Timeless and Timely Lessons from Chevron

In a normal year, tens of thousands of Jews spend Shabbat in Chevron and Kiryat Arba for Shabbat Chayei Sara. In this week’s Parsha we read how Avraham sought out the cave complex in Chevron as a family burial plot, first for his wife Sara and ultimately for the family. Of course with the ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas there will be no mass gathering in Chevron this year. It is not feasible nor advisable to divert so many resources away from the war effort at this time.

Last week, as part of the OU synagogue leadership mission to Israel, we visited Chevron. We prayed Maariv at Mearat Hamchpela and then walked to Beit Hadasah, where there is a museum that tells the history of Chevron (with special focus on the 1929 Hebron riots) and a community center where we had dinner. In my few visits to Chveron I had never walked passed the pizza shop. As I was making the 10 minute walk through Chevron (with an armed escort of Israeli soldiers) last Wednesday night, I couldn’t help but note how odd it was that Chevron was one of the safer places to be in Israel at that moment. While it is true that the city numbers a few hundred Jews surrounded by tens of thousands of Arabs, the security situation in Chevron seems to be stable, if not calm from what I could see. And Chevron is rarely a target for rockets, and even when it is the city is far away from rocket launches giving people over a minute to prepare.

In Chevron we met with Eliyahu Liebman. Eliyahu was born in Kiryat Arba and his bris was the first one held at Mearat Hamachpela after 1967. When he was 10 years old Eliyahu moved to Beit HAdasah in Chevron. In 1980 a terrorist cell came to Beit HAdasah and killed 6 Yeshiva students while injuring 16. During the attack, young Eliyahu ran and hid in a closet; just like how little Israeli children ran to hide on the morning of Simchat Torah. Today Eliyahu os mayor of Kiryat Arba. One of the terrorists involved in the 1980 attack is now the Mayor of Hebron who boasts about his terrorist activities. Eliyahu’s son, Eliyakim Shlomo ben Avishag, was working security at the music festival. Instead of running away he and his friend Eitan Mor stayed to help people run away as well as to preserve the dignity of the dead. As a result, Eliyakim and Eitan were captured by Hamas and are presumed to be held captive in Gaza. Eliyahu told us that Hamas wants Israel and Jews to be afraid. In response we must not be afraid (neiother afraid of the enemy nor afraid to do what must be done to permanently neutralize the enemy), and we must not rely on miracles.

We also met Eitan Mor’s parents, Tzvika and Efrat Mor. Tzvika told us that Israel has been in a defensive posture for the last few decade, relying more and more on technology, cameras, and shelters in order to survive. Tzvika suggested that we need to change our mindset- part of which is to reconnect to our heritage, to Jerusalem and to Chevron. There is a Hollywood connection to this story: Eitan Mor is our member Nancy Zombek’s cousin. These are just two stories of thousands of stories of tragedy and heroism that have emerged since Simchat Torah. Let us retell these stories as a tribute to the individuals invo,ved as well as a tribute and source of strength for the Jewish People.