Our 13 ½ year old chocolate labrador, Bella, crossed the Rainbow Bridge last month.  We got her as a Hanukkah present on December 1, 2010, and she has been a constant in our life and our family ever since.  She taught us about unconditional love, how important playing is in life, the joy of treats, and the joy in just being together. 

Almost exactly a year ago, she almost died.  While being boarded, something we hadn’t done in many years, she developed 3 major infections and had 3 major open wounds.  She couldn’t eat, walk, or do much of anything.  We were preparing to say goodbye and tried one last Hail Mary attempt before saying goodbye.  That last attempt miraculously worked and for the last year Bella fought every day to be with us and to do whatever she could do.  She went on walks.  She climbed the stairs.  She did some physical therapy in a swimming pool.  She would climb up in my lap.

The last few months she would come upstairs at 2 am to wake me up and make me go downstairs and sleep on the couch next to her.  She liked sleeping on the travertine tile floor but didn’t want to be alone, so it was my job to be close to her.  Most of the time, as soon as we got downstairs together, she would lay on the floor and be content and sleep through the night.  Every so often she would let me spend the entire night sleeping in bed, but it was a rare occurrence.  I didn’t mind (much) because I knew how important it was to her.

Bella reminds me in many ways of Israel.  Israel is 76 years old.  When the US was 76, we hadn’t even fought the civil war yet.  Israel is still a baby, or maybe a middle school student.  It is start-up nation.  It is innovation.  We joke that the national bird is the crane because when you are in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, there is so much construction that you see so many cranes all over the place.  My relationship with Israel is similar to the relationship I had with Bella.  It is one of mutual love.  It is one where we learn from each other every day.  It is unconditional love.  It doesn’t mean that I was happy when Bella stole the challah or that I am happy when the Israeli government makes what I consider to be a bad decision.  It does mean that I love Bella no matter what she does, just like I love Israel even when the government or some of the people make very poor decisions.

My relationship with Bella started the day I picked her up, December 1, 2010, and brought her to our home and our family.  While she is physically gone, it is a relationship that will last forever.  My relationship with Israel began as a child, shaped by my grandparents and parents.  It deepened when I made my first trip there in the summer of 1989 and has continued to grow on each of my 21 subsequent trips since that first one.  Just as my relationship with Bella deepened as she got older and we spent more time together, so has my relationship with Israel.  Each visit takes me deeper into my own Jewish identity.  Each visit helps me explore who I am, who I want to be, what my values are, how do I want to spend my life, and answer the question I have previously written about, “What would I die for?”, which tells me what I am living for. 

Israel is not a tourist attraction that you go to once and that’s it.  It is a fine wine.  A good bourbon or scotch.  Incredible music.  It is to be savored.  That first taste is exactly that, a taste.  It’s wonderful and exciting and exhilarating.  Floating in the Dead Sea, climbing Masada (or taking the cable car), going to the Kotel, touring the old city of Jerusalem.  Exploring Tzfat and spirituality.  Visiting the Kinneret.  Rafting down the Jordan river.  Hearing the Muslim call to prayer from the minarets, as you are in the middle Jewish or Christian prayers. Exploring Haifa and the Baha’i Gardens.  I could go on and on and on.  Yet it’s just a taste.  A first sip.  Your toe in the ocean.  There is so much to explore, so much to invest, so much to learn and grow.  Just like every relationship.  Just like my relationship with Bella.  The day I brought her home, I was in love.  She was adorable and cute and fun.  The day before she died, we were sitting outside together, she way laying the grass, happy as can be, a totally different and deeper experience.  My first trip to Israel was exciting and exhilarating.  I soaked it all up and have vivid memories from that trip, 35 years ago.  My trip to Israel last month was also powerful and deep in a very different and more mature way.  My trip this month was a deeper exploration into what Israel stands for, what she means, what her values are, and my personal connection that as a Jew, started when Abraham listened when he was told by God to “Lech Lecha”, go forth, and was guided to this land.  Just like sitting outside with Bella during her last weeks as she laid in the grass instead of playing frisbee or chasing a ball, it was even more special despite the vast difference.

As we toured the old city of Jerusalem this time, our guide challenged us to view it very differently.  He urged us not to see buildings, walls, rocks, and rubble.  Instead, take a look at what happened. What are the stories?  What does it all mean?  When he took us through the tunnels under the Kotel, he posed the same questions.  It was a remarkable two tours with Eytan.  He spent three hours each time with us, pushing us to keep moving with him as he made the old city come alive in a completely different way.  I felt like I was there in the 1948 war for the old city.  My love for Jerusalem was captured during the tour as I asked myself what I would do to defend Jerusalem.  The old city will never be the same for me as I turn every corner and there is deeper meaning.

As he took us through the City of David, we stood where King David’s palace likely was.  There is enough archeological evidence to show this is where it would have been.  You could imagine what happened in that area.  The poetry of King David being written.  The decisions he had to make, both good and poor.  As we moved to the current excavation site, you could imagine the city that once existed there, more than 3,000 years ago.  The vibrancy of the people.  We walked through the drainage system, designed to capture the rainwater from the mountain to bring fresh water to the cisterns of the city below.  The system was small and narrow.  I couldn’t stand straight up and banged my head a few times.  It felt tight and constricted.  All I could think of as I walked through this tight place was the hostages and how they live like this every day.  A 3,000-year-old water collection system teaching me about life today.  I’m not sure there is anything more Jewish than that. 

I miss Bella every day, just like I miss Israel.  There are a few images that will stay with me from this trip for a long time. 

Our hotel is where the residents of Shlomi, a town in the north of Israel, have lived since October 7^th.  They are right on the border with Lebanon and were bombed by Hezbollah and had to evacuate.  Throughout the hotel, we had families living their lives.  Kids running around, riding tricycles, women doing laundry at the specially installed washing machines because this was now their home.  A Gan (kindergarten) still functioning as the other children are now enrolled in local schools.  The hotel lobby had become a community center. Shlomi is a religious community and as we prayed each day, said the Birkat Hamazon (grace after meals), and learned Torah, they watched.  They came up to one of our leaders and spoke to him in Hebrew, telling him how much we inspired them.  How proud they were because of what we were doing and because we were there.  Imagine being forced from your home and living far away in a single hotel room with your 5-7 children for over 9 months.  And young people, choosing to come to Israel during the war, doing Jewish traditions, inspire you. 

I watched as their Gan began the day.  The children were adorable.  The teacher filled with excitement and passion.  The joy in the room at the hotel was palpable.  These 4-year-old children who have had their life turned upside down had normalcy.  I was inspired.  I watched and smiled.  Life doesn’t just go on.  It flourishes.  That is Israel.  Even in the worst of times, there is joy and plans for a better future.  As we visited the Kotel before leaving Israel, what did we see?  Another group of children, dressed in costume, learning at the Kotel. It was a beautiful site. No matter how much people try to kill us, try to villify us, try to isolate us, try to mock us, try to eliminate us, we will not give up. We will not forget who we are.

The joy of being at Machane Yehuda in the day, as a bustling shuk (market) and then in the evening as a crazy fun group of nightclubs is amazing. The energy, the passion for Judaism and Israel expressed at both times is amazing. When in Jerusalem at the shuk, the singing is loud, the passion is raised, and there is a strong and powerful pride in being Jewish. Why can’t we keep this when we return? Why do our voices suddenly get quiet? As you watch this video of the shuk, feel the energy, the passion, the joy and make sure you bring it with you every day when it comes to being Jewish.

I have been to Israel 22 times now and will be back at least once more this calendar year. As I walked and talked with one of our participants who was on her first trip to Israel, she talked about how surprised she was at how she felt in Israel. She talked about how much she wished we had an extra week or two on the trip, with the group, to continue learning and having the experience. She talked about how much she wanted to come back and maybe next summer would work. Once you have been to Israel this will make sense to you. Until you go, you can’t really understand it. It brings up the existential question, how to do we maintain this connection to Judaism, to our history, to our family and community, and to God, when we aren’t in Israel? How do we bring it home with us so that it lives within us all the time, not just when we are in Israel?

Many people and organizations have tried to answer this question over the years, some with some success, others not so much. What I do know is that as long as those of us who aren’t super religious can inspire the religous people of Shlomi with our effort, we are doing ok. As long as we continue to make the effort to do it, we are having success. It truly is a journey, not a destination.

P.S. – Here is a little something to put a smile on your face – the Jerusalem Youth Choir with Arab and Jewish youth singing on America’s Got Talent.