A festive Shacharit and Hallel prayer was held this morning (Wednesday) at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, led by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Safed and member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, and Rabbi Uriel Sayad, head of the Torah nucleus in Kiryat Ono.
Thousands of worshippers arrived at dawn at the entrance plaza of the cave for the traditional service, among them National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu. The prayer was also attended by IDF soldiers and representatives of bereaved families.
This was the second of three Hallel prayer gatherings, with the third scheduled for tomorrow in Safed.
“So it was in the days of King David”
“This is something new that’s older than anything,” explained Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu about the musical Hallel. “This is how it was in the days of King David, and how prayer was in ancient times—we say every day in the Verses of Praise the chapter ‘Hallelujah’. Only in our generation does this feel like something new. It’s part of the revolution where God turns the heart of stone into a heart of flesh. A heart of flesh is naturally more joyful, prays with greater happiness, with deeper devotion, and with more love of God—a fundamental mitzvah. How do we come to serve God? Through song.”
“It was deeply moving to see the roads to Hebron filled with cars at dawn, thousands coming to pray at this holy place,” said Netanel Sarusi, one of the worshippers. “We’re witnessing the people of Israel arriving in droves from all over the country, from north to south.”
Organizers added that alongside the thousands who came from across Israel, some worshippers also traveled from abroad especially for the event.
