The tombs of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their family - the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron

Information about the Cave of the Patriarchs (Me’arat Hamachpelah) itself will be provided after this announcement.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to work as a tour guide because of the war.

Should you wish to support me and my videos please subscribe to my channel and let me guide you through the Holy Land via my videos. In this way, I will be able to continue to do my work of uploading to YouTube. Upon your request and in return I am very much happy to pray for you at the Western Wall and/or light a candle in your name at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or anywhere else in the Holy Land of Israel.

Should you have a personal request I will be more than happy to respond and even film it in a personal video.
Support and purchase of goods from the Holy Land: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/zahishaked
Support using PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/zahis...

Kindly share this site with your other friends/family that are interested in the rich and sacred
history of Israel.

Thank you so much
Your tour guide
Zahi Shaked

  / zahishakedisraelitourguide  
  / zahi_shaked_israeli_tour_guide  
https://linktr.ee/zahishakedtourguide...

The Cave of the Patriarchs (Me’arat Hamachpelah) stands at the entrance to Hebron, an ancient city in the southern West Bank, 30km south of Jerusalem. It is the traditional burial site of four biblical couples - Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.

These were the founders of the Jewish nation and the forebearers of Christianity and Judaism. As descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael, Muslims also hold the tomb sacred. It has long been a tradition to pray at the Cave of the Patriarchs for spiritual comfort, blessings, guidance, and mercy.

The Burial Site of Biblical Forefathers
The site features in the Old Testament, several times. In Genesis, we read how Abraham bought the cave and surrounding plot of land as a burial place for his wife, Sarah. Later he was buried beside her, and so too were future patriarchs and matriarchs. Caleb, one of the scouts sent by Moses into the Land of Canaan, stopped at Hebron to pray at the patriarchs’ tombs. The Cave of the Patriarchs is also mentioned in the Book of Zohar, as the gateway to the Garden of Eden.

History of the Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron
The cave itself lies deep beneath the ground. According to legend, no one is known to have entered the cave and survived, except for Rabbi Azulai. 300 years ago, the Rabbi was lowered into the cave to retrieve the Turkish Sultan’s sword. The Rabbi came out alive, only to die a week later. In the 1st-century Herod built a structure above the cave with 6ft-thick stone walls.

The Herodian building has survived surrounding and protecting the cave to this day. At some point, a mosque was built within the Herodian walls. In 1100, Crusaders took over the compound, but less than a hundred years later, the site was once again a Muslim place of worship. Under Muslim rule, Jewish access to the cave was denied in the 1490s.

For about 500 years Jews visiting the site could only approach as far as the seventh step on the stairway leading to the compound. Despite this restriction, Jews continued to pray at the Cave of the Patriarchs. After the Six-Day War in 1967, the site fell under Israeli jurisdiction, and Jews could once again access the compound.

The Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs Today
The 1995 Wye River Accords gave the Muslim administrative body control of the southeastern section, including the cave entrance and the tombs of Isaac and Rebecca. On ten auspicious religious days a year, Jews are given access to the Muslim section of the site. The rest of the site is open daily to all visitors.

Visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs should be done with a guided tour, as it is in a politically vulnerable area. It is possible to visit the nearby Jewish community of Kiryat Arba, the Jewish Quarter of Hebron, or attend a religious service at the Cave of Machpelah synagogue.
Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. This site is the resting place of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Biblical founding fathers and mothers and considered the second-holiest place in Judaism. Some 4,000 years ago, the Patriarch Abraham chose this place as the burial place for his wife Sarah and purchased it and the surrounding field for 400 silver sheqalim, a huge sum of money in today’s terms. The massive and impressive structure atop the cave was built some 2,000 years ago during the reign of King Herod in the Second Temple period. This structure is the world’s only public building that has stood totally intact for more than 2,000 years and is currently in use for the same purpose for which it was built. It continues to serve as a memorial for the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, as a place of worship