I wish I could tell you that all the holy gravesites of our great sages were wonderfully taken care of and a visual delight, but sigh, that is not always the case, and more often than not I am just grateful that the location still exists and we have access to it, amidst all the challenges our tiny country faces! And in this case, that sage happens to be buried in a location that years later became an Arab village by the name of Eilabun, so while fenced off and somewhat well known, it is not exactly a hot spot for visitors. Fortunately unlike some instances one does not have to enter the village, rather the gravesite is actually across the highway and above an aquaduct, which explains all the fencing, just in case someone might think it is a great place to swim.....it is not. But this gravesite is a great place to pray for miracles, so of course we put our aesthetic needs aside and got to work! (When we found ourselves in the Lower Galilee not so far away, we decided to have a little adventure! ) As it turns out, there was another family there as well, so together we perched on the side of the hill on the hot summer day, and some of us lit candle after candle as is customary to do. If you are interested in that, just look it up! Okay, lets take a look!
Following the failed Bar Kochva rebellion and resulting Roman prosecutions, Rabbi Mattia ben Charash along with Rabbi Yonatan, Rabbi Yehuda ben Betara and Chanaya decided to leave Eretz Yisrael and settle in exile since it became hard to keep the Torah under these circumstances. When they reached Paltom they remembered Eretz Yisrael and began weeping and tearing their garments. Based on their interpretation of a Torah verse they decided that remaining in Eretz Yisrael was more important then the observance of all the Mitzvot. So, they turned back, although at a later point three of the four did end up moving to Diaspora.
Some of the well know teachings of Rebbi Matya Ben Charash are:
- Be the first to extend greetings to anyone you meet.
- It is better to be a tail to lions than a head to foxes.
- A person who is bitten by a rabid dog can be fed the dog's liver as a cure, although it is not kosher.
- If a person has pain in his throat, it is permitted to put medicine into his mouth on Shabbot due to the possible danger to his life.
Anything that threatens to endanger life supersedes the observance of Shabbot.
Above: The stairs down to the gravesite
Above: The view from the gravesite, with Tsfat top middle in photo.
Above: A view of Eilabun, check out that modern building!
If you ever find yourself in the lower Galilee, somewhere west of Tiberius, do consider visiting this special site, I'm so very glad we did!
