When the ear hears of it, the eye weeps.

The Torah teaches us that when it came time for the Jews to leave Egypt, miraculously driven out after the 10 plagues, Moshe Rabaynu, Moses our teacher, went to the Nile and retrieved the bones (Exodus 13:18–19), the mumified remains of Yosef HaTzadik ben Yaakov Avinu, Joseph the Righteous, son of Jacob our father, who had made the Jews promise to take his bones with them when they were redeemed (Genesis 50:24–26).

When the Jews entered the land of Israel, they followed the same path that Avraham avinu, Abraham our father, first took, coming down through the Jordan Valley, between the mountains, passing Elon Moreh to Shechem (aka Nablus). And there, standing together with Yehoshua bin Nun, they reconfirmed their acceptance of the mitzvot, the commandments, on Har Eval and Har Gerazim and the valley in between, the mountains standing to the north and south of Shechem (Nablus). Then they buried the bones of Yosef (Joseph)...

“And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph." - Joshua 24:32

And the burial place of Yosef HaTzadik has stood to this day, a most holy place to beseech and pray to the Ribono Shel Olam, the Master of the Universe, in times of need.

Well, not exactly until this day. Rather, until the Oslo Accords. For a short time after the abandoning of the city of Shechem, with agreement for protection and access to this holy site, it was attacked, the defenders murdered, the holy books burned, the building smashed brick by brick, the bricks crushed, the facility desecrated in every imaginable way. The Israeli army refused to respond for fear of injuring the attacking murdering desecrating crowd, even at the cost of the lives of the defenders.

Kever Yosef was one of the most holy places I have ever visited. The first time I went with R. Nati, traveling to the Israeli army base Bat Shalosh, south of Shechem. There, with my family, we boarded an Israeli armored troop transport, drove through Shechem (the kever is 2/3 to the 'back' of the city) to the kever. The sense of peace and kedusah at the site is hard to describe. A small yeshiva existed at the site (Yeshiva Od Yosef Chai), an incredible carob tree grew by the door. Outside, just the sound of birds and Torah learning. Inside was a relatively small room with the kever itself. Cool in the Israeli summer, clean and well taken care of, an incredible sense of peacefulness enveloped me. I sat and prayed to my Creator, awed to be standing by the burial place of the bones of Yosef HaTzaddik.

The last time I visited I also travelled to the army base. This time was briefly before the 'return' of Shechem. I boarded an armored tour bus this time, and we were escorted by 2 heavily armed humvee's in front and 1 behind. The walls surrounding the small complex had been reinforced and heightened, they were concerned with snipers from rooftops now. The height of the walls plunged the whole facility into shade (about 25 feet high concrete walls). Inside the peacefulness and kedusha (holiness) remained, but outside was tension, nervous soldiers glanced about, bus unloaded and loading was done quickly with minimal talking.

On that visit I prayed deeply, but some of the outside tension leaked through. I realistically said to myself, G-d forbid but I may never be able to visit this place again.

How can I rest comfortably in my home when my parents home rests in ruin? How can I sleep comfortably while G-d's holy house (the Beis HaMikdash) not only lies in ruin but has been occupied by others?

Oh Yosef HaTzaddik, our great and holy ancestor, I miss you.

(A little more on the tomb of Joseph can be found here, details plus pictures of the current state and destruction can be found here, and a historical comparison of Shechem can be found here.)

Tags/Topics: joseph, yoseph, nablus, shechem, israel
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