BS'D
I can't even begin to explain the joy I get in the realisation of just how blessed I am that my entire life right now consists of a series of "Only in Israel" moments. You all know what I mean by that- those times when it feels like you're on some parallel universe where being a Jew is the absolute, coolest thing to ever happen to the face of this planet, and you're a part of it. Just like everybody else. And it makes sense, and it's normal and that's just the way it is on this plane of consciousness, right? That's when you realise that you're not caught up in some warped reality..this is Israel's real, day to day life, the impossible is truth. As Ben-Gurion said,
The most incredible part of these moments is that you stop and marvel at these incredible people with inner strength beyond the scope of your typical ex-pat's understanding..and then you realise that these seemingly superhuman beings are your people. You stop to ponder-could you possibly be made from the same material as these resistant sabras? The reason why I have gone off on this "whoooah Israel and Israelis are so amazing" tangent (aside from the obvious fact that Israel and Israelis ARE so amazing :p) is that, especially over the last little while, I have found myself caught up in the things I see around me and the incredible acts of chessed people are doing on a daily basis. They are living incredible lives of yiddishkeit and true goodness, on a scale others dream of, and to them it's...just the way things are! All of these little moments slip by in time and are often left unnoticed, and I thought it would be nice to do them some justice..so I'm inviting you to share with me (and all the other awesome Yidden here checking out Tzipiyah-you are the GREATEST!) some of your favourite "only in Israel moments" that have stuck out in your minds over time!!
"In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles".
The most incredible part of these moments is that you stop and marvel at these incredible people with inner strength beyond the scope of your typical ex-pat's understanding..and then you realise that these seemingly superhuman beings are your people. You stop to ponder-could you possibly be made from the same material as these resistant sabras? The reason why I have gone off on this "whoooah Israel and Israelis are so amazing" tangent (aside from the obvious fact that Israel and Israelis ARE so amazing :p) is that, especially over the last little while, I have found myself caught up in the things I see around me and the incredible acts of chessed people are doing on a daily basis. They are living incredible lives of yiddishkeit and true goodness, on a scale others dream of, and to them it's...just the way things are! All of these little moments slip by in time and are often left unnoticed, and I thought it would be nice to do them some justice..so I'm inviting you to share with me (and all the other awesome Yidden here checking out Tzipiyah-you are the GREATEST!) some of your favourite "only in Israel moments" that have stuck out in your minds over time!!
To kick it off, I geuss I'll start with acute moment that I got to witness today. Unfortunately, it's not the most incredibly profound (don't worry, I'll mull it over and get back to that!) but it's sometimes the small little things that happen all the time that have the greatest effect. In the same way that we often forget to thank Hashem for all the little miracles he causes on a daily basis and only thank Him when He does something huge..the everyday miracles are still nonetheless miracles! For example, I took the first train from Yerushalayim today to (or at least, in the direction of) the airport (needless to say, getting a group of half asleep girls to ANY destination will always be quite the adventure). By chance, we sat in the last car of the train, and it absolutely warmed my heart to see a minyan instantly formed, and a bunch of men davening out loud (picture to follow!). Between Jerusalem and Bet Shemesh, they managed to finish all of shacharis, but on his way out, one of the men informed me that there would be another minyan on its way. I didn't think much of it, until I saw a positive FLOOD of men walking into that last train car, half of them already decked out in their taleysim and tfillin. The car was absolutely packed, and as we made our way through the hills they swayed and fought gravity in order to say to Hashem they are grateful for the things He does in their lives, that they acknowledge His goodness and hand in everything and to beseech Him to continue to do so. Sounds a bit melodramatic, right? Technically, there's no hyperbole here-this is all just fact. If our ancestors could even see what I was lucky enough to witness today (just another ordinary every day occurrence) they would likely fall to their knees and praise Hashem through their tears. What?? The Jewish people are able to FREELY practice their beliefs and openly display their religiosity without the fear of persecution? A life of halachic adherence is actually attainable, even by a man on his way to work?? Impossible. The broken-spirited Jew in Auschwitz would never even dare dream that there would come a day where a Jew could carry a siddur on a train, let alone wear a kippa, wrap himself in his holy tallis, bind himself with tfillin and daven with a minyan on his way to work. And yet, these dreams are our reality, and the impossible is truth...
only in Israel.
