With thousands of years of history, and tens of historical eras and ruling cultures, a trip to Israel can be confusing for those not versed in the history. It helps a lot to have a general overview before you visit. Even if you don't remember any of it, at least the terms will be vaguely familiar. I wrote a primer for just that purpose.

Click here to read A Short History of the Land of Israel.

In addition to the different cultures you'll encounter, there are also many unfamiliar terms you may come across in a trip to Israel. I've written a series of blog posts filling in some details about those unique things. These are about the terms that you might hear a lot here, but might never hear anywhere else.

Click here to see a list of "What Is...?" posts.