Valley of Ayalon (Emek Ayalon)
  Selections from classical Torah sources which express the special relationship between the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael VALLEY OF AYALON (EMEK AYALON) This is where Yehoshua and the Israelite army defeated a consortium of five Emorite armies in a battle in which two miracles took place. "Hashem rained down great stones from heaven upon them…more died from these hailstones than did from the swords of the Children of Israel." (Yehoshua 10:11) But then came an ever greater miracle. The sun was setting as Yehoshua pursued his fleeing enemies, so he commanded the sun to halt. Never before or after did Heaven fulfill such a request by demonstrating that "Hashem wages war for Israel." (ibid. 12-14) The Valley of Ayalon also witnessed the battles of the Maccabees, the Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, and the British in World War One. Nearby Latrun was the scene of heavy fighting in the 1948 War of Independence. After the war, the settlement of Mishmar Ayalon was established in a deserted Arab village on a hill overlooking the valley. |
Written by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
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