Dan Barag News Today

Exodus 30: 13-16) to collect a half-shekel tax, the shekel being 20 gerah of the shekel of the sanctuary, at the time of each census. During the time of Moses there were no coins, so we understand this to mean the weight of half a shekel, according to the standards set by the sanctuary. Subsequently, it is suggested that the half-shekel was paid annually ( II Kings 12 5-17 and Nehemiah 10:32-33). In the Book of Nehemiah, it was referred to as a “third-shekel” but scholars generally belie...

Jessica Steinberg covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center. Token with The Nativity, Syria-Palestine, 6th-7th century CE, Terracotta, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Bequest of Dan Barag, Jerusalem (Courtesy Eli Posner) A unique Byzantine-era blessing token featuring baby Jesus was recently unveiled by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, harking back to a time before a pandemic kept pilgrims from thronging Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity on Christmas. Eulogia, Greek for ...