A Door of Hope

	The Ark of G-d
	The breastplate of Aaron
	The Ashes of the Moses' Red Cow
	The Holy Anointing Oil
	The Shekhinah Glory of G-d's Presence

This was due to the absence of an anointed Prophet, Priest or King during the entire Second Temple Period. No descendant from the House of David ever sat on the throne as King, during this time. It was an era eventually shattered by foreign rule. The priestly regime of the Hashmonaim did offer respite from the cruel persecution of Antiochus but that later gave way to chaos and internal strife. An illegitimate priestly lineage from the wicked House of Bethos began to oppress the people of Israel with their perverted courts. They bought the Priesthood from the Greeks, then sold the country to the Romans. The final destruction can be marked from the time that this Priesthood was led by a clan of four known as Annanias [Hananiah], Jason, Katros [Caiaphas] and Ishmael Ben Phiabi.

The Talmud declares: "Because of these wicked priests, Heaven decreed the destruction of the Second Temple! The prophets Haggai, Zechariah and their companions foresaw the bleak end of this Second Temple Period over four hundred years before. Therefore, they did not return those Holy items. They remain hidden away for the Glorious Third Temple to be established at the End of Days after the people of Israel are re-gathered from the great Diaspora.

The Prophet Haggai 2:6-7 vividly details a time and place dramatically different from the 2nd Temple era:

"For thus saith HaShem Tzavaot [The LORD, MASTER OF LEGIONS]: Yet, a little while! Later yet, will I shake the Heavens and the earth, even the sea and the whole dry earth? And I will shake all the Gentile Nations and the desire of all the Gentile Nations will come. Even I will fill this House [Tabernacle] with my Glory, saith HaShem Tzavaot [The LORD, MASTER OF LEGIONS]!" The silver is mine and the gold is mine thus saith HaShem Tzavaot. The Glory of this House in the End [Ha-Ahkharon] will be greater than the former First [HaRishon] House of the Solomonic Temple."

The Sages conclude that Haggai was speaking of the future eschatological Holy House to be re-established in these Latter Days.

Faithful readers of this publication are familiar with the paths our Copper Scroll research has taken us. Thanks to the discovery of corroborative documents such as Emek Ha Melech written in 1648, the Marble Tablets found in Lebanon and the Temple Scroll (made of Ibex Skin) uncovered at Qumran we now know the Copper Scroll to be genuine. And we also know who wrote it.

Some of the authors of the Copper Scroll were witnesses to both the Destruction of the First Temple and the Rebuilding of the 2nd Temple! If you doubt that then consider Ezra. His own teacher was none other than Baruch Ben Neriah, the scribe of the prophet Jeremiah. Ezra would only depart from Bavel (Babylon) after the passing of his beloved mentor, in the year 3413, five years after the completion of the 2nd Temple. (see Rabbi Shlomo Rotenburg's ground breaking work, "Am Olam" published by Keren Eliezer, distributed by Felheim Publisher, Spring Valley, N.Y.)

As Rabbi Avraham Sutton has pointed out, the writing on the Marble Tablets matches that of Emeq HaMalech, except for the first paragraph. The tablets begin:

"These are the words of Shimur HaLevi, the servant of HaShem. In the year 3331 of Adam".

However, Emeq HaMelech (written in 1648 CE) is introduced by its author as he describes the writers of the Copper Scroll:

"These records were written by five righteous men. They are Shimur HaLevi, Hizkiyah, Zidkiyah, Haggai the Prophet and Zechariah the son of Ido the Prophet. They hid and concealed the vessels of the Holy House and the wealth of the treasures that were in Jerusalem that will not be discovered until the day of the coming of the Mashiach, the son of David. Amen, and so it will be".

With these startling words, we are transported back through the labyrinth of time when the Copper Scroll was first inscribed, a full seven years before the destruction of Beit Ha Mikdash, the First Temple built by King Solomon.

At this point, I must digress just a bit to answer those who question the legitimacy of Emek Ha Melech. Its author, Rabbi Naphtali Hertz ben Elchanan, cites his source as an almost forgotten addition or Tofesefta to the Talmud, in Mishnah III under the section of Qillim [Vessels]. Some scholars have rightly charged that they fail to find any mention of a Copper Scroll, Marble Tablets, Ibex Scroll and Silver Scroll in the Tosefta. It is simply because the references cannot be found in modern copies of the Tosefta. However, these salient passages can be found in one of the older sources of Jewish documents, the Cairo Geniza.

A Geniza is a repository for damaged or aged sacred Jewish texts. In 1896, Solomon Schechter acquired 100,000 pages from the Cairo Genizah. A copy of the Tosefta of the Mishnah III under the section of the Qillim is among those scrolls. It this record that verifies the Rabbi Hertz's book. It's also worth noting here that in 1952, the two Marble Tablets were found in the basement storage room in a Beirut, Lebanon, museum. Curiously they were discovered only a few months after the Copper Scroll was unearthed in cave Qvj3 at Qumran by Mohammed Adh Dieb.

Let us now go back to those men referenced in Emek Ha Melech. Among the 300 priests and Levites who hid only the Holiest of treasures from the First Temple were Haggai the Prophet and Zechariah the son of Ido the Prophet. They were also two of the five righteous men who wrote the Copper Scroll.

As also cited in the Tosefta, they knew the location of the "Silver Chest containing the garments of the High Priest, the Breastplate, the Ephod and the Urim and Tummim "

ANOTHER LOOK AT HAGGAI'S TWO LITTLE CHAPTERS

In his small two chapters, Haggai clearly expresses his dismay at the decadence of the Second Temple as compared to the First Temple. The latter part of his prophecies actually reveal the future Third Temple rather than the Second Temple. In the first chapter of his book, Haggai's disappointment is voiced not only in the structure itself but in the people's complacent attitude toward House of G-d. Today, this same attitude can be seen, even among His people in ertez Israel, "Thus speaketh HaShem Tzavaot, saying: 'This people say; The time has not come, the time that HaShem's House should be rebuilt'. Haggai was so distraught that in chapter 2:3 he cried out:

"Who is left among you that remembers the First House it's original Glory? [Only 52years earlier] How does the House [the Second Temple] you see now compare? This [Second Temple] is as nothing in your eyes!"

Other of the Old Prophets were despondent also. For example, in the book of Ezra 2:61-63:

"The Sons of the Priest: the Sons of Habiah, the Sons of Hakkoz, the Sons of Tabbaot, the sons of Bar-Zillai, who took wives from the daughters of Bar-Zallai, of Gilead and were called by their name. These sought their genealogical records, but they could not be found, so they were disqualified from the Priesthood.

HaTirshata, [Nehemiah's Persian title, c.f. Nehemiah 8:9] told them they should not eat of the most Holy Offerings until there arise a Priest to inquire of the Urim and Tummim."

THOSE PROPHETS KNEW WHERE THESE TREASURES WERE HIDDEN!
WHY DID THEY NOT RECOVER THEM FOR THE SECOND TEMPLE?

Haggai seemed to stress a certain date in the Jubilee Calendar, when speaking of the beginning of the restoration of the first foundation stone in the recovery of the Third House. Haggai referred to the 24^th day of the Ninth Month four times: [see verses 2:10, 18, 19 and 20]. When is the 24^th Day of the Ninth Month in the Jubilee Calendar?

This JubileeYear began March 21^st, 1998 at sundown. The first quarter of the year ends at Sunset on June 21^st. This is the Summer Solstice. The third quarter ends on September 23 at sunset on December 21^st at the Winter Solstice. In our Calendar the 24^th Day if the Ninth Month should then be, December 14^th. , 1998 in this Jubilee year. Haggai was, many have assumed, talking about the day the first foundation stone was laid for the Second Temple. Yet, the Second Temple was already built before this specific date was so emphasized by the Prophet. There are some important questions we must ask concerning the events that have already occurred since this Jubilee Year began at sunset on March 21, 1998.

	Could Haggai have been placing a prophetic marker concerning a pivotal future event? Could he be indicating a designated time when an important discovery or recovery shall be made that would initiate the beginning of the redemption during the first Jubilee of Israel's Third Commonwealth?
	Why did we receive our first license to excavate when the IAA and the SPN when they had publicly avowed they would see that we would never excavate at our site again?
	Could all of this year's unsolicited positive International Media Coverage be HaShem's hand in making the world aware that the "Lost Ark of G-d may not be so Lost"?
	Could the sudden changes in the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Society for the Preservation of Nature be evidence of HaShem's hand in removing those who oppose our work?
	Is it mere chance that Yitzhak Peretz has been named as the replacement for Director of the Antiquities Authority, making him the first Torah Observant Jew to hold that position?
	Could it be, now that have a new Archaeology Committee made up of a majority of Observant Jews, be mere happenstance?
	Last, but most important, why did my old friend of many years, Natan Mor, step out of the past to take up the battle of wits to challenge and defeat the bureaucratic authorities. Natan says that HaShem has energized him to accomplish this mission. Not only for me but also for everything they have done against many other archaeologists in Israel.

Since 1988, HaShem has blessed our efforts in finding some very major discoveries mentioned in the Copper Scroll:

On September 18, 1968 I made the first and most important discovery when I discovered of the exact coordinates of the River of the Dome and the Cave of the Column. This was the pivotal key to the hiding place of all these treasures.

In 1988, our team found a juglet of Anointing Oil from the First Temple. There are several more juglets yet to be found.

In 1992, following the descriptions in Copper Scroll we located the House Avitinius where the Qetorit [Holy Incense] was compounded. We removed over 600 kilos of the Spices. The Copper Scroll tells us it is located in the Kippat HaYorden. The Talmud states that the House of Avitinius is located South of Jericho. That is exactly where we found it.

In 1994, using satellite remote sensing we found Gilgal and the Geder or walls that surrounded the Tabernacle during the conquest of Canaan by Joshua. This project was a joint effort of Dr. Ya'acov Arkin and Eli Ram from the Israel Geological Survey. Dr. Arnon Karnieli at the Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at the Sede Boker campus of Ben Gurion University generated the Satellite imagery for the Gilgal Project.

In 1994, Mr. Alex Beck and his team from the Israel Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Institute introduced us to the technology of Ground Penetrating Radar [GPR] on site. Their data revealed a large concealed cavern. We surmise this could be the exit of the Cave of Zedekiah that begins just East of the Damascus Gate the North Side of Jerusalem. This passage goes directly under the Temple Mount and descends to the Valley of 'Achor. This does not conflict with the Talmudic text stating: The Ark of the Covenant is hidden in a passage under the Temple Mount. There is no contradiction because the cavern continues from Jerusalem to the Valley of 'Achor. Only three miles North of this area is Wadi 'Hoglah, The Aravah [Plain] of Jericho begins at this Wadi Hoglah and reaches Jericho.

This cavern passage is referred to in II Kings 25:4-5 "Then the city was breached by Chaldeans. The men of war fled by night through the gate between the two walls that was besides the kings garden. [They escaped through the cavern under] the Chaldeans who were surrounding the city's walls. They came out by the Aravah [of Emeq 'Achor] But, the Chaldeans pursued the king [Zedekiah] and overtook him in the Aravah [Plain] of Jericho."

In May 1998, Mr. Doron Lipkunski from the Archaeological Engineering Services [AES] and his team conducted an Earth Magnetic Resistively [EMR] profile at the same site as our earlier GPR probe in 1994.

GPR only gives a 'slice of the cake' view', while the EMR provides a full X-Y-Z profile. We have now re-confirmed that there is an enormous cavern down there. It is over 25 feet high and 143 feet wide. The Copper Scroll describes that a very, very large chamber on the third level contains all the treasures of the Tabernacle.

WHY DID WE DID NOT UNCOVER THE TREASURES
THIS PAST SUMMER?

Simply knowing where "X" marks the spot does not always translate easily into uncovering "X". For those of you who followed this past summer's excavation on our internet site, you are fully aware of the starts and stops the dig experienced. Though VJRI volunteers exhibited amazing stamina, moving mountains of debris and dirt, we continually encountered solid bedrock. In the past, this kind of strata would have posed no problem but due to restrictions imposed by the Nature Preserve we could only use hand tools and buckets. This summer, Larry Borntrager and Bob Mastin found a small channel running South from the area above the large cavern. They traced the tributary all the way up to and beneath the Spice Cave. It was encouraging but our wonderful volunteers and limited finances could only be stretched so far. It was time to go home. During this Summer's dig I had prayed that HaShem would remove all obstacles, both natural and political in His time and in His way. This work must go on.

NEWS FLASH! BIG CHANGES IN GOVERNMENT

Mr. Yitzhak Peretz, Mayor of Tiberias, has been named by the Prime Minister Natanyahu to replace Mr. Amir Drori as Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority [IAA]. He is a strong leader in Netanyahu's Likud party. He is the first Observant Jew to head the IAA. The Committee of Archaeology have also been replaced. Education Minister Yitzhak Levy, appointed five new Rabbis; Ya'acov Rose, Amram Beit-El, David Stav, Yisrael Rosen and Ya'acov Ariel to the already 32 member IAA Committee.

This change came because the IAA was sacrilegiously and indiscriminately robbing graves in the name of 'scientific research'. "A Society of Ghouls", "Bone Vultures" and "Thieves of the bones of the righteous" are but a few of the titles the Observant Jews hurled at Drori and his archaeologists. In addition, the IAA in tandem with the Society for the Preservation of Nature, [SPN] had demonstrated a political and anti-religious agenda against the settlers and their communities in Judaea and Sameria.

Many news articles have been written about the various archaeologists with complaints about the injustices that they have experienced from the Authorities and cartel committees. VJRI is only one of many who have been struck by the dull sword of the IAA's bureaucratic demagoguery.

Those archaeologists, who support Drori, went on strike. A small group protested in front of the Knesset. They crushed pottery on the ground shouting, "This is the end of scientific archaeology in Israel".

For the most part, they were only employees of the IAA. However, many archaeologists support the change, saying a one is long overdue. Minister Levy said: "All this talk about harm being caused by this council is baseless. The council advises the Education and Culture Ministry and the National Antiquities Authority which operates under this [Education] Ministry.

The new committee began with four archaeologists, four rabbis and two officers from the Military Civil Administration. In the drum roll of the first meeting, some archaeologists charged that the Rabbis were not qualified to sit on the committee because they were not archaeologists. The rabbis responded that the archaeologists were not qualified because they were not observant and did not know Jewish Law.

Late word now has it that the committee will be expanded from 10 to 37 and will include archaeologists who are observant. This will introduce a broader scope of representatives from the other religious parties.

We at VJRI rejoice at this change. Our friends have replaced our antagonistic opponents. To us, this is the sign from HaShem that it is now is the time to open the large cavern that we believe to be the exit of Zedekiah's Cave in Jerusalem. If we have the funding is in hand, we will begin that excavation in mid-November.

HOW DOES THIS CHANGE EFFECT FUTURE VJRI EXCAVATIONS

After the announcement came that Peretz was replacing Drori, we witnessed how everything suddenly changed! Natan Mor, our excavation manager, called Dr. Itzhak Magen's office. Magen is the Number 2 man at the IAA, directly under Drori. Our tenacious excavation manager informed one of Magen's assistants that they had played games with us. They had delayed our work, causing us to lose 54 days on a 90 day permit. Natan requested an extension for another month, or, through July. Natan was told that it would not be a problem. A few minutes later, Dr. Magen faxed Natan an extension for the Month of July. We worked for the last six weeks, without interference from the Antiquities Authority or from the Nature Preserve.

Eli Dror, our pesky perpetual nemesis with the Nature Preserve [SPNI] had even stopped tormenting us; something that had occurred with regularity since 1992!

In 1996 Prime Minister Netanyahu merged the Society for the Preservation of Nature and the National Parks Authority. It is now one Authority re-named the Authority for Nature and National Parks [ANNP]. The change became effective on April 1^st. That was the very day our 1998 excavation began. Mr. Aharon Vardi became new Director. It is obvious that the changes in the IAA and the ANNP have already had excellent results. The changes will continue to have very positive effects on the present and future VJRI excavations at the Cave of the Column. These modifications are not only for the benefit of VJRI but Pro-bono-publico, for the welfare of the public.

Our rabbinical friends in black are now part of the IAA Committee. We have found the people at the top of ANNP are real gentlemen. They have treated us kindly. Natan Mor, our excavation manager in Israel has done an excellent job in our behalf on every front. I anxiously look forward to working with the new leadership in the IAA and the ANNP. This will mean Israeli Law will be restored in archaeology in Judaea and Samaria.

Now that those authorities are no longer a threat, I feel free to open that large cavern and go for the Ashes of the Red Cow and the Ark and Tabernacle. That is where we will dig in November.

We have not been 'lucky' in making all these discoveries. We have been persistent and set our faces a flint to accomplish this destiny, as it is written in the poem "Ouhm" (to be published in the next RESEARCHER). "Ouhm", means a righteous Non-Jew who fears and worships HaShem and guards the Seven Laws of Noah. This is different from the word "Goy", that can sometimes mean Pagan or Heathen. The poem, in part, reads: "... they shall stand head to head, heart to heart shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand against many obstacles and much opposition. They will not stop until they have swept every corner and found her [the Ashes of the Cow]." That benediction was echoed in even more personal words and a three fold blessing from the late [Z"L] Rebbe, Menechem Schneerson: "You are doing the most important work in the world. Many people will try to make you stop what you are doing. Many people will try to make you change what you are doing, Don't stop, and don't change what you are doing and G-d will bless you. G-d bless you! G-d bless you!"

No, we have not been "lucky". When someone says: "Good luck on your dig". I correct them and say: "Not good luck, but good destiny!" We have diligently sought to follow the inscriptions in the Copper Scroll. We have been blessed of HaShem because, to the best of our ability, we have done specifically what the Copper Scroll has instructed us to do.

MASS MEDIA COVERAGE

During this summer's excavation we witnessed an unprecedented interest exhibited by the international press. Without benefit of a public relations agent, we gave scores of newspaper, magazine, radio and television interviews at the Cave of the Column and the Spice Cave. The last six weeks of the excavation there was only one day that we did not give one to three interviews. The stories were all in a positive mode. As one British publication put it:

"The lost Ark of the Covenant may not be so lost"

I accepted this as HaShem's hand in making the world aware of our search and prepare them for the event of when these things are found. When the visiting press requested information on our work, Jim put together a excellent media package to meet their needs. Carol Long's rich knowledge of the cyberworld kept many of you informed via the Internet. As of this writing, over 40,000 have accessed our website.

THE JUBILEE CHALLENGE

Why are the Rabbis and Observant Jews getting more involved in our excavations and B'nai-Noah? This year, scores of Rabbis and Observant Israelis visited our excavation. Some even joined in the physical work and many assisted in other ways. From Mitzpe Jericho, the settlement where the VJRI volunteers stayed, dozens from the community joined in the work effort like Danny and Yoni Webberman. They gathered eight to ten youngsters 10 to 15 years old. How those kids worked day after day non-stop!

Several of our Jewish friends helped financially. In fact, without their generous financial help we would not have been able to do the four-month excavation. Their contributions were very sizable. Yet, more exciting is their enthusiasm and dedication in this work. B'nai-Yisrael and B'nai-Noah have exactly the same objectives. We compliment each other because B'nai-Noah is Universal Judaism. There are certain things a Ben-Noah can do in this search that an Israelite cannot do. When we open the hidden chamber, there will be things that only a Jew can do that we cannot do. The recovery of these treasures will return the House of Prayer for all peoples. It will bring World Peace as described in Isaiah chapter 60. Many Jewish scholars strongly believe that this Jubilee year is the beginning of the redemption. This Jubilee year began, on the Jubilee Calendar on March 22 1998 and will end on March 21^st 1999. [See November 1996 RESEARCHER]

The reasons for their conviction are many. First, the word Jubilee actually means the "Year of the Return of the Heritage" [Morashah] and the "Year of the return to Inheritance" [Yirushah]. {Leviticus 25:} The Land of Israel is the Heritage of the People of Israel. Everything from Madrid to Oslo in the Peace Process was directed to abort the People of Israel from their Heritage of the Land of Israel. From Madrid to Oslo was a black curtain, stretched out by all the Pagan Gentile Nations, who oppose the concept of the G-d, the Torah and the People of Israel. As pagan James Baker said: "Religion, the Bible and History will not be brought-up in these Peace Process discussions..." Not one Nation supported the idea that Judaea and Samaria are the Heritage of Israel. That is why Jim Baker did not want the Bible or History to be brought-up in the Peace Process discussions. There was no objection when the Moslems choose to quote from the Koran!

In the Oslo Accords there was an international protest made over what they called: "The illegal Settlements and the Jewish Settlers in the 'Occupied West Bank'. This is a denial of the "Yirushah" or return of the people of Israel to their inheritance. This Peace Process was the antithesis of the meaning of the word JUBILEE.

The black curtain of the Peace Process was HaShem's backdrop and stage-prop for the Drama of the events of the coming Jubilee. The return of the Land Heritage of Israel to the Jewish People is the prerequisite to the Great Aliyah or return of the Jewish People to the Land of their Inheritance.

This is why the Rabbis and Observant Jews are becoming more and more involved in what we B'nai-Noah people are doing in "Digging up the Future". This 50^th year, we are stepping over the threshold of the past. One foot is already inside the door of the future. Six months of the Jubilee Year are past. The Seventh Month [September 23-October 22,1998] is now. That door has swung open all the way with those changes that happened in the last three months. Let's all jump through it now!

OUR SUMMER BREAK

The last day I was at the Spice Cave the temperature was 57° Celsius or 134.4° Fahrenheit. Normally, our workings conditions are in temperatures of 110° to 114° F That is why we plan to continue our dig, G-d willing, in November with a better working weather environment and new political atmosphere. I returned immediately because it is crucial that I raise the funds for this next zenith of all the excavations.

For these reasons I have known that all the opposition that we have received in our efforts in the excavation are all part of that destiny. Do you brave the challenge to yoke-up with us in this Work of Destiny? I welcome you to step into the harness of this service of HaShem. This is a challenge to participate in the events dramatically revealed in the words of the Holy Prophets.

My I please repeat: 'don't just sit in the bleachers and jump up and down. Or run up and down the sidelines where no scores are made. Get involved! We need excavation volunteers to go to the field and dig. We need excavation partners to finance this fall and winters excavation!'

Our budget for this 1998 Spring's excavation for three months was projected at $315,000. We worked four months and the actual cost until mid-August was $324.000.00. To keep things alive until November the expenses in Israel still go on. We have to keep the staff working there to close everything out from the spring dig and make the reports and get all the permits for the fall excavation. Room and office expenses continue. Expenses here at the Texas office and the RESEARCHER and Jerry Payton's next year's Torah Readings Calendar are now in the works. Jim and Carol Long's work on the website and bookkeeping is still carried on by Carol and Anita. Some folks may not realize it, but, ALL VJRI OFFICE STAFF ARE VOLUNTEERS!

These excavation cost figures do include all the work and expense that go into the excavation preparations. This including the RESEARCHERS, office and travel expenses in preparations for the dig. All of VJRI office staff are volunteers. No one at the Texas office has a salary. We are only reimbursed for expenses. We work like a Qibbutz. So the above budget represents hard core preparation here in Texas and the actual excavation expenses in Israel.

In this 1998 excavation many of our supporters have already given almost all they have means to give this year. I personally know some supporters who have gone beyond their means. Others have given all they can give during the 1998 taxable year. However, since this excavation will extend into 1999, You can make a contribution now and request tax deductible credit for next year.

This means we urgently need for you who have not participated as an Excavation Partner, or could have done more, to make a special effort in the fall and winter excavation. . We must begin in mid-November on order to finish it all before March 22^nd. Or, more important, to be in the Large Zedekiah's Cave before December 14^th. This is only weeks until mid-November when we want to depart. Let's get into action now! You can be an active part in making this year's Jubilee really happen for the first time in 2,414 years.

Finally, this year 5758 is written in Hebrew . This arrangement means the year of Noah. The Noahide Covenant was given 4,190 years ago. I feel a universal unison between the Children of Noah and the Children of Israel in this year's effort. Help us find this Door to the Future, the Door of Hope.

"And I will give her vineyards there and
I will give the Valley of Achor for a door of hope."

- Hosea 2:17