As the Israeli government is getting set to publish the tender for the work to convert the Me'arat Hamachpela to be accessible (ie ramps for the disabled, etc), politics is trying to get in the way.

Tisha B'Av is commemorated on Sunday, actually the Tenth of Av but with the Ninth landing on Shabbos this year we delay the commemoration of it to the 10th.

Srugim is reporting that the government has decided to close off all Jewish-access to the Mearat HaMachpela in Hebron on Sunday, Tisha B'Av. They are keeping Jews out because of a Muslim holiday, Eid Al Adha. Basically, in honor of their holiday, the Muslims will have access to the entire Mearat Hamachpela complex and the Jews will not be given any access at all.

The Meara Administration is calling on Jews to come anyway. I guess they want to try to force the hand of the authorities and not be able to turn away so many people. But this is besides the point.

No final decision has yet been made, but it seems Har Habayit is also expected to be closed to Jews and open only for Arabs, also because of the holiday.

In the past Tisha B'Av has been one of the busiest days of the year at both of these sites for Jewish visitors, with massive amounts of people showing up.

I get that the Arabs have a holiday and their day should be respected and they should be given the opportunity to pray and commemorate as they want and need to, but the Jews also have a holiday and their day, our day, should also be respected. Keep the same arrangements as always, with both Arabs and Jews allowed up, and have extra security to keep everyone safe and separate so people don't cause trouble. Or divide the day up by hours. Or split the complexes and allow Jews in one half and Arabs in the other. A reasonable solution could be found without too much difficulty.

The executive board of UNESCO just passed 2 resolutions declaring that the Mearat Hamachpela in Hebron and Kever Rachel in Bethlehem are Palestinian sites and are integral parts of Occupied Palestine. In addition they express various condemnations of Israel in the resolutions. The resolution was passed within minutes of being raised, ensuring that a full discussion had been held arguing and presenting all the various facts and details and arguments from both sides of the issue.
source: JPost

This is not the first time UNESCO, or any part of the United Nations, has done this or things like it. It seems despite Nikki Haley's great work, there is still a lot more to be done, and hopefully whoever replaces her will continue in the same vein with a similar approach.

UNESCO says Hebron is a Palestinian heritage site. And, it is one "in danger".

I am surprised that any Israeli is surprised with this decision.

This is just another in a long string of UN votes against Israel, and even if you just limit it to UNESCO, it follows other similar UNESCO decisions to turn Israeli sites into Palestinian sites.

There is nothing new or unexpected in this decision, as stupid and dishonest as it is.

Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz posted online a statement about such UN decisions not affecting Jewish history and rights... and he posted a picture of himself davening in Mearat HaMachpela.


Something I found interesting about this is that Katz is a kohen and cannot go into grave sites. The thing is, Mearat HaMachpela is different. They have birkat kohanim, the priestly blessings, every day there, despite the fact that it is over the caves of graves. There are different opinions as to whether a kohen can go there or not - I personally know some who do go and some who do not. Those who do go refer to rabbonim who pasken that either the configuration of the building over the graves does not allow tumah to go up and enter the structure or that the tzaddikim buried there are not "metamei".

Quote Of The Day

Who needs Zahava Galon when there is Netanyahu? Bibi is strong with words, but a failure in actions. From all the talk of integration of the Me'arat HaMachpela and right-wing legislation, nothing remains.

  -- MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (NATIONAL UNION) responding to reports that Kever Rachel and Mearat Hamachpela are being removed from the national heritage sites list

The Knesset lobby for Chevron toured the Me'ara and heard interesting details and stories of its history.

I saw this notice on an email list I am a member of and felt it important enough to publicize:


In loving memory of Bradley Jacobs, z"l, the Jacobs & Lewin families proudly announce the Bradley Jacobs z’’l Machpelah Free Access Project in Hebron. Anyone in a wheelchair or who has difficulty with steps can now get into & out of the Machpelah using a special chair that climbs the steps! If you or someone you know need such a chair for access to the Machpelah, notify the Hebron Fund office in NY 718-677-6886. In Israel call 972-2-9965333. No cost.

Last night was the first time I had ever been to a wedding at Me'arat HaMachpela in Hebron. I have heard such weddings are beautiful, but I had never before been at one.

Last night, I finally merited to be at such a wedding, and it was amazing. The setting was beautiful in all regards; physically, the atmosphere, spiritually, it was meaningful, and it was fun (and the food was great!).

The pix I snapped are not great, as they were on my cellphone camera, but this is what I got...




The music was by Sinai Tor who was absolutely amazing. he was entertaining, he was rocking, he was leibedik, and it was great quality music.

If you should have an opportunity to go to a wedding there, don't miss it!

And tonight I have another wedding, this one in the Old City of Jerusalem!

Today's Chol Hamoed trip started off with sunrise services at the Me'arat HaMachpela in Hebron. Sunrise was about 6:15am today, so we had to get going at about 4:50am to get there on time.


There was a nice crowd today, bright and early, of visitors coming to daven. I davened in the regular sefardic vasikin minyan rather than one of the ashkenazy minyanim. I always prefer to daven with them because they are not visitors but daven there every single day of the year. I believe they must have a special merit both for being able to do so and just for doing so, so I always prefer to daven with them.

The large and cavernous Yitzchak's Hall is open to Jews on chol hamoed, so that is where we davened.



After we got back and rested a bit with a bit of a lazy morning, my 12 year old son put together the plan for the rest of the day. We planned to go to Mitzpe Massua, or Massua Lookout. Massua is a "Fire Observation Post" at the top of a mountain near Bet Shemesh. The view from the top is phenomenal...



When we finally got moving after that, we decided to do one of the local hikes. From the top of Massua, one can either drive down and go home, or hike to the hurvat Midras or hurvat Luzit. These are both series of caves and ruins from the times of the Roman conquest and Bar Kochba. The hikes are between 3.5km to 5km, depending on which trail you choose to follow. We chose the trail to hurvat Midras which was meant t be a 3.5km hike.

The hike was fairly easy and the kids had a good time. My wife was meeting us at the end with the car and the little kids. We were following the trail marked with red markers. About 1.5 km from the end, we saw no more red markers. Suddenly the trail turned blue and then green. The whole area is beautiful with a lot to see, so it was not a big deal. We were just worried we were going to end up somewhere else and my wife would not know where to meet us.

No, we did not follow the sign to the pyramid, though I was curious what it was. We kept following the trail straight. Shortly after, we ran into the Columbarian Cave, which seems to be where they raised doves in the times of the Greeks.



After getting back on our way, we eventually found out we were not lost after all and we ran right into the Midras ruins!
We met up with my wife and the rest of the kids and they enjoyed running around the caves and exploring a bit before we went home.. Exhausted.

This morning we went to daven "k'vasikin" at the Me'aras Ha'Machpela in hebron. I always love going there.

Today, because of the holiday, Ulam Yitzchak was open to Jews. Many people get excited when Ulam Yitzchak is open, as it is only open to jews 11 days per year. I don't see the big deal, as the graves are beneath the ground in the caves, and as far as I know the markers and rooms in the building have no specific relevance or meaning. But it is a bigger room, and it also means for these days we have control of the whole building.


One interesting aspect of the Me'ara is the debate whether kohanim can enter it or not. Normally kohanim cannot enter buildings in which dead bodies are buried. The me'ara has always had a dbate about it. Some poskim allow kohanim to enter the me'ara saying that the graves of our forefathers does not make one tamei. Therefore there are some kohanim that will enter the me'ara. I think most do not, but some do, and they almost always have nirkat kohanim in the me'ara.

Here is todays kohein blessing us.







After we finished davening and left, on the way back to the car we saw the booths being prepared. Today is the big day in hebron - they have a concert and a fair of sorts.

The proprietor of the booth below was selling silver jewellry. I noticed the name on the both was "Sa-Nur Jewellry". Sa-Nur was one of the four Northern Shomron settlements that had been uprooted by Ariel Sharon as part of the disengagement. I asked the proprietor if that is where he is from, and it is. He had been one of the founders of Sa-Nur, and was evacuated when his home was dismantled.

The day started out, once again, at 4:15am with an early departure for the Vasikin minyan at Hebron in the Me'arat Ha'Machpela.


During Pesach, Ulam Yizchak - the cavernous room containing the memorial stones for Yitzchak and Rivka, is open to jews. The minyan davened in Ulam Yitzchak. It has been many years since I was last in Ulam Yitzchak, so this was a special treat.

A few moments after we arrived, I realized I was likely being followed. Rav Yitzchak Levi, again the Rosh Yeshiva not the MK, walked in for davening. I had just spent the morning before with him at Har Habayit.

Later in the day we went to Shiloh. I wanted to see the Tel Shiloh - the place where the Mishkan has sat for about 400 years when the Jews arrived into Israel after having left Egypt.

After we got there, we first went up to meet Batya/muse. That was very nice and she was very hospitable and friendly. Batya gave us an overview of Shiloh, and some bananas, and it was great to be able to meet her. Unfortunately, her husband was not there at the time...


So then we went down to the Tel, where the Mishkan sat. It was a nice little hike and the guide described the various aspects of the area.



So in 2 days, I got to visit the Kotel, Temple Mount, the site of the Mishkan, Me'arat Ha'Machpela, and Bet El (Bet el is where the ladder was in Yaakovs dream, but we were only there to visit some relatives).

An incident recently took place in Hebron between an Israeli Magavnik (IDF border police) and an Arab janitor that nearly created a diplomatic outcry.

First, some background...

The building of the Me'arat Ha'Machpelah is a large structure made up up of various rooms and chambers. Among the various rooms are three rooms each containing a set of "grave markers/headstones" for one of the couples of the Patriarchs/Matriarchs. That means there is a room called "Ulam Avraham" or "Abraham's hall" containing the markers for the graves of Abraham and Sarah. There is a chamber called "Ulam Yitzchak" containing the markers of the graves of Yitzchak and Rivka. There is a chamber called "Ulam Yaakov" containing the markers for the graves of Yaakov and Leah.

The markers do not contain graves within or beneath. They are simply markers. The actual graves are beneath the building in a cave and, as far as I know, have no relevance to the markers.

Ulam Yitzchak is the largest of the chambers. By a lot. Ulam Avraham and Ulam Yaakov are fairly small, and they are really only useable (as prayer rooms) because of the connecting hallways.

The Me'ara was divided up between the Israelis and the Arabs to avoid hostility between the two groups. The Jews get the smaller Ulamot of Avraham and Yaakov while the Arabs get the larger Ulam Yitzchak. The agreement does stipulate that 11 days per year, on holidays, the Jews have open access to Ulam Yitzchak as well.

Enough background, now for the excitement.

Maariv reports on the story that the soldier was bored while guarding the site. He decided to have a good time and as he was passing an Arab janitor, he decided to pull a fast one on the janitor. He said to the janitor that the head of the Waqf in charge of the Me'ara had decided to sell the me'ara to the Jews.

The janitor flipped out and ran to the higher committee of the Waqf and told them that the one in charge of the me'ara had sold it to the Jews. The committee did not check out the info, but accepted it at face value. They sent a quick letter of protest to the Palestinian Authority who, in turn, also did not bother checking out the information but sent a complaint to the Israeli government via the Prime Minister's Office.

The PMO checked out the story with the security services in Hebron and responded to the Waqf and the PA that no such transaction had been made and there is no intention to conduct any such transaction. the local Waqf swore to the committee that they would never relinquish their rights to Ulam Yitzchak.

The upper committee decided not to let it slide, as "Where there is smoke, there is fire" so there must be some truth to the story. They fired the local Waqf head. In addition, the assitant Waqf was removed from his post and reassigned as a regular employee with the job of cleaning the bathrooms in the me'ara!!!!

The commander of the IDF unit in hebron decided to investigate the story and found out what happened. The soldier was surprised to hear what a ruckus his little joke had caused.

I love this story.

It was not really much of an adventure, but I guess it qualifies for my "adventures in Eretz Yisrael" series...

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On the way out of the Meara, on the side of the building there is a set of blackened stones. History has it that the Jews were not allowed past the 7th step (stone set) for many hundreds of years during the Crusaders, the Mamluk rule, and beyond. Just beyond the 7th step there is a hole in the wall. The tradition says that that hole is directly opposite the set of graves of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in the internal cave. The tradition is to pray beside that stone, as it is the closest and most direct point connecting us to the Patriarchs. So we stopped there for a bit and prayed some more.

And then we headed back to Bet Shemesh.