The Hebron Fund
Parshat Korach
Dear Raizy & Pinchus,
The Palestinian Authority is attempting to designate the Tomb of Machpela as a Palestinian World Heritage Site
at the upcoming UNESCO conference.
We are addressing the jihadists on two fronts. The first is
their physical Jihad, when the terrorists stab, car ram, shoot, and attack innocent Jews in any way possible. The second is a narrative Jihad, when there is an attempt to
weaken Israel through the media, anti-Israel tours & law-fare/anti-Israel legislation.
As you may have heard, the Palestinian Authority has asked for an emergency session at the UNESCO meeting in Warsaw in 2 weeks to take away Jewish ownership of Ma'arat HaMachpela. Yes, the one Herod built on the property bought by Avraham Avinu; the first real estate ever purchased by a Jew in Israel.
Israel's Ambassador to UNESCO, Carmel Shama HaCohen, said "The ceaseless effort by the PA to delegitimize Israel's historic connection to her geographic and spiritual roots is simply a different way to wage war. This is a clear continuation of the attacks and hallucinatory outrageous votes in UNESCO regarding Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall,".
The second front, we combat though EDUCATION with
tours for youth and adults in first-hand visits to Hebron, short videos (check out Stolen Grandfather below), informative pieces written by Hebron spokesmen Noam Arnon and Yishai Fleisher, major public events that have brought in hundreds of thousands of visitors and hands-on tours etc
In fact, this week we hosted both Im Tirtzu and Hebron Fund tours, during which the visitors saw the PA falsehoods with their own eyes. Personally, I was with donors at Tel Hebron where we saw mikvahs (Jewish ritual baths) from the times of the Holy Temple Period and shortly after. Considering that Islam and Muhammad were only born in the 7th Century and that mikvahs are only used by JEWS, there is an abundance of factual evidence that the Jews are indigenous to this land and the Arabs are trying to OCCUPY. More on the UNESCO situation next week.
Sadly, this week we memorialized the tragic death of 13.5 year old Hallel Yaffa Ariel (May G-d avenge her blood) who was murdered in her home in Kiryat Arba last June. There are no words - may her family find some comfort and peace be brought to the Jewish people.
As a reminder, if you received a mailing recently and were meaning to respond, please do so today either online or by mailing a check. We are finalizing the summer camp program and need to know what activities we can plan for the children and community of Hebron. We are also planning our response to the PA ploy at UNESCO with promotional materials, ads, films and other methods which I cannot mention here. Please mail in your reply envelope to the Hebron Fund office (address below) or click online here.
If you would like your gifts designated for 'summer camp' or 'UNESCO campaign' please indicate in the comments section. We aren't going to take this sitting down.
Shabbat Shalom and Blessings from Hebron,
Dan
Rabbi Daniel Rosenstein
Executive Director, The Hebron Fund
drosenstein@hebronfund.org
P.S. As part of the agreed upon 10 days per year of exclusive access, the Ma'arah was closed on Wednesday and will be closed again tomorrow, as well as on Sunday. See side panel for more information.
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Video on the Scene
Grandpa Abraham HIJACKED: Protect Hebron, City of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs
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Seen on the Scene
Im Tirtzu Tour
Photo Credit to Barak Shaked
Being inspired by Yishai Fleisher, International Spokesman for the Jewish Community of Hebron
Hearing about the history of the Jewish community of Hebron at the Hebron Museum with Hebron resident Tzippy Schlissel
At the Hebron Observatory | 
The view into H1 (PA controlled Hebron, where no Jews are allowed) from the Observatory |
Learning about Ma'arat HaMachpela, while sitting in the Cave's main hall, with Noam Arnon, Spokesman for the Jewish Community of Hebron.
Im Tirtzu group outside the Ma'arah
Congratulations to Ophir and Meirav on the birth of a baby! The brit milah was held in the Tomb of Machpela
An Israeli flag and flagpole,
donated by Dr. Bob Shillman,
flies strong on top of the
Hebron Observatory.
Photo Credit - Yishai Fleisher
Andrew Scott Kligerman (left) and David Kimmel (right) of Westchester with Rabbi Rosenstein on Tel Hevron - Can you find the Ma'arah in background?
Tour group with Rav Simcha Hochbaum at the Field of the Ma'arah, outside the Cave of the Patriarchs
One of our tour participants from Boca Raton, Florida, connecting with one of the chayalot who is an IDF tour guide.
The Ma'arah was closed to non-Muslims so we prayed on the 7th step promenade. To your left is a group of Arab women in an area normally only accessible to Jews
David Wilder always amazes us with his knowledge
of the ancient city walls of Hebron!
David Wilder showed us Mikvahs (ritual bath) from the 2nd Temple Period and the Revolt. This was long before the religion of Islam or Muhammad was born!
UNESCO's ploy is part of the narrative Jihad
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-HEBRON ALERT-
UPCOMING UNESCO VOTE
The Ma'arah is under attack. The Jihadists are not just using knives, they are using UNESCO to change the narrative and STEAL MA'ARAT HAMACHPELA along with our grandfather Avraham Avinu, and the rest of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron. We are working hard to derail this attempt at taking over the Machpela, and you can help.
You can influence the decisions at the UNESCO Heritage Center meeting at the beginning of July, by contacting US Ambassador to the UN, a good friend of Israel, Nikki Haley, via
ie: Please stop UNESCO from declaring Tomb of Patriarchs in Hebron a Palestinian Heritage Site, ignoring recognition of site's Jewish identity.
Articles for more Information
The 21 committee members are: Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
They plan to meet from July 2 to 12 in Krakow, Poland.
SPREAD the word, STOP the lies and PROTECT Hebron
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Yishai Fleisher
Intrenational Spokesperson, The Jewish Community of Hebron
One way we combat false claims, like that of the PA to the UNESCO council, is through important programs like Im Tirtzu.
"Hebron, together with the Im Tirzu campus movement, has begun doing tours for Israeli students - a type of domestic birthright for Israelis who rarely visit this cradle of Jewish civilization. The tours are our answer to the delegitimization tours run by 'Breaking the Silence' and 'B'tselem'. I am proud to have had a hand in the creation and running of these tours, and it was nice to be quoted in Reuters:
*see this weeks Seen on the Scene for pictures from a recent Im Tirtzu tour*
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The agreed compromise at Ma'arat HaMachpela is to reserve ten days a year for Jewish, Christian and non-Muslim only worship and ten days for Muslim only worship inside the Ma'arah.
Our days generally correspond to holidays such as Passover, Succot, Parshat Chaya Sarah, etc. when tens of thousands of Jewish visitors come to Hebron, and the Muslim only days coincide with their special holiday of Ramadan.
As part of our mutual understanding, the Tomb of Machpela will be open to Muslims only on the following dates:
Friday June 23, 2017
Sunday June 25, 2017
Jewish prayer services on these dates will be held outside the Ma'arah at the Seventh Step.
The Ma'arah will be open at 4:00 AM on shabbat mornings, as usual.
Dates are subject to change. For more information please call
050-647-7776 or 050-647-7744
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This week marked the 1st Yahrtzeit of
Hallel Yaffa Ariel H"YD.
One year ago, on what would have been her last day of 8th grade, 13 year old Hallel was murdered by an Arab terrorist in her bedroom in the Charsina neighborhood of Kiryat Arba.
The Azkara (1 year memorial service) was last Sunday (24 Sivan), on the anniversary of her murder.
יהי זכרה ברוך
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Missed the 50th Anniversary celebrations in Hebron?
Its not too late to become an Honorary citizen and receive a limited edition 50th anniversary medallion! 
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Parshat Korach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Discovering the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
"Blessed are You HaShem our God King of the Universe Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to take trumot and maasrot."
The end of this parsha contains numerous verses about the manner of taking truma and maser, and more specifically trumat maser. Trumat Maser highlights the hierarchy of the Kohanic rite over the Levite rite, for trumat maser involves giving truma to the Kohen even from the maser given to the Levite. Thus, we can see how this portion at the end of the parsha is a direct continuation from its beginning which deals with the conflict of Korach who wished to obliterate this hierarchy that puts the Kohanim at a higher status than the Levites.
One of the primary differences between the gift given to the Levites and the gift given to the Kohanim is that the gift given to the Levites is called 'a tithe' while the gift given to the Kohanim is called 'the first (gift)' - 'reshit', i.e truma, bikurim, or halla. Aside from the practical ramifications of this term, which means that one must first give the truma given to the Kohen before the maser given to the Levite, there are also spiritual implications to this terminology. It seems that the Torah wishes to teach us that we need to first address the 'first' aspect of things, i.e their origin or source, before we deal with their results or the various branches that stem from this source.
Ultimately, the search for the source of matters, brings one to search for HaShem the Source of All. By placing 'the origin' at the head of one's endeavors one also comes to put God at the head of one's consciousness. Indeed, the Kohanim are the class of Israel closest to the 'origin', i.e the Holy Presence of the Temple, in their unique service in the holiest parts of the Temple. In turn, the holiest gift given from the produce that grew in the Land of the Holy Presence is given to these Kohanim.
There is no doubt that Hebron and Maarat HaMachpela stand as the origins of our People's connection to this Land of the Holy Presence. Indeed, Hebron was a city designated for the Kohanim in the book of Joshua. Hebron is also unique by the fact that it is the only Kohanic city also designated as a Refuge City. The power of the Refuge Cities is linked to the life of the Kohen Gadol. In this way, the negligent murderer, is given aid to correct his ill behavior. The negligent murderer failed to truly realize the Godly origin of life, and therefore he did not take enough caution in protecting life. Therefore, this negligent murderer's cure lies through connecting to the origins of our People and our Land, the Kohen Gadol and the Refuge Cities, which stem from Hebron, the City of Patriarchal Clemency (see Vayakhel 5015 on this at length).
One of the locations in Hebron which seems to reflect the connection of the masses, coming from the 'four corners of the earth', to their origins, is the Field of Machpela. The Field of Machpela is a unique spot in Hebron where one can site the masses of Israel together, undivided by any walls or partitions, at our Unifying Roots of Hebron, City of our Common Origin.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #224
"One day I lent 200 NIS to one friend. That very same day I received 200 NIS back on a loan I had given to another friend which had not been paid for numerous months (I don't usually merit to give loans to people, and I also don't have gemach for such a purpose)."
Sources: Duties of the Heart - Shaar Habitachon, Shabat 31a and Smag's interpretation, See Igeret Habitachon
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June 23-24, 2017
CANDLE LIGHTING
New York 8:12pm
Miami 7:57pm
Chicago 8:09pm
Los Angeles 7:49pm
Hebron 7:23pm
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SHABBAT ENDS
New York 9:22pm
Miami 8:55pm
Chicago 9:22pm
Los Angeles 8:53pm
Hebron 8:30pm
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Zmanim republished with permission from MyZmanim.com. All New York times listed are for the 11230 zip code.
Shabbat end times are based on the opinion of Reb Moshe Feinstein and Harav Tukaccinsky, which is usually 50 min past sundown.
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Partner with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish People
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The 2017 Hebron Fund Calendar
Featuring all-new artwork from local Hebron artist,
Baruch Nachshon
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The Hebron Fund
1760 Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230
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The Ma'arah was closed to non-Muslims so we prayed on the 7th step promenade. To your left is a group of Arab women in an area normally only accessible to Jews
David Wilder always amazes us with his knowledge
David Wilder showed us Mikvahs (ritual bath) from the 2nd Temple Period and the Revolt. This was long before the religion of Islam or Muhammad was born!UNESCO's ploy is part of the narrative Jihad
The author speaking with President George W. Bush 
