The enthusiastic young people who founded the small settlement in Beer Ya'akov in 1907 did not really think it through.
Establishing a colony is great, but you haven't done anything if you don't have water.
And since there was no source of water, the pioneers had to walk every day to Rishon Lezion, to bring water in large jugs.
A matter of an hour and a half walk in each direction.
I wonder which of them thought - while carrying a heavy jug on his back and cursing the day he came to this country - that in the distant state of Texas there is an abundant spring that answers exactly to the name "Jacob's Well".
Or in spoken American: "Jacob's Well" (Jacob's Well).
The clear water pool brings to it lovers of trips and immersions from the area, where in a part of the shallow pool, you can see a kind of huge pit that is 37 meters deep.
And if it reminds you of the shape of a well - you are in the right direction.
In the 1850s, a freed American soldier named William Winters decided to settle not far from the spring, and named it after the ancient Jacob's Well, the one located in the city of Nablus and attributed to Jacob our father.
Jacob, for you.
In any case, we have a feeling that today there is already flowing water in our Jacob's well.
In 2021 it was even declared a city, and it would have been interesting to get to know the two.
The city and the spring.
Jacob's Well in Texas.
And it really is an official well/site, Flickr
Our Yaakov Well/Niv Aharonson
Jerusalem of New York
Get to know Jerusalem, a town in Yates County in the state of New York, which has about 4,500 residents - which is less than half a percent of the number of residents in our Jerusalem.
It was founded in 1789, only 13 years after the founding of the United States.
And this is quite understandable: as a relatively young country, in which the Christian religion played an important role, the United States is dotted with quite a few cities and towns with names mentioned in the Bible and the New Testament.
And this also happened in other countries in the world. For example, in 1134, a knight named Guntram von Adelschrot In present-day southern Germany, a monastery called Salem later expanded into a town of that name, located a short distance from the popular Lake Constance.
A powerful solution to pain
A revolutionary pain treatment technology has been approved by the FDA for home use
In collaboration with Solio
The town of Jerusalem in Yates County in New York/Official website, https://www.jerusalem-ny.org/
Our Jerusalem/ShutterStock
Bethlehem and Hebron rule!
And surprise-surprise - Bethlehem south of Jerusalem has an American equivalent - Beit Lahem (Bethlehem).
Maybe you knew it and maybe you didn't - but there's no way you knew that in the United States there are 9 (!) towns and cities called "home to them": in North Carolina, in Georgia, in Pennsylvania, in Connecticut and more.
Want to increase?
In the giant country there are 11 towns named after the city of Hebron.
In any case, you can also find Bethlehem as a district in South Africa, which was founded in 1859 and currently has about 16,000 inhabitants.
The town of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania/ShutterStock
Bethlehem PA/Official Site, Dennis Jarvis, Wikipedia
Jericho is hugely disappointing
Another example is Jericho, which is considered one of the oldest settlements in the world - people lived there more than 11,500 years ago.
If you have recently read the book of Joshua, you probably remember that Jericho was the first city that the Israelites conquered upon their arrival in the Land of Israel.
In the territory of the Palestinian city located north of the Dead Sea, there are the remains of the ancient "Peace to Israel" synagogue, founded in the seventh century AD.
which is long before Jericho (Jericho) in the state of Arkansas was founded.
It is a bit disappointing to discover that a city with such a rich and glorious history as Jericho is given such a modest copy: in the American version, it is a city with less than 200 inhabitants only.
The one who saves the situation is Jericho in the state of New York, which has more than 14,000 inhabitants.
Jericho is also in distant South America - where it appears as a sleepy town in the province of Boyacá in the center of the country.
What is interesting is that while the original Jericho is the lowest inhabited city in the world, the Colombian Jericho rises to an incredible height of 3,100 meters above sea level.
A kind of parallel universe.
Jericho in the state of Arkansas/official site, Thomas R Machnitzki, Wikipedia
Jericho Casino (used to be ours)/Walla system!
NEWS, Keleti, Cc-by-sa-3.0
6 cities and towns named "Palestine"
Feeling stuck on too many cities in the Palestinian Authority?
Get it: in the United States there are 6 cities and towns that brilliantly bear the name "Palestine" (Palestine).
One of them is Palestine in the state of Ohio.
In fact, it wasn't born that way at all: it was founded in 1828 under the name of Mechanicsburg, but five years later, due to the closeness of its inhabitants to the Christian religion, it was decided to change its name.
Palestine in the State of Ohio/Official Site, 636Buster, Wikipedia
Is there snow in Hermon?
Could it be that Mount Hermon is only 178 meters above sea level?
Well, in the United States anything can be: Mount Hermon is a communal settlement in Santa Cruz County in California.
It has a total of about 1,100 residents, and the settlement itself began as a small road hotel called Tuxedo Junction.
In 1906, a group of five women purchased the hotel and gave it a new name, with the aim of commemorating one of the highest peaks of the biblical Land of Israel.
Oh, and don't wait for snow here.
At the time of writing these lines (beginning of March), 18 degrees Celsius were measured in this area.
The original is better.
There is also a town in South Africa called Hermon, which is 22 kilometers north of Wellington and commemorates the mountain that is mentioned in Deuteronomy, Joshua and even in the Psalms and the Song of Songs.
Mount Hermon community in California/Official website, https://blog.mounthermon.org/
Who was the mayor of Carmel?
Clint Eastwood
It's time for a slightly lower mountain: Carmel.
Like our Carmel, the town of
Carmel
in California also lies in front of the sea.
Actually, its official name is Carmel-by-the-Sea.
It was founded in 1797 and today is considered one of the most prestigious places in California, and a refuge for the wealthy of nearby San Francisco.
By the way, the mayor of Carmel in the 80s was none other than the actor Clint Eastwood.
By the way, Carmel is also the name of the settlement in the south of Mount Hebron, which preserves the biblical name of the settlement from which the Nebel of Carmel came.
The town of Carmel by the sea in California/ShutterStock
Carmel "by the sea" the original, Israel/Walla system!
NEWS, Eyal Shapira
From the River to the Sea, but in Utah
Still on the subject of geographical copies: it turns out that the Jordan River meanders in the state of Utah.
Or rather, Jordan River.
It is about 83 kilometers long (about a third of our Jordan River) and was named by the settlers who first reached its banks in the summer of 1847. As we know, the Jordan River (the original) is one of the most famous rivers in history, and it is mentioned many times in the Bible. So the next time someone abroad "L shouts to you From the River to the Sea, shout back to him "But in Utah!".
No, it's not the Daughters of Jacob Bridge.
The Jordan River in the state of Utah/ShutterStock
The Jordan River in the Upper Galilee region, January 24, 2020/Walla! system, Eli Ashkenazi
Eskimos in Beit El
How many "Beit El" do you know?
Then there is the religious settlement in the Binyamin Mountains that was established in 1977 and commemorates the biblical settlement of the same name.
Something else?
is nothing?
Well, in the United States alone there are no less than 13 Bethels.
One of them resides in remote Alaska.
What are you doing there?
Once a year there is a sled dog race, and every spring a native Inuit dance festival is held.
And that's all.
Pretty boring (not that our Beit El is exactly a bustling metropolis, come on).
In the United States alone there are no less than 13 Bethels.
Bethel in Connecticut/official site, Jerry Dougherty, Wikipedia
Our Beit El/Official website, Beit El local council website
Nazareth has a sea
Another place where probably not much happens is the town of Nazareth in Texas.
All 300 or so people, what could happen?
In contrast, in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, more than 6,000 people live.
Both are named after the city where Jesus spent his youth, although our Nazareth has a little more inhabitants: something like 80,000 people.
And a surprising trivia fact: Nazareth is not mentioned at all in the Bible, but it certainly appears in Europe: Nazare is a small town in southern Portugal, named after Nazareth.
Unlike our Nazareth, here the main attraction is less churches and more giant waves, which attract surfers from all over the world The whole thing. If you're less into surfing, try to get there on September 8 - the date when an annual festival opens under the auspices of a local monastery called Our Lady of Nazaré. Don't let the stern religious name mislead you, because the festival includes lots of dancing, fireworks and fireworks , food fair and more.
The town of Nazareth in Portugal/ShutterStock
The town of Nazareth (Nazareth) in Texas/official site, Leaflet, Wikipedia
Our Nazareth.
Missing the tourists/Walla! system, Orly Gnoser
There is nothing like (our) Jaffa
Even Jaffa got an American version, with the town of Joppa in the state of Maryland.
The town, whose full official name is Joppatowne, is named after Jaffa, and not by chance: it is also a port city.
Or in this case, a port town.
It was founded at the beginning of the 18th century, which is long after our Jaffa - which is considered one of the oldest port cities in the world.
The town of Joppa in the state of Maryland/official site, Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD, Wikipedia
Our Jaffa.
There is nothing like her at night/Reuven Castro
84 residents in Nimrod
We will end at one of the most beautiful citadels in Israel: the Nimrod fortress, located in the territory of a national park bearing this name, which also gave the name to the Nimrod settlement - the highest Jewish settlement in Israel.
The beginnings of the citadel in the Hellenistic period and later - in the Middle Ages.
He is named after the biblical Nimrod, son of Cush and grandson of Noah.
According to belief, he reached the extreme age of 215 - and he could have continued his long life had he not been murdered.
The same Nimrod was commemorated not only in the beautiful fortress at the foot of Mount Hermon, but also in an American town so tiny that it only appears on some maps: this is Nimrod in Pennsylvania, with a total of 84 inhabitants.
More or less.
And in this case too, we definitely prefer the original.
The town of Nimrod in Pennsylvania/Official site, Lorie Shaull, Wikipedia
Our Nimrod Citadel - A kind of Kiniya view/Walla! system, Ziv Reinstein
Do you know other places in the world with the same name as ours?
(for sure yes) - write to us in talkbacks!
More on the same topic:
Cities
U.S
Jericho
Bethlehem
Jerusalem
Bethel