Dear Friends,
Spending the last few days in Israel was profound and powerful in so many ways. Seeing many painful sights, along with so much resilience, hope and determination, leaves one with such a range of emotions and sentiments.
Whether, it was sitting in deep conversations with parents of hostages, visiting and spending time with wounded soldiers, visiting and having long conversations with bereaved families, visiting and uplifting Israel's frontline heroes, speaking with people who haven't been able to return to their homes in 11 months, and so much more, these are all experiences that leave you with one set of emotions. Yet alongside that, life is continuing in Israel, in the streets, weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, the Malls and so much more.
We had so many profound conversations with people we had never met before, and each of them left us with so much food for thought.
In a few days, we will host an event to share some more of the experiences and interactions.
I wrote little updates on a Whatsapp Group and will share one note below.
Friday Night at the Western Wall
On Friday night we walked down to the Western Wall to welcome in the Shabbat. The closer we got to the old city, the streams of people coming from all directions kept growing, as Jews from all walks of life, walked towards the Western Wall.
As we entered the Old City and walked through the narrow alleyways of the Market, the scene was surreal, as mothers pushing strollers ,alongside children, teens, grandparents and so many others, all dressed in all different colors and clothing, made their way, down the stones of the paths that have been there for centuries, to the Western Wall.
As we entered the Plaza of the Wall, a beautiful scene unfolded before our eyes, as we watched the circles of dancing, dozens of Prayer groups, and a sea of people, celebrating Shabbat across the Kotel Plaza.
Even the stars seemed to be sharing their glow through the darkness of the night, on to the radiant wall and the sea of people below.
Watching the scene and listening to the joyous songs, captured the inner strength and resilience of our people, even at a time of so much challenge and pain.
Of course at the Kotel, you bump into all kinds of people.
We met Rabbi Mendel Moscowitz from Kharkov who we were in touch with to help his community from our community at the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
He described how important the help was he got at the most difficult period of his life for him and his community, knowing that a community on the other side of the world, was helping them, along with many others.
Afterwards I saw a young man pushing a stroller with a toddler. He had severe burn marks on his face and arm, and I had a feeling that he was a wounded soldier.
Others seemed to look away from him, so I struck up conversation with him, and as I had assumed, he was an injured soldier. We hugged and embraced, and we said thank you and wished him well, as all we wished for, was for him to fully recover so that he could be the father to his children that he wished to be.
Before we left the Wall, we met up with Meirav Berger, the mother of the hostage Agam Berger, who had come to the Western Wall, in honor of the birthday of her daughter Agam. We have kept in touch since our last visit, but seeing her again, was profound, painful and powerful all over again.
Tomorrow at the Kiddush we will share some more anecdotes and stories.
This week, we are blessing the month of Elul, the final month of the Jewish Year, and it is a special Shabbat to pray, gather and reflect on the year that has passed. The father of one of the hostages asked me to pass on to our community to pray for his child Yosef Chaim Ben Miriam and of course Agam Bat Meirav and all of the other hostages, that we see blessing and miracles in the days ahead for their safe return and an end to all suffering.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos
Yisroel