City of David

Today, with my new colleagues, we spent a day in Jerusalem, dubbed "Yom Kef," literally meaning, day of fun. The trip started at Ir David, the City of David VIP tour. The last time I went to this archaeological site, my father was alive and we chose the water tunnel tour of the Gichon River. I remember it being cold and not having the best shoes. It was also dark in the tunnel, but amazing.

This trip to the City of David was different. We learned that David's vision and dream was to see a unified city of Jerusalem, עיר שחוברה לה יחדיו. Seeing what they believe was a wall left from King David's palace, we later crossed a street and went underground to see a long pathway from the time of the second temple, that was used during the three high Jewish holidays to go to the Temple Mount and give sacrifices. It was amazing standing and walking this route, and without a doubt being so close to history. 

And proud to be a part of our country.

From there we ate lunch and then went on a City of David segway tour. A segway is nothing like riding a bike. Using a straight back and upper body leaning tactics, essentially you need to trust the machine. It's more like riding a car than a bike. During this tour I tried to focus on confidence. The uphills were the hardest and one of the official staff members provided support. While I felt semi-embarrassed, I was still happy that I didn't shy away from a challenge and welcomed assistance. This too, can be hard on the human spirit.  

Interesting conversations happened on that segway tour. For example, why do some Jews say they love Israel, "but it's not for me." Or the various signals that antisemitism is closing in around the world and key prophecies in the Bible are coming to light (these stories are interesting to hear. I'm not well educated in it, but enjoy listening.)

As an oleh, and despite the fact that we understand and speak Hebrew, you really need to stand on your own two feet (the segway acts as an interesting buffer, but one that teaches trust). Unfortunately there are people who tend to be more heated in this country, rude, jump to conclusions, misread signals, and it takes a lot of courage to keep the chin up. A lot. It's not to say that in the United States people are kinder or less difficult. It's just less cramped (or at least it was for us, in Sharon, MA). There's more of a need to roll with the punches and keep perspective on the true challenges of life (like death, sickness, poverty, loneliness -- real issues). 

With Rosh Hashana right around the corner, I pray we each find our points of strength and work on our weaknesses. Our actions have huge impact, and as so seen in the City of David, it can be traced back in ways we never thought or intended to be rediscovered. Even when they date 2,000+ years old. You can make a difference today and that history will follow for generations.