The Pharisees had many religious laws to observe.  They had stone eating and drinking utensils to prevent the ritual contamination they feared.  These stone vessels were supposed to have been guaranteed to be clean and did not offend those observing the laws of ritual cleanliness.  In Leviticus 11 it was written that articles of wood, cloth, skin (leather) or sacking might be made unclean by contact with a corpse or carcass.  A list of other things that were unclean to touch included, a woman in her period, a man after a seminal emission, a leper, someone who touched someone who was unclean, and someone who touched a creeping thing (i.e. reptile).  If a pottery vessel or oven was unclean it was to be broken and discarded.  If a glass or metal cup were made unclean on the outside by someone unclean touching it, the contents of the cup were yet safe, but after drinking the cup, the outside of the cup was to be cleansed by a specific procedure and dipped in a mikveh or basin for cleansing.  Stone vessels were not mentioned as becoming contaminated by uncleanness, thus they were thought to be an exception and were not broken if suspected of uncleanness by some who feared even stone might be contaminated. The rules of ritual purification may have prevented some disease yet they were not totally scientific.  People sharing the same cleansing pools might have been susceptible to diseases like polio as it was spread in community pools.  Pasteur was credited with greater knowledge of sanitation than the Pharisees of Jesus day. 

Parable of the Mustard Seed
     A Mustard Field Along Highway 87-North Shore of Galilee
     Mustard Seeds in the Palm of a Hand
     A Branching Mustard Plant Near the Jordan River/Bethsaida
     Mustard Field March 1999
     Mustard Flowers
     Chukar Partridges
Upper Most Seats of the Synagogue
The Fig Tree
     Mt of Olives Fig Tree April 12-13, 2005
     Fig and Pomegranate trees below Siloam in Jerusalem
     Israel Photos II fig tree page
     Sycomore Fig Tree
The Good Shepherd
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
     Goat Herder
Camels
Eye of the Needle
Ritual Cleansing
Shechem
     The Olive Harvest of Samaria
     Mt. Ebal
     Olive Tree
Pearl of Great Price
A First Century Synagogue at Gamala
     View from the Vulture Overlook
     Overview of Gamala
     Roman Artillery Replica
A First Century Boat on Display at Kibbutz Ginosaur
     Modern Galilee Fishing Boats
Kursi
     Caves and/or Tombs
     Steep Slope near the Lake
Hippos
Feeding the 5,000
     On the Mountain
     Walking on Water
     Ramot-Zelon area
     Alternate location
Mt. Hermon
The Pool(s) of Bethesda in Jerusalem
     Healing Pools
     Southern Pool
     Crusader Chapel and St. Ann Church
The Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem
     Gihon Spring
     Hezekiah's Tunnel
     Overlook of  Siloam
Tower of Siloam
A Watch Tower in a Vineyard/Olive Grove
     Grape Vines at Beth Horan
     Towers
Mt. Precipice
     South Face
     Summit
     Over the edge
     Measuring Line
     View of Nazareth from near Megiddo
Nazareth
     The Basilica of the Annunciation
Capernaum
Healing a Paralytic in Capernaum
Bethsaida      
First Century Artifacts from Qumran and Masada
     Qumran -- 1st century pottery
     Masada -- 1st century glassware
     Masada -- 1st century pottery
     Masada -- 1st century stoneware
Waterskins and Wineskins
The Fish and the Coin
A Denarius
Casting out a demon
The Road to Jericho
     Old Roman Road
     Wilderness Above Jericho
     Old Jericho
Western Wall
Gethsemane and the Cave of  Gethsemane
Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Rolling Stone Tombs - Jerusalem
     Other Rolling Stone Tombs
Tiberias
Solar Power in Israel
Salt of the earth
Chorazin

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