Adam and Eve in Hebron

Rabbi Rehumai said: God Himself created Adam and He Himself took care of Adam at his death. No one knew of Adam’s burial place until Abraham came, entered the cave and saw him. As Abraham entered, the place was filled with the scent of the Garden of Eden and the voice of the ministering angels saying: “Adam is buried here. Abraham and Isaac will be prepared for this place.” Abraham saw the lit candle and went out. At that moment he developed a desire for the place.

(Zohar Ruth: 79, 4)

The first time Abraham entered the Machpelah Cave he saw a light and two graves were revealed to him. At that time Adam looked at Abraham and his expression was that of happiness. Hence Abraham knew that he was destined to be buried there. Said Abraham to Adam: “Is there an opening here” (for the light)?  Answered Adam: “The All-Mighty has buried me here and since that time I have been hidden from human eyes-like the roots in the ground- until you came to world. From now on, the covenant for me and for humanity will exist because of you.

(Zohar Chaye Sarah. 128:1)

 

 

When Jacob entered the cave all of the Garden of Eden’s scents filled it, and a single candle illuminated it. And when the [souls of the] Patriarchs went down to Egypt, to be with Jacob, the candle was extinguished. When Jacob came back, the candle lit up and the Cave’s glory was restored. And never did or will the Cave accept anyone else (other than the four couples). And the souls of the righteous people pass in front of them in the cave so that they (Adam and Eve and the other three couples) would see their descendants and rejoice in front of G-d blessed be He. 

 (Zohar Genesis Vayiechi , 250)

                     

Our sages ask: ”How did Isaac know the scent of “the field blessed by G-d”? However, explains the Zohar:

”These are two which are one”. It says in one place: “And Isaac went out in the evening ” (Genesis 24:63). Didn’t Isaac have a house or another place in which to pray? But that field was the field of the Machpela which Abraham purchased next to the Cave. When Isaac went to the field he saw the Divine Presence and the field became filled with sacred and supreme scents (from Garden of Eden). That is why he designated it for his prayer site. And this is, in essence, what Isaac referred to when he said: “behold my son’s scent is that of the field blessed by G-d.”

(Zohar Exodus 39:2)

 

Other traditions connect the Spring of Abraham, a local historical site, to Adam and Eve. 

Dean Stanley in his 1862 book Sermons from the East discusses visiting the spring and states: “In the early morning I visited, in company with Dr. Rosen, some of the remains of antiquity on the wooded hill facing the town of Hebron on the south. An ancient well on the slope of the hill is sometimes called ‘the Spring of Abraham,’ sometimes ‘the New Spring’ Ain-el-Jedidi ; this last title, as often the case in local designations, indicating rather the antiquity than the novelty of the place in question. It is vaulted over with masonry, and the channel, when not filled with water, is believed in the neighbourhood to reach to the Mosque. In this vault the local tradition (attaching itself to the curious mistake before noticed, respecting the connection of Adam with Hebron) represents that Adam and Eve hid themselves after their flight from Paradise.” (page 166 – 167)

 

David Wilder, veteran spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron comments on the Adam and Eve connection stating:

 

This beautiful legend is quite fitting, as according to very holy Jewish literature, Adam and Eve when trying to discover the way back to the Garden of Eden, dug a cave within a cave, until a voice from the heavens commanded them to stop, saying that they’d dug far enough. Known as the entrance to paradise, or the entrance to the Garden of Eden, this is where the first man and woman were later buried. That site remained hidden until the days of Abraham, who discovered this sacred cave-tomb. That site is today known as Ma’arat HaMachpela – the ‘double cave of Machpela, where later, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were buried.

 

Therefore, it seems that not only was the first man buried in Hebron. Here too, he was created, not more than two kilometers from Machpela. I’m sure, if the first man really was created at this spot, he undoubtedly bathed in the waters of the nearby spring.

 

That being the case, these waters, which purified Adam, and maybe too Eve, as well as Abraham and Sarah, and most likely King David also, are a direct link from the beginning of time, through this very day. Water symbolizes life, for without water there is no life. This spring represents our life, as a people, as a nation, continuing to flow, without stopping, for thousands of years. That is our essence: life, purity and an uninterrupted flow of holiness. This is Hebron, from the Hebrew root ‘lechaber’ – to join together, to unify – bonding us from conception of our world, to the present.

 

 

 

* Hebron in the Talmud

* Hebron in the Bible

* Shimon Bar Kochba and Hebron