AboutLeon Gork Expertise I can answer questions on Jewish history and religion, especially the relationship between Judaism and other religions and questions about every aspect of Israel
Experience I've been a tour guide for more than 25 years in Israel and I've taught Jewish History and Religion in various schools at high school level
Organizations Israel Tour guides association
Education/Credentials BA in comparitive Semitic Languages and 5 years of university study in Jewish philosophy
Question Is it true that the garden of Gethsemane was considered a place where only the wealthy would frequent for rest and relaxation?
Answer This is the first I've heard of such an idea. I don't know on what this is based.
As far as I know Gethsemane means olive oil press and garden means the garden where the olive trees that supplied the olives for making the oil grew.
You might be aware that olive oil was viewed as having sacred properties or even miraculous properties. This idea probably originated because olive oil is flamable and was used to light the seven branched candelabra in the Temple.
The oil was also used to annoint kings. I think this was because people in those days had a belief that the miraculous quality of illumination of the oil would transfer itself to the king who would then be endowed with supernatural powers.
Prof. Ezekiel Kaufman, Two Testaments, believes that Jesus came to the Garden of the Olive oil press to be annointed as king.
The Romans must have had the same belief about the miraculous powers of the oil as the rest of the population and therefore considered Jesus a serious threat to their regime if he was annointed and therefore employed a traitor who would divulge identity of Jesus before he was annointed and so prevent him from acquiring miraculoous powers that the annointing would have given him according to the belief at that time.
