R’ Goren Frees Chevron In 1967

R’ Goren frees Chevron in 1967:

It was the middle of the Six Day War in Israel. R’ Goren had just been with the platoon of soldiers who had freed the Kotel and Har HaBayit from the Arabs and had blown the shofar there. Knowing that another group of soldiers were going to free Chevron the next day, R’ Goren asked the soldiers to wake him up before they left the next morning. The next morning R’ Goren woke up, but found out everyone had left without him! So alone with just his driver he drove onwards to Chevron, expecting to meet up with the Israeli army along the way. But he wasn’t seeing any soldiers and getting a little worried. It turned out the Israeli army was stationed on the other side of Chevron planning their attack, while Rav Goren entered Chevron alone!! But miraculously the huge Arab population was so scared of the Israelis that they had all surrendered and had hung huge white flags of surrender throughout the city! R’ Goren ran up to the Ma’arat HaMachpela and broke open the lock, entered inside and blew the shofar. For hundreds of years the Arabs had forbidden the Jews to enter the actual Ma’arah to pray and had only let them go up to the 7^th step without actually entering. Rav Goren made Jewish history on the fateful day when he returned Chevron to Jewish hands.