Thank you Rochie for inviting me here this evening and thank you everyone for giving me this opportunity to share with you my experiences this past Tishrei. I would like to mention that I know that Aviva, whom we just lost, and the surviving mourners Edith Bloch and Miriam Swerdlov have in common that they all love(d) and support(ed) Eretz Yisroel. Miryam Swerdlov in particular is a regular visitor to Hevron. Ad Mosai, Hashem… Ad Mosai.

It is our job now to hasten the revelation of Moshiach. With that in mind, I will strive to connect my presentation to the teachings of the Rebbe.

As many of you know, I am very involved with Hevron. I work for the Shliach in Hevron, Rabbi Danny Cohen. I would love to experience all our Yomin Tovim in Hevron, but if I would - I wouldn’t be here in Crown Heights to get my work done … so I go occasionally. This year was the first time I was in Hevron during Tishrei.

Since I want to connect my story as much as possible to the Rebbe – I am going to begin with a story that actually happened on Chof Beis Shvat. It was a number of years ago when my daughter Rivka Greenwald was in Crown Heights with her daughters for the Kinnus. They are on Shlichus in Duluth, MN. Shabbos morning my husband and I learn Igross Kodesh. We have a volume and we go page by page. The letters are amazing. This particular Shabbos morning, my two eldest granddaughters came to ask me a question. My husband and I had just started a letter. We completed the first paragraph where the Rebbe generally says he received a letter on such and such a date but does not always begin to address any specific topic. So we finished the introductory paragraph and I looked up and asked the girls what they wanted. They wanted me to take them to 770. Hmmm. I explained that Bubby does not like crowds, and this week would be very crowded upstairs in 770 because it is Chof Beis Shvat.  And Bubby had to make a big salad because of all the guests because it is Chof Beis Shvat. And Bubby is tired.

My husband was shocked at my answer but I could not be convinced to change my mind. We went back to learning the letter that had been interrupted. The very next sentence was one I had never seen before and have not seen since. It read: “It is important to be a good influence on your grandchildren.”

Seriously, I kid you not.

I closed the book. Apologized to my husband. Got dressed and took the girls to 770. It was packed. I figured there might be some places at the back so we went to the third Shul. We got there just as everyone stood up together. Instead of standing with them we mounted the now empty seats and scurried to the back porch. A few moments after we got there, two women in the front row got up to leave. It was as if they were holding the spot for us. The glass partition did not reach to the bottom. My granddaughters could see the entire downstairs 770 and the space under the glass gave them plenty of air to breath. It was amazing - we got front row seats!

This past Tishrei I took my eldest granddaughter, Simcha Rochel, to Hevron for Yom Kippur. It was the first of her three fasts before her Bas Mitzvah… and – again - we got front row seats. Actually, every seat in the Maara is a front row seat, even if you are standing. We have it on video… the Rebbe telling supporters of Hevron that all our prayers gather and ascend through Hevron. Can’t get closer than that.

I want to take this opportunity to mention – there is now internet access to prayers in Hevron. Chabad of Hevron has a website where you push a button that leads you to a place to put in your information. Then you press the send button and your very soon the prayer will be said in Hevron… at the Maara, at Menucha Rochel or both… your choice. The website is chabadhebron.com (Reminder: it is traditional to give Tzedaka when asking for a Brocha, so, for your convenience, we have a place to click to make donations.)

Our Yom Kippur preparations began the week before on Wednesday night. Danny’s wife Batsheva was making a pre-Yom Kippur event for girl soldiers. Simcha Rochel and I attended. Batsheva first taught the girls how to make a scrumptious chocolate dessert and then she taught them about Tshuva. I must admit that Simcha Rochel and I did not leave the event with deep thoughts of Tshuva (nor did we have deep thoughts about chocolate) but we did come away feeling a strengthening of Ahavas Yisroel between us and the soldiers we had just met. A pre-Bas Mitzvah girl and her Bubby mingling with teenage girls with little or no background in Judaism – and feeling connected. It may not make sense – but it was very real. 

We were also feeling a sense of awe at how the Rebbe thinks of every Jew in every place – including girl soldiers in Hevron.

We had just spent Rosh Hashana in Prague with Simcha Rochel’s friends from Online School, Chaya and Bassie Barash, daughters of the Shluchim in Prague. Shlichus in Minnesota, Prague and Hevron are all different – what they share is what they have in common with Chabad Houses around the world - challenges that can only be met by Shluchim dedicated to Am Yisroel and connected to the Rebbe. 

The Shabbos before Yom Kippur we spent in Yitzhar. How many of you have heard of Yitzhar? It is in the Shomron, not far from Shechem where Yosef HaTzadik is buried. It is a magnificent setting. I don’t want to knock Hevron, but it is a big city. Dirty, noisy. Yeah, it’s dirty. The government doesn’t let the Jews clean up the piles of garbage because we are not allowed to touch Arab property and the garbage belongs to the Arabs. It’s true. One time Chabad of Hevron got permission to clean up a certain area that had rats, and they had to bring in bulldozers. Seriously. But the hard part was getting the permission. Back to my story… in contrast to Hevron the big city, Yitzhar is a community of a few hundred families on a hilltop with views in all directions. It is about 35 miles from the coast, but at sunset you see the sun reflecting off the Mediterranean with the silhouette of Tel Aviv in front of it. The air in Yitzhar is fresh and crisp and the people are exclusively the kind who are dedicated to Eretz Yisroel, Ahavas Yisroel and Toras Yisroel.

Recently a Chabad House has been set up in Yitzhar by Danny Cohen’s brother Eli Eitan together with the founder of outpost Mitzpeh Yitzhar, Itzik Sandroi and his partner in pioneering, famous for being the first soldier to sit in jail in the days before the Disenegagement, Yossi Pilant. Their Chabad House will bring Chassidus to the people and the soldiers in Yitzhar and the surrounding areas. Because they now had a Chabad House they were able to sell me Machzorim. That meant I did not have to drive through congested traffic in Yerushalaim in search of them. Plus I have the pleasure of knowing my Machzor is from Yitzhar. And by the way – the Chabad House of Yitzhar is actually a caravan. But it is still a Chabad House.

The first nice thing about Yom Kippur in Eretz Yisroel started the night before, i.e. Motzei Shabbos. They changed the clocks! It meant we only had to fast until six o’clock and a few minutes. (Very soon after nightfall, Baruch Marzel made sure there were tables of cake and orange juice, enough for the crowds who had Davened at the Maara. And for the soldiers - who to my surprise were also fasting - he arranged for a restaurant-on-wheels to go around to where the soldiers were stationed. The restaurant-on-wheels was sponsored by Chabad of Hevron – thanks to Aryeh Wuensch of Miami.)

Erev Yom Kippur we needed a place to eat. This time we went to Bat Ayin. How many people have heard of Bat Ayin? Many of you probably know this is where the Meir and Miriam Rhodes have put down roots. Literally, tree roots. I picked a fig from their tree. It was delicious. And I learned a new Halacha. I knew that you did not have to take Truma and Maaser if you eat the produce where it grows. Meir taught me that the ruling is that once the produce passes a Mezuzah, you need to take Truma and Maaser.

So the Rhodes’ fed us. Us and a variety of young people whom the Rhodes’ have a tendency to attract to the warmth of their lovely home that the youth like to refer to as Camp Rhodes – also known as Beis Lubavitch Bat Ayin.

We got back to Hevron and I wanted to check my email in the caravan that Chabad of Hevron uses for office space. As I was leaving, in came Yossi Nachshon and our friend Golan.

They covered the small space with mattresses and put out Negel Vasser Kelim. They told me that between Musaf and Mincha on Yom Kippur it will be too hot to walk back and forth to and from Kiryat Arba while fasting, so they are preparing places to rest for the men who will be walking to Hevron to take part in the Chabad Minyan at the Maara.

At the same time, tents were being put up on the grassy areas leading up the Maara. In Crown Heights the guests come inside. In Hevron, the homes are small and few. Luckily the presence of soldiers makes it safe to sleep outdoors and the weather makes it a pleasure to do so. Some people slept on mattresses even without tents. And some even without mattresses.

Simcha Rochel and I had our last meal in our own accommodations and we lit candles. On the way to the Maara we passed the Avraham Avinu Shul. This Shul had been totally destroyed and desecrated by the Arabs in the years before 1967 and is now a completely new Shul. It’s very nice. I am sure you all know the story that happened hundreds of years ago, when there were only 9 men in Hevron for Yom Kippur and a tenth man walked into Shul just before Kol Nidre. When the men of Hevron wanted to take him home to feed him after the fast he mysteriously disappeared only to reappear in a dream of one of the men later that night. The mysterious guest said he was Avraham Avinu and had come to complete the Minyan. Since then the Shul has been called the Avraham Avinu Shul. When we walked by on our way to the Maara it was packed to overflowing and there were rows of chairs outside two of the exterior walls that had windows.

When we arrived at the Maara there were many people coming, and even more already inside. Almost all the women were dressed in white, flowing skirts. The girls with their long dark hair and the women with white scarves. There was something very graceful and surreal about how they looked. It filled the Maara with a feeling of purity and hope.

There were Minyanim everywhere: On the plaza outside, in the hallway, in the room where a Kollel learns, the room of Yaakov, the room of Avraham and the main hall. During Yom Kippur day, Ulam Yitzchok, which is open to Jews only ten days a year, was also open… and packed to capacity.

When we got to the main hall it was full, and women were beginning to stand near the entrance. I always figure there are at least two seats vacant near the far side (as per the Chof Beis Shvat story) – so we squished through and found ‘our’ two seats on the far side near the back.

There is a hallway behind the main hall with windows connecting the two areas. From our location we could hear our Minyan and the Minyan behind us which we heard with more volume and clarity. It was confusing at first, but very beautiful. The Minyan behind us had a lot of singing. Beautiful tunes, very sincere, very emotional, very moving and very inspiring.

When our Minyan ended and we walked back to our room. It was a warm night. Small groups of people were gathered outdoors. Windows were open. I would also like to say that hearts were also open. That was the feeling. The pervading atmosphere was one where no one was a stranger. We could here the sounds of Davening, learning and lively discussions that were to continue through the night. Jewish Hevron was unmistakably ensconced in Yom Kippur. 

Simcha Rochel had brought packages with her all the way from Duluth to give to soldiers. A woman who is not Jewish has an organization that sends packages to soldiers in Eretz Yisroel and we took some packages to deliver. The soldiers loved the baseball hats and other ‘guy’ things in the sack. We added a compact Segula L’Shmira according to the Rebbes guidelines, plus some chocolate and delivered it with a cold Coca Cola. One of the soldiers we delivered the packages to had told us that he had never been to Hevron before his army service and what he found wonderful about Hevron was Shabbos. In Haifa, where he lived, he had seen Jews in Yarmulkas from time to time so he thought he knew a little about his heritage. But in Hevron, he said, you can feel in the air when it is Shabbos… that is the feeling we had on Yom Kippur… you could feel it was Yom Kippur.

The next morning we had a Chabad Minyan at the Maara. Most of the men walked from nearby Kiryat Arba. Because Chabad begins later than other Minyanim we usually start outdoors and move inside when someone else is finished.

That was the plan, but somehow we were able to start indoors right away. I was relieved. Outside, the women would have been in the sun. The Minyan started on time. Shliach Rabbi Menachem Porter did a wonderful job conducting the service.

It is not easy to follow Yom Kippur Davening. It is lengthy and unfamiliar. But when Davening in Maaras HaMachepla, so close to our fathers and mothers, Hashem’s favorite children, the mood of the relationship of Hashem to Am Yisroel strongly reflects the relationship of children and parents. We begin every prayer by mentioning Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov and their presence in the Maara is very comforting.

I wish I could tell you that our Davening was on such a level that Moshiach came and aroused those who slumber in Hevron… but alas. The prayers in 770, at the Kotel, in Maaras HaMachpela and all the Shuls around the world have not yet broken the shell of Golus.

Today was the second of MarCheshvan. Almost one hundred years ago, on this date, in Hevron, the Rebbe Rashab established a Yeshiva. Seven years ago on this day Chabad of Hevron opened a Kollel. Due to the onset of World War One, the Rebbe Rashab’s Yeshiva was open in Hevron for a few short years after which it was forced to move to Yerushalaim. Against all odds, Chabad of Hevron received permission to open their Kollel and – in a city where even putting up a Mezuzah has caused a ruckus by Peace Now and the media – they have not only maintained the afternoon Kollel but have now opened a second one in the evening.

When Sara and Boruch Nachshon were amongst the first to re-settle Hevron, the Rebbe sent a letter to Boruch telling him that his learning and Davening in Hevron together with his friends will constitute the spiritual conquering of Hevron which will bring about the conquest of Hevron in the physical. Not only has Boruch designated Chabad of Hevron to be considered his friends according to the letter from the Rebbe, but his son Rabbi Yosef Nachshon is instrumental in the learning and administration of the Kollels.

The Kollels represent one of the ways Chabad of Hevron is striving to awaken those who slumber in Hevron – and all our loved ones whom we long to see again in happiness and in good health. May it be with Moshiach NOW!