DECEMBER 2 • 2021 | 9
One of many tent cities set up by guests.
BORDER PATROL OF MAARAT HAMACHPELA
aroma. I wasn’t sure that was
something I wanted to do, so
I passed on the opportunity
for the moment.
We left the Maarah after
we had both prayed for our
family and for Am Yisrael
(people of Israel) and started
wandering around Hebron.
We saw entire sections of
the city filled with tents
and tables, and we found
the apartment of a family
who invited everyone in for
a Friday night oneg (festive
Shabbat gathering). We also
saw Jews from all over Israel
deep in conversation with
soldiers and police officers
about politics and religion.
We simply absorbed the
atmosphere.
The next morning, we
once again headed to Hebron
for prayer and joined a
minyan of men from our
own shul in Modiin. The
Torah was read by a teenager
from our shul who has
been reading this parshah
in Hebron since his bar
mitzvah. The entire reason to
be there, these words in this
place, was even more special
than I expected it to be.
Living in Israel for the
past 15 years, it has become
commonplace for us to
be in a place described in
the Tanach. We even live
in Modiin, home of the
Maccabees. But reading the
Parshah about the purchase
of the exact place where
we were standing was
exceptional and memorable.
Later that day, we went
back to the Maarah, and I
did breathe in the beautiful
and indescribable scent and
spirit of Gan Eden.
C
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c
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