From the bubble to the Bible

My friend Torsten, a reporter who's been working in Tel Aviv for seven years, tells me that TA is a bubble, in the same way San Francisco is a bubble, somewhat protected from the realities of the rest of the country. One quality that Tel Aviv lacks is the ancientness and sense of history found in so many other Israeli towns. In fact, it's downright hard to avoid biblically referenced places here in the cradle of Western religion.

Today, a train takes me to Be'er Sheva, the first of several biblical places I'll visit. It's in the middle of the country, the gateway to the Negev desert. A few thousand years ago, Abraham and Sarah staked their tents here. I think their living quarters have since been replaced by concrete condos occupied by Russians.