Baltimore Jewish Life | Thousands Hike At Midnight To Visit Kever of Yehoshua Bin Nun (Photo Essay)

Posted on 05/04/16

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Thousands Hike At Midnight To Visit Kever of Yehoshua Bin Nun (Photo Essay)

By: Jerusalem Post

Kif al Harat, West Bank - Maayan Yaacov changed his flight back to the United States so that he could join the thousands of people who hiked late Tuesday night into the Palestinian village of Kifl Haris to visit the tomb of the biblical leader Joshua.

Thousands of Ultra Orthodox Jewish men entered the Palestinian village of Kif al Harat, in the West Bank, accompanied by Israeli soldiers, to pray at the tombs of Yehoshua Ben Nun and Kaleb Ben Yepune, on May 3, 2016. Photo by yaakov Naumi/Flash90.

A small stone and stucco building with a round roof marks his grave in the center of the village, on the edge of a plaza with apartments and stores.

His father Nun is buried nearby, as is Calev Ben Yefuneh.

Joshua and Calev were the only two out of 12 spies who trusted that God would bring the Jews safely into the land of Israel.

Israelis cannot typically visit the graves, except for on special occasions in the middle of the night when the IDF shuts down a section of the village to allow for their safe passage.

A native of the nearby Ariel settlement Yaacov had not been thinking of the biblical figures when he left his new home in New York to head to Israel to visit his family for the Passover holiday.

He had visited the tombs five years ago when he heard about the event to mark the anniversary of Joshua’s death at age 110 in the 13th century BCE.

“I had planned to fly back to New York on Monday evening, but I heard about the event so I delayed my flight until tomorrow night so I could celebrate with the rest of the people of Israel, to receive a blessing and to return to the US with a good feeling,” Yaacov said.

He called a friend in Brooklyn and asked if she wanted him to say a blessing for her. She gave him not just her name but that of her whole family so he could ask for a blessing at the tomb on their behalf from the rabbis that would be there.

“It was a good feeling,” Yaacov said.

Standing there, he said, he read from the psalms and he could feel both the holy nature of the place and the special role that Joshua played as a military leader in bringing the Jewish people into the land of Israel.

The Samaria Regional Council, which along with the IDF organized the event, estimated that over 10,000 participated in the event that drew visitors from all over the country.

Under a clear starry sky they hiked some 20 minutes into the village square, that was packed with worshippers, many of whom were Hassidic men in black hats and coats. Soldiers with green flashlights helped direct them through the twisted turns.

Some of the visitor played guitar, banged on drums, sang and danced. Many others stood and prayed along the walls of the grave. The building itself is so small that it can only a small number of worshippers.

A few worshipers climbed onto the tomb’s rooftop to pray.

Yaacov was one of the privileged few who able to ride into the village, because he entered with his childhood friend, MK Oren Hazan (Likud).

“It is amazing to see the crowds of Israelis who have come here late at night to visit Joshua’s grave, who was secondly only in greatness to Moses. He was our first general and he lead the way into the land of Israel,” Hazan said.

There is a direct link, Hazan said, between Joshua’s actions as the first military leader to capture the land on behalf of the Jewish people and the modern Jewish people who have returned to their biblical homeland in the heart of the Samaria region of the West Bank.

“We have to continue with this mission to redeem the land, so that we can finally be a free people in our land,” Hazan said.

As he left, he stopped to thank the soldiers guarding the way, shook their hands and gave them his personal cellphone number so they could call him should they need anything.

Hazan also paused to take a selfie by a monument topped by Palestinian flag.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan also said that he viewed Joshua as Israel’s first general.

“We have come here precisely because Joshua Ben Nun and Calev Ben Yephune had the strength to stand against the ten other spies and to say, the land is good, let us rise up and inherit it,” Dagan.

“We draw strength from Joshua and from the thousands who came here,” said Dagan.