The government has still said and done nothing about the desecration of Joseph's Tomb in Shechem - and the army is not happy about it. Senior IDF officials say that the government's apathy is costing Israel a price in both the religious and security spheres. Lt.-Col. Rabbi Avi Ronsky told Arutz-7 that he has first-hand knowledge of the contacts between the army and the government in this area, and "the decision to do something about it is solely in the hands of the Prime Minister." Lt.-Col. Ronsky says that the PA interprets Israel's inaction at Joseph's Tomb as a weakness of the Israeli military. "Many officers feel that the damage must be repaired, and that we must ensure permanent Israeli presence at the site - if not of civilians, then at least of IDF forces. There should be organized buses going there a few times a week, which will not only discourage individuals from making dangerous night-time forays to the site, but will also give the IDF reason to have a permanent presence there."

IDF officers yesterday showed Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz photos of the damage at Joseph's Tomb, which occurred between one and three weeks ago. The Cabinet discussed the matter last week, but took no decisions.

On the other hand, the Simon Weisenthal Center has submitted an official protest to the United Nations World Heritage Committee regarding the PA Arabs' desecration of Joseph's Tomb. Shimon Samuels, head of the Center's Paris branch, said that in his recent visit to the site, he saw "much destruction, garbage, and pieces of wrecked cars."

Regarding an even holier site, the Yesha Rabbis Council calls upon the government to adopt the recommendation of Jerusalem Police Chief Mickey Levy, and allow Jews to visit the Temple Mount. Levy said on Friday that the most sacred site in Judaism, which has been closed to Jews since the beginning of the Oslo War in Sept. 2000, should be re-opened following the war in Iraq.

Joseph's Tomb in Shechem [Nablus]

WITHOUT WORDS:

Adar, 5763

Selichot at Kever Yoseph- Erev Yom Kipur 5763

Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com - 9 iyar 5762
"I CRIED AND ASKED FORGIVENESS; JOSEPH'S BROTHERS SOLD HIM AGAIN"

===========================================

Despite the IDF's withdrawal from Shechem this morning, many Jews still demand that Israel retake and retain the Joseph's Tomb compound. A demonstration to this effect was held today outside the Prime Minister's officer in Jerusalem. The demonstrators called upon Prime Minister Sharon and the government to "remove the national disgrace" caused by the abandonment of the holy site to Palestinian Authority gunmen 18 months ago. They noted that even the Oslo Agreement stipulates that the site is to remain under Israeli control, at least until a permanent arrangement is negotiated.

The withdrawal from Shechem was in fact held up last night by the presence of several dozen Jewish worshipers at the site. They managed to sneak in, as did several other groups in the course of the past two weeks, but some of them had trouble getting out After getting lost in Shechem, and after one of their number was assaulted and beaten up by Arabs, they called the Samaria-Judea District Police for help. The army came, rescued the group, and promptly detained them. The Yesha Council, which organized a rally last night of hundreds of people near Shechem demanding that Joseph's Tomb remain Jewish, says that those who try to enter the site on their own "are endangering themselves and IDF soldiers." Chief Rabbis Lau and Bakshi-Doron, as well as Shas leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, issued a ruling today forbidding individuals from trying to reach Joseph's Tomb without army permission.

Yehuda Libman, a prime figure in the Joseph's Tomb yeshiva - Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai - who received permission to visit the holy site last night, spoke with Arutz-7 today about his experience
"The army officially invited me to visit the site of Joseph's Tomb last night. I can say that our yeshiva, which has been in the forefront of the campaign for Joseph's Tomb over the past 18 years, did not call publicly for people to try to come to the site during the past two weeks [during which the IDF had control of Shechem]; we realized that there was a danger involved… Many Jews did come, however, from amongst the Breslover Hassidim and local Jewish residents, and we saw this as a blessing in itself, in that Jews are not forgetting this important site - and we said that responsibility for their fate lies with the government that did not see fit to normalize the official status of the site…
"I arrived there, as a representative of the yeshiva, in army uniform - I was recently called up to the army - and I can openly say that the first thing I did was to simply fall and cling to the spot, and I just cried. For something like 10 or 15 minutes, I cried. In front of my eyes I saw the images of Hillel Lieberman [who was murdered on his way to Joseph's Tomb when he heard that it was to be given away], and of my brother Shlomo [who was murdered, together with Har'el Bin-Nun - both of them students of the Joseph's Tomb yeshiva - by Palestinian terrorists in August 1998 outside nearby Yitzhar], may Hashem avenge their blood, and of all the soldiers and boys who gave their lives for this place throughout the years…
"For this past year and a half we have had this site taken from us, and we were able only to stand on Mt. Gerizim and see it from afar, and we had to hold back... and then suddenly to be able to return to it - I felt that I could no longer restrain myself, just as is written that "Joseph could no longer hold back, and he burst out in weeping" - this is how I felt... Possibly also because I was an official representative of the yeshiva, not just someone sneaking in like a thief in the night and running away from the soldiers…
"Afterwards, I looked around. To see a place that you have been connected with so intensely for ten years, and which was abruptly taken away from you in one shot - it was Rosh HaShanah Eve of 5761, 18 months ago - it's the same place, but without its Jewish garb without the velvet coverings on the tomb, and without the Torah books and the bookcases, and without the Torah scrolls, and without the pictures of rabbis on the walls - it's like coming back to the house of your childhood and finding it without all its furnishings and hallmarks. But on the other hand, whoever is really bonded to this site can realize that what's important is not just the physical site and its trappings, but rather the message that it transmits to the Jewish nation…
"At the end of my visit, I found myself alone for a short while, and I simply asked forgiveness from Joseph forgiveness for his brothers having sold him once again. After so many years, history repeats itself "maaseh avot siman l'banim" - that which the forefathers did is a sign for their descendants. Again, Israel shows that it does not know how to accept such a precious a gift as this, to keep it, to understand its value and greatness - that of this holy site, of all Eretz Yisrael... I asked forgiveness in the name of the soldiers, the officers, the government, the yeshiva - maybe we didn't do enough... But we know that just as we have retreated, we will return to it again..."

Rabbi Menachem Felix, who worked behind the scenes to get the government to agree to retain Joseph's Tomb for the Jewish People, told Arutz-7
"There were some government ministers who say they were promised by Prime Minister Sharon that it would be brought up in today's Cabinet meeting - but by the time the meeting started, it was already too late, as the army had already left... The meeting began with some sort of proclamation about Joseph's Tomb, but it was empty of real content… Of course we will return to the site, but what's the purpose of leaving, when we have all the reasons and justification to stay the merit of thousand of years, of Joseph's bones that are buried there, of the blood that was spilled there - and even, for those who want, the Oslo Agreements give us the right to be there! In addition, there were promises made by Prime Ministers Sharon and Barak, and by the Central Command O.C. who promised that we would return - so why did we leave?? It's very painful…"

==========================================================

WORSHIPERS REACH JOSEPH'S TOMB

Some 30 Jewish worshipers were questioned this morning, after they entered the Joseph's Tomb complex in Shechem. The Shai Police District emphasizes once again that Jews are not permitted into Area A. The complex has been under IDF control since the city was taken over on Wednesday night. Joseph's Tomb has been under Israeli control until the beginning of the Oslo War in October 2000, when the forces retreated under fire.

"Today is a holiday," said Yehuda Libman of Yeshivat Od Yosef Chai. "I wasn't one of those who merited to enter - the privilege fell in the lot of some Breslover Hassidim - but the 'way has been opened.' First of all, we now know that the site was not planted with explosives, as some tried to make us think…" He said that about 15 of the visitors actually made it to the very gravesite, while another 50 or so reached various points within and without the complex. Among them was a son of Rehavam Ze'evi, Binyamin, who became an observant Jew and a Breslover Hassid several years ago. Police announced that charges would be filed against some of the "infiltrators."

Joseph's Tomb Beckons

Arutz-7 has learned that our forces in Shechem (Nablus) are very close to the holy site of Joseph's Tomb - but are not entering it because the Arabs booby-trapped it with large amounts of explosives, ready at any moment to be detonated by remote-control. It will be recalled that the IDF withdrew from Joseph's Tomb at the beginning of the Oslo War in what was later to become shamefully remembered as the "abandonment" of IDF soldier Madhat Yusuf, who was wounded and bled to death at the holy site; army troops did not storm the area, but instead negotiated, in vain, with Jibril Rajoub over the wounded soldier's evacuation.

Although the army does not attribute great military importance to the holy site, students of the Joseph's Tomb Yeshiva - "Od Yosef Chai" [Joseph Still Lives] - are launching a public struggle to change this situation. Yehuda Libman of Yitzhar, one of the heads of the yeshiva and a long-time student there, spoke with Arutz-7 today: "I know that in these last 24 hours, our hearts and those of many others are turned towards this holy site, feeling that G-d is again giving us a chance, a gift, and a test - and the question is what we will do with it... We know that Joseph's Tomb is not one of the army's operational objectives, as unfortunately the people in charge don't realize just how important the site is to the national morale and spirit. The Western Wall, for instance, *was* an operational objective [during the Six-Day War]... The hundreds of calls that we have received about Joseph's Tomb, even from soldiers, are a clear indication of the great importance many people attribute to it. Capturing the site would certainly give great strength to the soldiers, showing them that this war does not just have temporary objectives to solve a specific immediate problem, but that there are long-term goals of national and historic significance... We are trying in various ways to get this message across…"

Libman said that no soldier should have to be endangered for this purpose, "and it could be that the best approach would be for the army to blow up the building itself; after all, the Arabs have already destroyed the yeshiva inside, and whatever reconstruction they have done on the outside is only for appearances' sake. What is important to us is the site itself, not the walls around it. We would then be able to start anew..."

==========================================================

Attacks

I know what you mean about the lack of response to this thread. People apparently are unaware of the Biblical importance of Nablus (Shechem, a City of Refuge). When they read about "Joseph's Tomb", they just think of it as an obscure grave of some dead guy. I'll add a few things below. Hopefully, the people I pinged will jump in. They are very knowledgeable. It might be profitable to ping others so they can at least read this part, where the reason is revealed as to why people BETTER start paying attention!

In the time of the resurrection of the dead, many camps will arise in Land of the Galil, because that is where the Messiah is going to be first revealed, since it is part of Joseph's territory. It will be the first place to be destroyed. It will begin there ahead of all other places, and then spread to the nations. (Zohar, Vayakhel 220a)

Shechem is where God made his covenant with Abraham:

Genesis 12:6,7 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

It is where Joshua and the Children of Israel renewed that covenant with God:

Joshua 24

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.

2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors--Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor--lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.

3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac;

4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out.

6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.a

7 When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness a long time.

8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.

9 Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand.

11 When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you.

12 I sent the hornetb ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.

13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.

14 "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;

17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed;

18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good."

21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the LORD!"

22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."

23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."

24 The people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey."

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.

26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the LORD.

27 Joshua said to all the people, "See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God."

28 So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances.

It is where Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, who led others to believe in Christ:

John 4:39-42 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Here is the real reason why people should start paying attention to Nablus!

The Destruction of Joseph's Tomb: A Kabbalistic View Rabbi Pinchas Winston
[Note: This is from something I saved on my hard drive when the destruction of the tomb began, quite some time ago. I didn't save the date, and I couldn't find it again at the above link.]

Shechem -- the city where Joseph was sold into slavery, which he later inherited and where he was buried -- is the place where redemption will begin with acts of violence and destruction.
The Torah tells us that, just before Jacob died, he gave Joseph an extra piece of Israel -- the city of Shechem (Genesis 48:22). It was in Shechem that Joseph's brothers sold him down into slavery, and, it was to Shechem that the bones of Joseph were brought from Egypt hundreds of years later for their final burial.
It was here in Shechem -- called Nablus by the Arabs -- that the yeshivah stood, until two weeks ago, when it was viciously destroyed.
Regarding the territory of Joseph, the Zohar, the chief work of the Kabbalah, has this to say:
In the time of the resurrection of the dead, many camps will arise in Land of the Galil, because that is where the Messiah is going to be first revealed, since it is part of Joseph's territory. It will be the first place to be destroyed. It will begin there ahead of all other places, and then spread to the nations. (Zohar, Vayakhel 220a)

In the time of the resurrection of the dead, many camps will arise in Land of the Galil, because that is where the Messiah is going to be first revealed, since it is part of Joseph's territory. It will be the first place to be destroyed. It will begin there ahead of all other places, and then spread to the nations. (Zohar, Vayakhel 220a)

Here's the passage from the Soncino translation [Vol. IV pgs 249-250]:

Said R. Simeon: 'At the time when the dead will be awakened and be in readiness for the resurrection in the Holy Land, legions upon legions will arise on the soil of Galilee, as it is there that the Messiah is destined to reveal himself. For that is the portion of Joseph, and it was the first part of the Holy Land to be destroyed, and it was thence that the exile of Israel and their dispersion among the nations began, as Scripture says, "but they are not grieved for the hurt of Joseph" (Amos vi, 6).

Thus there they will rise up first, for the reason that it is the portion of him who was put into the ark, as it says "And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem" (Jos. xxiv, 32); and he it was who kept the purity of the holy covenant symbol in a special degree.

As soon as they will rise from the dead all those hosts will march, each man to the portion of his ancestors, as Scripture says, "and ye shall return every man unto his possession" (Lev. xxv, 10). They shall recognize each other, and God will clothe every one in embroidered garments; and they will all come and offer up thanksgiving to their Master in Jerusalem, where there will assemble multitudes upon multitudes.

Jerusalem itself will spread out in all directions, to a further extent even than when the exiles returned there. When they assemble and offer up praises to their Master the Holy One, blessed be He, will rejoice in them. So Scripture says: "And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of the Lord", etc. (Jer xxxi, 12), namely, every one to his portion and the portion of his ancestors.

And the possession of Israel will extend till it will reach Damietta of the Romans, and even there they will study the Torah. All this has already been stated, and it is in harmony with the Scriptural passage, saying: "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust", etc. (Isa. xvi, 19). Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen!'

[Vayaqhel (Exodus) 220a]

***

The government has still said and done nothing about the desecration of Joseph's Tomb in Shechem - and the army is not happy about it.

Ezekiel 37:1-20

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

On Joseph´s tomb and the Temple Mount

Joseph's Tomb in Shechem [Nablus]