בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
Since last week’s parsha we don’t hear about the city of Hebron till many parshiot ahead – parshat Shlach.
However, we do hear much about Moshe Rabeinu in every parsha (save Tetzaveh), and commentators
note that Moshe’s name can be found in the initials of Maarat Sdeh Hamachpela. The idea we can gather
from this is that just as Moshe was and, according the Zohar, will be, the redeemer of Israel, so too
Hebron is the redemptive city of Israel as seen in the Zohar, awakening the merit of our Patriarchs for our
redemption. This painting, which gives emphasis to the fields surrounding the Maara, seems befitting to
this name – Maarat Sdeh Hamachpela.
At the bottom of the painting we see seven vines, the special Jewish number, which is also associated to
Hebron, as the verse says “Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt.” Also King David ruled
seven years in Hebron before ruling in Jerusalem. The vine/wine can represent King David, since our
Sages say that a goblet of wine for blessing will be allotted to King David in the time of Mashiach
(Psachim 119b). The seventh vine is especially large, probably hinting to the seventh sefira Malchut to
which King David is associated. This vine is growing on a house, suggesting the connection between
settlement in the Holy Land depicted by the house and vegetation which literally grows from the land.
This implies that settlement is “implanted/grows” in the Land.
Continuing connections between Hebron and Aza we began last week, here we would like to notice that
Avraham’s move from Hebron to “the Land of the Philistines” where Aza is located occurred adjacent to
the birth of Yitzhak. Kabbalistically this makes sense, given that Hebron is the mountainous area and Aza
is in the depths, and hesed/Avraham is associated with heights/mountains, whereas gevura/Yitzhak is
associated with depths, as the Arizal explains that the numerical value of “Omek” – depth, is “gevura”.
Today’s war is involved greatly with the “depths” and tunnels of Gaza. Let us sweeten this matter through
connection to the kindness of our Patriarchs of Hebron!