Jerusalem And Other Heart Thoughts

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Yom Yerushalayim and Beyond

I was thinking of what to write about in honor of Yom Yerushalayim. Then it came to me - Yerushalayim. The question then became what aspect to focus on? And a chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) popped into my head. There's a chapter that is recited regularly - Esa Einai El HeHarim. That's not the one I will be writing about. That's #121. I will be discussing #122.


Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains how Psalm 121 flows into 122. The famous last line of the former psalm is " G-d will watch over your exiting and returning from now until forever." R. Hirsch explains that that last line is saying that G-d will guard us as we go into exile and will also be there watching over us as we return home. And then 123 starts with a taste of what it will be like when we return home to Israel - Yerushalayim - Bet HaMikdash.

Much has been written and explained about the portait Dovid HaMelech here paints of Yerushalayim. The line that strikes me is "Yerushalayim HaBenuya Ke'Ir SheChubrah Lah Yachdav" ("Jerusalem built, as a city that binds her together" ). It's a fun trivia question to ask - where does the phrase Yerushalayim HaBenuya appear in TaNaCh? As you can see from my parenthetical translaton this is not an easy line to decode.

What is the meaning of Ke'Ir SheChubrah Lah Yachdav? Traditionally there is an ideal, spiritual Jerusalem as well as a physical, actual one. The unification here is interpreted by some as the joining of these two aspects. Others say that it is the fact that everyone has a value in everyone else's eyes in Jerusalem - this despite that fact that often in a city individuals dwindle in importance as the metropolis grows. There is a special connectedness in Jeruslaem alluded to by the word chubrah, which is related to the word chaver/friend. We've all had the experience of bumping in to someone that we know in Yerushalayim. There's a magic to the city that causes us to always see people we know, more often than anywhere else. So many times I've been tapped on the shoulder at the Kotel by someone I haven't seen for ages. My friend Avraham Newman says this is also included in Ir SheChubrah Lah Yachdav.

This thought of the fact that Yerushalayim is a connecting city, a city that brings people closer together is reflected in a story. The traditional story is pretty well known. I will present that followed by the less well known modern day version of the story.

There were two brothers who shared a field. Together they plowed, together they planted, together they harvested. They shared everything 50-50. One night one of the brothers couldn't sleep. He kept thinking - I'm single, and my brother's married. He needs the produce more than me. And he went out to the field and took from his own pile and added to his brother's. That same night the brother couldn't sleep, thinking - I'm married, I get so much joy from my family. My brother is alone. He deserves more than me. And he went and took from his share and put it onto his brother's pile. In the morning the piles were even. So that night the two brothers each went and again took from their own pile and gave to the other. Each morning it was even and so the cycle went on. On night they met each other at the field. When they realized what was happening they embraced. And tradition has it that it is on that spot that the Beit HaMikdash - Holy Temple is built.

The modern version goes like this: There were two brothers who shared a field. Together they plowed, together they planted, together they harvested. They shared everything 50-50. One night one of the brothers couldn't sleep. He kept thinking - I'm single, and my brother's married. I need the produce more than him. And he went out to the field and took from his brother's pile and added to his own. That same night the brother couldn't sleep, thinking - I'm married, I need to support my family. My brother is alone. I deserve more than him. And he went and took from his brother's share and put it onto his own pile. In the morning the piles were even. So that night the two brothers each went and again took from the other's pile and added it to their own. Each morning it was even and so the cycle went on. On night they met each other at the field. When they realized what was happening they beat each other up. And tradition has it that it is on that spot that the Knesset is built.

While the latter version may evoke a hearty laugh, there is of course a serious side to it. We are all familiar with the imperfections of the present state of Israel. And yet, we appreciate what we have. And we pray for the connection to become complete between the Yerushayim Shel Maalah and the Yerushalayim Shel Matah.

Not everyone is as spoiled as me - to only remember a world in which we can go to Israel and to the Kotel any time we want. When I flew to Israel for the first time in 1975 I was oblivious to the fact the Kotel had only been under our control the way I experienced for eight years (back then eight years was a much longer span for me). Today kids are used to going, used to Yerushalayim being ours as is.

We need to appreciate the miracle that was done for us forty years ago. We have to appreciate the process of redemption that we are living through. And we have to pray for the continued completion of the redemption. Yom Yerushalayim and the time period that surrounds it is a time to think about the uniting power of Yerushalayim, the fantastic opportunity we have to be there and see everyone we know and know everyone we see. May we merit soon to see Yerushalayim HaBenuya and to experience as one the magic of the Ir SheChubrah Lah Yachdav.

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A Change Of Time And Space

A couple I know once had another couple over for a weekend. Besides a friendly get together, it was a mission of sorts. The second couple was on the verge of divorce. As Sunday ebbed away the man of the second couple told the hosting couple that he didn't want to leave, because their problems seemed to fade while they were in their friend's warm home.

Shabbos is like those friends and that home for me. Since I was a kid I've (almost) always felt safer and warmer and happier on Shabbos. It was certainly true of the Shabbos that waved goodbye last night.

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Three Thoughts And Haikus
A Combination of Sorts
For Friends and Cohorts

I don't think of myself as a great politician. I don't like flattering. I was talking about this with a confidant who reminded me of the old saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." This reminded me of a friend who told his boss some negative things that he thought about him because he didn't want the guy to think that he was buying his lines. But what if the boss thought that? Maybe that would be better for everybody? On the other hand, I think of Shcharansky and others that would rather have suffered than give in to any kind of political lie. I am torn.

Sad reality.

Friends close, enemies closer.

Basic survival?

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A friend recently told me to not dismiss jealousy without taking something from jealousy. The friend explained that jealousy may tell us what we want to accomplish. And in letting the jealousy go, we need not keep our status quo, but can be inspired by jealousy to aspire to that which we were jealous of in someone else. Makes sense to me.

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Jealousy a friend?

Yes. When we deconstruct the

messages she sends

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Improv is a way of life. Preparing every step or line of life is neither ideal nor possible. The best speeches are not manuscripted, nor the best relationships, nor the best of anything.

8

Improv gets the shaft

people say you must plan all

they'd improve by not