Close to 100 Jews took advantage of special military permission to pray at Joseph's Tomb in Shechem last night - the first time that Jews have been allowed to do so in two years. Buses and private cars brought the worshipers, including family members of terrorism victims from Itamar and other nearby locations. They recited the special Ten Days of Repentance prayers - s'lichot - and afterwards heard a Torah lecture from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzburg, head of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai that stood there for many years until 2000. Yigal Lalom, one of the worshipers, told Arutz-7 that the Arabs had destroyed everything in the compound, including all vestiges of the yeshiva.
Organizers said that not only were the worshipers very moved and excited by the event, but that the soldiers and officers were also noticeably happy, and that the latter expressed hope that the Jews would return there again. Yesha Council director and Shomron Regional Council head Bentzy Lieberman, who also took part in the prayers, said, "This was a very moving event, as exactly two years have passed since the site was close to Jewish worship. This represents the closing of a circle of that disgrace, and the beginning of victory over the Palestinians."
Following the prayers, the convoy of cars and buses stopped at a nearby cave where Rabbi Hillel Lieberman's body was found two years ago. Rabbi Lieberman, one of the first victims of the Oslo War, was brutally murdered by Arabs on his way to rescue Torah scrolls from the Arab mob that took over Joseph's Tomb. The worshipers this morning said a chapter of Psalms and a prayer at the cave.
Thousands of people also said s'lichot late last night at "another" holy site: the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Chief Rabbis Yisrael Meir Lau and Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, as well as Rav Ovadiah Yosef, Jerusalem rabbis, and President Moshe Katzav were all there.
Organizers said that not only were the worshipers very moved and excited by the event, but that the soldiers and officers were also noticeably happy, and that the latter expressed hope that the Jews would return there again. Yesha Council director and Shomron Regional Council head Bentzy Lieberman, who also took part in the prayers, said, "This was a very moving event, as exactly two years have passed since the site was close to Jewish worship. This represents the closing of a circle of that disgrace, and the beginning of victory over the Palestinians."
Following the prayers, the convoy of cars and buses stopped at a nearby cave where Rabbi Hillel Lieberman's body was found two years ago. Rabbi Lieberman, one of the first victims of the Oslo War, was brutally murdered by Arabs on his way to rescue Torah scrolls from the Arab mob that took over Joseph's Tomb. The worshipers this morning said a chapter of Psalms and a prayer at the cave.
Thousands of people also said s'lichot late last night at "another" holy site: the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Chief Rabbis Yisrael Meir Lau and Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, as well as Rav Ovadiah Yosef, Jerusalem rabbis, and President Moshe Katzav were all there.