Rabbi Hanan Porat Recounts Hebron Stone's Stubbornness Compared to Jews
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
A video released ahead of the Sabbath reading of Parshat Chayei Sarah features Rabbi Hanan Porat recounting a story from Hebron. He describes a local Arab man calling a particularly hard stone "Jewish stone" because it was "hard and stubborn like the Jews." Porat compared this stone's resilience to the Jewish settlers in Hebron, crediting their stubbornness for achievements.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- A hard Hebron stone was called 'Jewish stone' for being stubborn like Jews.
- Rabbi Hanan Porat shared the story from a visit with Yehoshua Cohen.
- The stone's name was explained by a local Arab man in Hebron.
- Porat compared the stone's resilience to Jewish settlers in Hebron.
- The story was released ahead of the Sabbath reading of Parshat Chayei Sarah.
Ahead of the Sabbath reading of Parshat Chayei Sarah, a rare video of Rabbi Hanan Porat, a prominent leader in the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria, was released. In the video, Porat recounts a visit to Hebron with Yehoshua Cohen, a man from Kibbutz Sde Boker and former bodyguard to Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
During their visit, which included the Tomb of the Patriarchs, Porat and Cohen spoke with a local Arab man in the marketplace about the types of stones used in Hebron's buildings. The Arab man pointed out a relatively soft stone called "Mizi Malkah," which he said was also used in the Western Wall. He then indicated a particularly hard stone, explaining that it was called "Mizi Yehudi," meaning "Jewish stone."
When asked why the stone was given this name, the Arab man replied, "It is hard and stubborn like the Jews." Porat explained that this exceptionally hard stone was used for constructing buildings in Hebron, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs complex.
Porat noted that the differences between the stones are still evident centuries later. He observed that while the stones of the Western Wall have eroded over time, the stones of the Tomb of the Patriarchs have largely retained their original shape. He affectionately described the Western Wall stones as being "like the face of a good mother."
Rabbi Porat concluded by comparing the stubbornness of these hard stones to the Jewish settlers in Hebron, stating, "The stones of Hebron, so stubborn, like the Hebronites. Truly, the people of Hebron, how stubborn they are. With all their stubbornness, we would not have achieved anything."