The Sultan's Sword

It is told that the Ottoman Sultan once set out from his capital in faraway Turkey to tour the important places of his empire, and came to Me'aras Hamachpelah in Chevron. At his side hung his gold sword, studded with diamonds and precious stones.

The Sultan wandered from room to room until he entered the great hall named after Yitzchak Avinu. In its floor, near the wall it shares with the smaller hall of Avrohom Avinu, is a small round opening that leads down into the caves themselves. It is perhaps the holiest spot in the whole building above the kevarim of the Avos and Imahos. Pilgrims would travel for weeks and months just to stand beside it, and tradition holds that the cave below was dug by Adam HaRishon.

As the Sultan leaned over to peer into the opening, his precious sword slipped from his side and fell into the hole. He ordered the officer of the guard to lower a soldier into the caves to retrieve it. A rope was tied around a soldier's waist and he was let down. At once, piercing screams rose from below. They pulled him up quickly, but he was dead. The Sultan sent down another soldier, and he met the same fate. One after another the soldiers went down, until it was clear that no one who entered the caves came out alive.

"Who will bring back my sword?" the Sultan demanded. The Arabs looked at one another and answered, "Why not send down a Jew? If he dies, none of us will care, and if not, you will have your sword back."

The Jews were ordered, on pain of death, to supply a volunteer. The Jews of Chevron knew what had happened to the Sultan's soldiers. How could they send one of their own to his death? They davened and fasted, hoping to avert the decree. Then the elderly Rav of the community, Rav Avrohom Azulai, said, "I will go down into the holy caves. Have no fear."

After davening and pleading before Hashem, Rav Avrohom immersed in the mikveh and dressed in white garments, the traditional dress of the dead. He went to Me'aras Hamachpelah, and with a rope tied around his waist he was lowered into the cave.

When his feet touched the ground, he found a man standing beside him. "Who are you?" asked Rav Avrohom. "I am Eliezer, the servant of Avrohom Avinu," the man replied, and asked how he had come there. Rav Avrohom told him the whole story. "Wait here," said Eliezer, "while I ask the holy Avos whether you may come in."

The Avos agreed. When Rav Avrohom saw them, he fainted, and they gave him something to smell to revive him. Then he said to them, "Why should I leave and go back up? I am old, and here I have found my forefathers. I want only to stay here with you." The Avos insisted, "You must return the sword to the Sultan, or the entire Jewish community of Chevron may be wiped out. But have no fear. In another seven days you will return here to be with us."

So the holy Rav came back up into the hall of Yitzchak, bringing the Sultan's sword with him, and the Sultan was pleased. When the Jews of Chevron saw their beloved Rav return alive, they declared the day a holiday.

Rav Avrohom spent the following week with his talmidim, learning with them day and night and teaching them all he knew of the hidden wisdom of the Torah. Seven days after he had been lowered into Me'aras Hamachpelah, he passed away peacefully. He was laid to rest in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Chevron, overlooking the resting place of the Avos he loved.