Just four times a year, the IDF opens the Arab village Timnat Hares for Jewish visitors to the graves of the Biblical Joshua and Caleb. Arutz-7 takes you inside...
Posted on 04/26/2006 6:29:34 PM PDT by Alouette
| Feature: Tombs of Bible Heroes Joshua, Caleb Opened to Jews 12:45 Apr 26, '06 / 28 Nisan 5766 by Ezra HaLevi |
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Arutz-7 Exclusive Feature: Just four times a year, the IDF opens the Arab village Timnat Hares for Jewish visitors to the graves of the Biblical Joshua and Caleb. Arutz-7 takes you inside... |
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We arrived just before midnight, to mark the anniversary of the passing of Joshua, the great Jewish leader and successor to Moses. We pulled into a makeshift parking lot outside the entrance to Timnat Hares, the mountaintop mentioned in the Book of Joshua, and now home to the Arab village Kefel Hares. "It's better to go in on foot," said a smiling IDF officer, "as parking in the village is a balagan (hullabaloo) and it's only about a ten minute walk."
Less than two years ago I had taken part in a similar midnight visit to Joseph's Tomb, also coordinated with the IDF. But walking into the streets and alleys of Palestinian Authority-controlled Shechem (forcibly renamed Neapolis by the Romans less than 2000 years ago, and now mispronounced as Nablus by locals and the world press) was certainly not offered as an option. The IDF soldiers who secured the village of Kefel Hares for the evening were in very high spirits.
INN photographer Josh Shamsi and I entered the village through an iron gate that could easily be closed to block the entrance to Arab vehicular traffic in the event of a military imposed closure following an attack emanating from the village. We passed three hareidi-religious men, in their late twenties and early thirties, from the town of Elad. "We came to pray and to invoke the merit of Joshua bin [son of] Nun, Calev ben [son of] Yefuneh, and of course Nun," Yisrael Elcharar tells us. "We hope that they will come before G-d and fight on behalf of the Jewish people in the coming days." Joshua and Calev were both warriors and religious leaders - the lone voices among the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout out the Land of Israel who brought back a favorable report of the land, encouraging the Jewish people to trust G-d and fight for the Promised Land. Forty years later they led the young Jewish nation to conquer the Land of Israel. "Nun?" I asked them. "Tell me about Nun." "Well, Nun is Joshua's father – what more is there to say?" This was the first time in years that the tomb of Nun, located away from that of Joshua and Calev (Caleb), would also be open to worshippers. The hours the village was open to Jews have also been doubled from the previous year due to rising demand to visit the sites. The streets of Kefel Hares were lined with posters depicting leaders of various terrorist factions, from Yasser Arafat to parliament members of the Hamas terror group, the sweeping victors in PA legislative elections held earlier this year. Local martyrs also featured prominently.
Though buses were shuttling people back and forth from the parking lot to the graves, we passed an elderly couple walking on foot down the village's dark streets. Chana and Elazar took a bus to nearby Ariel from Bnei Brak in order to make the visit, but had started their journey even farther away.
"We came from New York and are here to pray at the grave of Joshua bin Nun," Chana said in native Israeli Hebrew. When asked why they came all the way to the middle of an Arab village in Samaria in the middle of the night, Elazar explained, "He brought the Jewish people back to Israel." We reached a square heralding the martyrdom of one of the town's Arab residents. There was no obvious sign of the massive IDF presence we assumed had been brought out to secure the town, except for the occasional hanging glow-sticks signaling the proper direction to walk.
We arrived first at the tomb of Calev ben Yefuneh, the mighty conqueror of Hevron and Joshua's sole ally in proclaiming the Land of Israel to be both conquerable and desirable.
"The Land is very, very good [Numbers 14:7]," the two Jewish heroes reported back the Jewish nation, which had been waiting for the report of the twelve spies sent to scout out the fortifications and specifications of the local inhabitants' defenses. "You should not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread," declared Calev. Visiting Calev's grave is of special significance, as tradition has it that Calev himself visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron when he first visited Israel on behalf of Moses. The Tomb of Calev is a domed structure with a stone courtyard in front, and a smaller domed structure to the left. It has been surrounded on two sides by an Arab graveyard. Garbage was strewn about the area, and there was a subtle smell of decaying fish. Two towering cypress trees graced the courtyard, as well as a mighty cedar.
Inside, words of prayer and melodic readings of Psalms and the Torah verses recounting Calev's deeds filled the quiet night. The grave had been draped in a sky blue cover and worshippers were fully leaned over, hugging it, and beseeching Calev to once again convey his faith and confidence to the hearts of the Jewish people.
Mystics say our generation is tasked with rectifying the national sin of the Jewish people upon the spies return in the desert. At the time, the nation rejected the minority report of Joshua and Calev in favor of the pessimistic, yet seemingly pragmatic reports delivered by the majority of the spies, who were originally selected as righteous spiritual leaders of the tribes of Israel. As G-d’s punishment for the miscalculation, the conquering of the Land of Israel was postponed for 40 years as the Jews wandered the desert until every member of that rejectionist generation had died, with the exception of Joshua and Calev. The Jewish people are now being given another opportunity to decide whether to accept G-d’s promised land as an inheritance. Today, Jews can choose to continue wandering in the desert, fed by manna and guarded by clouds of Glory, or to enter the Land, despite the Global Jihad, Gush Katif, Amona, a struggling economy, or any other factor steering us to feel like "It is a land that devours its inhabitants," as the spies said, leaving us feeling like "grasshoppers in our own eyes." The voice of someone within the tomb boomed, "And Calev silenced the people before Moses, declaring, 'We shall surely ascend and conquer it, for we can surely do it!' [Numbers 13:30]." The echo sounded as though it might not end at the other side of the nearby wadi, but rather continue across the Atlantic, where modern offices have been set up facilitating "Aliyah," the Hebrew word sharing the same root as Calev's exhortation, “We shall ascend [Aloh na'aleh]” meaning the modern move to Israel from the Exile.
On the side of the tomb, a middle-aged professor with a slight Russian accent talks heatedly with a soldier stationed there. The soldier intermittently paces to overlook a closed-off side-street with his short M-16 at ready position. The two discuss science and theology. I came back after ten minutes to hear the soldier insist that the professor speak with his brother. "No, you speak to him yourself," the professor exclaimed. "Let him know what I said, and that I am here if he wants to talk to me." The two exchange phone numbers and bid each other farewell. Continuing up the road, we reached the square where Joshua's Tomb is located. It has been festooned in Hamas flags of multiple shapes and sizes, the largest with gold trim and a handwritten "Allahu Akbar" added to it – presumably after the landslide victory.
If I didn't know better I would think that local graffiti artists came up with a logo to express their pride in sharing the mountain with Joshua, who led the Jewish people across the Jordan River, and later around the walls of Jericho seven times until they sank into the ground. The logo, with its arrow entering Israel's center from across the Jordan, refers instead to the flooding of Israel with the children and grandchildren of those Arabs who left in 1948. The logo belongs to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the terrorist group responsible for the murder of Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi. Although it is almost 2 AM, a festive atmosphere surrounded the tomb. Breslav hassidim sold books while free cookies, beurekas and caffeinated cola filled tables set up around the square.
Along the benches and stoops of the plaza sat visitors from across Israel, reading booklets printed by the Samaria Religious Municipality's Division for Holy Sites. Reprinted were the verses from the Torah recounting Joshua's deeds:
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Fascinating - Joshua and Caleb are IMO the two most interesting persons in the entire Old Testament. Thank you for posting this!
As a Christian who feels intimately tied to Israel and its history, let me be the first to say that these discoveries are overwhelming to me. How many Americans are named Caleb that have no idea what that name means? We are part and parcel of the same history. God bless those who were able to observe this sacred history.
Caleb said "Let's roll" before it was popular to say "Let's roll".
Joshua and Caleb were Hebrews not Jews. There's a difference. Jews are a mix...Hebrews are not a mix.
Joshua and Caleb were from the Tribe of Judah, which would make them Jews even according to the most hairsplitting definition.
Mix of what?
The word "Jew" comes from "Judah."
They mixed with the Babylonians. They were not longer pure Hebrew.
A "mixed multitude" accompanied the Hebrews out of Egypt.
They'd be squirming in those tombs for what Israel has become.
I find it curious that the term Jews was not used until I believe in Kings.
I find it curious that the term Jews was not used until I believe in Kings.
After King Solomon passed away, the 10 Northern Tribes broke away and formed their own Kingdom under the rule of Yeraveam ben Nevat (of Ephraim). These 10 Tribes were sent into exile by the Assyrian ruler Sanneherib.
The remaining Tribes, Judah and Benjamin, and the Levites, continued as a nation until they were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar.
You're not a member of the "lost tribes" of Israel are you?
I consider myself both Jewish, a Hebrew and a proudly conservative Canadian. *stretches out* It's good to be me! ;)
I'm a Hebrew... ;o) And a conservative Christian....
Who are the lost tribes of Israel?
Where were they exiled?
Wonderful!
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