“Is there no balm in Gilead?” Jeremiah famously asked, wondering rhetorically why the Jews did not seek atonement for their backsliding. Gilead is a territory located in what is now northwestern Jordan; tsori, the word rendered as “balm,” is mentioned but handful of times in the Hebrew Bible, and appears to be a product especially associated with the Land of Israel. Zohar Amar, a botanist and historian of medicine at Bar-Ilan University, believes he has identified it as the resin of the Atlantic pistachio tree. Bible History Daily reports:

After identifying the tree, [Amar] and his student Elron Zabatani engaged in some experimental archaeology and successfully harvested some of the biblical balm. They reconstructed the traditional method of resin extraction from the Atlantic pistachio tree.

Amar and Zabatani harvested resin from 80 trees in Israel. They based their method of extraction on the resin production in Chios, Greece and Iraqi Kurdistan. In both those locales, residents harvest resin during the summer season.

Amar and Zabatani calculated that 50 trees produce around 33 pounds of resin per season. The high yield makes this industry particularly desirable. Amar explains, “Although it is not possible to estimate how much resin was actually collected every year and how many people were involved in the process, the large amounts of resin we obtained confirm that this was indeed a profitable industry in the past.”

Several photographs of the process can be found at the link below.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.