Beit Jamal (بيت جمال / الحكمه ,בית ג'מאל)

Beit Jamal (or Beit Jimal, בית ג'מאל, بيت جمال / الحكمه‎), located in the Judean hills next to the city of Beit Shemesh was, until the mid-19th century, a tiny Arab village with a few scattered houses. Then, in 1869, Italian Catholic priest Father Antonio Belloni purchased Beit Jamal and resettled its inhabitants elsewhere. He built a large, impressive monastery on the hill and in 1873 opened an agricultural school for underprivileged and orphaned Arab boys and later a medical facility. By 1881, a Latin Convent was being built there.

Entrance gate to Beit Jamal; The wrought iron reads "Scuola Agricola di S. Giuseppe, Beit Gemal," reflecting the agricultural school for underprivileged and orphaned Arab boys which the founder, Italian Catholic priest Father Antonio Belloni, established in 1873.

Fr. Belloni was influenced by the ideas of Don John Bosco, who was ordained as a priest in 1841, when the industrial revolution was underway in Italy. Many young people found their way to Turin, where Bosco worked. Moved by the misery and abandonment of the youngsters, who worked long hours in the ever growing number of factories, he set out to create youth clubs and founded the Salesian Society in 1854. Later, in 1872 the Salesian Sisters were formed, to work with girls. Fr. Belloni joined the Salesians, who then took over the property in 1892. Corporal punishment was simply not in Don Bosco’s vocabulary, and the priests teaching in his schools were instructed to do so using reason, religion and kindness.

Fresco (imitating a mosaic) of Don Bosco in the church of St Stephen, Beit Jamal.

In 1916, while enlarging the monastery garden for use in additional agricultural studies, the monks uncovered beautiful mosaics and other remains from a small parish church at least 1,500 years old that was destroyed in the Persian invasion of 614, along with a martyrs’ shrine and a covered grotto that some experts thought had been used as a tomb. Archaeologists began to make the connection between the Arab village of Beit Jamal and the similar-sounding Caphargamala – a little town mentioned in Byzantine writings and located 20 miles from Jerusalem. They believed that the cave may have held the tomb of St Stephen — a disciple of Jesus — or at least some of his relics.

According to the New Testament, St Stephen was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin who were furious because he stubbornly tried convincing his fellow Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Fresco of St Stephen being stoned to death by the Sanhedrin in the church of St Stephen at Beit Jamal.

In 415, Lucien, the parish priest of Caphargamala, wrote a detailed letter describing how he had located St Stephen’s tomb inside his village. He wrote that Rabbi Gamaliel, the first-century president of the Sanhedrin, had appeared to him in a vision, told him that he had owned a villa in Caphargamala, and related that after St Stephen was stoned he had brought the body back home and buried him in his own private tomb. Lucien wrote that he had followed Rabbi Gamaliel’s directions and discovered the tomb. Because the only cross in the Byzantine church was found inserted into the floor of the southern aisle, and because it lay atop a cave, some experts feel that this was the burial site – or that the grotto would at least have held some of St Stephen’s relics. On the basis of Lucien’s claims, St Stephen’s purported remains were removed at the orders of John, Bishop of Jerusalem, for depositing in the Church of Hagia Sion on Mt Zion, at the site of today's Abbey of the Dormition.

Stained glass in the concert hall at Beit Jamal, possibly showing Lucien (who first associated the site with St Stephen), Don Bosco and Father Belloni.

Thanks to the excavations carried out by Andrzej Strus on site, it is now largely accepted that in Byzantine times this was considered to be the burial site of St Stephen, Gamaliel, Nicodemus and Gamaliel's son Abibos. In 2003, near a circular structure uncovered by Strus, was found a stone architrave or lintel with a tabula ansata (an inscribed tablet with dovetail handles). The writing on it was eventually deciphered by Emile Puech, expert in ancient writing from the Ecole Biblique. The writing ran: "DIAKONIKON STEPHANOU PROTOMARTYROS", "the diakonikon of Stephen the Protomartyr". A diakonikon of a Byzantine church was one of the two spaces or chapels flanking the sanctuary, which often housed holy relics. This is therefore solid evidence for identifying Bet Gemal with the ancient Kfar Gamla, the traditional burial site of St Stephen. However, other archaeologists disagree, and believe that the cave held a mikveh from a villa belonging to a wealthy Jewish family. Whether tomb or mikveh, it is likely that it can be traced to Rabbi Gamaliel, as indicated by the Greek name Caphargamala (Gamala Village) and the village name of Beit Jamal.

In 1930 the Salesian monks built a stunning sanctuary dedicated to St Stephen directly above the Byzantine foundations.

View of the monastery, with the church of St Stephen on the right, behind Amber.

On the exterior walls they hung the beautiful original mosaics, including the geometric mosaic with a red cross.

Inside, they followed the early Byzantine design, covering some of the interior with painted artwork made to look like mosaics and other walls with large, boldly drawn pictures in striking colours that tell the story of St Stephen.

Just outside the church stands a sculpture commemorating the martyrdom of St Stephen and contributed by renowned Israeli artist Yigal Tomarkin in the year 2000. There is also an outdoor worshiping area, and beautiful gardens, beyond which is the monastery's estate, overlooking Beit Shemesh.

Outdoor church at beit JamalB

Gardens at Beit Jamal.

The monastery estate seen through a gate in the wall.

The city of Beit Shemesh, beyond the monastery estate.

Gardens at Beit Jamal.

Gardens at Beit Jamal.

Beit Jamal has another claim to fame. At the end of the 19th century the monks established a meteorological station that is the oldest weather station in Israel that continues to provide wind, temperature and precipitation data to Israeli meteorologists.

View of the monastery gardens from the roof of the convent; the weather station is the white "beehive" structure right of the centre of the picture.

The agricultural school closed a few decades ago for lack of students, but the monastery remains, run by Salesian monks, who now take in groups and individuals who want to spend a few days on a spiritual retreat. The monks also opened a shop carrying honey from their bees, olive oil from their trees and wine from grapes grown in their vineyards and processed at the Cremisan monastery winery just south of Jerusalem. When we visited, the day after Pesach, we were able to enjoy our first chametz for a week, buying delicious za'atar pitta from the shop!

There is also a concert hall where occasional classical music concerts are held.

The concert hall at Beit Jamal

Stained glass window in the concert hall, depicting Don Bosco.

Stained glass window in the concert hall, depicting the stoning of St Stephen.

Around the same time as the monks were making these changes, several dozen nuns from the monastic order that includes the Sisters of Bethlehem, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Bruno erected a convent within the walls of the old Salesian monastery. Although they live nearly silent lives and spend most of their time in prayer and meditation, the thirty-two nuns have a shop in which they sell their hand-crafted pottery. The nuns built their own church and convent complex, which includes a video presentation which explains about the life of the nuns and also a section designed as a synagogue.