Hundreds of worshippers prayed last night at the tomb of the Biblical patriarch Joseph, on the occasion of his traditionally-accepted date of birth and death, the 2nd of Tammuz. Arab vandals destroyed the tomb, located in Shechem (Nablus), at the start of the Oslo War almost four years ago after IDF forces withdrew from the site. The terms of the Oslo Agreements state that Israel is to retain control of the holy site, but in fact the IDF has given up virtually all control.
The visit last night was arranged somewhat secretly, but the many visitors included Breslover Hassidim, residents of nearby communities, and Jews from elsewhere around the country. The IDF allows organized visits once every several months, under tightened security.
"When we first arrived," recounted Yishai Fleisher, one of the worshipers, this morning, "there was a palpable feeling of sadness in seeing the tomb's ruined state. The dome on top was broken, there were rocks all over, and everything was burned and filled with soot. As time passed, however - we were there for over an hour - our spirits were lifted, and soon there was a genuine feeling of upliftment and excitement. We broke out into song, such as 'In the merit of Joseph HaTzaddik [the Righteous],' and more."
Among the visitors were MK Benny Elon, Rabbi Moshe Levinger and Noam Arnon of Hevron, and musician Aharon Raz'el. Fleisher noted that the streets of Shechem were filled with posters of children holding M-16 rifles, dead terrorist leader Sheikh Yassin, and the like.
Fleisher told Arutz-7's Yosef Meiri that the buses set off from the nearby Jewish community of Itamar. "We arrived a few minutes early, so we drove around Itamar a bit," he said. "We found ourselves on a winding and very steep road, and suddenly in front of us we saw a beautifully-kept tomb, with two soldiers standing nearby. When we asked them what it was, we were excited to hear that this was the tomb of Gideon, of the Book of Judges."
Meiri then spoke to Rabbi Natan Chai of Itamar, who explained the "circumstantial evidence" indicating that this was Gideon's Tomb: "The Arabs in the area call the place Gadua (pronounced Jadua), and in addition, it is located on the border of the inheritance of the Tribe of Menashe - Gideon's tribe. In any event, the Ari Zal [the saintly 16th-century Kabbalistic Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Tzfat] investigated many of the holy gravesites, and wrote that even if they are not the precise sites of burial, many of them serve the same purpose in being 'the site of the soul.' I'm not saying that this is the case here, but it could be. Some four families now live on the hilltop neighborhood known as Mt. Gideon, which is a part of Itamar. Approximately five years ago, some of those who live there built the beautiful structure atop the grave. People often come here to pray and the like. This helps us reconnect with our Holy Land."
Rabbi Chai took advantage of the conversation to say, "If you're interested in matters having to do with reconnecting the Jewish People with the Land, I think it's important to note that there is a building in Tiberias that was originally built as the synagogue of the Sh'lah (Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, 17th century) and now 'belongs' to the Greek Orthodox Church. The Turkish governor 'sold' it to the Greeks, as if it was his property, and unfortunately all efforts to redeem it since then have failed. It is located along the shore in Tiberias, and it is important that people visit it and keep it in the public Jewish awareness."
The visit last night was arranged somewhat secretly, but the many visitors included Breslover Hassidim, residents of nearby communities, and Jews from elsewhere around the country. The IDF allows organized visits once every several months, under tightened security.
"When we first arrived," recounted Yishai Fleisher, one of the worshipers, this morning, "there was a palpable feeling of sadness in seeing the tomb's ruined state. The dome on top was broken, there were rocks all over, and everything was burned and filled with soot. As time passed, however - we were there for over an hour - our spirits were lifted, and soon there was a genuine feeling of upliftment and excitement. We broke out into song, such as 'In the merit of Joseph HaTzaddik [the Righteous],' and more."
Meiri then spoke to Rabbi Natan Chai of Itamar, who explained the "circumstantial evidence" indicating that this was Gideon's Tomb: "The Arabs in the area call the place Gadua (pronounced Jadua), and in addition, it is located on the border of the inheritance of the Tribe of Menashe - Gideon's tribe. In any event, the Ari Zal [the saintly 16th-century Kabbalistic Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Tzfat] investigated many of the holy gravesites, and wrote that even if they are not the precise sites of burial, many of them serve the same purpose in being 'the site of the soul.' I'm not saying that this is the case here, but it could be. Some four families now live on the hilltop neighborhood known as Mt. Gideon, which is a part of Itamar. Approximately five years ago, some of those who live there built the beautiful structure atop the grave. People often come here to pray and the like. This helps us reconnect with our Holy Land."