Hidden Depths: A Timeless Insight into Jerusalem's Water Source

Rainwater that collects beneath the Earth accounts for 20% of all the world's freshwater, known as "groundwater". These water deposits can be incredibly deep. Remarkably, could it be that over 3,000 years ago, someone accurately determined the depth of these waters?

Remember, reaching these groundwater sources, hundreds of meters underground, requires advanced drilling technology developed only in modern times. Could it be that the depth of this water is already documented in Jewish texts, thousands of years ago?

In the Talmud, Tractate Sukkah, page 53, there's a passage about the underground waters in Jerusalem: "The waters... the earth's thickness is 1,000 cubits" (Sukkah 53b).

The translation to modern readings: "The waters...the earth's depth is 1,000 cubits"

So, what is a cubit?

"A cubit... centimeter" (Sheva Brachot 5765, page 506) (Yalkut Yosef, Hilchot Chanukat Habayit, section 27), following Sephardi tradition.

Therefore, the depth of Jerusalem's groundwater, according to the Talmud, is: 48 centimeters times 1,000 centimeters, which is 480 meters.

This is based on the Talmud.

Between 2008 and 2015, Israel's Water Authority, via the hydrological service, published extensive annual reports on Israel's water resources. The reports detail groundwater levels across various regions, including an area referred to as 6.6 - the western border of Jerusalem. Here's a direct excerpt from the reports, repeated year after year:

"Sub-basin 6.6... the average levels... in the West: 480 meters" (Water Authority reports 2008 to 2015..

480 meters – truly amazing! Exactly the same number! Precision of the Talmud - unbelievable. Remember, such information isn't accessible without modern means to drill hundreds of meters underground.

But wait, there's more. Astonishingly, the Talmud (Sukkah 53) also recounts a marvelous detail of how these waters specifically stabilized at this height: King David raised the waters after they receded far from the surface (Talmud Sukkah 53) by reciting 15 "Shir LaMa'alot" psalms—psalms found in every home, in the Book of Psalms, in the Tanakh..

Amazing, isn't it?

The text is extracted from the book "Interwoven Worlds".To download and read the chapter in PDF, click here.

The author holds a B.Sc in Physics with honors from the Technion.