JERUSALEM
Jewish sovereign control for the first time in almost two millennia . This time , the person to receive ‘ the keys ’, so to speak , was not the elderly Rabbi Weingarten , but the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defence Forces , Rav Shlomo Goren , who , along with the young paratroopers , were the emissaries of the Jewish people to be the guardians of ‘ the keys ’ once again .
THE GENERAL AND THE RABBI
One of the people who expressed this moment so beautifully was General Uzi Narkis , the head of the Central Command at the time and commander of the liberating forces of Jerusalem . In his book : The Liberation of Jerusalem , he describes the moment of his arrival at the Western Wall : Silently , I bowed my head . In the narrow space were paratroopers , begrimed , fatigued , overburdened with weapons . And they wept . They were not “ wailing at the Western Wall ” not lamenting in the fashion familiar during the Wall ’ s millennia of being . These were tears of joy , of love , of passion , of an undreamed first reunion with their ancient monument to devotion and prayer . They clung to its stones , kissed them , these rough battle-weary paratroopers , their lips framing the Shema .
But more exalted , prouder than all of them , was Rabbi Goren . Wrapped in a tallit ( prayer shawl ), blowing the ram ’ s horn , and roaring like a lion : ‘ Blessed be the Lord God , Comforter of Zion and Builder of Jerusalem . Amen .’ Suddenly he saw me , embraced me , and planted a ringing kiss on my cheek , a signal to everyone to hug and kiss and join hands . The rabbi , like one who had waited all his life for this moment , intoned the Kaddish , the Kel Maleh Rachamim in memory of those who had fallen to liberate the Temple Mount and Jerusalem , the City of the Lord : ‘ May they find their peace in Heaven . And let us say Amen .’
The restrained weeping became full-throated sobs , an uncurbed emotional outburst . Sorrow , fervor , happiness , and pain combined to produce this mass of grieving and joyous men , their cheeks wet , their voices unsteady . Again the shofar was blown : tekiya ( a short , but unbroken sound ) followed by the shevarim ( a short but tremolo sound ). And Rabbi Goren heralded , “ This year , at this hour , in Jerusalem !
How privileged we are that this declaration of Rav Goren was not valid for only a fleeting moment as in 1948 , but is now a sustainable reality for 50 years – a אמייק לש רבד . That Shofar blast of Rav Goren at the Kotel HaMaaravi on that day has miraculously made us the custodians of these holy keys once again .
ISRAEL , JERUSALEM AND THE MESSAGE OF THE HAGGADAH
We have somehow merited to return as a sovereign people to Israel in 1948 , and to Jerusalem in 1967 .
What is the spiritual meaning of this dual return ? It is , I believe , about the dual remarkable rejuvenation of the collective body and soul of the Jewish People .
In 1948 , so soon after the ovens of Auschwitz , we founded a state and were restored to our historic national homeland – the collective physical body of the Jewish people had been resurrected . In 1967 , Israel would reconnect with her spiritual source – receive her soul . She began to tap into her spiritual destiny – Jerusalem . She was no longer just physically surviving but spiritually thriving . Israel without Jerusalem is , to the Jewish people , like a body without a soul . Together , Israel and Jerusalem are one . Physical and spiritual , heaven and earth , national and religious , secular and sacred , fate and destiny , surviving and thriving , particular and universal , are all woven into one holistic whole .
The collective body and soul had been reunited and the Jewish People , after a break of millennia , once again began to rebuild their wholesome and integrated collective national and spiritual mission .
We sometimes have to pinch ourselves that we live in such a generation – truly remarkable times . This year , 2017 , is the 100th anniversary of the historic Balfour Declaration , the 69th year since the establishment of the State of Israel , in 1948 , and the 50th jubilee year of the reunification of Jerusalem . We are so privileged to have merited this dual return to Israel and Jerusalem . How blessed we are to live in a generation of Redemption – where we , the Jewish People , have returned to recreate our national history and to forge , proactively , our collective spiritual destiny .
Indeed , this is exactly what the Haggadah – the story of our original redemption from Egypt – is all about . Encoded in its message is not only the story of the original redemption , but also the eternal message for future generations . It is for this reason that the Haggadah begins and ends with the aspirational dream of the return both to Israel and Jerusalem .
The Maggid section – the retelling of the story of the Exodus – contains a critical introduction which touches on its very essence . It reads : “ This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt . Let all who are hungry come and eat . Let all who are in need come and celebrate Passover . This year we are here – Next year in the Land of Israel . Now we are slaves . Next year we will be free .”
At the very outset of the Haggadah , before we tell the story , we remind ourselves that our current location in the Diaspora is not a destination but rather a station along the way . We remind ourselves that we hope and pray indeed that the following year we should be in the Land of Israel – the collective national home of the Jew-
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