Chabad.org Staff

It’s a scene repeated from history on the ancient stones of Hebron, Jews once again gathering on the famous “seventh step” just outside the Me’arat Hamachpelah, the Cave of the Patriarchs. All are praying for their people’s survival in the face of an ongoing missile attack from Iran.

For 700 years, since the Muslim Mamluks conquered Hebron and forbade Jews from entering the Cave of the Patriarch, Jewish pilgrims from around the world could approach no closer than the seventh step of the entrance staircase. There, generations poured their hearts out in prayer to G‑d at the place where lie buried the Jewish people’s Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and Matriarchs, Sarah, Rivkah and Leah.

On Wednesday evening, the grand Herodian structure is closed due to the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. As Israel battles Iran in an escalating conflict that began on June 13 when Israeli strikes crippled Iranian nuclear facilities and other military objectives, and the following massive Iranian retaliation with ballistic missiles targeting Israeli cities and homes.

“Hundreds have come today to pray,” said one IDF soldier stationed outside the site. “Even with everything that’s happening, they’re coming.”

His words are made particularly poignant when, just 100 feet from where he stood, ten IDF soldiers ascended the stairs of a nearby building to conduct a weapons raid, their shouts echoing in the ancient Davidic capital.

But this doesn’t stop dozens of petitioners lining up. Among those who made the journey was George, born in France, raised in England, and a Jerusalem resident for the past three decades. When asked what brought him to Hebron, his answer was simple.

“To pray,” he said.

People praying and studying outside the Me’arat Hamachpelah, the Cave of the Patriarchs.

George is one of many people who are in Hebron to pray for the continued safety of the Land of Israel and for the country’s success in the current battle. The uncertainty and constant barrage of projectiles may be impacting thousands across the Holy Land, but George sees prayer as the answer.

“That’s what we Jews do when faced with uncertainty; we turn to the One Above,” he told Chabad.org, before turning back to his book of Tehillim.

The Jewish people’s legal claim to the Land of Israel began here, in Hebron, where Abraham purchased from Ephron the cave where he would bury Sarah, as well as the fields that surround it. “… And Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth,” Genesis 23:16 recounts, “four hundred shekels of silver, accepted by the merchant.”

Indeed, at the urging of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, in the winter of 1976 then-Israeli ambassador to the UN Chaim Herzog submitted the contract between Abraham and Ephron to the UN. “For the first time in history,” the JTA reported, “an agreement made almost 4,000 years ago and recorded in the Bible, has been issued as a United Nations document … .”

Hebron was where David was first crowned the king of Judah, and the seat of his monarchy for the first seven and a half years of his rule.

Rabbi Danny Cohen, who co-directs Chabad-Lubavitch of Hebron with his wife Batsheva, has been stranded in the U.S. since the war began. In his stead, a group of volunteers visit soldiers, help them lay tefillin, distribute Shabbat candles and share words of comfort.

Rabbinical student Moshe Butman, who has been in Hebron as a volunteer since early this year, says that the soldiers are always happy to have company.

“We could be coming to them late at night with a hot coffee and some warm words,” he said. “This could be at the end of a long shift where they’ve been on duty for hours on end.”

A ballistic missile sent from Iran flies over Hebron.

Butman also says that the current war has brought its own unique anguish to Hebron’s Jewish residents.

One local describes the psychological torment of hearing not just the sirens and interceptions overhead at night, but the sounds that follow.

“Whenever the sirens go off and we hear a rocket being intercepted above, there’s a secondary crash: the loud celebrations of our Arab neighbors,” he said. “It’s terrifying to hear them celebrate missiles that are intended to kill us.”

The same local—who asked that his name be redacted—said that he spent the day visiting the graves of Yishai, King David’s father, and Ruth.

But he finds solace in knowing that the Jewish people stand together, united and whole.

“The catchphrase since Oct. 7 has been ‘B’yachad N’natzeach’ [together we will be victorious],” he said. “That hasn’t changed since and it isn’t changing now.”