Rise Up, O Shor!
Yosef was sold into Ishmaelite hands
By his brothers, who feared his rise.
Giving in to false claims to the Lands,
They unwittingly shaped their own demise.
Holy books were destroyed by the rioting crowd,
As Ishmaelite fire ravaged the Tomb.
As to Yosef, who dreamed the heavenlies bowed,
The night sky hid the face of the moon.
Rachel wept for her children's travail;
Fires leapt as well about her own resting place.
The moon cloaked herself in a blood red veil,
Hiding in maternal shame and disgrace.
Rise up, rise up, O Shor!
Just as Moshe once called you forth,
Come hither to open the messianic door,
And usher in Israel's new birth!
~Miriam~
Oct. 27, 1996 / Cheshvan 14, 5757
~~~~
~ The night of Dec. 12, 1995 / Kislev 19, 5756 Shechem (Nablus) was given over to Palestinian rule. The weekly parsha was Vayeishev, in which is the story of the selling of Yosef by his brothers to Ishmaelites. On Sunday of that week, Israeli soldiers fought with students at the Yeshiva of Yosef's Tomb.
~ In September of 1996, the Arabs of Shechem rioted and burned the tomb of Yosef. Holy books were burned. Six young soldiers were trapped inside and killed.
~ In the riots that began Rosh Hashana 5761 (September 29, 2000) Yosef's Tomb was again a target. This time the Arabs were successful in capturing the tomb. They burned and destroyed it. Again holy books were destroyed. In keeping their obligation to safeguard holy sites, they promised restoration of the damaged structure....they replaced the yeshiva and synagogue with a mosque.
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