Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on May 29, 2008 under Holidays | 
Next week, we celebrate Jerusalem Day to commemorate the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.
Jerusalem – the golden city, the holy city, the beating heart of so many people, of so many beliefs and religions. Whenever I go up to Jerusalem (we don’t say that we simply go or travel to Jerusalem, we always “go up” there – עוֹלִים לִירוּשָׁלַיִם), I feel excitement, like meeting a long-lost lover, like reuniting with a dear family member. There is something about this city that I have never experienced in any other place – something in the air is different, the spiritual soul of this city embraces me.
Bar-Mitzvah at the Kotel
When my son Johnathan was about to become a Bar-Mitzvah last summer, we felt that celebrating it at the Kotel, the Western Wall , would be the most appropriate way for us. We invited our close relatives to join us at this special event. They came from four different continents to share this experience with us. At a hot summer day, we gathered next to the Kotel – the men and soon-to-become-a-man on one side of the partition, and the women, on the other side.
The ceremony was very exciting for me as a mother as I was very proud of my son. I felt as if the holiness of the place touched all of us, and as if the long lasting stones of the Kotel led my son peacefully into the world of adulthood, of becoming a significant part of our nation. These stones have witnessed so many Bar-Mitzvahs, so many prayers and wishes, so many tears, and so many battles and celebrations in the thousands of years they stand there. These stones signify the connections of our ancestors and our descendants, of our history and future, and most of all, of our current existence.
The Generation Center מֶרְכַּז שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת הַדּוֹרוֹת
To delve even more into the history of the Jewish nation, we followed the Bar-mitzvah ceremony by visiting the Generation Center, just next to the Wall. The exhibits in the center take us through 3,500 years – “from exile to statehood, from destruction to rebuilding, and from crisis to hope.” This place integrates art and history, light and transparency, names and dates. The unusual and beautiful glass monuments make us feel as if we can see through it into the events of the past and the future.
A Jewish soul needs some physical supply in the shape of food to digest all the spiritual events of the day. But, even a simple act of gathering and eating become a spiritual experience in Jerusalem. We climbed the stairs up to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and met our caterer who led us in the mysterious allies of the old city to a hall in a Yeshiva. Our relative, David, said that it felt like going to Platform 9 ¾ of the Harry Potter story – we will never be able to find this place again, and even if we do, we won’t be able to recognize it.
After some refreshments, we all gave my son some words of advice and stories of wisdom. Many of us felt the spiritual presence of those who were unable to attend the Bar-Mitzvah and their love and care for Johanthan. It felt as if only this spiritual city could have created this experience.
Let us hope that the glory of this city lasts forever and sparkles its love and beauty all around.
Here are some words, places, and phrases related to Jerusalem:
Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on May 20, 2008 under Israel history |
I sit at my home-office, the olive tree peeps at my window, the birds are chirping, the sky is blue, and I read on the internet that Israel is rated as the fifth less-peaceful country in the world at the Global Peace Index (GPI) of 2008.
The Peace Index was translated on the Israeli news as ”מַדַּד הַשַּׁלְוָה“. When I hear the word “peace” I think about שָׁלוֹם (shalom) – the positive relationships among people and among countries. The word שַׁלְוָה (shalva) refers more to a state of mind, or general feeling of tranquility and calmness.
Yesterday, my 9-year-old son told me that they were discussing the words “war” (מִלְחָמָה) and “peace” (שָׁלוֹם) at school. He said that it was very easy for his classmates to define war: “you know, shooting, fighting, and so on”. He further told me that the children couldn’t come up with a definition for peace. They knew the symbols of a white dove and a branch of olive, but couldn’t explain what it was. Finally, he said, after much discussion, they agreed that peace is simply no-war.
I look at the Global Peace Index and try to see what the indicators that define Peace are. It includes the level of distrust at other citizens, ease of access to weapon, level of violence crime, military capability, and so on. In other words, it is defined by the violence potential and violence itself. Just like my son’s class had defined it.
And how does the Online Dictionary Babylon define “peace”? – State of not being at war; silence, quietness; tranquility. And in Hebrew:
שָׁלוֹם – אִי-לוֹחֲמָהּ , לֹא מִלְחָמָה, שֶׁקֶט בַּגְּבוּלוֹת, יַחֲסֵי יְדִידוּת, שַׁלְוָה , מְנוּחָה, שֶׁקֶט
But the Hebrew language gives the word שָׁלוֹם another definition: this is the common greeting of hello and goodbye. We greet each other with peace and remind ourselves where we are heading all the time.
Iceland (אִיסְלַנְד) was ranked as the most peaceful state on the GPI. I wonder how third graders define peace there. I have a naïve wish for the generations to come to have enough peace within themselves and around them, so they will be able to fully experience peace, and hence, it would be very easy for them to define and describe it.
How would you or your children define peace? Please, share it with us.
Posted by Shira Cohen-Regev on May 12, 2008 under Holidays |
The Israeli poet Nathan Alterman wrote a famous poem that describes the fallen soldiers of the Independence War as the silver platter on top of which the Jewish State was given to the nation.
To reflect this notion, the Israeli Memorial Day and the Independence celebration are attached.
The Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day begins in the evening with a one-minute siren (צְפִירָה). It ends on the following evening with the celebrations of Independence Day.
This year, I was driving with my son to Haifa. When the siren began, we and all the other drivers stopped at the margins of the highway and stood in silence, commemorating the fallen and showing respect. This national grief (אֵבֶל) has a very strong personal effect. The tears begin to flow and don’t stop for the next day.
The ceremony at the Reali School
In the morning we went to the Memorial Day ceremony(טֶכֶּס) in my old school, the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa. his school was founded before World War I and recently celebrated its 90th anniversary. It has 17,500 alumni (בּוֹגְרִים) . Unfortunately, there are many alumni to remember – 292 fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. The ceremony at my school hasn’t changed much since I was a first grader. It begins with all the higher-grades students marching into a big soccer field and lining up in a military style. Than the flag is lowered and the “Yizkor” (Remembrance, יִזְכֹּר) prayer is read. The long list of all the fallen school alumni is read. It takes a very long time.
My experience at this traditional ceremony reflects my understanding of our national grief. I remember myself as a first grader, watching the ceremony, not really understanding its meaning and concentrating on waving the Israeli flags when the marching students left the field. When I was in third grade, the Remembrance Day became more significant, as it took place just after the Yom-Kippur War. A father of a classmate died during that war and the national grief became more personal.
As I grew older and actively participated in the ceremony, names and faces and childhood memories joined together, since some of my older brother’s friends and my scouts’ leaders were killed during the First Lebanon War . As a student, I stood at attention while their names were read. I met their parents and siblings, I met their friends who came to the ceremony wearing their military uniforms. My classmates and me were about to become soldiers. We began to understand how fragile our lives are. It made us appreciate even more the livelihood of our youth. When I left school and joined the Air-Force I continued to attend this ceremony every Memorial Day.
This year, after many years of absence I took my oldest son to the ceremony. I wanted him to experience it as well. The names of the fallen were read. Many names were added since I left school. Many young lives were cut. Many hearts won’t smell the spring flowers and won’t fall in love. Many young couples won’t have the privilege of creating new lives. Many families won’t be able to be fully happy.
The school principal talked about the fact that the grief of the families of the fallen soldiers is daily – the hole in their heart is constant. On Memorial Day, their personal grief becomes national – we all feel this hole inside our hearts. We all pray for peace.
Here is an excerpt from the Prayer for the Peace of the State of Israel
(תְּפִלָּה לִשְׁלוֹם הַמְּדִינָה):
“וְנָתַתָּ שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם לְיוֹשְׁבֶיהָ”
Establish peace in the land, and everlasting joy for its inhabitants.
Amen אָמֵן
When my son Johnathan was about to become a Bar-Mitzvah last summer, we felt that celebrating it at the Kotel, the Western Wall , would be the most appropriate way for us. We invited our close relatives to join us at this special event. They came from four different continents to share this experience with us. At a hot summer day, we gathered next to the Kotel – the men and soon-to-become-a-man on one side of the partition, and the women, on the other side.
The ceremony was very exciting for me as a mother as I was very proud of my son. I felt as if the holiness of the place touched all of us, and as if the long lasting stones of the Kotel led my son peacefully into the world of adulthood, of becoming a significant part of our nation. These stones have witnessed so many Bar-Mitzvahs, so many prayers and wishes, so many tears, and so many battles and celebrations in the thousands of years they stand there. These stones signify the connections of our ancestors and our descendants, of our history and future, and most of all, of our current existence.
A Jewish soul needs some physical supply in the shape of food to digest all the spiritual events of the day. But, even a simple act of gathering and eating become a spiritual experience in Jerusalem. We climbed the stairs up to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and met our caterer who led us in the mysterious allies of the old city to a hall in a Yeshiva. Our relative, David, said that it felt like going to Platform 9 ¾ of the Harry Potter story – we will never be able to find this place again, and even if we do, we won’t be able to recognize it.
