The Scent of the Garden of Eden

View of Ma'arat Hamachpala Site

Last week we were privileged to venture on our last big trip of the year to the grave sites of our fore fathers and mothers. Working backwards, our last stop was Ma'arat Hamachpala were Adam & Eve, Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebecca and Jacob & Leah are all buried. The story goes that nearing their deaths Adam & Eve attempted to jury back to the Garden of Eden. Upon reaching a point in Chevron a voice came out and told them they must stop this is the closest they were allowed to go. Generations later when Abraham was looking for a place to bury his wife he searched out this same location by the scent of the Garden of Eden that Adam & Eve had uncovered. There is very limited access to the site today. Approximately 700 years ago a Mosque was built on the site that prevents descending to the depths of the graves. There are monuments at the 2nd floor level that parallel where the grave sites are below. We were able to enter the Abraham and Jacob hall, though the Isaac hall is off-limits to Jews, except for 10 days out of the year.

Additionally, we got to explore some of the current day Jewish communities of Chevron. We visited some ancient synagogues, Beit Hadassah - the first modern day home of Jews in Chevron and an archeological excavation site which includes the steps to the city walls where they believe Abraham actually purchased the cave to bury Sarah.


The road to get to Rachel's Tomb

Prior to visiting Chevron, we stopped in Beit Lechem at the buriel site of Rachel. The site is now surrounded by the modern day, Arab city of Beit Lechem therefore access is very controlled. There is a whole concrete complex built around the memorial site. As our tour guide put it "we are now hermetically sealed in". Rachel specifically is now as one of our ancestors who will beseech G-d on behalf of the Jewish people. Beit Lechem is on the road that the Jewish people historically took when being exiled and upon returning and her site was always a place to stop.

Overall, the day was a time to reflect back on where the Jewish people have come from and what Israel means to us.