Today began with learning in the Beit Midrash at Matan. Since we were going to Hebron later in the day, we learned sources Rabbanit Shani Taragin had prepared on Hebron.
Through this process, I came to realize some interesting things. The first is that Levites and priests lived in the same cities of refuge/ arei miklat as accidental murderers. I wondered whether that was by design and whether God hoped the murderers would become rehabilitated due to their proximity to these holy people. I also learned that the reason Absalom goes to Hebron to make himself king is because David was originally king over Hebron. I am not used to paying attention to place names in Tanakh (or locations, or maps) and this just reiterated the fact that I would get more out of Tanakh if I did so.
I find locations and maps difficult because I cannot visualize any of them in my head (I have aphantasia). Even when I am standing at the actual site on a tiyul and the instructor is lecturing about what to picture or imagine, I can’t do it. It would be better for me for someone to create an illustration, 3D rendering or VR model- some already exist and I’m sure more will with time.
Rabbanit Shani then gave a shiur on Rachel Imenu to prepare us for our visit to Kever Rachel. It was a very interesting shiur in which she posited that Rachel believed in Elohim, the God of Nature, but had more trouble in connecting to YHVH, God of mercy. It is only when Rachel finally acknowledges YHVH in her life (by Yosef) that things change for her. Rabbanit Shani brought many examples of this including pointing out chiastic structure and more in the narratives we were learning.
Afterwards, Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble and Rivi Frankel gave a shiur entitled “Permission to Feel: A Workshop on Suffering in Jewish Sources for Tanach Teachers.” Since I’ve already developed a theology of suffering (reading a lot of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, especially Out of the Whirlwind, will do that to a person) I was intrigued by what they and the other members of the group would suggest and promote. I was not disappointed.
I was left interested in listening to the Matan podcasts with Dr. Tanya White, which would expand on this material. I hope to do that at a later time. I’m linking them below.
Episode 1- Suffering: Where Does God Fit In? The Roots of Biblical Suffering
Episode 4- Universal Suffering in the Eyes of Contemporary Philosophy
Then we got on our coach bus to travel to Kever Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb) and to engage in a three-hour tour of Chevron.
I had a meaningful experience at Kever Rachel. I davened mincha and prayed for people I knew.
The photo to the right is a piece of Nava Applebaum’s wedding dress. You can click here to read the story of who this woman was and why her wedding dress was turned into a parochet (covering).
We then headed to Hebron. I discovered that in Israel tour buses don’t have bathrooms. Since we had been at Kever Rachel and then on the bus for two hours, and were about to begin a three-hour tiyul of Chevron, that was a problem. Our group leaders ended up knocking on a random Jewish person’s door and asking to use their bathroom, and they were happy to oblige us.
I had a very mixed experience in Hebron. I appreciated and connected to the Tanakh components (learning about King Hezekiah’s house, getting to see Kever Rachel, getting to see the supposed tomb of Yishai and Ruth- although our group leaders made clear that this last idea is suspect and it is very doubtful they are buried there). Below are photos of these experiences.
I did not appreciate the way that the more contemporary history of Hebron was presented. The approach seemed to glorify martyrdom and death. In the course of one trip, we were taught about:
Rebbetzin Levinger and her stand, along with other women, to reclaim Beit Hadassah. Our group leaders talked about women coming with three week old infants into a place infested with rats, and how there was a formula shortage and they had to send someone to get it, but they didn’t leave and instead heroically remained there as squatters.
And then we were shown this history of Hebron.
We also saw the H1 and H2 territories.
I’m an American so I realize I do not fully understand the complexity of the situation in Israel. But I came to Israel to learn and be inspired by Tanakh, and how the places that we see are connected to the texts that we teach. The speeches that I was listening to involved so much violence, death, loss and murder and I found it overwhelming. Moreover, I didn’t understand it. I don’t understand why people would go and inhabit areas the government told them not to inhabit, and which were not safe, in what seems to me to be a deliberate attempt to provoke the locals. The attitude of our group leaders seemed to be that Eretz Yisrael belongs completely to the Jews, and too bad for the Palestinians. This right-wing approach did not inspire me, and if anything, left me feeling disturbed. The viewpoint seemed to be- “see what our settlement and squatting led to here- we should continue to be moser nefesh [risk our lives] and settle in more places and take back the land.” This does not resonate with me at all. There are things that I think it is important to defend and die for. I do not think it is important to die for a piece of land that the government themselves had said not to inhabit. I know this is a controversial point of view because many people view army service as basically signing up to die for the country, but I think dying to protect others is very different than dying in order to have a piece of land.
I talked to my cousin Shula about it who thinks that the presentation was what put me off. If it had been a more even-handed presentation, with points of view from the right-wing and left-wing perspectives, and if it had been a comfortable place to ask questions, I would likely not have left feeling so frustrated and upset.
We concluded our visit to Hebron with a visit to Mearat HaMachpelah. On the one hand, of course it is amazing we got to visit the Tomb of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and I was fascinated to learn the story of the 12 year old girl who had been the first one to enter the cave. (You’ll see it exhibited in photos below). On the other hand, there was a rowdy group of Na-Na-Nachman’ers there who were singing and banging so loudly that it was impossible to concentrate, and I cannot say that I found my visit to be a particularly spiritual experience.
Here’s the story I found so fascinating:
It was very interesting to learn that the Mearat HaMachpela is a double cave in that it contains a cave within a cave (as opposed to having a ledge on top).
We concluded the evening with a pizza dinner at the Machpela Cafe. On the way back to the tour bus, a man heckled me and tried to make me buy bracelets I didn’t want, then begged for tzedakah. I didn’t want to start taking out my wallet in front of him so I said no. It was unpleasant.
But, on a positive note, we saw someone setting up to propose/ get engaged outside of Mearat HaMachpelah, which was pretty cool.
See Sefer Hachinuch Mitzvah 408 as to why the Levite cities were selected as cities of refuge