Jewish tutorial and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster displays on a few of Judaism's sacred traditions amid present trials.
On October 14, Manchester made historical past. This was the date Manchester Airport hosted the primary ever direct flight to Israel by an Israeli airline.
On October 14, Arkia, a low-cost Israeli airline, flew a lot of pilgrims from Manchester and the north of England to Tel Aviv in a single day to benefit from the pageant of Sukkot within the Holy Land.
Even the employees at Manchester Airport had been excited and a few mentioned they would like to accompany us on this historic first journey. I used to be honored to be the primary passenger on board.
The headmaster from Gateshead sitting subsequent to me kindly provided a potato burek. It was actually scrumptious and after a snack and settling the infants, most individuals tried to get some sleep on the primary night time flight, which was solely 4 and a half hours lengthy.
A younger man finding out on the College of Herzlyia provided to assist me by the airport and onto the practice to Jerusalem, however to my nice delight we discovered my son-in-law ready on the arrivals gate with their little canine, Mocha.
It was solely an hour's drive to Jerusalem, and within the makeshift Jerusalem house had been my daughter and child Ahava, now three and a half months outdated, smiling as if she had identified me all her life!
The courtyard of this block of flats was already dotted with sukkahs, short-term dwellings, for the upcoming vacation of Sukkot, often known as Tabernacles, to remind us of the kids of Israel dwelling in tents throughout their journey by the desert to the promised land.
As regular, I slept within the secure, which additionally doubles as my son-in-law's workplace.
We had been invited to dinner and lunch at two totally different sukkahs, hosted by Australian and US hosts with ties to Nice Britain. Child Ahava loved each second and was welcomed with open arms by one and all.
At lunch, I sat subsequent to a younger Frenchman, Oleh (a brand new immigrant) initially from Algeria. There was additionally a lone soldier who emigrated particularly to hitch the IDF and assist on this existential warfare for the survival of the Jewish folks. His Hebrew was wonderful.
A number of younger women had been finding out in seminaries close to the Gaza border, hosted by an Australian woman in our constructing. Some wished to remain in Israel. The meals was a mix of unique Ashkenazi and Sephardic specialties. Actually glorious.
As regular, providers within the synagogue had been held in a kids's nook with a climbing body and a slide. Gabbai, who offers the providers, ready fastidiously upfront and every part went easily.
The birds wandered out and in and the kids absolutely participated, together with after all child Ahava, whose father was capable of carry her and the Sefer Torah on the similar time!
In the course of the transitional days generally known as Chol HaMoed, my son-in-law entertained the neighborhood on his guitar in a sequence of sukkahs that had been open to all.
We additionally visited the central Jerusalem neighborhood of Nachlaot, the place my older daughter lived 22 years in the past when she first moved to Israel.
Issues have modified and now Nachlaot appears to be a spot for getting older hippies the place self-expression and musical Hallel (Psalms 113-118) are de rigueur. I used to be abruptly whisked again to the late Sixties and the life of a faculty pupil. What a distinction from different Sukkot providers. However even right here the sukkah is open to all.
Individuals got here from everywhere in the nation to be in Jerusalem for this most vital of meals festivals. They introduced their very own picnics and made good use of the hospitality of the sukkah homeowners on this neighborhood of central Jerusalem.
We had been capable of construct our personal sukkah in a small open area exterior the house and each child Ahava and canine Mocha had been joyful there.
In direction of the top of the pageant I used to be invited to a category held within the largest sukkah within the courtyard. The mathematical evaluation of the Hebrew letters was flowing properly when abruptly one of many friends talked about if anybody knew concerning the Nazir of Jerusalem and his son Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen and their connection to Hoshana Rabba, Simchat Guess Hashoeva (Water Drawing Libation Ceremony) and the enjoyment of Simchat Tory.
Nicely, I couldn't hold quiet, may I? So I discussed my involvement of their story because the writer of the English-language biography of Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa, who, I mentioned, organized all these festivals as a casual chaplain in a jail camp in Jordan, after the heroic fighters for They surrendered the Previous Metropolis of Jerusalem to the Arabs within the 1948 Battle of Independence.
“My father was with him.
“Who was that?” I requested.
“Yehiel Wultz.”
“Sure, your father taught the violin to younger Shear Yashuv, and your father's violin accompanied him to the POW camp.
Nicely, you might have heard a pin drop they usually even provided me one other slice of cake!
By the way in which, I later met a fellow swimmer within the pool who knowledgeable me that her household lived subsequent door to Rabbi Shear Yashuv's household in downtown Jerusalem earlier than he moved to Haifa in 1975 as chief rabbi. His daughter Eliraz took her to elementary college every single day. Eliraz is an effective good friend who reached out to our dialogue group!
Two associates of this nice rabbi whom I met in Haifa. It's undoubtedly not only a coincidence!
In Israel, the 2 final fall festivals of Shemeni Atzeret and Simchat Torah are mixed, which means a really lengthy service. However right here it was spectacular.
The Hakafot, a dance and tune with a lulav, etrog and Sefer Torah, was preceded by Psalms 130 or 121, and earlier than the efficiency of every Hakafah, a selected Israeli group was talked about in reminiscence of final 12 months's Simchat Torah bloodbath.
Amongst these talked about had been the lifeless, hostages, troopers within the IDF, wounded, displaced, widows, orphans and survivors, in addition to victims of anti-Semitism all over the place.
Every little thing happened exterior within the acceptable climate, which included a singular mixture of scorching solar, biting wind and really chilly air. Undoubtedly the flip of the 12 months from summer time to autumn as the primary e book of Bereshit – Genesis – is learn as soon as extra 'To start with'.
In a while that very first Shabbat of the brand new 12 months 5785, we celebrated an enormous kiddush in honor of the couple who had been to be married. The rabbi in contrast the sunshine of the primary E book of Genesis created solely by God for our profit to the sunshine of the Exodus through which we people work along with God to deliver mild to the world.
He raised up this new couple as themselves shining examples of sunshine to the world. In their very own speeches, they talked about this distinctive neighborhood that labored collectively throughout Covid and now throughout warfare.
And all I can say is that that is really a few lights who even hosted a particular kiddush for the start of my granddaughter that I attended on July thirteenth together with my different daughter and household who got here from elsewhere in Israel and all of us they danced along with child Ahava!
On Sunday night, my son-in-law drove me again to the airport. It solely took 40 minutes. The flight was delayed and I returned to Manchester at 10.30am. A really good fellow traveler from Israel provided me a trip house. I used to be due to this fact capable of get to our month-to-month Shul Monday Membership at 2:00 pm over a carpet of orange leaves to listen to a lecture on the forthcoming E book of Noah and the Jewish method to vegetarianism.
I used to be additionally capable of lend my rabbi a brand new e book by Rabbi Shlomo Brody, a present from the writer's mom (I additionally first met her on the pool), and I hope to evaluation it later. It’s entitled “The Ethics of Our Warriors” and is most acceptable for our time.
The writer spoke most movingly concerning the Israeli method to what’s known as “Assisted Dying” in a lecture he gave in July that I attended. Possibly one other article for CT.
We shut with two sections of Shear Yashuv Cohen's story, which I dedicate to the reminiscence of his violin instructor, Dr. Yehiel Wultz, whose son I met on the Sukkah in Jerusalem, and to all Israeli musicians, together with Levi Dov's son-in-law, who deliver love. and pleasure to a grieving folks on this existential epoch in our Jewish historical past.
“A love of tune and niggun (spiritual melodies) was central to the Nazir's lifestyle. “Niggun will at all times be the religious life and core of my soul. He even wrote some neggunim himself. It was this love that led him to rent a particular instructor, Dr. Yechiel Wultz, to show his two kids to play the violin. Underneath Nazir's path, Dr. Wultz additionally taught them sacred niggunim, together with a particular melody by Rav Kook, in addition to a composition by their very own father, Nazir.
Dr. Wultz famous a few years later, “The younger Shear Yashuv didn't simply see music as an artwork, he truly noticed it as one thing holy. For him, music was an instrument to worship God.”
In a while the paved Simchat Guess Shoeva held throughout the Sukkot week of 1948 in a Jordanian jail camp, it was the survival story of Dr. Wultz's violin from Shear Yashuv's childhood.
“At the present time commemorates the water launch ceremony that happened when the temple was nonetheless standing. In our camp synagogue, the venerable aged Jews started buzzing to one another whereas their ft started to bounce.
Yehuel Wultz, my childhood violin instructor, took out the violin he had introduced with him from the Previous City, strung the string, and let his palms do the remainder. It occurred to us that at this very second folks could be dancing even within the synagogues in Jerusalem.
Nevertheless, anybody who hasn't skilled our particular POW Simchat Guess Shoeva has by no means skilled a simcha of their life! And whoever has not witnessed the Arab Debka carried out by these aged gents from the Previous Metropolis and members of Kibbutz Ein Tzurim and Revadim, survivors of the Kfar Etzion bloodbath, and fighters from the Previous Metropolis, has by no means skilled an actual dance in all his days of start.
A younger man sang a typical Center Jap Arab neggun and the Arab troopers rapidly began becoming a member of in, celebrating with us, stomping their ft, clapping their palms and having enjoyable.
Briefly, the Mountain we danced round Suka embraced a whole bunch of camp prisoners. They had been outdated. They had been younger. They had been cabalists. They had been outdated Sephardim. They had been historical Ashkenazim. They had been younger with black curly foreparts. They had been younger, in brief sleeves and tank tops. And so they all danced collectively as one. And so they had been all associates. And everybody was joyful.
And how much joyful simcha was that? it was Simchat Guess Shoeva. And the place did it happen? In the midst of the desert. And when did it occur? After we had been imprisoned within the OPOW camp after the autumn of the Previous Metropolis.
And within the very coronary heart of this simcha, within the midst of our rejoicing, we secretly hoped and longed to return to Jerusalem to have a good time Sukkot there sooner or later.”
[Taken from ‘Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen’, Urim Publications Jerusalem 2017, English language version and editor Dr Irene Lancaster, p 42 and pp 172-173]
