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Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook and Hebron
The Chief Rabbi's fiery speech at the 1929 massacre memorial inspired many, as did his refusal to shakes hands with a British official.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook was the first Ashkenazic chief rabbi of Israel and an influential leader who sought to unite religious and secular Jewish society. Family members live in Hebron today including a great-granddaughter, Tzipi Schlissel who heads the Hebron History Museum in Beit Hadassah.
Torah scrolls rescued from the 1929 Hebron massacre today are in use at the Beit HaRav Kook center in Jerusalem. Recently they have been rededicated in memory of the soldiers of Operation Protective Edge.
The following is based on a except from the book Stories from the Land of Israel Rabbi Chanan Morrison, adapted from Malachim Kivnei Adam, pp. 155-157; 160; 164-165.
THE 1929 MASSACRE
Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, also known as Hebron... Abraham came to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her. (Genesis 23:2)
A somber gathering assembled in Jerusalem's Yeshurun synagogue. The large synagogue and its plaza were packed as crowds attended a memorial service for the Jews of Hebron who had been killed during the riots six months earlier, on August 24th, 1929.
On that tragic Sabbath day, news of deadly rioting in Hebron reached the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, then director of the National Committee, hurried to Rabbi Kook's house. Together they hastened to meet with Harry Luke, the acting British high commissioner, to urge him to take action and protect the Jews of Hebron.
The Chief Rabbi demanded that the British take severe and immediate measures against the rioters.
What can be done? Luke asked.
Rabbi Kook's response was to the point. Shoot the murderers!
But I have received no such orders.
Then I am commanding you! Rabbi Kook roared. In the name of humanity's moral conscience, I demand this!
Rabbi Kook held the acting commissioner responsible for British inaction during the subsequent massacre. Not long after this heated exchange, an official reception was held in Jerusalem, and Mr. Luke held out his hand to greet the Chief Rabbi. To the shock of many, Rabbi Kook refused to shake it.
With quiet fury, the rabbi explained, "I do not shake hands defiled with Jewish blood."
This incident is also recorded in the book An Angel Among Men by Simcha Raz, translated by Rabbi Moshe Lichtman, pp. 191-194.
(Photo: Rabbi Kook (right) with Mayor William O'Dwyer of New York (center) and Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein (left) of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Hebron. The rabbis traveled to the United States together in 1924 as part of the Central Relief Committee (CRC) Emergency Campaign. Rabbi Kook helped the Slabodka Yeshiva relocate from Europe to Hebron. Several of the students were later killed in the massacre. The school, still known as the Hebron Yeshiva, relocated to Jerusalem where today is it one of Israel's largest Torah institutions. Credit: Wiki Commons.)
The day after the rioting in Hebron, the extent of the massacre was revealed. Mobs had slaughtered 67 Jews including yeshiva students, elderly rabbis, women, and children of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic backgrounds. The British police had done little to protect them. The Jewish community of Hebron was destroyed, and their property looted and stolen. The British shipped the survivors off to Jerusalem.
The "tzaddik of Jerusalem" Rabbi Arieh Levine accompanied Rabbi Kook that Sunday to Hadassah Hospital on HaNevi'im Street in order to hear news of the Hebron community by telephone. Rabbi Levine recalled the frightful memories that would be forever etched in his heart.
"When the Rabbi heard about the murder of the holy martyrs, he fell backwards and fainted. After coming to, he cried bitterly and tore his clothes over the house of Israel and God's people who had fallen by the sword. He sat in the dust and recited the blessing, Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet (Blessed is the True Judge)."
For some time after that, his bread was the bread of tears and he slept without a pillow. Old age suddenly befell him, and he began to suffer terrible pains. This tragedy brought about the illness from which the Rabbi never recovered.
THE MEMORIAL SERVICE
Six months after the massacre, grieving crowds filled the Yeshurun synagogue in Jerusalem. A mourning atmosphere, like that on the fast of Tisha B'Av, lingered in the air as they assembled in pained silence. Survivors of the massacre, who had witnessed the atrocities before their eyes, recited Kaddish for family members murdered in the rioting.
Rabbi Jacob Joseph Slonim, who had lost his son (Eliezer Dan Slonim, who was fluent in Arabic and a member of the Hebron municipal council) and grandchildren in the massacre, opened the assembly in the name of the remnant of the Hebron community.
(Photo: The Slonim family of Hebron, 1928. Most were killed in the massacre. The bearded Rabbi Slonim is seated under his son, Eliezer Dan Slonim, a well-connected community leader. Residents fled to the Slonim house for protection. When the mob reached his house, they demaded him to bring out "the strangers," to which Eliezer Dan replied, "there are no strangers here, they are all family." Credit: Wiki Commons.)
"No healing has taken place during the past six months, he reported. The murder and the theft have not been rectified. The British government and the Jewish leadership have done nothing to correct the situation. They have not worked to reclaim Jewish property and resettle Hebron."
Afterwards, the Chief Rabbi rose to speak:
"The holy martyrs of Hebron do not need a memorial service. The Jewish people can never forget the holy and pure souls who were slaughtered by murderers and vile thugs.
Rather, we must remember and remind the Jewish people not to forget the city of the Patriarchs. The people must know what Hebron means to us.
We have an ancient tradition that The actions of the fathers are signposts for their descendants. When the weak-hearted spies arrived at Hebron, they were frightened by the fierce nations who lived in the land. But Caleb quieted the people for Moses. He said, 'We must go forth and conquer the land. We can do it!' (Numbers 13:30)
Despite the terrible tragedy that took place in Hebron, we announce to the world, 'Our strength is now like our strength was then.' We will not abandon our holy places and sacred aspirations. Hebron is the city of our fathers, the city of the Cave of Machpela where our Patriarchs are buried. It is the city of David, the cradle of our sovereign monarchy.
Those who discourage the ones trying to rebuild the Jewish community in Hebron with arguments of political expedience; those who scorn and say, 'What are those wretched Jews doing?' Those who refuse to help rebuild Hebron they are attacking the very roots of our people. In the future, they will have to give account for their actions. If ruffians and hooligans have repaid our kindness with malice, we have only one eternal response: Jewish Hebron will once again be built, in honor and glory!
The inner meaning of Hebron is to draw strength and galvanize ourselves with the power of Netzach Yisrael, Eternal Israel.
That proud Jew, Caleb, announced years later, 'I am still strong... As my strength was then, so is my strength now' (Joshua 14:11). We, too, announce to the world: our strength now is as our strength was then. We shall reestablish Hebron in even greater glory, with peace and security for every Jew. With Gods help, we will merit to see Hebron completely rebuilt, speedily in our days."
THE RETURN TO HEBRON
While some Jewish families did return to Hebron in 1931, they were evacuated by the British authorities at the start of the renewed rioting in 1936. For 34 years, there was no Jewish community in Hebron until after the Six Day War of 1967. This return to Hebron after was spearheaded by former students of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, disciples of Rabbi Kook's son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook.
(Photo: Rabbi Moshe Levinger (left) and Chanan Porat (right) dancing with students of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva and others in 1975 after the government voted to repatriate abandoned Jewish lands redeemed after the Six Day War. Credit: Moshe Milner, Government Press Office National Photo Collection.)
In 1992, Rabbi Kook's grandson, Rabbi Shlomo Ra'anan, moved to Hebron with his wife.
Six years later, a terrorist climbed up a pole and into his bedroom window at night. The 63-year-old rabbi struggled with his attacker and was stabbed repeatedly and killed.
(Photo: Rabbi Shomo Ra'anan.)
His wife Chaya Ra'anan chose to remain in Hebron and her daughter Tzipi Schlissel and son-in-law Rabbi Yisrael Schlissel joined them. Today, Rabbi Schlissel runs the Ohr Shlomo Torah Study Center in Hebron and Tzipi heads the Hebron Museum of History at Beit Hadassah. Tzipi's maternal grandmother also has a Hebron connection to Hebron, being a survivor of the 1929 massacre.
(Photo: Tzipi Schlissel at the Hebron History Museum, now featuring the new 4D film "Touching Eternity")
Beit HaRav Kook, the home and yeshiva of Rabbi Kook, as mentioned above today houses a study center, museum and synagogue. The Torah scrolls at Beit HaRav Kook were some of those rescued from the riots, in which historic places such as the Avraham Avinu synagogue were ransacked and vandalized. In 2014 the Torah scrolls were rededicated in memory of the soldiers who fought in Operation Protective Edge.
(Photo: Torah scrolls at Beit HaRav Kook in Jerusalem. The Hebrew inscription reads "TARPAT pogram," an acronym for the year 1929.)
Today, visitors who come to Hebron are taken to the refurbished Avraham Avinu Synagogue where regular services are held. They are taken to the Tel Hevron neighborhood where Rabbi Ra'anan's widow still lives. There stand the archaeological excavations which sit next to a children's playground, a new generation living side by side with its ancient heritage. Rabbi Kook's dream to see the Jewish Community of Hebron reestablished has come true but much more is needed.
"Walk Between the Raindrops" - How Menucha Rochel Slonim United Hebron
The story of Chabad-Lubavitch and the Jewish movement to return to the land of Israel is exemplified by Rebbitzin Menucha Rochel Slonim and the hasidic community of the 1800s.
Photo: Rebbetzin Moshke Devora Epstein, daughter of R. Yehuda Leib Slonim, eldest son of Rebbetzin Menucha Rochel. Born in Hebron, she inherited her grandmother’s home when she married.
Menucha Rochel Slonim (1798 - 1888) was a daughter of Rabbi Dovber Schneuri, also known as the the Mitteler Rebbe, the second Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement.
She is regarded a matriarch to the Chabad family as well as Hebron's Jewish population in general. She was also a matriarch/founder of the Slonim family that was instrumental in revitalizing the Jewish community in Hebron. She was famed for her wisdom, piety and erudition, honored and esteemed by famous rabbis of her time a well as the non-Jewish population of Hebron who sought her advice.
(Photo: This handwritten letter is from Menucha Rochel Slonim and hangs in the historic Menucha Rochel Slonim synagogue in Hebron's Avraham Avinu neighborhood.)
Known as Rebbetzin Slonim, a title given to the wives of rabbis, she was born on Yud Tes Kislev, the 19th of Kislev, 1798. It was the same day her grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, was released from imprisonment in S. Petersburg, Russia. Today this date is still celebrated as a "new year" in the hasidic movement.
Her father chose the name Menucha because in Hebrew it means "peace and quiet". He said, "henceforth we shall have a little Menucha." She was named Rachel (or Rochel, as it was often pronounced) after an aunt that died in her youth.
Her husband's last name was originally Griver. He was a descendant of Rabbi Moses Isserles, the famous rabbi from Poland known as the REMA. They chose to change it to Slonim and moved to Hebron.
(Photo: Rabbi Moses Isserles, the REMA. (1520 - 1572)
In 1815, her father sought to strengthen the Jewish community in Hebron, which was at one time, King David's capital city, but had now fallen into neglect. He dispatched groups of followers who established the Chabad community in the city. He bought the small synagogue near the historic Avraham Avinu synagogue along with additional parcels of land.
After Rebbitzin Slonim fell dangerously ill, her father promised that she would live to emigrate to the Land of Israel. In 1845, with the blessing of her brother-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, known as the Tzemach Tzedek, she and her family emigrated to Hebron. On the day they were to depart of the Land of Israel, it was raining. The Tzemach Tzedek advised her not to delay and to allay her fears, blessed her to "walk between the raindrops."
(Photo: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Lubavitch, the Tzemach Tzedek. (1789 - 1866)
For forty-three years she served as the matriarch of the Hebron community. New brides and barren women would request blessings from her.
Before she died on the 24th of Shevat, 1888, she sent a letter to the current Rebbe of the time, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn, the Rebbe Rashab, informing him of her imminent passing. She thus lived during the leadership of all of the first five Lubavitcher Rebbes. She was buried in the ancient Jewish cemetery in Hebron.
(Photo: Stones and candles left by well-wishers at the grave of Menucha Rochel Slonim in Hebron.)
Menucha Rochel's descendants were important leaders in Hebron which by now had a thriving hasidic community.
(Photo: This famous portrait has been reprinted in many books. It depicts Rabbi Mordechai Dov Slonim, son of Rabbi Ya’akov Slonim and Rebbetzin Menucha Rachel, with his great-grandson, Levi Yitzhak.)
(Photo: The Slonim family in Hebron)
Unfortunately, many of the family were caught in the riots of 1929. Shlomo Slonim (1928 - 2014), a survivor of the riots was 1-year-old at the time. His grandfather was Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Slonim, and his father was Eliezer Dan Slonim, the respected director of a local bank who spoke fluent Arabic. Shlomo Slonim went on to join the Irgun Tzvai Leumi, the Haganah, and the Israel Defense Forces. He worked for Bank Leumi for almost 50 years, was married for 50 years, and had 4 children.
(Photo: This picture of Shlomo Slonim was taken about a year after the riots. The scar on his forehead where he was stabbed is still visable.)
(Photo: Chana Sara and Eliezer Dan Slonim, parents of survivor Shlomo Slonim.)
Menucha Rochel Slonim's grave was one of those destroyed during the infamous riots. It was rediscovered by Prof. Ben-Zion Tavger who in the 1970s and early 1980s was instrumental in excavating historic areas such as the Avraham Avinu synagogue which had been used as a sheep pen.
In 1982, with the encouragement of the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, a memorial ceremony was initiated and continued every year at her grave-site in Hebron. This has grown over time, and her grave-site has become a popular site for prayers. The annual event has been organized for the past thirty years by Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Halperin, director of the Organization of the Descendants of the Alter Rebbe. Over the years, the leaders of the rebuilt Jewish community and the Chabad House of Hebron have joined together to establish a yeshiva at her grave-site, known as “Colel Menucha Rochel.”
(Photo: The refurbished grave-site of Rebbetzin Menucha Rochel.)
Menucha Rochel made headlines in 1997, when the H1 and H2 sections of the city were created. Concerned residents and supporters protested the government to ensure that the cemetery and Menucha Rochel's final resting place were not left outside of the designated area. Other famous Jewish leaders buried in the cemetery include Eliyahu de Vidas, Solomon Adeni, Elijah Mizrachi and Yeuda Bibas. Ishtori Haparchi, the well-known Jewish physician and traveler reported visiting the cemetery around the year 1322.
(Photo: Rabbi Tzvi Slonim speaks at a recent memorial gathering for his ancestor, Menucha Rochel, in Hebron.)
Today, countless people come every year to visit the site as well as the Tomb of Machpela, Beit Shneerson, Beit Hadassah and other sites where the Slonim family lived, worked, taught and raised their families.
(Photo: Three generations return to Hebron for the gathering.)
(Photo: A hasidic musician performs at the annual gathering)
(Photo: Rabbi Mordechai Dov-Ber Slonim in another in a series of famous portraits done of the Slonim family in the 1800s.)
"And in the valley is the Cave of Machpela, if a Jew should pay the Ishmaelite watchman, he will open for him an iron gate. From there one descends stairs with a candle in hand. Upon reaching the third cave one will find six graves. These are the graves of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and opposite them, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah, And inside the cave are many barrels, filled with bones of Israelites who would bring the bones of their dead to the Cave in the age of Israel.:
"And on the first day of the week, the ninth day of the month of Heshvan, I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the graves of my forefathers in the Cave of Machpela. And on that very day I stood in the Cave and I prayed, praised be G-d for everything. And these two days, the sixth (when he prayed on Temple Mount in Jerusalem) and the ninth of Mar-Heshvan I vowed to make as a special holiday and in which I will rejoice with prayer, food and drink. May the Lord help me to keep my vows.." At the edge of the field is the house of Abraham, And it is forbidden to build a home there, in respect to Abraham. From the introduction of Tractate Rosh HaShana)
Rabbi Petachia of Regensberg writes of his visit to Hebron in 1185.
"The watchman led me down the stairs, with candles lit. In the middle of the cave is an opening in the ground. From the opening came a strong wind which extinguished the candles. That is the burial place of our forefathers, and I prayed there . . . And in the place where the angels appeared to Abraham is an ancient tree with three large limbs. Tradition has it that when the angels leaned against the tree, it split into three parts. And the fruits of that tree are most sweet.”
From the letters of the famous commentator of the Mishna, Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura, (1488):
"Over the Cave of Machpela is a large building of the Ishmaelites, who regard the sacred site with fear and awe. No person, Jew or Ishmaelite, is allowed to descend to the Cave, And there is a small window in the outer wall of the building, which is above the grave of Abraham, and there the Jews are allowed to pray. And in Hebron live 20 Jewish families, all of them scholars, some of them descendants of the Morannos, who came to find refuge under the wings of the Divine Presence , . I lived in Hebron for many months.”
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Katinetz, (1850):
"At evening we safely reached Hebron. Hebron is a large city. The Jews of Hebron are Sephardic, and there is also a Chabad community. They are very charitable people and provide for all the needs of any traveler visiting the city. It is forbidden for a Jew to enter the building over the Cave of Machpela. The Jews pray on the seventh stair. There is a hole in the wall which reaches down to the graves. The Jews wrote their prayers on small pieces of parchment and slip them through the hole.”
From the journal of Mrs. Judith Montefiore (1838):
“The 15th of June, Hebron. The Jews of Hebron are very poor but are possessed of a unique charm. Love of the Land of their Forefathers fills their hearts and is preferable to them than palaces of kings. The Jewish community accorded us much honor. This city is blessed with vineyards, groves of olive trees and fruits of many kinds, more than in cities of Europe. I desired to build a house amidst the lush greenery so that I could feast my eyes on the idyllic beauty through all the seasons of the year.”
D. Avishar, resident of Hebron, early 1900's:
"The month of Elul in Hebron brought with it hundreds of visitors from afar. The first to arrive, by foot, would be the young men from Tsor, Sidon and Damascus. When the visitors would reach the out-skirts of Hebron, the youngsters and community leaders, singing joyously, would go out to welcome them and accompany them to the community inn. The visit of the young men would bring great joy to the Hebron community. During the day the visitors would pray at the Cave of Machpela and other holy places in the city. At night they would dance and sing, and the entire community would come to the inn to participate in the festivities.”
Menashe Mani, resident of Hebron, early 1900's:
“The eve of Sabbath. The narrow alleys of the Jewish Quarter have been scrubbed in honor of the holy day. The song Lecha Dodi, welcoming the Sabbath Queen, reverberates through the Quarter. The worshippers, dressed in white and bedecked in prayer shawls, make their way to the courtyard of the ancient synagogue. Facing the olive groves and the Judean hills, their voices resound in excitement as they beckon the Sabbath, `Boee Kallah, Boee Kallah, Welcome beloved, Sabbath Queen.' The worshippers return to the synagogue, aglow with the lamps of olive oil, circle the ark and continue to chant, `A Psalm for the Sabbath Day - - A hot summer's day, 1929. We are traveling to Hebron. The journey to Hebron is long and arduous. Following a warm welcome at the inn of Rabbi Shneur Zalman Schneerson we turn toward the Cave of Machpela. As we walk, an Arab calls after us, `Jewish dogs!' and throws at us a watermelon rind. We quicken our pace and arrive at the Cave. We stand on the seventh step, past which Jews are forbidden to ascend. One of our companions rests his foot on the 8th step. Immediately the Arab guard appears, and pushes him down amidst curses.”
Reported by S. Avidor in Panim El Panim 1976:
1967-The Israel Defense Forces liberate Hebron. Jews by the thousands stream daily to the Cave of Machpela. "Hundreds of men and women stand next to the grave markers in the Cave. They recite psalms and shed tears. It seems that all burdens of the heart find vent here, by the Fathers and Mothers of our nation. A group of Yemenite Jews with curled side-locks sway in enthusiastic prayer. Suddenly, one of the group unveils a long ram's horn and blows 'Tekiya, Shevarim, Tekiya.' In another corner a French Jew is chanting the Biblical story of the `Akeidah.' Nearby, a Breslover Chasid stands immersed in prayer. A Moroccan woman kisses Sarah's grave marker and wails, `Mother, Mother!'
From the Cave of Machpela, we continued toward the Old Jewish Quarter. We searched for the small gate leading to the courtyard that was home to Jews for hundreds of years. In this Quarter lived the renowned Kabbalist, Rabbi Avraham Azulai. and the scholarly `Sde Chemed.' They prayed here in the ancient Avraham Avinu Synagogue. We searched and searched, but as if in a nightmare, could not find a trace. We asked the Arab passers-by to direct us to the Jewish Quarter, but they pointed us in the opposite direction. Only after an intensive quest did we realize that we were standing next to the Jewish Quarter the entire time.
The Quarter, however, is almost completely destroyed. The Avraham Avinu Synagogue has been desecrated-the holy arks in it burned. The Jewish Quarter has been reduced to rubble. From the Jewish Quarter we set out to find the ancient Jewish cemetery. Where the cemetery once stood we discovered a cabbage patch.'
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