My Heart Weeps for Hillel and Yosef
By Shmuel Sackett
October 10, 2000

Who does one cry for first? Hillel Lieberman, the brave Jew from Elon Moreh who was brutally murdered or for Yosef Ha’Tzaddik, the Righteous Joseph, whose tomb was destroyed, pillaged and burnt to the ground by the same people… bloodthirsty Arabs who want one thing in life; the death of every Jew that walks this planet.

Pictures of Rav Hillel Lieberman zt"l hy"d

The connection between these two holy Jews is quite close. Hillel was the head of a group whose dream was to settle in the city of Shechem. Until this dream was realized, he temporarily lived with his wife and seven children in the nearby settlement of Elon Moreh. He knew every road in Shechem. Although great danger lurked about, he constantly walked around Shechem and learned every square inch of the city. He knew its history and its holiness. Before every trip I took to America on behalf of Yeshivat “Od Yosef Chai” in Shechem, I spoke to Hillel and he explained many interesting things about the city. He had hundreds of pictures which clearly proved the Jewish history of this place. He spoke about Shechem with great happiness and said that very soon, the day will come when Jews will once again live there. I often asked him where he got his strength from. After all, he had been shot at, stoned over 100 times and molotov cocktails were thrown at him on numerous occasions. Yet, even though this would have broken even the bravest of men, Hillel got stronger! His dedication to Kever Yosef (Joseph’s Tomb) was unshakeable and he told me that his strength and motivation came from Yosef himself. He told me that when compared to Yosef, we all live easy lives. Yosef was ripped apart from his family, forced into slavery and thrown into the dungeon. This would have broken a normal man but Yosef kept the faith. His belief in G-d never diminished. His dedication and service to his people never stopped and finally, after many long and difficult years, Yosef was rewarded by becoming second only to Pharoah in the mighty Egyptian empire.

Yosef was buried in a plot of land purchased by his father Jacob. It was in this exact spot that Yeshivat “Od Yosef Chai” was founded 18 years ago. The young men studying at the Yeshiva displayed amazing courage since from the very first day, it was at the center of tremendous hostilities. The Arabs always looked at these men as conquerors and made thousands of attempts to drive them away. Only through “mesirut nefesh” (self-sacrifice) was this Yeshiva successful and Hillel stood at the forefront of this battle from almost the very first day. Hillel told me that the greatest day he could remember was when Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh became Rosh Yeshiva of "Od Yosef Chai". He was very close to Rav Ginsburgh and explained to me that the personal example set by the Rav plus his unique style in teaching the secrets of the Torah was exactly what the Yeshiva needed. Indeed, in the years that Rav Ginsburgh has been the Rosh Yeshiva, the Yeshiva tripled in size. Hillel was right!

This dream came to a sudden end when the Barak government surrendered Kever Yosef to the PLO terrorists on the morning of Shabbat Shuva. The irony of it all is that this particular Shabbat was one of “Shuva Yisrael” Return o’ Israel and instead of returning to our roots, our history and our G-d we abandoned, surrendered and desecrated G-d’s Name. As soon as the Arabs gained control of Kever Yosef they entered the complex and took out everything of value. They stole the Yeshiva’s bookcases, computers, desks, chairs, and even the sinks and toilets. After those items were removed, they smashed the building and burned the tomb. Contrary to news reports that the IDF removed all holy books before surrendering, the truth is that over 2,000 sacred books were burned, plus many pairs of Tefillin and Talaysim. The tomb itself was smashed and totally destroyed. The building was leveled and thousands of bloodthirsty Arabs cheered and danced. Hillel heard this in shul at 8:30 Shabbat morning. He couldn’t bear the fact the Yosef was in trouble and nobody was helping. Immediately he ran to Yosef. He had to be near him in his time of need… he had to help him… he had to show the world that Yosef’s brothers had not forgotten him once again. The next part of the story is unclear. All we know is that Hillel never returned.

During his life Hillel was tied to Yosef and even in death he was connected to him. It was clear to everyone that Hillel could simply not live without Yosef Ha’Tzaddik. On a deeper level it proved that these two very holy and special Jews were really one. It is our prayer that G-d watch over Hillel’s family and bring about the Resurrection of the dead so that we can dance with Hillel and Yosef Ha’Tzaddik soon in the holy city of Shechem!