Israel

Shalom Haverim,

I hope you had a good Pesah. We had the great fortune of being able to spend the hag (holiday) in Israel with family and friends. While there are lots of memories of our trip that come to mind, I wanted to share one with you.

I think the thing my kids were most excited to see was The Wall in Jerusalem. And it lived up to its reputation. They were fascinated with the b’nai mitzvah taking place that morning. They wrote notes to put in its crevices and particularly enjoyed the tunnel tours that introduced us to the history of this ancient, holy site.

For my kids, the Western Wall was just what they envisioned. I was struck with what followed. Once back in the neighborhood of our Jerusalem apartment, I realized that for our kids, every wall had become “The Wall.” Since the entire city is made of Jerusalem stone, they delighted in taking pictures of each other in front of random buildings and occasional retaining walls saying “I am standing next to The Wall!”

At first I tried to remind them of the history of the Kotel, it’s location in relation to the Temple and its support of the Temple mount. But eventually I gave up and came to love their perspective. In Jerusalem, they taught me, every wall is sacred. Every stone is holy- not just the walls from the old city but even those in the new city, not just ancient Temples but modern municipal buildings.

The history of biblical Israel which is evident throughout the country is fascinating. But no less compelling is the way modern Israelis have returned to the land of our ancestors to create and build a modern society on the ruins of the old one. It is really is an “Altneuland,” an old-new land in which the new is becoming sacred in its own right.

My kids joked that if Jerusalem is made of gold then Tel Aviv must be made of copper. But truly if all of the walls in Jerusalem are holy, then perhaps all of Israel is Tel Aviv, “the spring of an ancient hill.”

Read further reflections on our recent trip.

Bivracha,

Rabbi Davis