Arutz Sheva reported that approximately 15,000 Jews were in Hebron last week to celebrate Shabbat Chayei Sarah, which memorializes Abraham’s purchasing of the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Hebron generally. Shabbat Chayei Sarah, for Jews around the globe, has become a day for connecting world Jewry to the Jewish community in Hebron. The Torah records that Abraham negotiated for the Cave of the Patriarchs with a local Hittite and Abraham insisted on purchasing the cave, even though it was his for the asking, because he wanted for the Tomb of the Patriarchs to be preserved as Jewish property for future generations.

For this annual event, Jewish residents of Hebron open up their homes to visitors from around the world. However, the crowds in Hebron this year were so immense that the fact that Hebron residents opened up their homes was not sufficient. David Wilder, spokesman for the Jewish Community of Hebron, asserted that tents sprung “up on the lawn in the park across from Machpela. Men, women, kids of all ages,” were “found camping out.” Furthermore, he found that after Friday evening prayers, “families pitched tents on the road, between parked cars and opened up small tables from which to enjoy their Shabbat meal.” Evidently, every year, the number of visitors to Hebron on Shabbat Chayei Sarah increases.

Thousands upon thousands of people from all four corners of the globe descended on Herod’s 2,000 year-old structure for the Sabbath prayers in Hebron, which included vibrant singing and dancing. After evening meals, there were political discussions. On motzei Shabbat, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar appeared in Hebron, who told Arutz Sheva, “There is no better Sabbath than this, in which we read about the purchase of the burial cave by Avraham, to send a message to the younger generation of the connection between our forefathers and the roots of the Jewish People.” Sa’ar has always been a strong supporter of Israeli school children visiting Hebron. Below, please watch a video that illustrates this wonderful occasion.

Reported by: Rachel Avraham for United With Israel

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