I arrived back in Israel at 6:30 this morning. I didn’t sleep much on the plane which meant this was going to be 2 days back to back with just a few 15 minute power naps to get me through. Good thing it’s Israel, since that always inspires me and gets my blood flowing.

After clearing passport control and customs and getting on the bus, we headed towards Rechovot for two different purposes. The first was to see the Weitzman Institute, a truly incredible research facility. The Weitzman Institute was targeted by Iran with their ICBMs in June of this year. They took a direct to one of their research facilities, destroying it. Their cancer research facility was also heavily damaged, resulting in the loss of priceless research that could have cured cancer.

At the Weitzman Institute, they have already been rebuilding. It’s amazing to see how quickly they repaired the damage and how important this research facility is. You can see the damage at some buiildings on the side and with missing windows but the destruction has been cleared, the frames of the new buildings in place. The cancer center images below show the damage on the side but the buildings that existed next to this one have been demolished and the new ones will be built soon. The building above now looks like new construction and it won’t be long before it is finished and operational again.

The Weitzman Institute is symbolic of Israel, Israelis and the Jewish people. We are resilient. We bounce back. We may be damaged but we won’t be destroyed. This is the Israel I saw in October and see today. An Israel bouncing back. A Jewish people determined not just to survive but to thrive. This is our ‘secret sauce’. We refuse to give up. We refuse to die. Our enemies have tried to kill us for thousands of years and we simply refuse to go away. Driving through the Weitzman Institute, seeing the mix of beauty and destruction, of live and commitment to the future through their research, reminded me that we all have our part to play and we all need to play our role. We aren’t asked to do more than that yet we are expected to do our part.

After leaving the Weitzman Institute, we headed to one of my favorite places in Israel, Ha-tov veHamtiv, outside of Rehovot. What is Ha-tov veHamtiv? It’s a farm, and orchard, owned and caretaken by an incredible man, a true Tzaddik (righteous person). Sandy, one of Israel’s most successful patent attornies, began this effort more than 40 years ago as a community garden. Today, this more than 200 acre facility, grows more than 35 different fruits and vegetables, depending on the season. All the food grown is donated to those in need. Sandy funds the entire project. Volunteers come and pick the fruit and vegetables. Last year, in July, we picked apples. This year, in December, we picked oranges. We picked them, we ate them, we worked the land, and we got energized. Less than 2 hours off the plane from Miami, we were out in the sun, working the land. Instead of being tired from a more than 11 hour flight and having little to no sleep, we were filled with vigor. It didn’t take long for us to fill up two big bins of oranges. We connected with the land. We connected with our ancestors. We connected with Israel and the founders of the modern state of Israel.

Sandy came to talk to us. What an incredibly understated and humble man. He was filled with joy at being in the orchard. He was filled with emotion, seeing us working the fields, working the land, being in Israel. Then he shared an incredible fact with us. His 200 acres provide more than 50 tons of food to those in need EVERY WEEK. This one man, through his effort, philanthropy, commitment, and working with others is providing more than 2,600 tons of food to those in need every year. Who says one person cannot change the world. Think about that – more than 2,600 TONS of food a year. That’s more than 5.2 MILLION pounds of food every year. How amazing and incredible is that. One man. With a dream. With a vision. Responsible for more than 5.2 million pounds of food being given to those in need. Feeding the hungry. I was humbled to meet him, to be in his presence, not because of his wealth or business success, but by the 5.2 million pounds of food he is responsible for providing every single year. He gives us something to strive for. One little (or not so little) orchard/farm outside of Rechovot in Israel. Imagine what we can each do with somebody like him as our role model.

We hopped on the bus, stopped for some coffee, and continued on to Har Adar, an incredible overlook in the Jerusalem mountains. It was the sight of key battles in the War of Independence (1948) and the Six Day Way (1967), with tanks left there to memorialize those battles. Israel and her geography can be challenging for those who have never been to visit and seen how small the country is, how much the topography matters for security. Har Adar is a great location to understand the challenges and talk about where we have been, where we are, and where we hope to one day be.

The villages in the background of these photos are looking into Judea/Samaria/West Bank (names are political so I use them all). Deep in the background is Ramallah. Up front are Arab villages. Off to the right is Jerusalem. You get a feel for how close everything is. Before the second intifada (Sept 2000 – Feb 2005) it was common to walk easily between the villages in Judea/Samaria/West Bank and towns like Har Adar. Due to the violence of the second intifada, Israel needed to install the security fence to stop terrorists from coming through and becoming suicide bombers, murdering innocent civilians. The cost of this was that innocent civilians in those villages now had to go through checkpoints, needed approval to enter Israel proper, and had their lives made more difficult. After October 7th, it became more difficult. Just last summer we were able to climb up the tower at the scenic lookout to get a high view of the area. Today the lookout is padlocked and we couldn’t enter. Security cameras were installed since July 2024 to monitor the area. Our reality makes me sad.

Har Adar was once an affluent community. People have left because they don’t feel safe living that close to the border. Sitting by the tanks, eating our lunch, looking over the outlook, all I saw was a lost past and a lost future. Will we ever be able to return to the days where the security fence and checkpoints aren’t needed? Where we can live together in a shared society? I hope. I dream. I’m not sure that I believe. It makes me sad.

From Har Adar, we made a quick stop at the Elvis Presley Diner to use the bathrooms (the bathrooms at the Har Adar lookout were locked – another security change) and it was fun to experience it. Lots of kitchy things to buy but we couldn’t stop because we were off to the old city of Jerusalem.

In the Old City, we were going to explore the tunnels under the Kotel, under Temple Mount. I’ve been through them many, many times and it never gets old. The education about what Temple Mount is, the history of this area from Abraham and Isaac, to Kings David and Solomon, the Macabees of the Hanukkah story, and King Herod, ties together so much of Jewish history. When you go into the tunnels, that history comes alive. You see the actual walls built by King Herod. In their natural status from 2,000 years ago. You see the actual destruction of the second Temple by the Romans. You get to walk on the actual street from second temple times, the same street our ancestors walked on more than 2,000 years ago. Our feet were on the same street that people walked on during second temple times. It may be the same street that Judah Macabee walked on. As we stood on that street, overcome with the connection we were all feeling, we joined together to sing Am Yisrael Chai – the people of Israel live. We do live. We will continue to live. We will not just survive but thrive. If you told the Jewish people who were being taken into slavery and exile in the year 70 CE that in 2025 their ancestors would be standing on that street, singing Am Yisrael Chai, in the country of Israel, they wouldn’t have believed it.

As you enter the tunnels, there is a beautiful modern synagogue built in 2017. Pictures don’t do it justice.

There is a Jewish tradition that at age 70, you begin counting again so when you turn 83, you can have a second Bar/Bat Mitzvah. I’ve decided that when I’m 83, I want to have my second Bar Mitzvah here, in this synagogue, in the tunnels beneath the Kotel, beneath the Temple Mount. I’ve got a while to go yet it is something that gives me hope, that gives me joy. To think that I may be there in 25 years, with my family, my wife, siblings, children, grandchildren, and maybe even great-grandchildren chanting from the Torah and leading services for my 2nd Bar Mitzvah makes me smile. It gives me hope. When that happens, you are all invited!

Israel is a powerful place. As I woke up this morning in Jerusalem and will be spending Shabbat at the Kotel, the Western Wall of the Temple, I can’t help but be filled with gratitude. Despite the challenges in the world today, despite the rise of antisemitism, of hatred, and of division, here I am. In Israel. In Jerusalem. I’m reminded of Psalm 137, verse 5 (and I’m not a Torah scholar but this one is a goodie).

I’ll never forget Jerusalem. I’ll never forget Israel. And I get to be here right now, today. Am Yisrael Chai.