Page 20 - Holyland Magazine - 2010 Edition

The air is silent, the BACK TO
BASICS
buff-colored soil punctured by
groves of modest tamarisk
trees. The road passes bleak,
abandoned buildings and
crosses crown gateways;
a lion of Judah, symbol of
the Ethiopian Church, roars
silently on a blue-tiled
background, a lone lord of all
he surveys. That is the scene
here at the Jordan River near
Jericho on an ordinary day,
in an ordinary month.

But it looks very different here
on Epiphany, the day that
commemorates Jesus’
baptism by John, when “the
heavens opened, and he saw
the spirit of God descending
like a dove and lighting on
him” (Matt. 3:16). Celebrated
in January on separate dates
by the Roman Catholics and
the Eastern Churches, the
holy day transforms the area
as thousands of pilgrims flock
to what is one of the most
sacred and least visited places
in Israel.

This site is best known by the
Arabic name Kasr al Yahud.
Some say this means “castle
of the Jews.” Others note that
al Yahud does mean “the
Jews,” but the first word
comes from an Arabic word
meaning “break.” Thus, this
is none other than the place
where the Jews “broke” the
waters – that is, where Joshua
led them across the Jordan.
Kasr al Yahud is also the name

20 “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John” (Matt. 3: 13)