Elon Moreh, Hebron and Beit El

Are you ready for another Biblical history lesson as we travel vicariously through Israel with my husband and son? Their third week in Israel the guys traveled to Shiloh, Itamar, Elon Moreh, Hebron and to Beit El (Bethel).  They have been staying at Mt Gerizim (the Mount of Blessing) which is just outside of the Biblical city of Shechem.  Since Shechem is an arab village today you will see it on the map as “Nabulus”, this is the area where my guys had been working for the past 3 weeks.  This is a good point of reference for their journeys so far.

After their work week was complete in Bracha and Shiloh they were able to spend a little time touring on Friday and on Sunday.  I wish I had photos to share with you all, but they were so caught up in their adventures that they forgot to take very many photos.

They visited Elon Moreh which is near Bracha and Shechem, where G-d made a covenant with Abraham saying “To your descendants I will give this land.”  This was a tremendous sight for the guys – you really can see all around, for miles and miles, nearly all of Israel (and beyond).  This is a special place  to remember a special covenant between the King of the Universe and Abraham, the father of the Jewish people.  There is a resettlement of Jewish pioneers living on Elon Moreh, reclaiming their ancient homeland in the Biblical Heartland of Israel.  The website of the settlement at Elon Moreh has a wonderful timeline of events in this place, check it out.

Outside Machpelah

After their visit to Elon Moreh were able to go to Hebron.  Hebron is the home of Abraham and Sarah, where G-d ratified an eternal covenant with Abraham (some of you will remember HaYesod lesson 3 – the lesson on Covenants), Hebron is where Sarah died and Abraham purchased a plot of land that included a burial cave in which to bury his beloved wife.  The burial site is still honored today:  The Cave of Macpelah and it’s not just Sarah who is buried there.  This is the resting place for Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rachel, Jacob and Leah.  This is the burial place of The Fathers and Mothers.  The Cave of Macpelah in Hebronis the second holiest site in Judaism, next only to the Temple Mount.  The Arabs have had control of this site for quite a long time and since they honor Abraham as their father, there is a certain level of respect that they show as well.  The monument is split in two, half for the Jewish population and half for the Arab population.  While that sounds

This ancient road, where Abraham walked in Hebron, is still there today

nice, you must realize that Hebron is an Arab town and the Jewish families that live there live under continual threats.  Most people in Israel, whether visitors or natives, do not go to Hebron because “it’s too dangerous.”  But it is powerful!  The community of Hebron itself left quite an impression on my men, as well as on everyone else I’m sure.  This is where my son is waiting to bring me, so I can experience what he cannot put into words.  It’s beautiful.  It’s life changing.  Their visit to Hebron was powerful in its history, it’s significance, Macpelah and in its representation of the struggles of today.  It has been a difficult place for Jewish people to settle in because the Arabs simply do not want them there and they make their messages very clear.  When our guys and their group went to Hebron, there were IDF soldiers everywhere.  Not just two or three IDF soldiers, but quite a few of them.  They met a family who are among the first settlers in Hebron and heard the stories of their struggles and losses as they’ve been called to resettle the mountains of Israel and are committed to this task.  It was awe-inspiring!  Check out the photos of the Beit Hadassah Neighborhood, this is a thriving and modern city where children play in the playgrounds and in their yards.  The restaurant where they had lunch that day had bullet holes in the widows and the local Jewish people said, “Oh that.  Yes, sometimes we get shot at.  It’s no big deal, really.”  So, how committed are you to the task you’ve been called to?   It is their visit to Hebron where they reached their saturation point.  They both said it was like putting water on a dry sponge, it soaks it all in.  But when the sponge is full it simply cannot absorb any more.  Hebron was so powerful, on top of so many other powerful and incredible things they had seen and done.  They are glad for their journals but kept telling me that there’s no way they could put it all into words, no way that pictures can do it justice.  ”It’s just . . . . I can’t even begin to tell you…” they tell me with that far-away look in their eyes.  I am anxiously awaiting my first visit to Hebron.

The last city in our history-tour series is Beit El, which you might recognize as Bethel.  This is a place where Abraham stayed for a while and the place of Jacob’s vision of the ladder as he was leaving the Land after receiving the blessing from Isaac.  There wasn’t an organized tour in Beit El so the guys were able to wander around and ponder the significance of the place where they were standing.  From Beit El they participated in a live video broadcast for the families back home and they took us all on a little live feed video tour as they showed Beit El to their families back home and talked about events that took place there.  It was in Beit El where Shalom found a very deep cistern and since he has had the urge to climb the whole time he was there, he climbed down to the bottom and then back out.  The resettlement of Beit El is home to over 1,200 families where  Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio operates out of studios in Beit El and Petah Tikva. Beit El also has a number of small factories, such as a tefillin factory, a winery, metalworks, carpentry shops, a bakery and others.  It is from Beit El that our family acquired our Israeli flag.  Up on top of the water towers flies Israeli flags and because the flags get wind-whipped they tear up pretty quickly.  While our guys were there some men came to put up new flags and discard of the old flags.  Shalom brought home one of these old flags, and it now hangs proudly in our living room.

The final note I’ll share is from Tuesday evening.  The guys were rounded up and taken to a filming of Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem featuring Ari Abramowitz and Joseph Gimpel.  These are always delightful programs to watch and apparently they were filming programs for the new season, this program featured HaYovel and the work they are doing with an interview of one of the guys on our guys’ team.

Their touring had been amazing, the work long yet enjoyable, the camaraderie was truly enjoyable and we’re half way through their trip already!  Miriam and I were doing well here at home, patiently waiting for our turn to go to Israel with them.

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