Award winning Israeli singer Ishay Ribo performed a special concert in Hebron a day before Shabbat Chayei Sarah. The popular musician's show was live streamed  to thousands on Facebook and YouTube. The event also featured special greetings from Israeli leaders.

 

The weekly Torah portion which describes the Biblical forefather Abraham's purchase of the Cave of Machpela usually attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the city to read the about the event in the location where it too place. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the crowds who usually camp out in front of the Tomb of Patriarchs stayed home and the massive group Shabbat meals were cancelled.

With a heavy heart, Rabbinic authorities issued halachic rulings calling for all precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. Last year Shabbat Chayei Sarah saw its largest crowd ever with an estimated 45,000 participants.

In recent years, Hebron has hosted popular Israeli singers outside the massive historic Herodian-era tomb which houses the cave of Machpela. This year's live streaming event was a way for supporters to connect via the internet.
Ishay Ribo's smooth soulful melodies are inspired by Psalms and other Jewish traditional texts. He is a recipient of the an ACUM prize for encouraging creativity and the Israeli Ministry of Education's Uri Orbach Prize for Jewish Culture in the field of music. In 2019 he won first place for most views on YouTube by a religious Jewish artist.
 
His Shabbat Chayei Sarah show was entitled "Songs, stories and secrets of the City of Abraham & Sarah" and was co-hosted by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Shlita, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, Hillel Horowitz, mayor of Hebron, and Eliyahu Libman, head of Kiryat Arba municipality.

Special greetings were broadcast from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Alternate Prime Minister & Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi David Lau, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, Chief Rabbi emeritus Yisrael Meir Lau and other distinguished guests.
 
The performance was broadcast on Thursday November 12, 2020 and attracted over 22,000 views on YouTube alone.
 
The Jewish Community of Hebron is conducting fund-raising campaign this week to coincide with Parshat Chayei Sarah. In collaboration with the Harchivi Makom Ohalech organization, the community is seeking to raise money for the new housing units to be located adjacent the Avraham Avinu neighborhood.

The empty concrete shells that exist today sit on land which has gone through numerous legal battles. The community hopes it will finally come to an end and the new homes will help alleviate the housing demand for young families seeking to raise their families in the City of the Founding Fathers and Mothers.

The land was purchased in 1807 by Rabbi Haim Yeshua Bejayo on behalf of the Magen Avot organization to be used for the Jewish community. It was once home to a synagogue and historic homes before the deadly 1929 Hebron massacre.
During the Jordanian period, the synagogue and homes were razed and a wholesale market was built in its place. Over 200 years later, the original Turkish land deeds have held up in court and in 2019, the Defense Ministry issues directives clearing what is hoped to be the latest legal hurdle.

The Hebron Fund, the community's US-based fundraising arm is also planning a fund-raising campaign for America and other English-speaking countries in several weeks. The group is offering several free downloads to help people connect to the City of Abraham during a time when tourism has stagnated due to coronavirus.
 
The Shabbat Candle-Lighting Table Tent and Chayei Sarah Torah booklet can be downloaded and printed to stay connected to Abraham and Sarah's hometown from afar. The popular Hebron Fund Artists Calendar for the year 2021 is also available online by clicking here.

 

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