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Record-breaking visitors for Shabbat Chayei Sarah
Approximately 35,000 people visited Hebron on Shabbat for the annual reading of Parshat Chayei Sarah, breaking records for all previous years. The Cave of Machpela was open in its entirety for the day, as the Torah portion describing the ancient site was read.
The Hebron Fund rented a dormitory, apartments and other spaces for their guests. Thousands of tents and hundreds of trailers dotted the city in a festival atmosphere and about 4,000 people dined at huge hospitality tents sponsored by Chabad of Hebron.
Among the guests were Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, and Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel, Environmental Protection Minister Ze'ev Elkin, Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, Member of Knesset Moti Yogev, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Aryeh Stern, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Beersheba Yehuda Deri, radio talk show host and noted lawyer Yoram Sheftel, and popular musicians such as Dudu Fisher, Sruli Hersh, Dov Heller, Hezki Sofer, Sinai Tor and others.
Uri Karzen, director of the Jewish Community of Hebron stated that the number of participants was at an "all-time high" and "a special day for Hebron and for Jewish people around the world." he added, "in the near future we will host people in the new buildings which are being planned for the Hezekiyah Quarter."
The community also thanked the Israel Defense Forces and police who were responsible for security, crowd control and logistics. Many top commanders joined the community for a Friday night Shabbat meal and spoke to a group of tourists about their sense of pride in helping assist for such an event.
The Hebron Fund, the official sponsor of The Jewish Community of Hebron, hosted a VIP Chayei Sarah Program featuring catered meals, hot kiddush, tours, onegs, speakers, great accommodations and round-trip coach bus transportation. Over 250 people attended their program this year.
Rabbi Daniel Rosenstein, Executive Director of The Hebron Fund said ‘the Israelis, especially the soldiers, are amazed that Jews would fly in just for the weekend. The Americans shrug it off and express appreciation for the residents of Hebron who live there all year."
Fortunately, hosting the Members of Knesset and IDF Commanders allows us to have a top-notch program and everyone feels connected. The prayer services, led by Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum and Chazzan Sruli Hersh inspire people's souls in ways they haven't felt before. "Our success is due to a team effort of our extraordinary staff and donors. It's just an amazing Shabbat and we make it easy to attend” said Rabbi Rosenstein.
The Hebron Fund also hosted Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) led by Helen Freedman, Judy Freedman Kadish and Ken Abramowitz. Some alumni from the Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC), who are learning in Israel this year, were there to enjoy the festivities as well.
The Jewish Community of Hebron, celebrated two recent successes in the past several months. The first was official status as a separate municipality by the Israeli government. This enables the local community to take care of municipal services such as garbage pick up and other maintenance that previously was neglected by the Hebron municipality run by the Palestinian Authority.
The second big news item was the announcement of 31 new housing units to be built in the Hezekiyah neighborhood. The project which was on hold for years finally achieved approval and will help ease the demand for housing. The new apartment complex will be build next to the Beit Romano building, which as built in 1876. It was here that Rabbi Haim Hezekiyah Medini, lived and worked on his talmudic encyclopedia the Sde Hemed.
The picnic-like atmosphere filled the streets as people shared food, sang Shabbat songs, and toured the historic buildings such as Beit hadassah, built in 1893, the Avraham Avinu synagogue, built in 1540 by refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, and the Tomb of Jesse and Ruth, located in the Tel Hevron archaeological park.
One site that was difficult to visit was the Tomb of Otniel Ben Knaz, the first Judge as listed in the Bible. Located in the Palestinian Authority controlled zone of Hebron, this year, only a small group was allowed in due to security reasons.
On Thursday night, 250 people visited the Elonei Mamre archaeological site, also within the Palestinian Authority area. Organized by the Midreshet Hevron college, the trip included lectures about its historic significance as a structure built by King Herod the Great, a site of pagan worship, and for a time, a Byzantine church. As it's name indicates, some researchers believe it to be the location of Biblical Mamre where Abraham and Sarah lived.
The main attraction of course that the towering Tomb of Machpela complex, built by King Herod about 2,000 years ago. The structure houses the underground burial caves where the Matriarchs and Patriarchs of the Jewish people were buried as recorded in the Book of Genesis. The Hall of Isaac and Rebecca the largest in the building was open to the public, an occurrence which takes place only 10 times throughout the year due to a rotation agreement with the Muslim Waqf.
In a scene reminiscent of the Lag BaOmer festival in Meron, and other mass Jewish gatherings, the thousands that prayed, sang, ate and rejoiced on the Sabbath day seemed to appreciate significance of the day. After Shabbat, a generous donor to the Hebron Fund sponsored a massive barbecue for the security services including steaks and loud music. Attendees walked away physically and spiritually complete.
The Hebron Fund is now accepting inquiries into next year’s program and can be reached at (718) 677-6886. They have been challenged with an online matching grant opportunity. Details will be available at the beginning of December.
Chayei Sarah Weekend. Register today!
Thursday Nov 9 - Sun Nov 12
Save the Date Chayei Sarah 2017
Extended Weekend: Thursday November 9 - Sunday November 12
Shabbat in Hebron: November 10/11
Will you be in Israel on Sukkot? Join us for the holiday celebrations in Hebron!
Contact The Hebron Fund for more information and to RSVP
VIP and Public tour options available.
Hezekiyah Neighborhood to be Rebuilt in Hebron
Israeli government approved 31 new housing units.
After nearly two decades, the Jewish Community of Hebron has finally obtained building permits to renew the historic Hezekiyah (Hezkiyahu) quarter. The Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, which governs civilian life in Judea and Samaria, issued 31 building permits this week for a planned housing project in the Jewish community of Hebron. Unlike other areas of Israel, Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria must obtain extra military approval for any building or renovation.
The community issued a press release stating,
"Building in the City of the Patriarchs by the Israeli government is a Zionist, just, necessary and blessed step. Upon receiving the building permit for the Hezekiah Quarter, we congratulate and thank the Prime Minister and all the ministers, Knesset members and public figures who worked with determination and dedication together with us to advance the building permit.
However, in light of certain conditions and in light of the anticipated appeal of the PA Hebron Municipality, headed by a terrorist and a convicted murderer, we expect the Government of Israel to continue to insist on the right to build in the City of the Patriarchs without delay."
The reference to the convicted murderer is recently elected mayor of the PA controlled side of Hebron, Tayseer Abu Sneinah, who participated in the ambush attack that killed six people and wounded a dozen others in 1980. He was released in a prisoner exchange deal and subsequently rose to power in the ranks of the Palestinian Authority.
The Hezekiyah neighborhood is in the historic Jewish quarter of the city, just outside what was once referred to as the "Jewish ghetto" by literature of 100 years ago. The main existing structure is Beit Romano, a large building which today houses the Shavei Hevron yeshiva, a flagship institution of religious Zionism and home to several hundred students from around the country.
The building has its roots in 1876 when Hayyim Yisrael Romano built a specious residential building outside the Jewish Quarter, complete with a synagogue and study hall.
It was here that Rabbi Hayyim Hizkiyahu Medini completed his monumental Talmudic encyclopedia Sde Hemed, studied and taught Torah between the years 1901-1905. The Sde Hemed, as he was known, served as chief Sephardic rabbi of the city and is buried in the ancient cemetery.
In 1912, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn of the Chabad movement, purchased the building along with the surrounding grounds and established the Torat Emet Yeshiva. The original Ottoman land deeds (kushan) are currently displayed in the building along with other legal documents and photos of the famous rabbis who lived and taught on site.
During World War I, when the British defeated the Turks in 1917 and took control of the Land of Israel, they converted the facility into the headquarters of the British police.
After the 1929 Hebron massacre, the bodies of the Jewish victims, as well as the wounded and survivors were held at the site prior to their expulsion from the city.
In 1948, the Jordanian capture Hebron and the building was used as a school and a bus terminal was built next to it.
When city finally returned to Jewish hands in the Six Day War of 1967, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, turned over all rights to previously held Chabad property to the nascent Jewish settlement, giving his blessing to the young families seeking to repopulate the neighborhoods.
However many in the Israeli government were less than eager to open the floodgates to the young enthusiastic Jewish idealists. Several properties were leased to the existing Arab tenants.
It took a stabbing attack by a terrorist in 1981 to propel the Israeli government to return to building was returned to Jewish hands, and by 1982 the Hizkiyahu neighborhood was established along with Yeshivat Shavei Hevron.
To accommodate the growing demand by young families, temporary caravan homes, similar to a trailer park, were established to the site, despite bureaucratic opposition. Future development plans were drawn up for a 7-story building with 28 apartments including a nursery school, medical clinic, underground parking and open public space. Now with the official building permits finally secured, the new approval of 31 units may finally be realized, thus easing the demand of housing and reclaiming the areas once populated by a thriving Jewish community generations ago.
Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Jewish community of Hebron told the Times of Israel, there was a general linkage between the approvals and this summer's UNESCO vote against Hebron's Jewish community. Israel's response was to cut funding to the United nations body and this past week, leave the organization, following the United State's example.
"The response to the narrative that suggests that we are foreigners here is not just to pull out of UNESCO, but also to strengthen Jewish presence in Hebron,”Fleisher said.
In July, UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization voted on a Palestinian Authority proposal to declare Hebron's Tomb of Machpela and old city a "Palestinian Heritage site in danger." Scant mention of any Jewish connection was made in the proposal. UNESCO similarly voted on resolutions denying Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and old city of Jerusalem. This bias led the United States to downgrade its status from full-fledged dues-paying member, to a mere observer state in October. Israel followed suit a day later.
The past several months has been newsworthy for Hebron with the building plan announcement, the UNESCO issue and the 30,000 visitors during Succot. Not to be overlooked was the granting of independent municipal status.
Since the 1997 Hebron Accords, the city has been divided into H1 and H2 sections, with H1, comprising 80% of the city under Palestinian Authority jurisdiction, of the 20% under Israeli control, civilians are allowed only in the Jewish neighborhoods and barred from the rest of the old city, including historic sites.
At the end of August, the Israeli government granted the Jewish community official status as an independent municipality divorced from the Palestinian Authority's Hebron Municipality. Now, the 1,000 strong Jewish neighborhoods will have their own independent jurisdiction over city services which previously have been denied.
H1 Hebron is home to some 200,000 residents, making it the largest city in the PA autonomous areas in terms of both population and land size. It is also the richest, being the economic and manufacturing center of the region. In stark contrast to H2, the PA side of Hebron boasts multi-story shopping plazas, a football stadium, universities, hospitals and more. It is also considered one of the most conservative and religious cities in the PA, with no movie theaters or late night entertainment spots, unlike the more cosmopolitan Ramallah, where the PA government is located.
Article originally published on en.hebron.org.il on 10/17/2017 here
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