A licensed tour guide came to CSUN to share his archeological findings from Israel and to speak about the history behind the artifacts.
Michele Paskow, Jewish studies department professor had her personal friend, Moshe Goldin, come speak to her class and anyone else who was interested in attending his lecture, “Israel through Archeology: Past, Present and Future” on Thursday, Sept. 16.
“Some of these date back 2,000 years,” Goldin said in reference to a thick piece of clay once belonging to a pot.
Goldin said he could tell how old the pot was because of its thickness.
“When they made the pottery the temperatures were not high enough so they had to build it thick,” he said.
Before his lecture, Goldin covered a desk with print outs of enlarged ancient coins with the authentic coins taped to the corner as well as pieces of pottery and other artifacts.
Students gathered around the desk and were allowed to pick up the historic items and pass them around.
Moshe then went on with his lecture that was filled with information of the history of Israel dating back to 8,000 B.C. when the first city of the world, Jericho, was believed to have been built.
“The more we dig the more we find,” Moshe said.
Moshe linked much of the archeological findings to the Bible which he said was a great historical tool.
He said that although he believes the Bible is a good source, he warns that it cannot be reliable because other knowledge is necessary to make the most of the tool.
“You have to know the history, the tradition and the land in order to understand the Bible,” he said.
Goldin gave an example from the Bible where Jesus was trying to organize the Last Supper with his selected apostles.
He said that according the New Testament, Jesus told his disciples to go into the city and follow the man carrying the water pitcher, he would lead them to the house where the Last Supper would be held.
Goldin added that for anyone who does not know the history and tradition of the Middle East, the instructions would sound vague, but for those who know that it was the women who carried the water pitchers they would understand the fact that to see a man do the task was uncommon, therefore the apostles would have no problem identifying their guide.
Besides sharing his vast knowledge of Middle Eastern history, Goldin also spoke to the audience about tels, which are similar to hills, but are formed by several layers containing ancient artifacts.
Goldin said the audience would know they are near a tel when they begin to see pieces of pottery or other articles.
The best way to excavate tels are to dig right down the middle to see what every layer holds, he said.
“You mean you can walk around and just find these things on the floor?” asked a student from the audience.
Goldin yes and added that it was illegal to remove the items from their found location.
“It is all connected, for me it’s all one,” he said regarding the correlation between his different areas of study, history, geography and archeology.
Goldin said he has been guiding Christian and Jewish travelers from around the world for over 30 years and it has been non-stop learning. He spends six months in the United States and six months in Israel.
Goldin studied geography at Tel Aviv University in Israel and has a background in archeology and history.
Professor Paskow said Goldin also has good knowledge of California’s geology and topography including the San Andreas Fault.
“He knows what kind of stones there are, he knows it all,” Paskow said. “Not just religion and geography.”
