Earlier this week, as part of their ongoing journey through the Holy Land, Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, aka “America’s Rabbi,” visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and the ancient city of David in Jerusalem.
Dr Oz commented: “I love the fact that I’m here in Hebron, where it all began. It’s a very special place.”
“I’m told that Hebron means ‘connected’ in Hebrew,” the renowned surgeon who was introduced to American audiences on the Opra Winfrey show in 2004 added. “Being here connects us to the roots of our shared beliefs, the very spot were Abraham, the father of monotheism, is buried.”
The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program focusing on medical issues and personal health was launched by Winfrey in 2009.
Boteach and Oz prayed for peace together from the book of Psalms, and lit candles at the holy site.
Following the prayer, Rabbi Boteach commented: “The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron is one of the only places on earth where one can see both Jews and Muslims praying together at the same site. We pray for the day when we will all pray together as brothers, just as Dr. Oz and I have done today.”
On exiting the cave the Rabbi and the surgeon joined an impromptu Hora dance circle with the local residents and took photographs with some the Israeli soldiers stationed there.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and This World: The Jewish Values Network are hosting Dr. Mehmet Oz and his family on their first visit to Israel. The trip was initiated by Rabbi Shmuley, who crowned Oz and his wife “Champions of Jewish Values,” together with Elie Wiesel and Sheldon and Miriam Adelson.
Shmueley and Oz met on the Opra show.
