The earthquake experience now and then

The earthquake that shook our houses on second day Succot was apparently the strongest in recorded Victorian history, measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale. Despite building damage such as the much publicised impact on a Chapel Street shop (just walking distance from the Jewish centres in North Caulfield and East St Kilda) Victorians were fortunate that the epicentre was not in the city. It occurred on a line through the mountains from Mansfield (on the way to the Mt Buller snowfields) to Rawson – well known to many in our community as the site of Jewish youth camps, school camps and the annual Chabad Yarchei Kallah retreat over many years.

As was reported in the media in subsequent days, had the epicentre been under the Melbourne urban centre the damage (with associated death toll) would have seen Chapel Street pale into insignificance. But experiencing this event sent my mind back to earthquakes in Israel – from biblical times to recent. And in that context I noted that earthquakes are featured in the haftarot read on the preceding day – the first day of Succot – as well as on Shabbat Chol Hamoed  (Incidentally, did anyone think of reciting the blessing “Oseh ma’asei bereishit” prescribed for recitation on experiencing an earthquake – Artscroll Siddur p238?)

Israel is earthquake prone for it is located in a geologically unstable region. The Great Rift Valley of which the Jordan Valley, Arava and Red Sea are part, has long been known to be subject to earthquakes – some of which inasmuch as they affected cities on the adjoining mountain ranges, have had terrible lethal consequences. And as I personally learned when I experienced an earthquake that shook Israel (and Jordan) in 1995 leading to five deaths and serious building damage in the Eilat/Akaba area, the accompanying sound associated with the vibration of buildings etc is the reason that in Hebrew an earthquake is termed “ra’ash” (noise) a term used in the above-mentioned passages referring to events past and future. (It also appears in “Unetaneh tokef” – that pivotal paragraph of the High Holy Day musaf services identifying an earthquake as the possible cause as to how some may meet their end.)

In the haftarot read on Succot, Zechariah (14:5) prophesies that pending the Messianic advent the Mount of Olives will be split and the people will flee “as they fled in the ra’ash in the days of Uzziah King of Judah”. That event occurred two centuries earlier and was clearly deeply ingrained in the collective psyche. And Yehezkel (38:19) speaks of a great ra’ash that will be felt in the land of Israel at the time of Gog and Magog. The ra’ash in the days of Uzziah is also referenced by Amos, when he refers to having spoken “two years before the earthquake” as an anchor to the events he was about to relate (Amos 1:1).

As recently reported in Times of Israel (August 4, 2021), while previously certain evidence of an earthquake during the biblical period of the Kings of Judah had been found at other archaeological sites such as Tel Megiddo, now, for the first time, a team of Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists in Yerushalayim’s City of David report that they have found unprecedented concrete evidence of this 8th century BCE earthquake in the ancient capital. In one particular 8th century BCE structure the destruction layer did not show signs of fire, yet other factors suggested the building had been damaged in a traumatic event, apparently an earthquake.

“This was most notable on the earliest floor of the southernmost room,” they write. “In this room, a row of smashed vessels was uncovered along its northern wall, above which fallen stones had been found. It appears that these stones were the upper part of the walls of the room, which had collapsed, destroying the vessels which had been set along the wall.”

And there have been so many others. Josephus refers to an earthquake that affected battles between Roman and Jewish armies in the year 31CE. There are records of a serious earthquake that hit Yerushalayim in the Crusader period. One of the worst earthquakes to hit Israel in more recent recorded history was on Tevet 24 – January 1 – 1837, when the Galil was shaken by an earthquake now believed to have measured around 6.75 on the Richter scale. An estimated 5000 people died in Tzfat and its surrounding villages of which four fifths were Jewish. The old Jewish Quarter of Tzfat is located on a hillside with row above row of houses. As is still evident today to visitors to the historic Tzfat cemetery, when the quake struck, the rows of houses collapsed one onto the other. (Those inside were hopelessly trapped and if not killed immediately died in ensuing days.)

Again, a very severe earthquake struck what was Mandatory Palestine in 1927. The death toll in Yerushalayim included more than 130 people and around 450 were injured. About 300 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged to the point of not being usable.

Further north the impact of that earthquake was especially severe in Shechem where it destroyed around 300 buildings. The death toll included more than 150 people; around 250 were injured. Simultaneously, in Transjordan 100 people were killed – as would be seen again in 1995, nature does not respect borders.

As was the case with media reports following the Victorian earthquake where concerns were expressed regarding building standards that may not be sufficient if a powerful earthquake struck with an epicentre under urban Melbourne, Israeli media too feature from time to time concerns regarding their building standards. Years ago when visiting the Rambam hospital in Haifa I noticed wall signs indicating that a measure of earthquake proofing had been applied to that building, so obviously some elements of concern there are being dealt with as far as possible.

Nevertheless, while we may hope to experience no more such events pending the Messianic era foreshadowed in the prophetic readings, one would hope that building standards as actually implemented take all possibilities into account.

Shabbat shalom,
Yossi.

Yossi Aron OAM is The AJN’s religious affairs editor.

Get The AJN Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up