Good News Blog

Coin used to pay Temple tax unearthed

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:31:04 +0000

First the archeologists hit bronze, then they found silver.

Israeli archeologists have unearthed a coin in Jerusalem's City of David that, they now believe, was used to pay the head-tax in the Second Temple period, the Antiquities Authority announced.

The rare silver coin was discovered in an archeological excavation outside the walls of the Old City in what was Jerusalem's main drainage channel 2,000 years ago.

Archeologists earlier uncovered thousands of nondescript small bronze coins that were used in every day life, said Prof. Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa.

"A drainage pipe is, not surprisingly, a place where you find lots of history," he said.

In the book of Exodus, Jews over age 20 are commanded to contribute half a shekel each year to pay for public sacrifices and the furnishings of the Temple.

Israeli archeologist Eli Shukron said the coin found at the dig was probably dropped in the drainage ditch by accident.

"Just like today when coins sometimes fall from our pockets and roll into drainage openings at the side of the street, that's how it was some two thousand years ago - a man was on his way to the Temple and the shekel that he intended to use for paying the half shekel head-tax found its way into the drainage channel," Shukron said.

The shekel weighs 13 grams, and shows the head of the chief deity of the city of Tyre on one side, and an eagle upon a ship's prow on the reverse.

Despite the importance of the half-shekel head-tax to the economy of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period, only seven other shekel and half shekel coins have been found in archeological excavations in Jerusalem.

Source: JPOST

First-Ever: First-Temple Building Remains Found Near Temple Mt.

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:08:30 +0000

The Israel Antiquities Authority announces the first time in the history of the archaeological research of Jerusalem that building remains from the First Temple period have been exposed so close to the Temple Mount – on the eastern slopes of the Upper City.

Source: INN

Snorting a Brain Chemical Could Replace Sleep

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:04:36 +0000

According to Jewish sources we will no longer require sleep after the Ressurection of the Dead, recent technological advances make this seem less absurd. Here's the story from ABC News:

In what sounds like a dream for millions of tired coffee drinkers, Darpa-funded scientists might have found a drug that will eliminate sleepiness.

nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests. The discovery's first application will probably be in treatment of the severe sleep disorder narcolepsy.

The treatment is "a totally new route for increasing arousal, and the new study shows it to be relatively benign," said Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a co-author of the paper. "It reduces sleepiness without causing edginess."

Source: ABC News

Auto industry seriously going green

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:47:04 +0000

More than any time since the early ‘70s, automakers are thinking and designing green. Electric vehicles, gasoline-electric hybrids, diesels, and flex-fuel and hydrogen-powered cars are inching up the consumer on-ramp at a faster pace, judging from world debuts of 21 alternative-fuel vehicles at this year’s auto shows.

“It’s highly unlikely that oil alone is going to supply all of the world’s rapidly growing automotive energy requirements,” says GM CEO Mr. Wagoner. “It sort of feels like the early part of the 20th century, when everyone was trying to figure out whether to go with steam or electricity or gasoline,” adds Gavin Conway, Editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine. “People are saying, ‘Do we go with electric, hybrids, diesel, or what?’”

The march toward cleaner energy necessary for environmental sustainability and ending dependence on foreign oil, which fuels global conflict, is clearly picking up speed.

Source: M-Wire