Yom Yerushalyim

Today is a really special day in Jewish History because it was on this day in the 1967 War when we recaptured Yerushalayim and we were able to daven at the Kotel for the first time in years. Now, thank Gd, there are so many Jews living in and visiting Yerushalayim, who can all go to the Kotel whenever they want! Thousands of Jews go to the Kotel today to sing and dance in gratitude for having Yerushalayim. 

Here is a video showing the Kotel throughout the years:

(Stories taken from Aish.com)

When the Western Wall was liberated in 1967, Jews from all over the World felt an electrifying excitement, as once again the Wall was in our hands.

The following two stories of Israeli soldiers, who participated in the liberation, exemplify how the Wall has touched the hearts of Jews throughout the ages.

Moshe Amirav, a paratrooper, describes his first minutes at the Wall:

We ran there, a group of panting soldiers, lost on the plaza of the Temple Mount, searching for a giant stone wall. We did not stop to look at the Mosque of Omar even though this was the first time we had seen it close up. Forward! Forward! Hurriedly, we pushed our way through the Magreb Gate and suddenly we stopped, thunderstruck. There it was before our eyes! Gray and massive, silent and restrained. The Western Wall!

Slowly, slowly I began to approach the Wall in fear and trembling like a pious cantor going to the lectern to lead the prayers. I approached it as the messenger of my father and my grandfather, of my great-grandfather and of all the generations in all the exiles who had never merited seeing it ― and so they had sent me to represent them. Somebody recited the festive blessing: "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe who has kept us alive, and maintained us and brought us to this time." But I could not answer "Amen." I put my hand on the stones and the tears that started to flow were not my tears. They were the tears of all Israel, tears of hope and prayer, tears of Chasidic tunes, tears of Jewish dances, tears which scorched and burned the heavy gray stone.

Abraham Duvdevani also describes his first encounter with the Wall:

"Narrow alleys, filthy passageways, garbage at the entrances of shuttered shops, the stench of dead legionnaires ― but we paid no attention. Our eyes were fixed on the golden dome which could be seen from a distance. There, more or less, it had to be! We marched faster to keep up with the beating of our hearts. We were almost running. We met a soldier from one of the forward units and asked him the way and hurried on. We went through a gate and down some steps. I looked to the right and stopped dead. There was the Wall in all its grandeur and glory! I had never seen it before, but it was an old friend, impossible to mistake. Then I thought that I should not be there because the Wall belongs in the world of dreams and legends and I am real.

Reality and legend, dream and deed, all unite here. I went down and approached the Wall and stretched out my hand towards the huge, hewn stones. But my hand was afraid to touch and of itself returned to me. I closed my eyes, took a small, hesitant step forward, and brought my lips to the Wall. The touch of my lips opened the gates of my emotions and the tears burst forth. A Jewish soldier in the State of Israel is kissing history with his lips.

Past, present and future all in one kiss There will be no more destruction and the Wall will never again be deserted. It was taken with young Jewish blood and the worth of that blood is eternity. The body is coupled to the rows of stones, the face is pushed into the spaces between them and the hands try to reach its heart. A soldier near me mumbles in disbelief, 'We are at the Wall, at the Wall...' "

An Embroidered Life

"When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. From the underside, as I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat. She would smile at me, look down and gently say, “My son you go about playing for a while and, when I am finished, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side.”

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes would pass and then I would hear mother’s voice say, “Son come and sit on my knee.” This I would do, only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then mother would say to me, “My son, from underneath it did look messy ad jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-dawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing.”

Many times through the years I have looked up to Hashem and said, “Father, what are You doing?” He answers, “I am embroidering your life.” I say, “But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can’t they all be bright?”

Hashem then tells me, “My child, you continue to live your life of fulfilling My mitzvot, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on My knee and you will see the beautiful picture of your life from My side.”"

PostSecret

Recently, I was browsing the Facebook page of "PostSecret" of a specific college. PostSecret is an online community in which anyone can anonymously submit secrets which will then be displayed to the public. I came across this post and it really made me think.


I am culturally Jewish, but not religious at all. I grew up in an area with many “Jews,” but very few that actually practiced Judaism—or at least to a serious extent. Before coming to [college], I have to admit that I had some preconceived prejudices—not about different religions or minorities—but about religious Jews. For whatever reason, I thought they might be weird, and that believing in God or seriously adhering to a religion in this day and age was stupid—and that people who did so might be boring or not fun. However, since I got here, I have met many religious/orthodox Jews, and they are some of the coolest people I have ever met. Contrary to what I had thought, many of them are very similar to me and have become close friends. While being religious might not be right for me, I have gained a totally newfound respect for those who are.



We never know what impact we can have on people by simply being ourselves.

How Badly Do You Want It?

The Chafetz Chaim tells over his eye witness account of what happened when the leaders of Brisk came to Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik to ask him to be the Rabbi of their community. Rav Soloveitchik refused, saying that he had his share of being a rabbi of a community and now he wanted to spend his days learning. The leaders of Brisk offered him many things in order to persuade him to come, but Rav Soloveitchik was adamant in his refusal. 

Disheartened, the men turned to leave. Just at that moment one of the men thought he would give it one more try and said, “Rebbe I’ll tell you the truth, there are 25,000 Jews waiting for you that are desperately in need of your leadership.” 

The Rav started to shake and said, “Bring me my stick and my hat, I’m moving to Brisk.” 

Rav Soloveitchik immediately accepted the position when he heard that so many Jews were in need of his leadership. The Chafetz Chaim then asks: Could you imagine if mashiach would hear that the entire Jewish nation couldn't live without him? If we truly cried out for mashiach and wanted him badly enough, could you imagine how fast he would come??