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Journeys in Judea: All in the Family

Written by Yael Reinhardt-Matsliah

Jewish Geneology

My husband sits outside under our grapevines and discusses the weekly parashah with several young boys, ranging from six to nine years old. As they discuss the people in this week's parashah, an outside observer would probably think these young boys are talking about their parents, their aunts and uncles, their siblings and cousins, as they are so familiar with the lives of these people. But they are actually talking about people who lived over three thousand years ago!

Jews know their family history; they know the intricate life details of those who birthed and formed the Jewish nation. Our sages teach that everything that happened to the Patriarchs is significant for their descendants (Tanchuma 9) and thus the Torah clearly elaborates about their lives, their deeds, and their deaths. The Torah places great importance on their deaths, as well as where they were buried, so it seems a reasonable place to begin our Journeys in Judea.

Ma'Arat HaMachpela, the Cave of the Patriarchs, is located in the ancient city of Hevron ~ the second holiest site for Jews. Ma'Arat HaMachpela means “Cave of the Double Tombs,” as three Biblical couples are buried here: Avraham and Sarah, Yitzhak and Rivka, and Ya'acov and Leah. According to Jewish tradition, Adam and Chava are also buried here.

We read in Bereshit Rabba 79, “There are three places the nations cannot say that we stole: the Cave of Machpela, the Temple Mount and Joseph's Tomb.” Each location was purchased and the transaction recorded in the Bible: Ya'acov purchased the field from the children of Hamor, which became the final resting place of Yoseph (Genesis 18: 20, Joshua 24: 32); King David purchased a threshing floor owned by Aravnah the Jebusite where both temples later stood (2 Samuel 24: 18- 25); and Abraham purchased the site that became the Cave of the Patriarchs, from Ephron the Hittite as a family burial plot after the death of his wife Sarah (Genesis 23).ⁱ

We read later of Yaacov's deep connection to Ma'Arat HaMachpela as he gives his last will and testament to his sons:

And he commanded them and said to them: “I am being gathered unto my people. Bury me with my fathers, at the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite. In the cave of the Machpela which is in front of Mamre, in the land of Cana'an, the field which Avraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite to be an undisputed property. This is where they buried Avraham and his wife Sarah, there is where they buried Yitzhak and his wife Rivka, and there I buried Leah,...” (Genesis 49: 29-32).

Connecting to the Source

Jews have always understood this deep connection with their ancestors, with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, but to really experience it requires a visit to Hevron. You feel grounded, connected, rooted, with your feet firmly planted on the ground. And that connection comes from the eternal relationship that exists between the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the land of Israel, and their descendants.

According to Jewish tradition, “All the prayers and praises that ascend On High go by way of Ma'arat HaMachpela” (Kanfei Yona). The merit of those buried here gives our prayers wings, and they ascend upward unhindered.

Cave of Reconciliation

Although Hevron and the Cave of the Patriarchs elicit images of confict for many people, it is actually a Cave of Reconciliation; it represents family reconciliation in spite of lethal rivalry and conflicting interests:

Yitzchak (Issac) and Yishmael (Ishmael) joined together to bury Avraham there.

Yaakov (Jacob) and Esav joined together to bury Yitchak in it.

Yosef (Joseph) and his brothers traveled together from Egypt to bury Yaakov in it.

This theme of brothers reconciling to bury their father is repeated for each of our forefathers and Yosef. Real men surface in the the Biblical accounts, not angels without strife. We see their strength and growth as they struggle with their brothers and face extreme difficulties.

Their ultimate victories were not over their brothers, however, but in overcoming themselves --- men who resolved interpersonal strife for the sake of brotherhood and common purpose became the bedrock of the Jewish nation.

When someone dies, we say "may his memory be for a blessing." In our three daily prayers, we bless G-d in the names of our Fathers, each of whom ended his life with the respect and cooperation of his sons. Gathered together in their father's memory, they became a blessing.

The midrash tells us that this Cave is the threshold to the Garden of Eden, perhaps to show that healing our interpersonal relationships precedes spiritual growth.

The Structure

Two thousand years ago, Herod the Great built an impressive structure over the caves that still stands today. This structure has been preserved intact for thousands of years and has continued unceasingly to be a place of prayer.

Later, foreign conquerors made changes to the structure. The Christians transformed the eastern side into a church, and the Moslems later turned it into a mosque. The actual graves are located in caves located below the structure. Above those caves are six chambers given Patriarchal names in memory of those buried in the caves below. Entrance to the caves below is not allowed, as it is controlled by the Muslim waqf.

Historical accounts do exist, though, of Jews who braved many trials and tribulations to reach Hevron and to pray in the caves. Here are a few accounts:

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.” (Reb Benjamin of Tudelah / From the Travels of Reb Benjamin of Tudelah (1173 CE)

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 Ovadiah of Bartenura / From the letters of the famous commentator of the Mishna, 1488CE)

Getting Here

It's a lot easier today!

Just take the 160 bus (it's bulletproof) from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.
Fridays, from Har Nof at 5 AM to Rachel’s Tomb and the Ma'ara. To register, call: 052-2283672.
To order bulletproof buses, call 0524-295559.

Some Photos

Here are some photos of Hevron and the Cave of the Patriarchs. Click on thumbnails to view large images.

Yael is a web designer and editor currently living in Otniel, a yeshuv just south of Hevron. You can learn more about her work at Kalanit Design Studio

Copyright © 2008 by Yael Reinhardt-Matsliah

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Footnotes

i. Sarah's lifetime-the span of Sarah's life-came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba-now Hebron-in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, "I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial." And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him, "Hear us, my lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead." Thereupon Abraham bowed low to the people of the land, the Hittites, and he said to them, "If it is your wish that I remove my dead for burial, you must agree to intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. Let him sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, which is at the edge of his land. Let him sell it to me, at the full price, for a burial site in your midst."

Ephron was present among the Hittites; so Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his town, saying, "No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead." Then Abraham bowed low before the people of the land, and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "If only you would hear me out! Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there." And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him, "My lord, do hear me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver-what is that between you and me? Go and bury your dead." Abraham accepted Ephron's terms. Abraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites- four hundred shekels of silver at the going merchants' rate.

So Ephron's land in Machpelah, near Mamre-the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the confines of that field-passed to Abraham as his possession, in the presence of the Hittites, of all who entered the gate of his town. And then Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre-now Hebron-in the land of Canaan. 20 Thus the field with its cave passed from the Hittites to Abraham, as a burial site (Genesis 23.1-25.18).

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27 Elul 5770

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