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Zachary Lessner

Nov 5, 2026, 11:54 PM

3 Days in ‘Judea and Samaria’

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a seven-day J Street trip to Israel and the West Bank, hoping to better understand the political landscape and the obstacles standing in the way of a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian...

Nov 4, 2026, 9:47 PM

Were Qumran Caves and Baptism Sites Temporarily Abandoned as the Dead Sea Rose?

The Dead Sea, Qumran and Baptism Sites: What Might the Ancient Landscape Reveal? Fluctuations in the Dead Sea’s level may help explain the conditions in which the scrolls survived, the location of baptism sites and the significance of water installations...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Oct 27, 2026, 4:08 PM

The difference between Ninveh and Sdom

Why were the people of Ninveh in the Book of Jonah given the opportunity to do Tshuva (repent) while the people of Sdom were not? The Gemara in Sanhedrin 109b discusses the sins of the people of Sdom: They had beds...

Oct 23, 2026, 5:32 PM

Will Pilgrims Leave Qasr al-Yahud After Jordan’s Decision on the Baptism Site?

The Copper Scroll, Jordan’s New Nature Reserve and the Dispute over Jesus’ Baptism Site. As Amman positions Bethany Beyond the Jordan for “Baptism 2030,” an early Hebrew text and a reconstruction of the region’s changing waterscape may help connect Second...

Oct 14, 2026, 3:08 PM

Ramat Rachel’s Mysterious Waterworks: Two Discoveries in Jerusalem in Six Months

Ramat Rachel’s Water Mystery: Why Two Major Discoveries in Six Months Call for a Systemic Engineering Approach This week, the discovery of a roughly 2,000-year-old aqueduct south of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, was announced. The approximately 300-meter section...

Oct 1, 2026, 1:39 PM

The Copper Scroll Sec 4, the New Testament and Baptism 2030: A Research Proposal

An Administrative Station for Ritual Purity and Tithe Redemption: A Hydroclimatic and Halakhic Reading of Section 4 of the Copper Scroll (3Q15) Introduction: Mapping Administration, Ritual Purity, and Flood Risks Among the various groups within Jewish society in the early first...

Sep 18, 2026, 7:07 PM

Baptism 2030: Israel, Jordan and Palestine Unlock Kahlat and the Copper Scroll?

Israel and Jordan Prepare for the 2,000th Anniversary of the Baptism: Could Academic Cooperation Reveal the Secrets of Kahlat and the Copper Scroll? The year 2030 will mark 2,000 years since the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River—an event...

Sep 14, 2026, 7:30 PM

From Jerusalem to Jericho, Did Gold Classify Water Quality in the Copper Scroll?

From “Waters of Gold” to a Water Registry: The Linguistic Sources of the Copper Scroll The use of “gold” as a metaphor for exceptional quality, purity, and supreme value is familiar in modern Hebrew expressions such as “the golden age,”...

Aug 30, 2026, 6:09 PM

Jericho area: A New Hypothesis on Mysterious Latin Letters in the Copper Scroll

The Copper Scroll: Are Its Mysterious Foreign Letters Codes Used by Ancient Water Engineers? The Uniqueness of the Jericho District and the Concentration of the Greek Signs One of the most striking features of the Copper Scroll is not the meaning...

Aug 25, 2026, 8:47 PM

Jerusalem: Unknown Reservoirs in Absalom’s Tomb on Pilgrims’ way to Temple Mount

The Hidden Waterworks of the Kidron Valley: Do Sections 48–49 of the Copper Scroll Lead to Absalom’s Tomb and the Tomb of Jehoshaphat? This article explores an attempt to decipher a mysterious and potentially extensive water installation beneath the western...

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