This is a crucial question and the perspective is a personal one, and so this blog will dispense with the usual third-person convention — “this author.” I’ve agonized on this ongoing story for months, out of concern for the welfare of those involved at the Kever Rachel complex, so as to not further jeopardize what is already a problematic situation with the regime and out of concern for the future of the various planned outreach progams to teach Israelis about what Ima Rachel means to the Jewish people.
What brought this entire situation to a head, to a “straw that broke the camel’s back” where I feel compelled to write on the entire Kever Rachel Encagement situation was Batya of Shlomusing’s post on Tuesday, 19 September relating her attempt to bring her school class to Kever Rachel before the chaggim; “About My Trip to Kever Rachel… Don’t Ask!”
Here’s the part that got me, that compels writing this perspective; my personal opinion, reduced to the written word;
… We kept on going to Kever Rachel. Then we arrived at the “border” and discovered that there were many buses ahead, waiting. No one was being let in. “They,” the “authorities” had decided to do some repairs and ripped up the streets.
One neighbor told us that it seemed strange that it was closed since her husband had gone with the junior high that morning. When she phoned him later, he reported that yes, they had gotten in fine, but suddenly when they were supposed to leave, they weren’t let out because of the road repairs, and they were “imprisoned” several hours, with those junior high boys! There had been no notices of closure in advance. The school had all the necessary permits!
In preparing this article, it has come to my attention that the street paving was about due, that it represents an enhancement to the Kever complex and considering the encaging walls and gates are finished, an enablement for private vehicles. The fact of the need for the street paving is not in dispute. But the timing: the paving should have been done in the evenings and before the pre-Rosh Hashanah crowds.
However, the fact that the Kever was closed for construction at approximately mid-day, in the peak of the rush to visit Kever Rachel before Rosh Hashanah and, the fact that the closure imprisoned or inconvenienced many students and teachers for hours, no doubt worrying parents as well, indicates to me that this was NOT innocent and was more than simply being “not nice” or lacking forethought in construction planning. Was this act indicative of more than not considering the consequence of doing construction at the peak of the day rather than at night? Was it a part of conscious efforts on the part of the current regime to discourage and scare away visitors to Kever Rachel? Further, it seems to me that this incident of typical callousness brings to mind my observations of army and police actions last year in Chevron on the Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah as well as during Chol HaMo’ed Succot. Was this event a further expression of “this land is not yours, you are here only by our favor.”
One week earlier, Susie of Matot Arim (Cities of Israel) let all kinds of red flags fly in her email of 6 September; URGENT: Major Problem at Rachel’s Tomb, which speaks about the increasing encagement which I know to have apparently begun in earnest in January, 2006 and to which I bore witness on 1 March, 2006.
On that day I attempted to attend a Rosh Chodesh Torah Reading which was slated to take place in the Beit B’nai Rachel Building. This building would house Rachel Imeinu-related outreach projects, were the government of Israel not seemingly using every maneuver in the book to obstruct, and deny access to this property. Further, the government’s apparent denial of and obstruction to access to this property goes back much further than January, 2006. It apparently goes back as far as July of 2005 and, perhaps as far back as at least September, 2004 as successive governments have been laying the ground-work for possible abandonment of this Jewish Holy Place even prior to those 2 dates.
There is more than one reason for my personal story and connection with Kever Rachel.
One who accesses this blog regularly knows that the blog site is an extention of The Sefer Torah site — a site promoting the activities of my chesed organization; The Sefer torah Recycling Network.
In this capacity, I became acquainted with the Rachel Imeinu outreach efforts. The Sefer Torah Recycling Network saw to placing a Sefer Torah in Kever Rachel for the expressed use of those utilizing the Beit B’nai Rachel building for doing outreach in the Kever Rachel Complex.
Further, as a Kohen and thus not permitted to enter a Kever, I became acutely aware that the Beit B’nai Rachel building has it’s own separate access, from outside of the enwalled Kever, independent of having to walk through the inside halls of the Kever to access the building. Unfortunately, it seems apparent that the regime has utilized every strong-arm tactic to avoid providing legitimate access to the property and there is rarely permitted access via this outside entrance. The Army had always invoked “security” in denying such access although the area is not, as yet, a hotbed of terrorist activity or terrorist attacks.
In fact, in the entire period of my involvement, from the time when I first became acquainted with the Beit B’nai Rachel building and the outreach planned to take place there, through to the Hachnasat Sefer Torah event which took place in July, 2005, a month before the Expulsion from Gush Katif and the Shomron towns, through to the Torah reading event on 1 March, 2006 through to this day, my Kohen status forbade and precluded me from entering the Beit B’nai Rachel building due to non-access to the building from outside of the Kever Rachel Complex. Over the past few years, one could say that I’ve developed a sort of kesher with Rachel Imeinu — from afar.
One might ordinarily understand why the security situation would preclude outside access to the building. However, one must maintain a context and perspective of recent past history and thus recall that during the years 2000 – 2002, the regime closed down access to Kever Rachel at will and often totally for lengthy periods of time. It was only concerted action by people from Chevron and Women in Green in constructing a tent city near the Machsom (checkpoint) during that period which pressured the government to permit relatively free public access to the Kever which has resulted in scheduled buses leaving each day from the Central Bus Station for the Kever. That access might now be in jeopardy once again.
Further, I am compelled by scenario and sequence of events to question the government of Israel, it’s successive regimes through to the current Olmert regime: Are they truly concerned and interested in the public’s security in case of Kever Rachel (Rachel’s Tomb) in Bethlehem or are they motivated to create a set of circumstances to scare or discourage visitors resulting in the abandonment of the Kever, just as they abandoned Kever Yosef in Shechem roughly 10 years ago?
Unfortunately, amidst the public’s anger regarding the management, tactics and handling of the recent war and efforts to bring about a state investigation commission, efforts to bring about Jonathan Pollard’s release, continuing concerns regarding “convergence”, the legal cases concerning Haim Ramon and president Katsav and more, the deplorable situation at Kever Rachel seems to have been relegated to
a back seat in terms of the the public’s perception of it’s importance.
We cannot permit another “Kever Yosef’ to occur. Further, the threat of such abandonment builds on the regime’s abandonment of Pollard, of Ron Arad, Zachary Baumel and the other MIAs, abandonment of Gush Katif, abandonment of our 3 kidnapped soldiers. I view all of these issues as, excuse the pun, converging as one.
Am Yisrael must awaken and bring the way of abandonment to an end. And we must NOT allow government machinations and shenanigans to deter us from linking with and expressing spiritual attachment with Rachel Imeinu.
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The following 2 items were received by email from Evelyn Haies, the owner of Beit B’nei Rachel and President of Rachel’s Childrens Reclamation Foundation regarding the closures on Monday and Tuesday, September 18 and 19;
My Executive Director who takes the 10:10 bus went on Tuesday, September 19 and got in. She and our students were all alone as the regulars were notified. The Kever was open only until noon according to the information she received. The walls and gates were completed and paving does close streets. It has also directed the 163 Kever Rachel Bus and other buses from Meah Shearim Street to Shmuel Hanavi Street.
Jewish sensitivities are a very important concern. Would the road to the Temple Mount be closed on Ramadan? Not to rioting Arabs. I would suggest that Jews and their rabbis express their great disappointment and anger that the time chosen to stop their prayer was Erev Rosh Hoshanah and demand it’s opening for the Holiday’s, Chagim, Yom Kippur Torah Reading and demand our Beit Medresh be open for our Yeshiva and Cohanim. Was the Shofar blowing every day during Elul at 10:30am stopped? Perhaps the 9:10 bus was full every day before paving. Strangely, this past Rosh Chodesh Elul there were more police than people visiting the Tomb. There was crowd control and more security patrol than without this abusive wall. Furthemore, it must be blatantly expressed that Kever Rachel is an eternal place of prayer and learning. It is in the neighborhood where David HaMelech wrote his tehillim quoted by the whole world and a medicine for Jews. It’s pastoral peacefulness has been stolen.
Yes, Kever Rachel is a harder place to visit. The administration which quoted Yirmiyahu during the recent war from the north that was also quoted after the attack on the Twin Towers doesn’t understand what the Jewish Mother means to the Jewish state and to the whole world. Hopefully the abused and ignored Jewish Mother Israel Rachel will benefit with nachas by her children who do teshuva.
All Cohanim should be happy that soon they will be praying in the neighborhood of Rachel, Boaz, Ruth and King David, and a place so significant to Jewish history. The Kalisher and Strauss benefactors and land purchasers from the Ottoman Empire which sold land to Jews even during the Balfour Mandate under the British. Jews were not denied normal rights and were praised and respected for being Jews. Let our country [the Israeli Government] embrace and respect Jewish spirituality and stop making it harder to be a Jew in Israel.
L Shana Tova.
Evelyn
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In the way “on the way” to Kever Rachel:
Is it harder these holy days to get to Kever Rachel than to Uman?
by Evelyn Haies, President Rachel’s Children Reclamation Fdtn
60 West End Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11235
718-648-2610,
September 21, 2006
Urgent Breaking News Please read and distribute this press release.
The good news is Kever Rachel will be open 24 hours a day again soon as was first announced in Tammuz 1998 by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz after experiencing the massive attendance at the RCRF Hachnossat Sefer Torah for Rachel Imeinu.
The bad news is there will be closings for a few weeks during the paving of the roads within the massive walled enclave of the abusively condensed 1995 PM Rabin/ Oslo II delineated Area C which now excludes the Nathan Straus Jewish owned property, part of the Kalisher property and part of the Bnei Rachel backyard
The last story is those going to the weekly class given for Rachel’s Children Reclamation Foundation by Atarah Gur got on the bus even though the bus driver said Kever Rachel was closed. Rabbanite Gur had called and was advised that Kever Rachel would be open until noon. She did lead a class and there was time for tehillim. Many of those at the bus stops did not go as the Egged driver was telling the many that Kever Rachel was closed even though he was sent on the route.
The proper reaction is that our classes will continue during the construction. Visitors must contact the Tourist and Interior Ministries that they are in Israel to visit Kever Rachel at this special time of pilgrimages when the heavenly gates are open and our tehillim reaches those in shemayim petitioning on behalf of Klal Yisrael and Bnei Rachel. Can you imagine closing the gates of other than Jews in Israel at their holy times? Considering the Jewish sensitivities, perhaps the closings should have been limited to the evenings.
Let us know only better and simchas on our Bnei Rachel properties adjacently south of Kever Rachel on the street we call Derech Chaya Rachel within the walls where we house Yeshiva Bnei Rachel, The Women’s Learning Center: “Chaya Rachel v’Ruth”, and the development of the Museum of Jewish Aliyah. Our Beit Medrash needs a Torah safe and will be open for Cohanim who cannot pray in Kever Rachel.
Save the dates Thursday evening November 2 (for those of you in the US) for the Twelfth Annual Yahrzeit Commemoration of Rachel Imeinu at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center. The Actualist Award will be given to Roy Neuberger, author of From Central Park to Sinai. The Community Leadership Award will recognize Dov and Shani Hikind who have been active in supporting Greater and Safer Israel as well as giving Chizuk to those threatened with terror and experiencing the explosions of Oslo. They have been supportive of Jewish citizens during the Disengagement and visited the Northern bomb shelters during the recent avalanche of over 4000 rockets this past summer during the terrible war that dislocated millions from such established Jewish cities as Haifa, Nahariya, Tsefat as well as Metulla, Kiryat Shemona and more. The Community Service Award will be presented to Mrs. Esther Azizov who will be sponsoring an exhibit arch on behalf of her Eastern European community. There are many arches and 12 glass pillars to represent your group’s aliyah to Israel and the creation of settlements of German Jews in Nahariya, French Jews in Netanya, Eastern European Jews in Degania, Petah Tikvah and the continual presence of Jews in Peki’in and Yerushalayim. Our large and lovely museum will also house a Reception Center and Visitor’s Center.
Save the date, Thursday, February 1, when we bring trees for Ima Rachel on Tu B’Shvat. You may help support this effort with your chai plus donations.
For 3600 years Jews have gone to Kever Rachel to pray in her merit for their bashert, parnasa, health and the nation’s wellbeing as well as for their relatives who have not made aliyah who are suffering anti-semitism, hatefests, extermination, physical attacks and expulsions. At this time when Rachel Imeinu, Mother of Israel, weeps in the shadows of 40-foot walls and a strangling encagement she needs her descendants to visit and pray with simcha and support.
Remember, a visit to Israel without going to Kever Rachel is like going home and not seeing your mother.”
Egged Security Bus #163 goes to Kever Rachel 5:10, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 daily. The bus leaves from the Central Station, travels down Malke Yisrael. Shifte Yisrael, Hevron Road. It does not go down Meah Shearim as there is construction at this time also. May your visit bring blessing to you and Klal Yisrael. Volunteers are needed for our work here and in Israel. Please make your reservations for our dinner. Your help helps us do more for Bnei Rachel and Klal Yisrael.
Perhaps there are difficulties “in the way” of our getting to Kever Rachel, but being “on the way” is part of making it easier and more normal. Ima Rachel was buried “on the way” to beseech for us. We must not let anything stand “in the way” of our connection with our Jewish Mother, role model for the world of empathy, self-sacrifice, creation, love, children and life itself. Ima Rachel is our right and redemption.
This Rosh Hoshanah as you read the Haftorah, Yirmiyahu 31, on Rachel Imeinu, remember that Rachel is crying today and we can assuage her sorrow with our activism. As Rachel Imeinu’s tears were heard on “ramah” so high and far off for Yaakov in Beit El and are heard by Bnei Rachel 3600 years later, may our tears unite and be rewarded with the redemption now.