Visit to Hevron and the “Cave of the Patriarchs”
Last Wednesday we did a tour of Hevron. The tour left from Jerusalem at the David Citadel hotel, so we left early from Ra’anana, drove to Jerusalem, parked at Mamilla Mall, and walked to the the hotel to catch the bus. We were supposed to be there at 9:15AM, which meant leaving Ra’anana by 7:45. Well, due to the difficulties involved in getting four kids up and ready who had been staying up late every night, sleeping in late every day and were therefore totally off schedule; as well as the traffic whereby the last 20 meters of the drive took us 25 minutes, we arrived at about 9:40AM. And yes, we missed the bus. After dealing with the annoyance of the situation, we called the tour company and they said we could still make the tour, we just had to drive to the next stop (Kever Rachel – the Tomb of Rachel), or we could just drive to Hevron and meet them there. Because we have not done a lot of driving on “that side of town” we opted to not take that option. But after a few more calls, we decided to take a cab to meet the bus at the tomb of rachel, which was only a 10-15 min ride away. They’d already completed that part of the tour, but we could still make the bus if we left right away, As luck would have it, there was a van-cab just idling in front of the hotel (i.e. one who could fit all six of us; otherwise we’d have needed two separate taxis), so off we went…
The first stop when we arrived at Hevron was Tel Hevron, an archeological site located at the site of a well that still functions and that they think was probably the source of water that they used in biblical times. We went over some history there, reminding us that when Abraham arrived in Israel after God commanded him to leave his homeland, this is where he initially settled and came back to after his sojourn in Egypt (due to a famine in the land). And then just a bit farther up the hill (we didn’t go there) is where they think the ancient gates of the city might be where they stood when Abraham purchased the field including the Cave of Machpela where he buried Sarah his wife, and where his sons eventually buried him (Interesting side note that the Torah makes a specific point of mentioning is that his two sons, Isaac – progenitor to the Jews and Ishmael – progenitor to the Arabs, despite having been estranged from each other during their lifetimes, both came back together and buried Abraham together.) And where Isaac/Yitzhak and Rivkah/Rebecca; and Jacob/Yaakov and Leah are all buried. And there’s even a tradition that Adam and Eve are buried there and that the cave, although sealed off, is or was somewhow the mystical entrance to the garden of Eden.
After that we went to the Avraham Aveinu Synagogue. The story goes that in the 1600s it was Yom Kippur eve and most of the Jews of the town had gone to Jerusalem for the holiday so that there were only nine gathered for the Kole Nidre service. The nine waited for a tenth to complete the minyan (prayer quorum) but none arrived. Then finally a lone traveller arrived. The nine residents offered to make a final meal for the traveller before the fast of Yom Kippur, but the man said he had already eaten on the way so there was no need. They were all quite happy and had a good Yom Kippur service. The traveller seemed very knowledgeable and even gave a dvar torah (a sermon/lecture) and everyone was very impressed. The leader of the community at that time volunteered to take the traveller to his house to stay with him for the holiday. They walked together down the road and when they arrived at his house, he turned to welcome and honour his guest only to discover that the traveller had vanished! The villagers searched in vain for the traveller and finally assumed he had simply not wanted to bother anyone and had probably just moved on. However, that night the community leader who had led the traveller to his own house had a dream. In the dream he saw the traveller. The traveller told him that he was none other than Avraham Aveinu (Abraham, our father) who had been witnessing the events up in heaven, and when he saw that his children would be unable to complete their minyan he asked permission, which was granted, to come down briefly from the “heavenly minyan” to help complete the “earthly minyan.” Every since that time, the synagogue has been known as the Avraham Aveinu Synagogue.
Next on the tour was a visit to the new Tourist Center, housed in the hold Hadassah Hospital building. Apparently, the Hadassah hospital that we all know actually got its start here in Hebron. Currently it houses a tourist center and a memorial to the people killed in the riots and massacre which occurred here in 1929.
Because we were then in the mid afternoon, we had time to daven (pray) mincha (the afternoon service). Saying the first prayer of the Amidah (which references “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… and ends with “Blessed are you, Lord, the shield of Abraham.”) in that place, was quite meaningful.
I have been to Israel many times over the years, but coming to Hevron is something I had never done before. I have to say, it was very special and very meaningful. There is really a sense of connection that you have when you are there. Its a little like being at Western Wall for the first time, only I would say its maybe even a little more intense that that.
