Shabbat Shalom

by Rabbi Jon Adland

June 25, 2010, Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9), 12 Tammuz 5770

The Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Israel 2010 trip leaves on Sunday. This will be my ninth trip to Israel; the first one took place in 1971. For Sandy, this will be her fifth trip since 1988. Both of my children have traveled and studied there. Israel is a part of who we are as Jews. It is my fervent prayer that others will find a place for Israel in their lives and souls as well.

This trip will include 23 others. Along with Sandy and me are 18 IHC members, a close friend of one couple, and two of my college friends who live in New York. (They are already there and went with our wonderful guide, Doron Bookshtein, to Petra.) For many on the trip, this is their first Israel experience. It is certainly not the same country it was when I traveled there in 1971, but it is still an amazing experience to walk where our ancestors walked and to pray where they prayed as well.

In a week we will be in Jerusalem.We will spend Shabbat there, see the old and new city, and taste the delicious falafel on Ben Yehuda and King George Streets. I know that if I stand in one place on Ben Yehuda Street just long enough someone I know will pass me by. It is inevitable. It is wonderful. It is Israel and Jerusalem.

Let me pause though for a moment in my excitement about our trip to reflect on the fact that today is the fourth anniversary of the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. His return to Israel is a continuing focus of the Israeli government and his captivity a source of pride to the terrorist organization Hamas.

Subscribe to read more.