Meir Hayman turned 99 years old earlier this week, and he was asked by his family what he would like to do to celebrate this special day. He didn’t flinch and said he would like to be able to go to the Western Wall while surrounded by his family and descendants and give a prayer of thanks to G-d.
Meir was pushed along in a wheelchair and was moving along in a procession surrounded by many of his family members as he approached the Western Wall.
Without knowing, Israel’s IDF’s current and new Chief of Staff were both arriving at the Western Wall for a ceremony as they marked the transfer of responsibility of safeguarding Israel, from General Kochavi to General Hertzl Levi.
The two Generals who have dedicated their lives to defending Israel and the Jewish people, noticed the procession that was huddled around this older gentleman as he was being pushed to the Western Wall, and stopped to say hello.
As they conversed and exchanged greetings Meir shared his life story and described how even as a youngster well before 1948, the Western Wall was the place he loved to visit. This was especially true when times were tough and he would come and lean his head on the ancient stones and be embraced by the warmth of their history and their message of hope and faith.
Meir told them about his three siblings who were killed during those difficult days when the fighting raged around Jerusalem. He told them about his brother Rafael who was killed while serving in the Hagganah, Yisroel Dov who was killed by Jordanian shelling and his sister Chava who was also killed in the battle for Jerusalem.
Meir told them about his wife Miriam who was a Holocaust survivor with whom he had built up a family after she escaped the ashes of the Holocaust. Together they raised their children, planted an orchard and a small farm, and for a time he was also a bus driver.
Meir shared with them his joyous memories of when the Western Wall was liberated in 1967 and the family procession that followed him back then as they came back to the Wall for the first time in 19 years.
As the reporters gazed on at this unexpected counter and the crowd watched from afar, the two generals were transported back in time through the life and lens of Meir Hayman. Meir a hero of spirit, representing so much of the history of Israel, from the pain of the Holocaust, through the grief of losing loved ones to the battle of survival, meeting up with these two brave generals who have been mandated with protecting Israel and the Jewish people in the now and present.
Their encounter at the Western Wall, the place that represents the eternal hope, aspirations and prayers of the Jewish people, and Meir’s remarkable and inspiring story, are a testimony to the spirit and character that has shaped the Jewish people’s experiences from the days of Abraham & Sarah to the 21st Century.
May the prayers of Meir and his family along with the Generals be fulfilled so that Israel overcomes it's internal divisions, and the country and the world merit a time of peace, security, stability and positive growth across the board.
(This story and encounter was reported in Hebrew by the journalist Sivan Rahav Meir, and I rewrote this and included the reflections).
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel