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Jun 1, 2008
Adventures in Eretz Yisrael: Shchem: Kever Yosef (video)
I was going to write up a detailed review of my trip to Kever Yosef, but I think the video speaks for itself, and there is little more I can add.
I will just make a couple of minor points.
I will just make a couple of minor points.
- It was a lot of work to get on the approved list to get on the bus for Kever Yosef. I had not been there in a few years, some trips were canceled at the last minute, some I could not get on, some I only found out about too late, and it was worth it.
- They have gotten much more organized, and hopefully will have trips arranged and approved more frequently.
- It is amazing how people are so dedicated to going, that they go out in the middle of the night to a far flung corner of Israel, with no definite forms of transportation, just on the off chance that there will be an extra space on a bus for them. There were hundreds of people who could not get on the buses but were there at various intersections on the way to Shchem, even at the entrance to Shchem itself, just on the off chance that they might be able to get on a bus.
- I don't know what some people were thinking. These Yeshiva guys were trying to hitch from the middle of the Shomron at 4 in the morning back to Jerusalem. It was not one or two guys, who might successfully stop a passing car and get a ride. It was tens of guys at various intersections. When they left Jerusalem, they obviously had no plan how they were going to get back. How many cars dd they think would be on these roads at 4 in the morning? or did they think they would be the only ones trying to hitch a ride?
- Kever Yosef has been cleaned up a lot since my last visit. Then the building was destroyed and painted with graffiti. The walls were covered with soot from the multiple fires started by the Arabs. Now the walls were clean, the graffiti was gone for the most part, the site was fairly clean, and it was orderly. Sure, the grave is still a pile of rubble and the roof is still destroyed, but overall it is much better taken care of now.
- The two main groups of people there were "Settlers" and Breslavers. But there were also a lot of regular Yeshiva guys, some women, a few people who looked like they might be not religious, some other random people.
- As you can see in the video, at some point in the davening, the Breslavers just start screaming with no words. Once a couple had started, everyone joined in. I had no idea what it meant or why they do it. Someone explained to me that he thinks they do it because Rebbe Nachman writes about a type of crying out to Hashem that is without words and it is more powerful and can achieve what regular prayer sometimes cannot. I will not suggest I understand that, so if anybody wants to explain, or give a different explanation of the screaming, please do so.
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some people scream when they are tired, or sick of travelling or in overly populated dense and enclosed areas. My son (who is 11 months) does all three. Perhaps, this was an example of that.
ReplyDeletegood suggestion, but this was clearly a form of prayer. as you can see in the video, while some people were laughing because they did not know what was going on, many were intensely concentrating.
ReplyDeleteB"H
ReplyDeleteYet, again, you didn't stop by to visit. I was up. If the entrance is a Thurs. night, let me know. You and Jameel can stop by.
B"H
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgot. I heard that guys tried to sneak in via the backage compartments underneath. They were found out because of all of the commotion outside. Let's face it, Mir guys and the like just aren't as sneaky as us "settlers." ;-}
Ben yehuda,
ReplyDeleteWe got on / off at ofra.. your roomate was with us at ofra.
rafi thanks for your post, i am currently studying in israel, and would like to visit kever yosef, i wanted to know if you could help me with information about getting on one of these trips?
ReplyDeletesend an email to shechem1@gmail.com telling them who you are and where you are from and ask to be put on the list to be included for entry to Kever Yosef. When there is an arranged trip they will contact you with details.
ReplyDelete