Hebron’s Jewish community finishes restoring tomb belonging to ancestors of biblical King David

Hebron’s Jewish community completed a four year restoration of the Tomb of Yishai and Ruth atop Tel Hebron in the West Bank on Tuesday.

The work was spearheaded by the community’s international spokesperson, Yishai Fleisher, a member of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party.

He also serves as a member of the Efrat Local Council, and is a widely recognized English-speaking voice for Israel abroad, with his YouTube channel having more than 300,000 subscribers.

The tomb is believed by Jewish sources to be the burial place of the biblical King David’s father, Yishai, and his great-grandmother, Ruth the Moabite.

“The location of the site in Hebron, city of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the first acquisition of the Jews in the Land of Israel, made by our forefather Abraham,  carries important spiritual significance,” explained Fleisher. “There is a connection between the Tomb of Yishai and Ruth and the Cave of the [Patriarchs].”

“The sources state that there are four 'wheels' in the Chariot of the G-d: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. Why specifically David? Because David is the one who fulfills the dream of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the dream of a united and strong people in their land, living in holiness."

Bringing Safed to Hebron

Fleisher, working closely with a team of historians and artisans, drew up a design drawing on the turquoise color usually associated with Safed, departing from the site's traditional browns and greens. 

"We wanted to bring the sanctity of Safed's turquoise into the heart of Hebron," Fleisher said.

The graves of Yishai and Ruth themselves were redesigned using stone, calligraphic inscriptions, a Star of David, and a wheat motif to represent Ruth's biblical story.

Renovations for the tomb, as well as the establishment of a new synagogue and study hall at the site, were completed using mainly local Hebron stone, wrought iron, and wood.

The project cost roughly one million dollars fundraised by Fleisher from donars around the world.

Connecting site to younger generations

Additionally, a chamber dating back to the Byzantine and medieval periods was restored and converted into a a working studio, where a scribe writes on parchment using traditional methods, in view of visitors.

The completed site also includes shaded seating areas, water fountains, restrooms, a small event hall, a courtyard, parking, and direct access to the Tel Hebron archaeological park.

"If young people saw the place as it used to be, they wouldn't connect to it, and they wouldn't feel that this is a place of holiness,” Fleisher stated. “My view is that these places we love, places that are our heritage, need to be beautiful, need to expand the heart, to believe that this is truly something great.”

“I'm looking forward to applying my experience in beautifying Hebron to beautifying the whole Land of Israel through the Knesset.”