Page 35 - HaMizrachi #14 2019 Chayei Sarah USA

Revelation Under the Prayer Rugs

a big chisel to the prayer service. No living being
had been this
As we began to sing and dance, a few close to the
of us made our way to the prayer rugs, Patriarchs in
lifted them up and exposed the stone. t housa nds
It was held in place by metal bars, of years.
attached to other stones. Each one
of us down
We began hammering with the chisel, there paused
and soon the stone began to move. It to contemplate the
is difficult to describe our emotions as significance of being in
we lifted the stone to reveal the open- the Caves of the Patriarchs, and
ing. We lowered ourselves down onto of praying here, next to Avraham,
the stairs Michal had described, our Yitzchak and Ya’akov, Sarah, Rivka,
hearts pounding with excitement. The and Leah, and Adam and Chava, “at for
stairs led to a narrow, dark corridor. the entrance to the Garden of Eden.” mercy.
We walked slowly through the corri- We did not
dor, stooping down, using flashlights dare touch these
to guide our way. We reached the cir- bones.
cular room and looked around in the Later, it became clear that the
dark. There were three stones on the pottery belonged to the First Temple
wall but no sign of any cave or burial Era, the era of the Judean Kings. The
chamber. Were all our efforts in vain? Jews of Hebron, and the Jews of all of
Several minutes later, we had another Judea, understanding the importance
mystery to solve. We felt a breeze. and significance of the Cave of Mach-
How could that be? We were meters pela, were instructed to bring this pot-
underground! Looking down, we saw tery into the underground caves.
several stones that appeared to be After several hours, as dawn
stuck to each other. The wind seemed approached, we were forced to leave
to be emanating from in between these sacred caverns, so as not to be
them. Within moments, our excite- caught.
ment rising by the second, we lifted
the stones and saw… a cave. We stood in silent prayer, in the pres- On that night in 1981, we were privi-
ence of Greatness.
We crawled through the very narrow leged to reveal the underground caves
within the Cave of Machpela, to pray
opening into a circular cave filled with Following this deeply spiritual expe- there, to find ancient Jewish pottery
dust. We continued crawling until rience, we began to examine the
the room widened, and then we saw findings. from Bible times, and, for a few pre-
a second cave. This cave was smaller Could these be the bones of the cious moments, to come close to our
than the first, but there was another Patriarchs? holy Fathers and Mothers.
surprise awaiting us. Long life means every single minute is
We knew that it says that “righteous
Amidst the dust were bones and pot- ones, even in death, are called living” a new beginning.
tery, some of which were in good and that the Patriarchs, called the Noam Arnon is the Spokesman for the
condition. “slumberers of Hebron,” wake and pray Jewish Community of Hebron

| 35