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Parshat Ki Tisa
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land 

וְהָיָה֙ בַּעֲבֹ֣ר כְּבֹדִ֔י וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךָ בְּנִקְרַ֣ת הַצּ֑וּר

"I shall make pleasant songs, and weave verses; Because for You my soul longs. My soul desires to be in Your Hand's shade; To know all of Your deepest mysteries. (Shir HaKavod)"

The mysteries of HaShem and His Torah are only revealed through many partitions - 'the shade of God's 'Hand'', masking the great supernal light from Above, so we, beings of flesh and blood, may receive it, without being obliterated in this light's great intensity. This matter is hinted in this parsha when even Moshe Rabeinu, the greatest prophet, is told to hide in the cleft of the rock, when the Honor of God, referring to the Holy Presence, passes before this cave. A very similar episode occurs with Elijah who hides in the cave of Mount Sinai, where he receives the prophetic vision of 'the sound of silence'.

Hebron's most famous site is indeed a concealed cave, 'The Cave of Machpela', which represents, among other matters, the mysterious element of connecting to the Holy Presence of the Holy Land which rests here. There are actually numerous caves throughout Hebron, reflecting the mysterious element of this city. One of these caves is the Cave of Otniel ben Kenaz (to which Jews are allowed today access only a spare number of times a year). There are also other ancient caves, such as under some of the buildings of the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron.

One of the fascinating stories regarding one of the caves of Hebron is that of Rabbi Moshe Vital, grandson of the great kabbalistic master, Rabbi Haim Vital, primary student of the Arizal. Rabbi Moshe Vital recounts that at one cave in Hebron he found an old manuscript of his grandfather, R. Haim Vital. This manuscript was called 'Mevo Shearim', an introduction to the eight kabbalistic works known as 'Shemonah Shearim', which comprise the classic and most authentic works of the Arizal's teachings to his student R. Haim Vital. In kabbalistic circles today it is this work, found in a cave in Hebron, which is considered the most authentic, exact, and lucid work of the Arizal's teachings.

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #211

‘My shoes were old and worn, but I didn’t have enough money to buy new shoes. I prayed to HaShem for help, and then, out of the blue, someone offered to give me his new shoes that he doesn’t need. It ‘turns out’ that these shoes were exactly my size and were excellent for my needs...’ Y.A.B

Sources: Intro to Mevo Shearim

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