers and food are not allowed inside the cave. Admission is 28 NIS for an adult, 14 NIS for children 2 to 18 years, and 14 NIS for seniors. Their phone number is 02-991 1117. This is their website.
Public transport: Look up “Stalactite cave” on Moovit and click on ״Stalactite cave - מערת הנטיפים.״ There is a 3.2 Km/40-minute walk from the nearest bus stop.
View over Bet Shemesh from the parking lott.
At your allotted time, you will go to a small auditorium to watch a 9-minute movie about the caves and the formation of stalactites and stalagmites. The movie is in Hebrew with Hebrew and English subtitles.
Within the 82 x 62-meter cave you will be walking along a raised walkway with handrails. There is an initial vista onto its stalactites and differently shaped stalagmites. The cave is pleasantly cool and at 92 to 100% humidity.
The topic is reviewed in the movie, but it is helpful to know how stalactites and stalagmites are formed.
This cave was revealed by the nearby quarrying. The rock of the Judean Mountains is made of limestone and dolomite. Rainwater percolates through the soil and dissolves the carbon dioxide within the soil to form the weak acid carbonic acid. This is able over time to dissolve the limestone and dolomite and in the process to form caves. This particular cave may have been created some 5 million years ago. This acidic water percolates along cracks in the rock and into the cave as drops of water. As it drops to the floor of the cave, the carbon dioxide is discharged from the water and the calcium carbonate dissolved in the water precipitates to forms stalactites and stalagmites.
Stalactites grow downwards from the roof. Around the drop of water from the cave ceiling, the calcium carbonate forms a ring through which the next drop passes. In this way a hollow tube is formed which progressively lengthens at an average rate of 0.2 mm a year. Should the tube get blocked, the water flows over the external surface of the stalactite leading to the formation of stalactites of different shapes.
Stalagmites are formed from the floor of the cave upwards. If the rate of dripping is faster than the rate of precipitation, the drop of water falls and shatters on the floor and the calcium carbonate precipitates. Uneven precipitation results in the formation of stalagmites of different shapes. This process is continuing in this cave, as evidenced by drops of water splashing onto the floor.
A stalactite and its corresponding stalagmite may also join to form a column. These columns can join together to form screens.
The Biblical Museum of Natural History
The idea is a simple one, yet very effective — to display in a manner suitable for families the creatures, such animals, birds, reptiles and amphibians mentioned in the Bible that are either present or were once present in the Land of Israel.
Directions: Enter “Biblical Museum” into Waze and click on “The Biblical Museum of Natural History.”
Admission: The museum is open from Sunday to Thursday from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and on Friday from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Admission is 50 NIS for adults, 40 NIS for senior citizens, and children from 3 to 18 years 40 NIS. Children up to 2 years of age are free. All visits need to be booked in advance. This includes tours in English and Hebrew and self-touring. A tour lasts 1¼ to 1½ hours. Tours are recommended for children 6 years and older. Children younger than this may not understand a lot of the explanations, but there will still be plenty to occupy them, particularly in the hands-on Hall of Small Animals. An animal handling experience for an hour is recommended for children 2 years and above at a reduced price. Restrooms are on the second floor. There is a small gift shop which also sells cold drinks. There are two shaded picnic benches outside the main door. There may be a kiosk adjacent to the museum selling hot dogs on rolls. This is the museum website.
Public transport: Enter “Biblical Museum” into Moovit and click on “The Biblical Museum of Natural History.” The closest bus stop is a walk of 9 minutes/700 m.
The lion in the Hall of Biblical Wildlife.
Visitors go from the main entrance of the building to the second floor either by the stairs or the elevator. A tour includes the Hall of Wonders with some of the more extraordinary created creatures, including from the ocean, with taxidermy specimens and some live animals. A short movie is shown in the Auditorium. This is currently about lions. The Hall of Biblical Wildlife is the main event hall and shows an array of taxidermy specimens representing the animal world of the Bible. It is interesting that some of the subspecies of animals in Israel were different from those in Africa, and hence what we are used to recognizing, but one needs a guide to point this out. Next comes the Hall of Shofers. Many of the shofers displayed are horns that make the right noise but cannot be used on the Jewish New Year. The Hall of Kosher Classification has a display of kosher and non-kosher animals, including live locusts and quails. Visitors are left on their own in the Hall of Small Animals, although there are attendants to help the children. In the Serpentarium are snakes from the Bible and from other parts of the world that children can hold.
On the bottom of the tank are the snails from which teckelet dye is made.
Hands-on in the Hall of Small Animals
A fox and jackal.
Tel Beit Shemesh
Biblical Beit Shemesh was on Tel Beit Shemesh overlooking the Sorek Valley. This is only a short distance from the modern Beit Shemesh.
This small tell, just a bit northeast of the modern city of Beit Shemesh, is a bit off the beaten track in that it is not marked. However, it is just off Route 38 and is easily reached. Part of the tell is covered by Route 38, but the plans are to uncover a significant amount of the tell and make it available for viewing.
The tell of Beit Shemesh was initially a Canaanite city and named after the sun-goddess Shapash or Shemesh, the name meaning house or temple of the sun. The city is mentioned in the book of Joshua as being in the territory of Judah. It was set aside as one of the 13 cities for the tribe of Levi. Archeologists think that sometime during the 11th century BCE, the inhabitants were not eating pig, as no bones were found here, so that by this time it was probably totally Jewish. After Hezekiah’s rebellion against the Assyrian king Sennacharib in 701 BCE, it was totally destroyed, but the settlement was re-founded on its eastern slopes. There was no reconstruction of the city during the Persian period when the exiles returned from Babylon.
Beit Shemesh was a border town in the biblical period in that the tribe of Dan lived on the other side of the valley, and south of the tell along the valley was Philistine territory. For much of the time these neighbors probably lived in relative harmony, although the more organized the Israelites became, especially with the onset of the monarchy, the more the Philistines saw them as a threat. Already by the time of the Judges, the tribe of Dan relocated to the north of Israel because of Philistine pressure.
Directions. The site is just off Route 38. There is limited parking just beyond the road’s shoulder. Enter “https://waze.com/ul/hsv8ueujs3” into Waze. It is just after the turning of Route 3835 to Tzara, but before the turning of Route 3833 to Yishai. Then take the unmarked footpath to the tell.
The tell overlooks the Sorek Valley. There are ruins on the top of the tell which are from the Byzantine period. It is worth going to the top of the tell for the view over the Sorek Valley. After this, take another path to the right of the path to the top of the tell and this will bring you to more ruins. This includes a giant subterranean reservoir that is worth seeing. It is reached by steps. Sennacherib filled it with dirt to make it unusable when he devastated the country. The dirt was cleared out as part of the excavations.
Descending into the reservoir.
The summit of the tel overlooking Soreke Valley
Inside the subterranean reservoir
Nearby places of interest: The Tzora Forest on the other side of the Sorek Valley is a wonderful park and an excellent place for reviewing the story of Samson. Click here.