Pictured above…..
One of the most famous discoveries at Zippori was the large mosaic that includes an image that has become known as the “Mona Lisa of the Galilee.” This is because the lady with her enigmatic smile appears to be looking at you whichever angle you view her from. However, it is but a small section of the panel surrounding the main design. This mosaic is part of a large mosaic floor in an apparently luxurious Roman home that was reconstructed to give visitors an idea of their occupants’ opulent lifestyle. One of the most obvious signs of its ostentation is the discovery of an indoor toilet, almost unknown except among the exceptionally rich. As Reb Yosi Ben Halafta said in the Talmud “Who is rich? One who has his own toilet.”
In whose home was the mosaic discovered? This again is open to debate. It could have belonged to a senior member of the Roman hierarchy, but another possibility is that Yehuda Hanassi used the building to entertain Roman governors. It is not the type of house he himself would have lived in – there are too many pagan images among the mosaics – but it may have been used to impress the Roman leaders whom he often had to meet as the representative of the Jewish people. In a house like this he could entertain as an equal, and show the Romans that even Jews can live in style, and are therefore a people to be reckoned with.
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