Rav Dov Begon is Head of Yeshivat Machon Meir, Yerushalayim
The cave that our father Avraham acquired - the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron - was not an ordinary purchase. The Torah records:
“And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave that was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all its borders round about, were made sure (literally “raised up”) unto Avraham for a possession” (Bereshit 23:17).
Rashi explains: “And the field of Ephron was raised up - it had an elevation, for it passed from the hand of a commoner to the hand of a king.”
Seemingly, it was the same field and the same cave; but in truth, their status and value changed completely in their being transferred from Ephron, who represented the common man, to Avraham our father, who represents a king and thus, a royal field. Indeed, in later generations, the kingship of David first appeared in Hebron.
And as is known, the kingship of David is not merely political sovereignty; it is, through the kingship of Israel, the Kingship of the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to all, as we say in prayer: “The Lord, God of Israel, is King, and His kingship rules over all.” When will His kingship be fully revealed? When the kingship of our righteous Mashiach is established, as it is said: “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord shall be One and His Name One.”
At present, fortunate are we and how good is our portion, that we merit to return to the Land of our life and to Hebron, the city of the Patriarchs. Once again Hebron and the Land of Israel are rising to renewed life, this time through the descendants of Avraham our father, who settle the Land of the Patriarchs and Hebron with self-sacrifice, in the recognition and faith that the revival of Hebron and the Land of Israel brings light to the world, as we continue in the path of Avraham our father, who “called in the Name of the Lord, God of the universe.”
Yet the Arabs within the Land of Israel and those surrounding us in nearby and distant countries have never ceased, even for a moment, from pursuing their evil goal - the destruction of the State of Israel, God forbid. Their war takes on many forms: whether open warfare such as the War of Independence, the Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War until today; whether in the form of intifadas; or whether in a “peace offensive” that conceals the same malicious intent - to dispossess us of our land, Heaven forbid.
But we are the descendants of Avraham our father, to whom it was said: “Go forth to the Land that I will show you, and there I will make you into a great nation, and you shall be a blessing, and through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
We continue, despite everything, to bring renewal to Hebron, to Jerusalem, and to the Land of Israel. And the promise that the Blessed One made to Avraham our father: “For all the Land that you see, to you will I give it and to your seed forever” will soon be fulfilled, “for the Lord will not forsake His people, nor will He abandon His inheritance.”
In anticipation of victory and complete redemption.