Where What When

Od Yosef Chai: Rebuilding Joseph’s Tomb

A few weeks ago, Rabbi Menachem Goldberger warmly greeted David Ha'Ivri as an "old friend I have just met." David, executive director of the Shomron International Liaison Office, gave a presentation at Congregation Tiferes Yisrael on the rebuilding of Kever Yosef (Joseph's Tomb). In his opening remarks, Rabbi Goldberger noted that Jews have an inborn connection to the Land of Israel, established when our forefathers walked the Land, which is one way of making a kinyan, or acquisition. When Moshe Rabbeinu was able to look at the Land, his eyes brought to our eyes the cheshek (desire) to want it as well.

Sometimes, events reawaken our hearts to this kesher, said Rabbi Goldberger. The plight of one of Judaism's holy sites, the tomb of Joseph has been one of these events. Over the centuries, Jews have made pilgrimages to daven (pray) at this holy place. The Samaritan sect, who have lived in the area for centuries, also revere this site and helped preserve it when no Jews lived there. According to tradition, Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Menasheh, are also buried at the site. It is only since 1967 that Jews have been able to visit the tomb under the guardianship of a Jewish government. From 1975 until 2000, the kever was fairly accessible, and the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva functioned there.

After the Olso Accords, which guaranteed free access to all Jewish holy sites, were signed in the mid-1990s, the situation deteriorated. The tomb is located in the city of Shechem, also known as Nablus, which was handed over to the Palestinian Authority shortly after that time.

At that time, the IDF made Kever Yosef and the yeshiva, which is surrounded by Arabs, into a fortified post in order to protect it from our "peace partners." In 1996, during a wave of Arab rioting, including the Western Wall tunnel riots, Kever Yosef was attacked, as well, resulting in the deaths of six Israeli soldiers. Israel regained control of the site, but attacks were increasingly mounted against it, despite the agreement at Oslo.

In October 2000, just weeks after a new round of peace talks at Camp David with Yasser Arafat (who agreed to nothing proposed) the Kever was attacked repeatedly. An Israeli Druze soldier, ironically named Yusef, bled to death at the tomb as Arab rioting prevented his evacuation. Hillel Lieberman, a U.S. citizen and resident of Elon Moreh was so devoted to Kever Yosef that when he heard on Shabbat that the army was planning to leave the site, he walked to Shechem to protest the withdrawal. His bullet-ridden body was later found in a cave near Shechem.

Following this, PM Ehud Barak decided to temporarily evacuate the compound, no doubt overcome by faith in the PA's pledge to prevent any vandalism to the site until the IDF would return. The Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva was moved to Yitzhar, a nearby yishuv, where it remains until today.

Hours after the withdrawal, Arab mobs destroyed and burned everything in sight, including books, furniture, and anything left behind by the yeshiva, while the Palestinian police participated or stood idly by.

Since then, the only Jews who occasionally entered the tomb, often Breslov chasidim, did so stealthily, under cover of night, and at the risk of their lives. Until a few months ago, the kever resembled a garbage dump. When asked why the Arabs, who also hold the biblical Joseph (Yusef) to be one of their prophets, would allow his tomb to be desecrated in this way, David replied, "The enemy hates us so much they will overlook any importance of Yusef in Islam in order to humiliate Jews."

In November 2007, the beginning of greater efforts to reestablish a Jewish presence at Kever Yosef began when Gershon Mesika was elected mayor of the Shomron Regional Council. One of his goals is to restore Joseph's Tomb and make it accessible to the Jewish public. The council began pressuring the government to allow Jews back into the kever. The Israeli government, in turn, began pressuring the Palestinian Authority to clean up the site. During Chanukah 2008, the army gave the regional council permission to renovate the site and a new headstone was placed over the kever.

Through Mesika's urging, the Council and the IDF cooperate in allowing buses to visit the tomb about once a month in the middle of the night under heavy security. The area is closed off with the population under curfew at that time. Still one must plan far ahead to be granted this privilege. People from all over the country sign up with Agudat Shechem Echad, an organization based in Yitzhar, to get on a waiting list for a seat on a bus. It can take months before they are called, usually only a few hours before the bus is due to leave in order to keep the details secret. This is for security reasons and also so that more people than can be accommodated don't try to board the buses.

Mayor Mesika's plans include not only making Kever Yosef accessible more often and in the daytime hours but also to restore this holy place in a matter befitting Yosef Hatzadik. As Rabbi Goldberger said when he introduced David Ha'Ivri, just as Yosef was able to be moser nefesh in Egypt, allowing us to be spiritually elevated, we should now be moser nefesh to build up Kever Yosef for his sake.

Those who would like to donate to this cause may do so through the link on the website www.yosefhatzadik.com Tax deductible donations may also be sent to: Shuva Israel, PO Box 27255, Austin, TX 78755.

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A Shomron Snapshot

by Eta Kushner

Besides restoring Kever Yosef, the Shomron Regional Council is involved with several other projects. There is a lookout point on Mt. Grizim called Mitzpeh Yosef, which overlooks Kever Yosef. The army sometimes uses it to keep an eye on the area. The council would like to develop this into an alternate site from which to see the kever for those who are not able to make it to the actual site to daven. The kever is only about 300 yards below the lookout point. David Ha'Ivri compares it to Ramat Rachel, where people used to go to look in the direction of Kever Rachel, before it became accessible to Jews in 1967. Ramat Rachel, however, was really too far away to see the actual burial place. From Miztpeh Yosef, one can see the actual spot.

The council also is developing a program for "twinning" the local settlements with communities around the world. Other activities could involve tree planting and video-conferencing with kids from the Shomron communicating with students in the U.S.

In Biblical times, this region was known for its vineyards. As a matter of fact, a wine cellar dating from the time of Joshua has been found and is being reconstructed. According to David, the unique conditions of the Shomron, close to the Mediterranean Sea, and its particular elevation, make it ideal for wine-producing grapes. There are several boutique wineries in the region, which have won gold medals at international competitions.

Many of the farmers in the region grow both organic and non-organic produce. Ariel Ben Shitrit of Yitzhar is a farmer who grows only organic grapes. He also kept the shmita laws behumra (stringently adhered to the laws of the sabbatical year). Although he was advised that if he did not prune and water his crops during the shmita year, his crops would be doomed, he decided not to do it. That year, his fields produced two-and-a-half times the normal amount of crops. He is proud to make this known to publicize the kiddush Hashem.

In Itamar, another yishuv very close to Shechem, they have the largest organic egg farm in Israel. They also produce organic dairy products. Other nearby yishuvim produce a variety of organic products including cows, goats, honeybees, and free-range chickens. Some organic products from the Shomron are exported to Europe to fill the gap during their "off season." In Kfar Tapuach, where David lives, there is a leather tannery which prepares parchment for all types of holy objects.

More information on the Shomron Regional Council can be found at the www.yeshuv.org

To contact David Ha'Ivri, email him at haivri@gmail.com

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Article List - April 2009