Dear B’nai Shalom members, friends, and families:
Having recently returned from (what I discovered was my…) 25th trip to Eretz Yisrael, I would like to share with you a number of observations and points of interest from our trip. I hope you will find this helpful, meaningful, and/or enjoyable.
On the way TO Israel on board our Lot Airlines flight (from Chicago to Warsaw and then Warsaw to Israel), we received our two kosher meals, both of which were mediocre at best. To our surprise and completely unexpected by Robin and me, the main meal was Pesadik and included matzah which we couldn’t eat [prior to Pesach] and grape juice. I remind shul members that there is a long-honored, strict tradition of NOT eating matzah one month prior to Pesach. We therefore brought the matzah to our son Kenny’s house and ate it during Pesach.
When we landed in Ben Gurion airport upon arrival in Israel, there was a smattering of applause on the plane, which I joined. I was a little disappointed that there were not more people clapping. I can recall in my earliest trips to Israel when the entire plane used to erupt in spontaneous, excited applause upon touching down in Israel.
The windows in my son Kenny’s shul, “Shvut Ariel,” (which were to my right from where I was sitting) were open, as the sun was streaming in as it went down in the West, reminding me that we were facing South. In front of us was the Aron Kodish, the Holy Ark. This is because the halacha is clear that when we daven, we face Jerusalem, not necessarily East.
We have become accustomed to facing East since our location in American and our immediate ancestors in Europe routinely faced Israel TO THE EAST.
The recitation of the tefillah for Medinat Yisrael (the Welfare of the State of Israel) and the Misheberach for Tzahal (the IDF) struck me as NOT being a prayer for the welfare of a land “OVER THERE” and for soldiers “OVER THERE” but rather for the land in which the people reciting the prayer currently and precariously live and for the brave men and women who are their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, friends, neighbors, coworkers, or colleagues.
Ben Gurion Airport had a series of large posters with the pictures of all of the Oct. 7th hostages on them, which was simply heartbreaking. All throughout Israel there were signs everywhere that could not be missed about remembering the hostages. The most common expression/term prominently displayed everywhere was “Yachad Nenatzeach,” “Together We Will Triumph.” Also, in the supermarket, even cartons of eggs were imprinted with “Am Yisrael Chai!“
In spite of the fact that tourism in Israel (Israel’s number one money-making industry) is extremely down and the impression we may get in the U.S. about traveling to Israel is “akin to entering Afghanistan,” our observations about the normal, day-to-day routine in Israel seemed to be normal and calm. The fact that a war was continuing in Gaza was not necessarily felt when Robin and I were walking around the Ben Yehuda area of Jerusalem. On Erev Yontif, we both noticed and enjoyed the fact that it was crowded and teeming with people of all types and all ages, seeming happy, busy, and fitting in beautifully in the Ben Yehuda spirit and style of shopping and being busy. We also made note of the fact that Ben Gurion airport was also extremely busy and crowded even though we were there in the middle of the night.
It’s important to remember that although Israel is NOT a TORAH state and many of those within Israel are NOT (what is typically thought of as…) “religious,” it is, nonetheless, a Jewish State. One cannot escape the traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and spirit of being Jewish in a Jewish homeland.
That being the case, one would never believe that the sandwiches we ate (at an indoor/outdoor restaurant on Agrippas Street just East of the Machane Yehudah market in Jerusalem), which looked like regular bread, were made of something other than chametz. And, on Ben Yehuda, we found and ate at an outdoor eatery: Sam’s Bagel Restaurant, which was not only kosher for Pesach but there were no kitniyot, legumes (eaten by some Ashkenazik communities). After that, we went to a small Makolet/snack store that was selling treats and snacks where we bought ice cream for which the owner showed us which products had kitniyot and which did not. Naturally, ALL were kosher for Pesach.
Because Robin and I were Americans visiting Israel at Pesach time, we were still bound by the halachot/rules directing the observance of Pesach, even though we were in Israel. As a result, for the second Seder night, Robin and I made our own Seder. I made Kiddush for just Robin and me, but our son Kenny joined us for our Yomtov meal. (Our daughter-inlaw Tova had already gone to sleep.) Earlier, Kenny had made havdalah for his family since they only observe seven days. Ironically, I later made Kiddush for the eighth day of Pesach.
Robin & I both felt very weird and even eerie the first time we stepped into the Shvut Ariel shul on our trip because the PREVIOUS time was Oct. 7th, 2023, Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah when the barbaric, horrific attack against Israel took place. We remembered exactly where we were standing when things seemed to go awry then and when we saw and sensed that something was wrong. Reliving this and standing in the same places THIS TIME gave us very strange, eerie and frightening feelings.
In spite of the recollections of our previous trip on Oct. 7th, there are not enough ways I can encourage and urge our Jews here in the U.S. to visit as often as possible and to support Israel in every way.
May Hashem hear our continued prayers and answer our prayers and requests in the manner in which we need and want.
With Torah blessings always,
Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Dvorin