the first night of the 8-day long Jewish holiday at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and
Matriarchs (Cave of Machpela).
place, the tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. My connection and my family’s
connection to this place stretches back many generations,” he stated.
the 1929 Hebron massacre in which 67 Jews were killed by Arab rioters and
hundreds injured.
Yitzhak Hillman (who was a dayan at the London Beth Din and had an especially brave
relationship with the old yeshiva in Hebron), was here in 1929, during the terrible
massacre of the Jews of Hebron,” President Herzog stated.
had settled down alone in Hebron. She had made the whole journey from Lithuania, just to
live in the holy city of Hebron. A photograph of her, covered from head to toe after
being seriously injured in the 1929 riots, appeared under the headline: Mother of the
rabbi from London.”
injury.”
her descendants is lighting Chanukah candles in the Cave of the Patriarchs as the
President of the State of Israel,” he concluded.
occasions during his decades of public service. In 1976 when he was Israel’s
representative to the United Nations he had Abraham’s purchase of the Cave of
Machpela entered as part of an official UN document.
to light the hanukiyah (Hanukkah menorah) in honor of the story of the Maccabees and
their victory over their oppressors.
the difficulties – and won’t ignore the complexities for a second – the Jewish
historical connection to Hebron, to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, to the legacy of the
Patriarchs and Matriarchs, is beyond a doubt.”
important to respect Israeli statehood and its principles, and to listen to the ‘other’,
to respect those who are different, to build bridges and to maintain our togetherness,
of course without infringing on the rights of any individual or community, in terms of
their beliefs or ideals.”
all the sons of one man,'” he stated.
Post stated, “Herzog decided he wanted to light the first Hanukkah candle at a
site that more than any other site represents the Jewish historical claim to Israel.”
Another
Jpost op-ed stated, “Given that Abraham is the patriarch of both the Jewish
and the Muslim people, Herzog might have thought that lighting the first Hanukkah candle
in the Cave of the Patriarchs where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob are buried
would be a symbolic act of unity.”
2021
Israel
Sunday November 28, 2021 –
4:35pm – Machpela courtyard
President Isaac Herzog
Brit Milah Hall:
Rabbi Yisrael Lior, Beit Din judge
Monday November 29, 2021 –
4:35pm – Brit Milah hall
Yisrael Bramson, head of the Hachnasat Orchim institution of Hebron
Tuesday November 30, 2021
4:30pm – Machpela courtyard
Yosef Golan, IDF Hebron division commander with the participation of Israel Defense
Force officers and police.
4:35pm – Brit Milah hall
Mendy Arieli, head caretaker of the Tomb of the Patriarchs complex.
Wednesday December 1, 2021
6:30pm – Machpela courtyard
IDF Commander Aviram Bejarano of the Border Patrol with the participation of IDF and
police
4:35pm – Brit Milah hall
Rabbi Amit Hezi, director of the Tomb of the Patriarchs complex
Thursday December 2, 2021
7:30pm – Machpela courtyard
Rabbi Moshe Oirechman, Chabad-Lubavitch shaliach followed by farbrengen at the Gutnick
center.
4:35pm – Brit Milah hall
Zechariah Nahari, gabay of the Tomb of the Patriarchs and central
courtyard
Sunday December 5, 2021
6:00pm – Machpela courtyard
IDF Lt. Colonel Salim Saad and IDF Major Aviel Jerby
4:35pm – Brit Milah hall
Aryeh Gottlieb of Beit Hamachpela
in Hebron
Hasmoneans against the invading Seleucid Empire. The story of Hanukkah in which the
heroic Maccabees fought to reclaim the Temple from the imperialist Antiochus is well
known.
Hebron’s role in the Maccabean Revolt is mentioned in the apocryphal Book of the
Maccabees and in the works of the great historian Josephus.
Many of the Hasmonean battles took place in the Mount Hebron region, known today as the
Hebron Hills, or Har Hevron regional council. Communities such as Beit Tzur were
sites of fierce battles won by the Judean rebels.
I Maccabees 5:65 states:
“Afterward went Judas forth with his brethren, and 20 fought against the children of
Esau in the land toward the south, where he smote Hebron, and the towns thereof, and
pulled down the fortress of it, and burned the towers thereof round about.”
The Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus Flavius Book 12 Chapter 8 paragraph 6
states:
“But Judas and his brethren did not leave off fighting with the Idumeans, but pressed
upon them on all sides, and took from them the city of Hebron, and demolished all its
fortifications, and set all its towers on fire, and burnt the country of the foreigners,
and the city Marissa.”
The Jewish War by Josephus Flavius Book IV Chapter 87, paragraph 7
states:
“Simon, having thus, beyond expectation, penetrated into Idumaea without bloodshed,
first of all, by a sudden attack, made himself master of the city of Hebron, where he
possessed himself of a vast booty, exclusive of the large supplies of corn which he
seized.”
“If we are to credit the inhabitants, Hebron is not only a town of greater antiquity
than any in that country, but even than Memphis in Egypt, its years being computed at
two thousand three hundred. They relate that Abram, the progenitor of the Jews, here
fixed his abode after his departure from Mesopotamia, and that from hence his posterity
went down into Egypt. Their monuments are still shown in that town, of the most
beautiful marble, and of exquisite workmanship. At the distance of six furlongs, is
pointed out an immense turpentine-tree, which, if tradition is to be believed, has
continued there from the creation until the present time.”
urges Hebron unrest in reaction to planned Hanukkah visit – Times of
Israel
candle at Hebron shrine, Herzog says Jewish connection is
‘unquestionable’ – Times of Israel
lights candle at Hebron shrine, appeals to common Abrahamic heritage – Times
of Israel
Herzog to Light 1st Hanukkah Candle in Hebron – Jewish Press
lights Hanukkah candles in Hebron – Arutz Sheva (with
videos)
Israel President’s Hebron Candle Lighting – The Land of Israel Network
(podcast)
