Tens of thousands of Jewish worshipers arrived this past weekend at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank’s Hebron for an annual pilgrimage.
They filled the streets and alleys of the Kiryat Arba settlement and the Jewish enclave in Hebron, put up a city of tents and caravans, slept in schools and synagogues, and were hosted by residents. “Ten teenagers slept on my balcony in sleeping bags, freezing in the cold, ”Kiryat Arba Mayor Israel Bramson said. The occasion marked the Shabbat in which the annual Torah portion recited at synagogues, “Chayei Sarah,” features the story of the biblical Abraham’s purchase of that site to bury his wife, the matriarch Sarah. (Read More)
