The Torah In Haiku

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

K’far Etzion
Friday night at the Kotel
Shabbat has arrived

On Friday we visited kibbutz K’far Etzion, part of the Gush Etzion settlement block on the West Bank. We also drove through Efrat, one of the communities in the settlement block.

Politics was on the agenda – we heard from Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. Toameh writes for the Jerusalem Post and happened to have an article on the front page of Friday’s paper. Rabbi Riskin is the founding Chief Rabbi of Efrat.

After Shabbat dinner at our hotel we experienced the beginning of Shabbat at the Western Wall. It was quite a different place than when we first visited on Wednesday, and a great way to start our (much needed) day of rest.

Remember to check Temple Chai’s Israel Journey blog for more reflections from others on our adventure in Israel.

Theodore Herzl
Had a Zionist vision
It was not a dream

We spent Thursday morning at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial. We then learned about the founder of modern Zionism, Theodore Hertzl, with a visit to the Herzl Museum and his grave in the national cemetery at Har Hertzl.

Some of Hertzl’s most famous words became the lyrics of a popular Jewish song, Im Tirtzu:

Im tirtzu, Im tirtzu
Ein zo agada, ein zo agada
L’hiyot am chofshi b’artzeinu
B’eretz (Eretz!_ Tzion (Tzion!)  Virushalayim
If you will it, it is no dream;
to be a free people in our land,
in the land of Zion, and Jerusalem.

We also visited the burial places of some of Israel’s political leaders, and spent some time at the military cemetery. After a “chanukiyah” tours through some old neighborhoods, our day ended with dinner at a middle eastern restaurant.

Touching the Kotel
Looking at a Torah scroll
Feeling connection

My previous posts have essentially been summaries of our daily activities, without much in the way of personal reflection. But on Wednesday we visited the Western Wall – the Kotel. This day was different.

I didn’t know what to expect. Although my experience began, more or less, as I anticipated – touching the ancient stones, closing my eyes, saying a personal prayer – it’s hard to put into words what was going through my mind and body.

But then …

A group of Sephardic Jews started reading Torah a few yards away from where we were standing – at least I assumed they were Sephardic because the scroll they were using was enclosed in a silver case. I looked into the beautiful scroll and my eyes opened wide – the words on the parchment were Birkat Kohanim – the Priestly Benedictions – relatively easy to recognize because of the special way they are written:

These verses were part of what my daughter read at her Bat Mitzvah almost 8 years ago! Because men and women must stand in separate areas at the Kotel, she couldn’t see it, but it couldn’t have been just a coincidence that I was standing in that particular place at that particular moment. Although we were apart, standing in separate sections, not even able to see each other, I was connected to Taryn at the moment I saw those familiar words in the Torah scroll. This will be my strongest memory – the most unexpected spiritual moment – from when I first stood at one of the holiest places of our faith.

Later, we were led through the Kotel Tunnels, learned about the southern wall excavations and took at virtual tour of the ancient Temple Mount at the Davidson Center. After lunch and some shopping in the Old City, our day ended with The Night Spectacular – where we saw a the history of Jerusalem projected onto the ancient stone walls The Citadel – a Medieval fortress – in a way that has to be seen to be believed.

Quite a way to start several days in Jerusalem.

Bullet factory
At Ayalon Institute
Palmach Museum

Sandwiched in between
Where the modern State was born
Independence Hall

Our first full day in Israel, we learned about recent history and the fight (military and political) to create the modern Medinat Yisrael.

We visited the (literal and figurative) underground bullet factory at the Ayalon Institute, the Palmach Museum honoring one of the groups that fought for Israel’s independence and the very modest Independence Hall where David Ben Gurion declared the creation of Israel on May 14, 1948.

Our group also participated in a tzedakah project, harvesting clementines for Leket Israel.

For all of the details, visit the TC Israel Journey blog.

A day and a half
Chicago to Tel Aviv
Now the fun begins

My daughter and I, along with 86 other people connected to Temple Chai have made it to Israel after more than a year of planning and anticipation.

It takes “only” 12 hours in the air, and our bodies think it was only 24 hours, but with a rescheduled flight requiring an 8 hour layover in Newark, it’s been long day. We met at O’Hare at 9:30 on Saturday morning, Chicago time, and finally landed at Ben Gurion Airport at around 5:30 Sunday afternoon, Israel time – almost a day and a half later, local time.

I’ll try to post something short each night, as the cost of hotel internet service allows.

For more meaningful,  thoughtful and personally reflective posts posts about each day’s activities, be sure to visit the TC Israel Journey blog to which trip participants are contributing so that our congregants can follow our adventure.  My daughter and I will have our own contribution to that blog later in the trip.

Shalom from Israel!  (I’ve been waiting a lifetime to sign a post with those words)