Next Stop, Jerusalem

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem

It's Friday, we are all exhausted and functioning on an average of 3 hours of sleep each night. But Shabbat is now just around the corner and so is Jerusalem. 

We began our day with a stop at Mount Hertzl to see the Memorial for Ethiopian Jews who died en route to Israel. There was a memorial service led by an Ethiopian rav who sang a haunting prayer in Hebrew and Amharic. 

  

We then went into the educational center where we heard from Professor Jack Habib, a leading expert on applied social research, and Oshra Friedman, an Ethiopian Jew who is now the Coordinator of Northern Region and Parnerships at the Rashi Foundation. The discussion revolved around the issues of discrimination and economic barriers. Although there has been progress, large economic gaps still exist between the Ethiopian community and other ethnic groups in Israel. As with many of the people we have heard from on this trip, Oshra was inspiring. Her message: "Don't let others judge you or make assumptions about what they think you are. No matter where you are, tell them who you are."



And now we are finally on our way to Jerusalem. There is a palpable shift in the energy as we approach the city. Our entire trip has been fascinating, but Jerusalem is what we are all waiting for. It truly is coming home. We have just a short time to walk through the Machne Yehudah  -- the pictures will give you a taste of all the delicious treats people were buying in preparation for Shabbat -- and then we went back to the hotel to prepare for Kabbalat Shabbat.    (and yes, I did buy some of that gorgeous halvah. Anyone want to bet whether any of it will make it home to my family?)



Kabbalat Shabbat was at the Tower of David, where we were serenaded by the outrageously fun a cappella group, Kippa Live. Again, I took some video, but it won't upload to this blog (I sure miss my 17-year-old right about now!), so if I ever do figure it out I will put it on the Federation Facebook page. But trust me, they were terrific.

 

We lit candles and then walked to the Mamilla rooftop for a tremendous Shabbat dinner, where we were joined by Ofir and Bat-Galim Shaer and four of their five daughters. The Shaers lost their son, Gilad who was one of the three teenagers kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists in June 2014. It was an honor to meet them and to witness their strength. No parent, no father, no mother, no sister or brother should ever know the grief they have known. There are just no words to express the complexity of emotion I felt seeing them in their Shabbat finery, thanking us for the work we do to repair the world and to support Israel. I never felt more like one large family than at that moment.

I'll end here. Shabbat shalom.

ps - it's actually late on Saturday night/Sunday morning as I write this, but not quite Shabbat back home, so I wish everyone a peaceful Shabbat filled with love.