I recently attended a family event over Shabbat in Bet El, in the Shomron. Bet El has over 1,000 families, and is surrounded by Arab areas such as Ramallah, Surda and Dura al Kar. The views are stunning.<\/p>\n
On Shabbat morning, I found myself wondering whether this was truly the biblical site of Bet El, famed for Yaakov\u2019s (Jacob\u2019s) dream. I asked the people with whom we were staying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure myself,\u201d said our host. \u201cBut there\u2019s a man who lives here who would definitely know. He\u2019s a real authority on history and archaeology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s that?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Hagi Ben Artzi,\u201d he replied. \u201cHe\u2019s a professor of Talmud and Jewish Thought. By the way, he is Bibi Netanyahu\u2019s brother-in-law. Sara Netanyahu is his sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWow,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ve never met him, but I own one of his books!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo kidding! You can probably find him in the Bet Knesset Ha\u2019Ashkenazi.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was very excited. Dr. Ben Artzi had written a book about the hidden miracles of the Six Day War, and I had based a performance about God\u2019s miraculous intervention upon his book. I hadn\u2019t counted on ever meeting him in person. I found him after shul, and introduced myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cShalom, Hagi, my name is Shlomo Horwitz, and I\u2019m visiting from Baltimore,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of your book on Milchemet Sheshet HaYamim, and I even turned it into a play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShalom, Shlomo!\u201d Hagi seemed delighted that someone had used his work for educational purposes. He welcomed me warmly to Bet El. We chatted briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHagi, I was told you\u2019d know whether this is the true biblical site of Bet El.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hagi smiled. \u201cTechnically, the area we are standing on is not. But the true Bet El is just up the hill from us. Would you like to see it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I was taken aback.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I would!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m giving a tour to a high school group here for Shabbat, and we\u2019re walking to the true Bet El at 3:00 PM. You are welcome as my guest, and you can feel free to bring others.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thanked him warmly, and showed up at the prearranged location at 3:00 PM, together with my wife, and my brother Avi. A group of high school seniors were waiting for Chagi as well. He arrived, and began the tour.<\/p>\n
We walked on a road along the side of the yishuv, and the road began a steep incline toward a hilly area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are about to see the very site that Yaakov Avinu had his dream, with the angels going up and down the ladder!\u201d Hagi declared.<\/p>\n
As we entered the site, we noticed that the road was lined with signs showing the verses from Genesis 28:10-18, discussing Yaakov\u2019s dream, with angels going up and down the ladder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere is the stone where Yaakov placed his head while he had the dream!\u201d cried Hagai. He pointed to a rocky area that was a bit circular. \u201cThe fact that it\u2019s rounded is borne out by Rashi\u2019s interpretation that Yaakov had originally taken twelve stones to protect himself from wild animals, so it would therefore not be in a straight line. Of course, we have a tradition that the stones melded into one, based on the Torah changing the noun from \u2018stones\u2019 to \u2018stone\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
I recalled learning that the melding of the 12 stones was a metaphor representing the unity of the Jewish People – all different, yet united under God\u2019s banner.<\/p>\n
We all were transfixed by the large stone. But how did anyone really know\u2026?<\/p>\n
As if reading our minds, Hagi continued. \u201cYou might be asking yourselves, \u2018how can anyone really know?\u2019\u201d He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut tell me this – How do we know where Chevron is? How did we know where the Har Habayit was all these years? The answer is, we had a tradition. The Christians and Muslims also have traditions regarding various holy and historical sites in Israel. Often these traditions conflict, and it\u2019s hard to know who\u2019s right. But in this case, we have a Moslem tradition that this is the site, and you can see they built a Macca to mark the spot. A Macca is a stone structure formerly used for reflection and prayer.\u201d Hagi pointed to the ruins of this structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the Christians had the exact same tradition, from even centuries earlier. This tells us that both traditions likely came from the Jews themselves. While this may not be conclusive to all, Professor Zev Vilnay, the noted geographer and Israel Prize recipient, felt certain that this is truly the site of Yaakov\u2019s dream. And, if this is correct, this is also the site where Yaakov created Tefilat Arvit, the evening service still practiced today by Jews around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure with 100% certainty that this was the true historical site, but Dr. Ben Artzi certainly made a case for it. Even if this wasn\u2019t it, I imagined it couldn\u2019t be far off. I looked around the windswept area, and could see thirty miles in every direction. The sun was beginning its descent on this lovely Shabbat afternoon, and I could see the tall buildings of Yerushalayim on the horizon. I tried to picture Yaakov Avinu drawing inspiration from his dream, and seeing the ladder as a representation of all of us; with our head planted in the heaven, steeped in God\u2019s Inspiration, while our feet were firmly planted on the ground, the area of our earthly mission.<\/p>\n
It was the stuff of dreams.<\/p>\n