Hevron, Batzi and Praying at the Cave of Machpelah

LOTL..
20 August '13..

As many know, we host a varied and diverse collection of visitors each Shabbat here in Kiryat Arba-Hevron, each guest usually a world unto themselves. This week, our Batzi, as we affectionately call her, finally arrived after a few earlier attempted dates that hadn't worked out, bringing a great deal of light to share about our community as can be sensed I hope from the piece she wrote below.

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Praying at the Cave of Machpelah

The divine aura surrounding Hevron illuminates its first rays at twilight time when the universe sways between the mundane and the sacred, the harsh everyday reality and the realm of dreams and hopes for harmony, peace and love and the belief in the victory of good over evil.

Dressed in our Shabbat clothes, ready to welcome the fairest of them all, Shabbat Hamalkah, the Queen, we make our way to the cave of Machpelah.

The radiating faces of the passers by as they push the strollers of their beautiful young ones, the future of Eretz Yisrael, bring a smile to my heart.

Their white spotless garments wash away my worries and pain preparing me for the most exhilarating experiences of them all, praying at the cave of Machpelah.


We have come back despite the fact that we never really left. The enduring hope that has kept our longing alive anchored us to this place over mountains and seas, drawing us nearer and nearer to fulfilling the dream of two millenia. We are here.

And our ancestral mothers and father are smiling, ready to welcome us back into their comforting bosom where our tears which cleared our vision to see the bright future ahead of us have been collected.
No more tears, no more longing. We are home.

And with the solemn oath of "If we forget thee...," to our Past, Present and Future, we are ready for the greatest blessing of them all, praying in the presence of those righteous whose loving kindness has brought us thus far and we say, "Amen!"

Bat Zion Susskind-Sacks

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