Israel Blog 7

Israel Blog #7

Last day.  We are tired but charged up too!  Today we visited the museum dedicated to the memory of the 6 million: Yad VaShem.  Several years ago - 10? - Israel built a new museum.  It tells the story also by oral testimonies of those who were there at the time.  Eye witnesses.  From hiding or being hidden, to the ghettos, transport to concentration camps/death camps, fighting back, to liberation.  The museum tells the story of how we Jews were targeted for annihilation.  The FINAL Solution - to the Jewish problem.  Once and for all.  Finished.

We visited at the end of the trip because we saved Jerusalem for last.  And while we roamed through rabbinic tunnels late last night, we learned once again never to forget.  Zachor! Remember! So that it is not repeated again against our people or any people. 

The message from the trip is clear!  This is the Jewish homeland.  And whether we’re on the Syrian or Lebanese or Jordanian borders (we were literally at each!) all Jews need Israel as a refuge state God forbid, if we ever need it.  And we need this land to fulfill our destiny as an Or laGoyim - light to the nations.  From clean power, to oil independence, to venture capitalists, to scrolls found at the Dead Sea reflecting our current Bible - this dynamic alive ever changing place is also our home.  And while most of us will never choose to live here, we could.  We would be welcomed and we could fulfill the dream: to be a free people in our land, the Land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Each of us takes back special memories.  A site; an explanation; a conversation; a meeting; music of the land or at services.  Tonight, around our dinner table - our goodbye dinner - each of the group had an opportunity to reflect on what the trip meant to them.  It was a powerful experience.  A mission, not a tour.  A pilgrimage, not a vacation (OK, more than part vacation!).

But the memories, our connections with each other and with our Judaism was strengthened!  We will return to Miami (one to Wyoming) with a renewed understanding of Israel and her challenges - both internal and external.  And we are committed to continue to expand that knowledge and those connections through Beth Or.

So as we prepare to depart (Mindy and I will stay for another week for our son’s graduation) we speak the prayer all Jews recite on Pesach: Next year in Jerusalem!  Maybe next year for each of us!

Rabbi Mark