Israel Is Returning: The Ancient Balm of Gilead Is Returning With Her

Something is happening in Israel.

You can feel it in Jerusalem.

You can hear it in the middle of the night as tens of thousands fill the streets of the Old City, walking toward the Western Wall to pray Selichot—the ancient prayers of repentance and forgiveness before Yom Kippur.

This year, extraordinary crowds came to Jerusalem. More than half a million people had already participated in Selichot at the Western Wall weeks before Yom Kippur, and approximately 150,000 gathered for the final central Selichot service alone.

And among them were thousands upon thousands of young Israelis.

A generation that many believed was becoming disconnected from faith is standing in Jerusalem in the middle of the night, singing, praying, asking forgiveness, and calling again upon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Something is awakening.

Israel is searching for its roots again.

And that return is not limited to prayer.

Ancient things that disappeared from Jewish life for generations are beginning to be remembered.

One of them is the legendary Balm of Gilead—the ancient Judean balsam, known in Jewish tradition as Afarsimon.

This was once one of the treasures of the Land of Israel.

Ancient sources describe the balsam of Judea as an extraordinarily precious aromatic substance cultivated around Jericho and Ein Gedi. Historical and modern academic research identifies this ancient balsam with Commiphora gileadensis and related balsam traditions. It became famous throughout the ancient world for its fragrance and the properties attributed to it. For centuries, however, its cultivation disappeared from the Land of Israel.

Now it is being rediscovered.

For many Israelis, this is not simply another essential oil or perfume.

It represents something that belonged to this land.

Something connected to Judea.

Something connected to Jericho, Ein Gedi, Scripture, ancient Jewish tradition, fragrance, prayer, and the world of our fathers.

And Israelis are beginning to recognize it again.

When people discover what Balm of Gilead actually is—when they understand that this was once one of the most precious fragrances of ancient Judea—the reaction is remarkable.

They want it.

Jews are searching for it. Rabbis are asking about it. Israelis are buying it. People outside Israel are searching for it as well.

After centuries in which the ancient Judean balsam was largely absent from the land where it became famous, a new generation is encountering it again.

And perhaps that is part of the larger story taking place in Israel right now.

A people remembering.

A people searching.

A people returning to Jerusalem.

A people returning to prayer.

A people returning to the ancient fragrances, traditions, Scriptures, and sacred memory of the Land of Israel.

And above all:

a people turning their hearts again toward YHWH—the God of their fathers.

The Balm of Gilead is returning to the land.

And Israel is remembering what was once ours.