After Maariv tonight one of the men in shul said in a loud voice [in Hebrew - I translate] "When is the Yom Yerushalayim celebration?!" Someone then approached him with a smile and welcomed him back home [he had been in the States for two weeks - can you guess who this guy is?] and he said loudly "I came back to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim. How come nothing is going on over here?"
After I returned home I saw this [in Shabbat Bi-shabato Parshas Bamidbar]:
About five years ago an exhibition was set up in the Rambam Library on the subject of "liberation of Jerusalem in the eyes of the Jews." One of the exhibits was the front page of the newspaper "Hamodiya," published by Agudat Yisrael, dated the twenty-ninth of Iyar 5727, describing the achievements of the IDF. On the front page there was an editorial with the headline, "Echo of the Day." Reading this article is a very emotional experience, and it presents us with the Jewish viewpoint of how great were the events of the time of the Six Day War. The following is the entire text of the editorial:
"The liberation of Jerusalem within the walls and the Western Wall by the IDF which defeated its enemies is the high point in the events of these great days. Once again the Wall of Tears is wet, the remnant of our glorious Temple, the place which the Shechina never left. Once again we will be able to pray and plead there as we used to do twenty years ago, ever since we were separated from the place by our enemies.
"This is a glorious time, the hour of the revelation of the will of Divine guidance and the showing of the light of its face to us. This revelation, which took place at such a dramatic pace, surprised us and caught us unprepared from a spiritual point of view. We arrived at this point through a 'shortcut of the road,' we would not believe if we had not seen it with our own eyes. In three great days we went from fear and trembling to salvation and a transformation. The soldiers of Israel who galloped through Eretz Yisrael saw clouds of fire, clouds that exalted the glory of Israel and left the world with its mouth agape, astonished at what it saw. A nation blockaded and in dire straits overturned the tables and went from darkness to a great light.
"The human mind cannot grasp this yet, and it is doubtful if the best military strategists in the world will be able to explain the events in understandable human terms. Or, perhaps they will have to incorporate the language that must be used by the Jewish nation which is so familiar with miracles, that just as in the days when we were taken out of the Land of Egypt, G-d, the "Man of War," showed us wonders that are unmatched in the annals of all the nations from that time until now.
"Only those who are blind do not see the hand of G-d which guided the Israel Defense Forces through the Sinai Desert, at the gates of Jerusalem, in front of the walls of Jericho, in Gush Etzion, and on the way to Chevron, the site of the Machpeila Cave, the resting place of our Patriarchs who lie in Chevron, by whose merit we have reached this day. And we will not forget the straits of the Red Sea which have once again been opened to Israeli shipping after a lightning strike...
"We give thanks to G-d for He is good, to Him who alone performs miracles, who remembered us at our lowest ebb, for His mercy lasts forever."
I still remember dancing to the Kotel in my Yeshivat Hakotel days and singing צהלי ורוני יושבת ציון כי גדול בקרבך קדוש ישראל.
I would go to the Kotel tonight to celebrate but since I haven't been there in over 30 days I would have to rip kriya [translated as "rip ripping". I'm a muscular guy. I rip!]. It would weird to rip my shirt in mourning as everyone dances in celebration, no?
Or is there some depth here?
Think about it.
A freilichin Yom Yerushalayim!!:):)
