Dateline, Jerusalem – At a wedding last night, a friend and I were discussing how much we miss having our families with us at holidays and festive events. We agreed that the only reason we were able to easily adapt to living over 7500 miles away from them was because we were blessed to be in Israel and know that G-d has been looking after us.
There is something about living in Israel that pulls at my soul. Not only is it the home of my ancestors, but it has become my home. I have been told I have an old soul. Perhaps that it why I feel so comfortable here. Yet, I do not think I could have ever survived Israel without the friends I have made here. The people in Israel are a unique breed. And although every Israeli has at least 3 opinions on every subject and cannot agree on anything, the entire country pulls together and becomes one large family.
People in Israel invite strangers they meet on the street, or on buses and trains, to their homes for a meal. I never felt frightened to accept these invitations from strangers because I have met so many supportive, caring, and generous people living a life of the Jewish ideals of love, kindness, and charity here in Israel. The Torah ascribes great importance to hospitality. It is a mitzvah to extend hospitality to strangers. It is said that one who performs hospitality emulates the qualities of G-d Himself. And Israelis are definitely a hospitable people.
I especially like to be in Israel prior to Shabbat (Sabbath) and holidays. On Shabbat people do not pass each other on the street without saying “Shabbat shalom”, which means a “peaceful Sabbath”. There is something wonderful when an entire country, religious and non-religious alike, greet strangers on the street with “chag sameach“, which means “happy holiday”, weeks in advance of the holiday. Rosh Hashana is approaching and already we are hearing “Shana tova“, which literally means “Good year”, wherever we go. Another greeting is “You should have a good and sweet year”. And of course, “Ketiva V’Chatima Tova” is said by all, which means “May you be inscribed and signed for life” in the Book of Life.
In my particular community, the city’s population is diverse, comprised of religious and non-religious Jews from over 80 countries in the world. There are over 130 synagogues to accommodate worshippers from one end of the religious spectrum to the other, a synagogue on just about every block. One of the unique aspects of my community is that it has a reputation of being a “community where people actually get along with each other” despite their religious, ethnic, and political differences. And although only about 10 percent of the community are from Anglo or English speaking countries, I have been able to live here for the last 8 years without learning Hebrew.
In what other country can you buy plants and have the flower shop owner leave the shop unattended while he walks you home with the plant because it is too heavy and cumbersome? In what other country can you buy a television at the local pharmacy and have the pharmacist deliver it free of charge during his lunch break? In what other country can you find a taxi driver who will drive all over town at night looking for a place to buy crutches after you leave the hospital in a cast and he only charges the minimum fare? In what other country can you live in a city of 150,000 people and the supermarket cashiers remember your address by heart? And in what other country can you order pizza over the phone and when they hear your voice they remember your name and where you live?
But best of all is how the country pulls together in an emergency. For example, during last year’s war with Gaza in the South, an Israeli farmer prepared 35,000 free pita sandwiches filled with vegetables provided by local farmers and meat supplied by a butcher from the North for the soldiers in the war. Over 250 volunteers helped with this effort. The farmer said, “Citizens of this beautiful country don’t work by the book. We work with our hearts. It’s possible to do everything for free, as long as you have love”. The Hebrew word “chesed” means loving kindness. Also during the war, catering companies and mobile kitchens volunteered on the front lines. Soldiers received toiletries, underwear, socks, supplies and various personal services like free haircuts and shaves, and even massages for aching limbs.
In what other country would 30,000 people attend a funeral for a soldier they never met or travel from all over the country to visit hospitals with injured soldiers? In what other country would strangers risk their own lives to shelter babies and small children with their bodies when rockets and debris fell from the skies? In what other country would pedestrians be pulled off the streets into businesses and bomb shelters for safety by kind hearted shop owners? In what other country would young boys and men carry the elderly or sick to safety when they could not run into stairwells or shelters when the rockets exploded?
Living in Israel is definitely a wonderful experience. I can understand why over 90 percent of Israelis are proud to be Israeli. I can understand why Israel is ranked the 7th happiest nation in the world, ahead of the US and Britain, despite the high prices for consumer goods and housing, and despite the wars, international isolation, and terrorism.
L’hitraot. Shachar