The Tayelet - Next to Armon HaNatziv©

The Churvah Shul seen
fromThe TayeThleet  

Writtern by Vardah Littman
                      
Photos by Rimonah Traub                                                                                                                    www.israelcamerafocus.blogspot.com

   In this week’s parshah, Vayeirah, Avraham Avinu was shown Har Moriah
as the site for the binding of his son Yitzchak. It is traditionally believed
that his vantage point for beholding Har Moriah was a ridge in modern
day Jerusalem’s East Talpiot. This area, called Armon HaNatiziv, overlooks the
surrounding hills and valleys and affords today’s visitors a magnificent view of
Jerusalem’s Old City and New City.
Armon Hanatziv means the Commissioner’s Palace and is named for the
magnificent building way off to the right at the end of promenade called the Haas
Tayelet, known simply as The Tayelet. This stately mansion, built in 1930, served
as the residence of the British High Commissioner during the English Mandate in
Palestine. Since 1948, it has housed the UN Observers Headquarters and the UN
Emergency Force Headquarters.
From 1948 until 1967, the whole area of The Tayelet and Armon HaNatziv was
a no-man’s land. In the years following the Six Day War, a network of three interconnected
promenades were built on this hill. The Tayelet, which is about one kilometer long (two-thirds of a mile), has the Jerusalem Peace Forest descending
on the slope beneath it. The Jerusalem municipality plants a tree in this forest for
every child born in Jerusalem.
Hidden under the walkway on the ridge are the remains of an aqueduct built
by Herod to bring water from the south, by way of his summer palace at the
Herodium, to the Second Temple.
As you stand on The Tayelet of Armon HaNatziv, the city lies spread before you
in all its glory. This is the sight that greeted the olei regel in ancient times. In the
center of this sweeping panorama is the Old City. One of the walls of the Old City is at least 2,000 years old. A painful reminder of the galus is the golden dome of the mosque on Har HaBayit, the holiest spot in the world. However, a comforting sight is the white dome of the newly completed Churvah Shul after more than six decades during which it sat in ruins. Its presence gives fuel to the belief that soon very very soon the Bais Hamigdosh will crown the Har Habayis and will be once again the Reigning Jewel of Yerushola'yim.
        Dovid HaMelech writes in Tehillim that Jerusalem is surrounded by hills, and you can view the ring of these hills from the heights of The Tayelet. On the crest of each hill is a different suburb. This appears to be the fulfillment of the prophecies throughout Neviim that Jerusalem will grow, spread, and be settled beyond her walls.
  Standing on The Tayelet, it’s easy to understand why there is no city in the world like Jerusalem and no city equally beautiful. Here is the proof of Chazal’s teaching: “Ten measures of beauty descended to the world; nine were taken by Jerusalem.”
     Besides the spectacular views from The Tayelet, the spacious park below has many walking trails and shaded grasslands for family picnics. The park’s lights turn off at 11:30 pm, and visitors are discouraged from coming to the area alone at night since it is generally not well lit and lies far from the center of town.

The Egged Bus No. 8 stops at The Tayelet.

Published in :  The English Update 14 Oct 2010 - יג חשון תשע"א
 OUT AND ABOUT

The Tayelet of Armon HaNatziv.