THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
42—Friday, December 6, 1968
Hebron and the Synagogue at the Cave of the Patriarchs
By HAIM SHACHTER
wards the synagogue and the Jew-
Hebron, the city of the Patriarchs, ish burial ground were situated in
and the Cave of Machpela, their the court yard of the Cave of Mach-
traditional burial site, have been pela.
increasingly in the news of late.
A Christian document of the
Several times the suggestion has
end of the 10th Century, refer-
ring to the same period and
been put forward to erect a syna-
Dec. 2—To Mr. and Mrs. Hanley gogue adjoining the mosque that
event, reads: "But when the
Yorke (Susan Fishman), 3046 Park- stands over the cave, so as to en- Arabs who came to Hebron stood
land, Birmingham, a daughter, able the Jews to pray at the holy in wonder at the strong and
beautiful walls surrounding the
Jenifer Lynn.
site and so avert any possible
cave and found no visible en-
* * *
friction with the Moslem authori- trance to it, the Jews who had
Nov. 30—To Dr. and Mrs. Robert ties.
remained in the city under By-
zantine rule said: 'Grant us pro-
A synagogue and Jewish burial
Share (Beverly Mosten), 14520 Les-
ground had in fact existed there
tection that we may live among
lie, Oak Park, a son, Jeffrey Paul.
500
years.
There
are
his-
you
and enjoy similar condi-
for
• * *
tions, and give us permission to
torical documents to prove that
Nov. 29—To Mr. and Mrs. Harold
erect a /synagogue at the en-
from the 7th to the end of the
trance to the cave and we shall
11th centuries, and possibly also
Radin (Esther Greenblat), 29624
show you in which place to set
Fairfax, Southfield, a son, Jeffrey during the 5th and 6th centuries,
up
the gate.' Permission was
a
synagogue
had
actually
adjoin.
Alen.
granted to them."
ed the mosque wall.
* * *
When Hebron was captured by
We learn from these two docu-
Nov. 28—To Mr. and Mrs. How- the Caliph Omar in the year 638, ments that there had been a perm-
ard Levin (Susan Bliss), 23031 the Jews were permitted to return anent Jewish settlement near the
Eastwood, Oak Park, a daughter, and settle in the vicinity of the Cave of Machpela even before the
Debra Beth.
cave. An Arabic manuscript dat- Arab conquest of 638, and that in
* S *
ing back some 400 years, and -dis- all probability a synagogue and
covered
by Abdel Khatif, a mem- cemetery had been there as far
Nov. 26—To Mr. and Mrs. Rob-
ert J. Slutsky (Nira Lion), 27405 ber of the Mandatory Government back as the 5th Century, and that
Everett, Southfield, a daughter, Council at Hebron, reads:
these had been destroyed under
"When the Christians at Hebron Byzantine rule.
Lisa Beth.
were forced to hand over the city
* * *
The 8th to the 10th centuries are
to the Conqueror Omar, they de- generally steeped in darkness, and
Nov. 25—To Mr. and Mrs. Arvin
molished the splendid church that
L. Steinberg (Phylis Blum of De-1 stood over the Cave at Machpelah little evidence has come down to
us about the Jewish community in
troit) of Indianapolis, a daughter,
and buried its gates in the ground Hebron during that period. A docu-
Deborah Jane.
so that the Arabs might not know ment discovered in the Cairo
* s s
where the entrance to the holy Geniza, however, attests to the fact
Nov. 25—To Mr. and Mrs. Arthur cave lay. Then the Jews of Hebron that a Jewish settlement near the
E. Berlin (Linda Mitteldorf), 21455 presented themselves to Omar and Cave of Machpela actually existed
Virginia, Southfield, a son, James offered to show him where the in the 11th and 12th centuries.
David.
cave was on condition that they be
Written by Rabbi Sa'adya of
* * *
allowed to build a synagogue in the Hebron,
"appointed over the
Nov. 22—To Mr. and Mrs. David court yard before the entrance to Tombs of the Patriarchs," the
document says: ". . . we pray for
Kaplan (Linda Eder), 14740 Lin- the cave. Omar granted them writ-
him (Rabbi Evyatar Hakohen,
coln, Oak Park, a son, Randall ten permission to do so. Long after-
Scott.
* *
Israel Museum to Give Prize for Best Art Book
Nov. 19—To Dr. and Mrs. Law-
JERUSALEM—An international Most of the area in Jerusalem's
rence Krugel (Carol Galinkin), prize for the best art book, to large convention center has al-
former Detroiters of Travis Air be awarded by the Israel Museum, ready been booked, although regis-
Force Base, Calif., a daughter, will be a new highlight for the tration is open until mid-January.
Lisa Deborah.
Jerusalem International Book Fair, The personal participation of some
* *
which will take place March 19-27. 200 publishers—foreign and local—
Nov. 19—To Mr. and Mrs. Allan
The biennial prize will be is expected at the fair, apart from
R. Gurvitz (Linda Lite), 4030 W. awarded for the first time on the the hundreds of publishing houses
13 Mile, Royal Oak, a son, Eric occasion of the inauguration of the exhibiting and sending their rep-
Adam.
Israel Museum Library Wing, and resentatives.
* *
members of the international jury Israel is becoming more and
Nov. 18—To Dr. and Mrs. How- will judge books in any language more a center for the production
ard Dubin (Sheila Cohen), 24020 according to their contents, print- and translation of books. Its mar-
Morton, Oak Park, a son, David ing and design. ket for books from all over the
Dr. Willem Sandberg, director world is increasing with the
Paul.
* * *
emeritus of the Amsterdam Stede- Jerusalem Fair a meeting place
To Dr. and Mrs. Bernard Eisen- lijk Museum and former artistic for book sellers throughout the
stein (Phyllis Pullberg), 2959 adviser to the Israel Museum, will world.
Woodland Ridge, Orchard Lake, a head the jury for this contest.
Another jury will award, for Israelis' Voluntary Loan
daughter, Jody Beth.
Bid
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the fourth time, the "Jerusalem
Prize" to an author whose writ-
ings express the idea of "The
Freedom of the Individual in
Society." This prize went at
previous fairs to British philoso-
pher Lord Bertrand Russell, in
1963, to Max Frisch, the Swiss
playwright, in 1965, and to Andre
Schwarz-Bart, the French author,
in 1967.
to Remain Next Year
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
JERUSALEM—The treasury an-
nounced Wednesday that the na-
tional defense loan, equal to one
month's salary per year, will re-
main on a voluntary basis during
1969 and that property taxes will
not be raised. The tax freeze is
part of a joint effort by the gov-
Eighteen countries, from five ernment and Histadrut, the labor
continents, have already announced federation, to maintaining price
their participation at the book fair. stability.
King David's Descendants to Meet
for Little Family Gathering in Spring
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News)
ZACHARIASH
MOHEL
341-1595
REV. GOLDMAN L
MARSHALL
MOHEL
353-5444
JERUSALEM—An Israeli geneologist said Wednesday that he plans
to call a world gathering here next spring of families descended from
King David, who reigned in Israel during the 10th Century BCE. Ac-
cording to Dr. Shlomo Zalman Cahana, head of the Committee for
Mt. Zion, which is the traditional site of David's tomb, there are some
5,000 families in the world that can trace their ancestry to, the biblical
ruler. Among them, he said, are all the Ashkenazism (Western Jews)
descended fro mthe 11th Century rabbinical scholar Rashi and all the
Sephardim (Oriental Jews) descended from the 12th Century philoso-
pher Maimonides and the 15th Century philosopher Israel Abarbanel.
Those medieval scholars were known to have been from the House
of David, Dr. Cabana said. Among contemporary families of the same
ancestry was the late president of Israel, Itzhak Ben Zvi and families
bearing such names as Luria, Samuel, Shapiro, Katzenellenbogen and
Math, according to Dr. Cahana. He said he traced their geneology with
the help of charts and books.
head of the Yeshiva Geon Ya'a-
kov ) every day in the Cave of
Machpela . . and I have been
ill these two months and at one
time did not expect to live and
all the members of our group
despaired of my life ... may He
bless you and hearken unto my
prayer for you in this holy place
. . . for I prayed for him on the
day of Atonement in the holy
cave . . ."
This document is the subject of a
work of historical reserach written
by Dr. Joseph Braslavi who shows
that Sa'adya the Hebronite was a
third generation leader of his com-
munity, and lived in Hebron in the
year 1082. The structure over the
Cave of Machpela or part of its
courtyard was in possession of the
Jewish community at least until
the end of the 11th Century.
The Jews of Hebron not only
were in the habit of praying there,
but some of them had been ap-
pointed to provide services to other
pilgrims to the shrine. Sa'ayda's
great grandson, who lived in the
12th Century, continued in the of-
fice occupied by his great-grand-
father. This strengthens the as-
sumption that the 'Jewish com-
munity continued to flourish in
Hebron up to the beginning of that
period.
The 10th Century Arab his-
with the Jewish synagogue, and
the two institutions may have
been connected in some way, for
the synagogue officials may also
have been appointed to supervise
the Moslem hospice and provide
amenities to indigent wayfarers.
A chronicler of the period of the
Crusaders' Conquest of Hebron
(1099) mentions clearly the Jews
had lived there before that time
and "had built themselves a syn-
agogue at the entrance to the
Cave of Machpelah and had
adorned it most wonderfully."
These documents attest to the
existence of a synagogue close to,
or adjoining the wall of the mosque
over the Cave of Machpela. One
may assume also that the entrance
to the cave, which was accessible
to Jews in that period, was through
the synagogue. Only in later cen-
turies were Jews denied access to
the shrine. Until the liberation of
Hebron in the Six-Day War, no
Jew was permitted to mount higher
than the seventh step leading to
the mosque over the cave.
re
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the "Haram of Hebron (the
mosque over the Machpela
Cave) there was a hospice where
wayfarers, poor or rich, received
a plate of lentil soup and olive
oil. The Moslem hospice appar-
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