The narrow streets were dark and filled with sounds. Figures moved behind blackened windows on the overbearing buildings. My finger on the trigger, senses honed on my surroundings, I ensured my fellow Jews the right to a sacred prayer at the grave of one of our revered heroes. I was filled with a profound sense that this was the right thing to do. We stood as symbols of modernity: guardians of the Jewish State. This moment embodied the spirit of why I joined the IDF, and was one of the proudest of my life. While we were not welcomed, and our presence required military defense, our mission sought only peaceful access to a Jewish holy site and our ancestral roots.
During my recent IDF Reserve duty, my fellow soldiers and I rode into the heart of Nablus to Kever Yosef to pray Slichot before the coming holiday season. It was an experience I will never forget. After 5+ years of being an Israeli citizen I have had innumerable experiences to instill in me a faith and unwavering confidence in our nation. It was in this spirit that I felt fortunate to be a part of this unique excursion that, sadly, many do not have the chance to ever partake in.
Kever Yosef --Joseph’s Tomb – according to biblical tradition, is near the ancient Canaanite city of Shechem, in the heart of the modern-day Palestinian city of Nablus. Believed to be the site of Joseph’s burial, it has been a place of prayer, worship and preservation by Jews for millennia. With increased tensions in the area at the beginning of the Second Intifada, the IDF had soldiers stationed to protect the tomb for Jewish visitation, study, and prayer. This era of Jewish guardianship came to an abrupt end in October 2000. Early that month, an armed Palestinian mob converged on the site, killing one of the soldiers on guard and causing massive destruction to the tomb. Following this attack, the IDF withdrew its presence from the site; it was a strategic weak point surrounded by armed, densely populated Palestinian areas within the city. Since this incident, Jews have been unable to safely go to this holy place, and it has been continuously pillaged and defaced. Only those Jews willing to brave the serious risks associated with entering the city of Nablus in very limited, organized military convoys have made it to the Kever in recent years, and sadly, such groups have been few and far between. A small group of Jews were able to sneak onto the site in 2008 to perform some minor restoration work. But the tomb has been inaccessible to the Jewish public since 2000. Today, the Kever Yosef stands as a burnt, desecrated ruin, which I believe is a grave insult and dishonor to Jews the world over.
Based on requests coming in from many of his soldiers, my Battalion Commander decided it was worth the risk to visit the Kever Yosef. Early in the day, the Commander collected the names from each company of those willing to participate in this voluntary mission. The primary objective was to pray Slichot at the Kever Yosef that night. This traditional prayer for forgiveness is said during the week prior to Rosh Hashana. I eagerly placed my name on the list and was allocated to the cover team that was assigned to hold a defensive perimeter around the Kever. I was filled with pride to be part of a mission so noble in purpose. The plan was to reach the Kever Yosef in the cover of the deep night, while most people slept, so as to create as little disruption as possible to the inhabitants of the city and their Ramadan celebrations. Once on site we had up to thirty minutes to pray and extract by an alternate route.
Conditions upon our arrival were not to permit the inconspicuous, stealthy mission for which we had hoped. The City of Nablus turned out to be alive with Ramadan celebrants crowding the streets, deep into the early hours of morning. The greeting of our armored convoy in the city was less than hospitable. This was not to deter us, however, and we made a successful insertion into the neighborhood surrounding the tomb, where we quickly set up our defenses. Soldiers began their Slichot prayers as soon as we were able to secure the perimeter. When my turn came to enter the Kever I was filled with a sense of history, purpose, and pride for my Jewish Nation. I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my comrades, dressed in full combat gear, reading from my prayer book by the wan light of the candles and flashlights. I prayed from my heart and with the deepest conviction for the forgiveness associated with the beginning of the new year. The tomb’s condition was just as I had expected: burnt, broken, and abandoned; a truly sad sight. I found just enough space to place my candle among the other candles on top of the burial site, a concrete slab, inside the tomb. I was profoundly moved to participate in this rare event, one of the few times in almost a decade when people came to this place with the purpose of reverence rather than desecration.
One of the key morals in the story of Joseph’s life, and his role in the development of the Nation of Israel, is the aspect of unity between brothers. After Joseph’s brothers turned on him and sent him off to an uncertain fate, it became their destiny to suffer and struggle. Only after the brothers reunited and saw the error of their ways did the Nation of Israel have a chance of surviving and even prospering. It is this strength in unity that we, the modern Nation of Israel, must always hold dear. If we do not stand together as a united people, then someday it may, once again, be the Kotel that is in the condition of the Kever Yosef.
David Matlin
During my recent IDF Reserve duty, my fellow soldiers and I rode into the heart of Nablus to Kever Yosef to pray Slichot before the coming holiday season. It was an experience I will never forget. After 5+ years of being an Israeli citizen I have had innumerable experiences to instill in me a faith and unwavering confidence in our nation. It was in this spirit that I felt fortunate to be a part of this unique excursion that, sadly, many do not have the chance to ever partake in.Kever Yosef --Joseph’s Tomb – according to biblical tradition, is near the ancient Canaanite city of Shechem, in the heart of the modern-day Palestinian city of Nablus. Believed to be the site of Joseph’s burial, it has been a place of prayer, worship and preservation by Jews for millennia. With increased tensions in the area at the beginning of the Second Intifada, the IDF had soldiers stationed to protect the tomb for Jewish visitation, study, and prayer. This era of Jewish guardianship came to an abrupt end in October 2000. Early that month, an armed Palestinian mob converged on the site, killing one of the soldiers on guard and causing massive destruction to the tomb. Following this attack, the IDF withdrew its presence from the site; it was a strategic weak point surrounded by armed, densely populated Palestinian areas within the city. Since this incident, Jews have been unable to safely go to this holy place, and it has been continuously pillaged and defaced. Only those Jews willing to brave the serious risks associated with entering the city of Nablus in very limited, organized military convoys have made it to the Kever in recent years, and sadly, such groups have been few and far between. A small group of Jews were able to sneak onto the site in 2008 to perform some minor restoration work. But the tomb has been inaccessible to the Jewish public since 2000. Today, the Kever Yosef stands as a burnt, desecrated ruin, which I believe is a grave insult and dishonor to Jews the world over.
Based on requests coming in from many of his soldiers, my Battalion Commander decided it was worth the risk to visit the Kever Yosef. Early in the day, the Commander collected the names from each company of those willing to participate in this voluntary mission. The primary objective was to pray Slichot at the Kever Yosef that night. This traditional prayer for forgiveness is said during the week prior to Rosh Hashana. I eagerly placed my name on the list and was allocated to the cover team that was assigned to hold a defensive perimeter around the Kever. I was filled with pride to be part of a mission so noble in purpose. The plan was to reach the Kever Yosef in the cover of the deep night, while most people slept, so as to create as little disruption as possible to the inhabitants of the city and their Ramadan celebrations. Once on site we had up to thirty minutes to pray and extract by an alternate route.
Conditions upon our arrival were not to permit the inconspicuous, stealthy mission for which we had hoped. The City of Nablus turned out to be alive with Ramadan celebrants crowding the streets, deep into the early hours of morning. The greeting of our armored convoy in the city was less than hospitable. This was not to deter us, however, and we made a successful insertion into the neighborhood surrounding the tomb, where we quickly set up our defenses. Soldiers began their Slichot prayers as soon as we were able to secure the perimeter. When my turn came to enter the Kever I was filled with a sense of history, purpose, and pride for my Jewish Nation. I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with my comrades, dressed in full combat gear, reading from my prayer book by the wan light of the candles and flashlights. I prayed from my heart and with the deepest conviction for the forgiveness associated with the beginning of the new year. The tomb’s condition was just as I had expected: burnt, broken, and abandoned; a truly sad sight. I found just enough space to place my candle among the other candles on top of the burial site, a concrete slab, inside the tomb. I was profoundly moved to participate in this rare event, one of the few times in almost a decade when people came to this place with the purpose of reverence rather than desecration.One of the key morals in the story of Joseph’s life, and his role in the development of the Nation of Israel, is the aspect of unity between brothers. After Joseph’s brothers turned on him and sent him off to an uncertain fate, it became their destiny to suffer and struggle. Only after the brothers reunited and saw the error of their ways did the Nation of Israel have a chance of surviving and even prospering. It is this strength in unity that we, the modern Nation of Israel, must always hold dear. If we do not stand together as a united people, then someday it may, once again, be the Kotel that is in the condition of the Kever Yosef.
David Matlin
I finally get to read this! WOW!
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