Hamas War

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

My Dream for Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh

Many years ago when I first decided to invite Jewish women from all over to join me every Rosh Chodesh to pray at Shiloh Hakeduma, the site where the Mishkan, Taberncale rested in Ancient Biblical Shiloh I expected, just took for granted that within a short time, months or just a few years, women would be flocking from all over the Jewish World to pray with us every month.


I don't get paid for this.  It's just something I feel I should do.  It started when I would get annoyed, even frightened at the pushing and shoving I'd see among men trying to get onto buses to Kever Rachel, Rachel's Tomb.
Why weren't people clamoring to get to the site of the Mishkan?
I think that the location where the Holy Mishkan sat for 369 years has a holiness that certainly rivals if not passes that of a dead body, especially when many experts say that Rachel isn't even buried there.  There are those who say that the real tomb is north of Jerusalem, southeast of Adam.

From what I hear from women who would like to come but don't is that they need easier transportation. They'd like a bus to take them specially once a month, if not more frequently.  Thousands and thousands of women show up every year for the Women's TU B'Av event and the T'fillat Chanah which is held every year before Rosh Hashannah.


I don't envision the monthly Rosh Chodesh Prayers as so massive, though there's space and it would be wonderful if thousands of women would come every month on the traditional women's holiday.

Today I saw something that really has me dreaming.  I'd like one for Shiloh Hakeduma.

special bus service to Kever Rachel
Maybe some day...
In the meantime, next Rosh Chodesh is very soon.  It's during Chanukah.

Women's Prayers at Tel Shiloh
Rosh Chodesh Tevet
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
First of Tevet 5774, 8:30am
Tour of Tel Shiloh & Dvar Torah, Short Torah Lesson
Please come and invite family, friends and neighbors
תפילת נשים
ראש חודש טבת בתל שילה
יום ד' 4-12 א' טבת תשע"ד 8:30
יהיה דבר תורה קצר וסיור בתל
כדאי לבוא ולהזמין חברות, משפחה ושכנות

You're welcome to join our facebook page. 

There will also be activities and street theater there run by the tourist center over Chanukah, 29-11, 1-12, 2-12.  For more information and general information about Shiloh Hakeduma email visit@telshilo.org.il  or phone 02-994-4019.

9 comments:

Yosef Hartuv said...

As the saying goes "From your mouth, to G-d's ears". Bracha vHatzlacha

Batya said...

G-d willing...

Shelly said...

Talk to the hanhala of the tel.

Anonymous said...

1171Batya, I do not read Hebrew. But on that bus words written in Hebrew must be saying who the bus owners are, and where they take them?

Have a suggestion. To get the bus if all your readers contributed $10.00, it would be a start to getting the money to acquire the special bus needed for the trip, and also those who would use the bus could pay a fare?
stella c.

Batya said...

shelley, yes must do
a, this only works to Kever Rachel, since it's such a poplar site. I'm not a business, and there is a tourist office. G-d willing

Hillel Levin said...

Batya,

Charter a Chalop bus to pick up at Binyana haumah and return. Charge 36 nis for the round trip to the Tel, maybe have someone speak on the bus about shiloh and the Tel. Get pre-subscribed, you will know what your minimum commitment will be. Offer an option of a box lunch or snak, can be provided by the coffee shop at the Tel etc. Then post on FB and other Yahoo/Google groups.

Unknown said...

Batya, from some of your posts I've seen you seem to have a wariness to kivrei tzaddikim. It may not personally be your "thing" but I feel it's a little disrespectful to refer to the resting place of our mother Rachel as just "a dead body." I'm not sure what experts feel that Kever Rachel is not the true location but the fact you said "experts" and chachamim makes me raise an eyebrow. I'm not the type of person who automatically throws out the opinion of secular authorities just for the sake of doing it but I know Rav Mordecahi Eliyahu up until a few years before his death would daven at Kever Rachel and I trust him more than an archeologist on the matter.

Unknown said...

The popularity of a site like Shiloh needn't come at the expense of Kever Rachel and vice versa. Chazal say that one of the reasons Moshe Rabbeinu's kever was hidden was because Hashem knew someday the Jews would fall deep into sin and instead of destroying them He would have to destroy the Beit HaMikdash. However if the Jews would pray at Moshe's kever than Hashem would sort of speak have to oblige in Moshe's zchut and then would instead have to take out the punishment on Am Yisrael directly. This teaches us that the zchut of the Temple ITSELF wasn't enough to protect it (and surely it is holier than the mishkan), however the zchut of Moshe's kever would have been. So there is definitely room to say kevrei tzaddikim are holier than other sites, however why don't we promote more prayer in all of our holy spots equally?

Batya said...

Hillel, that's for the Shiloh Hakeduma staff to do. I agree that it would be a very popular event.

Tachlis, true, praying at graves really doesn't speak to me.