While on a study trip in the holy land, a tour guide told my wife and me about the Angel of Hebron, an obscure story of hope amid ongoing oppression in the land of Israel.
The Ottoman Empire ruled Palestine for over four centuries, from 1516 until its collapse following World War I in 1918. This era ended with British occupation and the establishment of the British Mandate for Palestine. After the war, Jewish refugees flooded into the land, which ultimately led to the UN’s decision to divide it into equal parts.
Today, through violence and violations of international law, Israel controls almost 80% of the land, with little interest or outrage from Western nations. As a result of continued expansion—often through force—the oppressed peoples have sought various ways to resist.
One example: A simple Palestinian woman, living in the now illegally occupied city of Hebron, chose to help Muslim children get to school. No fanfare. No acclaim. No recognition.
Hebron is the second most important city in Israel, after Jerusalem. It is where the patriarchs and matriarchs of the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Islam, and Christianity—are said to rest in the Tomb of the Patriarchs (Cave of Machpelah).
According to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, the tombs hold the remains of six figures: the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. It is believed this is the very cave Abraham purchased as a family burial site (Genesis 23:19).
Present-day Hebron is surrounded by numerous checkpoints, with soldiers monitoring the coming and going of Palestinian residents who lived there long before the land was divided. Even children on their way to school must pass through these roadblocks, their backpacks checked for bombs—making it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to arrive on time.
But one woman, whose name has been lost, found a way to change that. Her small second-story apartment was built along a dividing line. Each day, she looked out her window to watch the schoolchildren passing through the checkpoints. Perhaps she thought of Jacob’s dream, with angels ascending and descending the ladder between heaven and earth. With their help, her plan began to take shape.
Daily, she placed a ladder out her window, lowering it to the ground so the children could climb up, clinging to their schoolbags as they pulled themselves inside. Looking down, she might shout “Intaziru!”—“Hold on!”—to encourage them to keep climbing. Once they reached her window, she pulled the ladder across the floor and lowered it on the opposite side, allowing them to descend and bypass the checkpoints.
During school hours, she washed and hung her laundry, cleaned, shopped, and, if she was lucky, took a short nap before being awakened by the noise of children gathering outside her window again. Then her afternoon work began—helping them return safely home.
I can imagine her calling to the boys, “Barak Allahu Fik,” and to the girls, “Barak Allahu Feeki”—“May God bless you”—as they descended the ladder and ran eagerly toward home.
Perhaps she then lingered by the window as the children disappeared into the distance, watching the sun set before sitting down to a simple meal. The Angel of Hebron lay down to rest, awaiting the tasks of another school day.
May all of us who raise and lower ladders to help one another on our earthly journey also be blessed.
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advocate and educator for those experiencing hearing loss.
