Yesterday just hours before the UNESCO vote denying any Jewish connection between the Tomb of the Patriarchs and the City of Hebron with the Jewish people, we were fortunate to pay a very special visit to this special city.
We spent time praying at the tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, Distributed lots of Ice Creams and Treats to the many soldiers on duty, and had an amazing and inspiring visit with Chabad of Hebron who showed us some of the rich Jewish history of Hebron.
Many soldiers were very sad and in a state of shock from a tragic accident at a checkpoint in which a young commander was shot dead by accident by one of his own troops. We did our best to give the soldiers an embrace from Massachusetts and try and somehow lift their spirits, especially soldiers from the units that were connected to this young commander.
We also met Anan, a young Druze Border Guard who has been serving for 8 years and was attacked by a terrorist last March and has a big scar on his face from the injuries he sustained by the knife attack. It was inspiring to meet an Arab Druze who is so loyal to Israel and the Jewish people and who continues to serve even after sustaining a serious injury at that very same spot. Of course he got an ice cream and a cold drink.
We left there feeling very inspired by the bravery of the soldiers who do their utmost to maintain peace, and amazed by the learning of Torah that we witnessed in the different Yeshivas in Hebron, fortunate at being able to spend moments of prayer at the place where Judaism all began so long ago, and where King David ruled the Jewish Kingdom so many thousands of years ago, and in awe at the holy and special work of the Chabad Emissaries who work literally 24/7 with the 3,000 soldiers that they serve.
Am Yisroel Chai!
Shabbat Shalom from the Holy Land!