Jewish academic and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster reflects on her recent visit to Israel and the mood in Jerusalem because the war with Gaza continues.
I actually have just returned from visiting my family in Israel. Getting there was difficult. No flights from Manchester at present and from London only El Al, the Israeli carrier.
People who aren’t Jewish urged me to not go – a war zone, they said. Jewish people said the other. Good for you!
In addition, no medical health insurance was available from this country, and I’m normally quite cautious, but was determined to make it there and survive without becoming sick.
Rules and regulations had modified for flights on this country and my small bottles of every-day items were scoured for signs of criminal intent, but ultimately, and after around a 15 hour journey, I finally made it.
Last time I used to be in Jerusalem, I used to be giving a dvar Torah (sermon) at a central shul on the biblical Torah reading concerning the spies sent out by Moses to scour the Promised Land (Numbers 13). On that occasion, I identified that the Hebrew words for spy and pilgrim were almost similar – each are inclined to come on foot, and each come to learn from the Land. However, spies (i.e. politicians, journalists etc) from abroad could be more honest with themselves in the event that they morphed into pilgrims and decided to learn something from Israel reasonably than always carp and misrepresent the facts.
A up to date example of a pilgrim approach to Israel is that of Douglas Murray, one of the crucial sensible thinkers of our own generation, who has made what he himself calls ‘non-Jewish aliyah’ to the beloved country since October 7Â and has been speaking truth to power ever since, much to the embarrassment of anti-Semites and naysayers alike.
So what would I find after I set foot once more within the place which is now home to my children and grandchildren?
My younger daughter, currently living in Jerusalem, got here to satisfy me on the airport, and we took a train all of the solution to Jerusalem, using a ‘rav-kav’, or all-purpose ticket card for the journey, which took lower than half an hour. This was a recent development. Thanks to the wife of my rabbi who provided me along with her own rav-kav to make use of on the trip!
On arrival on the Jerusalem station, we hailed a taxi, whose driver, an Arab, needed to be bargained all the way down to the normally-accepted rate. The apartment within the Talpiot district was to my mind beautiful. I slept within the ‘maamad’, the bunker which is the room sealed against enemy attack. For some reason, I felt quite secure.
The first day we wandered all the way down to Emek Refaim along the famous ‘tayalet’, or rail track walk, which is festooned on one side by John Betjeman-like Hebrew poetry extolling the sweetness and wonder of trains. There were also original quotes from the founding father of political Zionism, Theodor Herzl, who was aware of the importance of rail travel for the brand new age of locomotions. On the opposite side of the ‘tayalet’Â are serious exercise outlets, warning that anyone with heart problems should desist from trying them out.
This sums up Israel to me – beautiful, practical, ancient, modern, poetic and health conscious, multi function space.
I doubt most of the people encountered during my stay were tourists. Most appeared to live there. As well as Hebrew, French, Arabic and English were ubiquitous. Yes, there was a little bit of the Israeli chutzpah within the air, but additionally politeness now unknown within the UK. To my surprise, I discovered kids, of which there are more per head in Israel than within the UK, way more respectful of elders (i.e me) than is mostly the case on this country. Elders are definitely cherished within the Jewish State, and afforded respect sadly now lacking in much of the West.
I used to be in a position to go swimming in an area pool, and engaged with the manager. He wondered why I used to be still living within the UK, being astonishingly well versed within the shenanigans of the British Foreign Secretary, the Prince of Wales and hate-filled crowds currently marching on Shabbat in London, in addition to in Manchester.
My stay in Jerusalem coincided with the Speaker debacle within the UK Parliament, which I still don’t understand. It seems to me that the majority UK Parliamentarians want Hamas to easily go away, not because Hamas are fallacious, but because they’ve proved to be a humiliation and yet, at the identical time, Israel must lose in any respect costs.
The other daughter got here with the grandchildren for Shabbat. They were all terrific. Such optimism, sense of fun and expressiveness. And all during a time of war. Amazing!
For rest, I managed to access the primary two series of The Crown, reputedly the most effective of the lot, and located it somewhat incongruous watching this nostalgic retrospective of the British past, with Churchill, Macmillan, the nice smog of 1952 (also a part of Manchester’s history, which is why my mother decided we had to maneuver to the seaside to flee – I used to be one yr old on the time), Princess Margaret, Suez, Kennedy and Profumo, all episodes of my very young life, which still remain vividly fixed within the psyche. Not to say Billy Graham in fact!
However, now, many Jews not feel a part of the UK. I used to be warning about Rochdale, adjoining to centres of enormous Jewish demography, 25 years ago, after I taught there in schools. No-one listened. People thought I used to be mad, and plenty of still do. But the chickens have definitely come home to roost – and with a really large bang. Because of indifference at best and sheer hostility at worst, Jews within the UK are currently terrified and none of the same old institutions are doing anything about it. For an extended time now, there was no real Jewish leadership on this country – only talking shops and sycophants. That is the Israeli view of the UK and that can be my view.
On the last day, my daughter and I visited the Kotel. This is the Hebrew name for the Western Wall of the Temple. For the primary time in my life I used to be in a position to reach the Wall itself, where I recited just a few Psalms and said prayers for the well-being of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
Any conclusions? I used to be there for per week, simply to go to my family and loosen up. I discovered Jerusalem to be disciplined, exuberant, polite and argumentative unexpectedly. If there was dejection – and why shouldn’t there be – it was kept well hidden by a people intent on living life on their very own terms, in keeping with Jewish norms. And so well integrated; community cohesion 100 per cent, I simply couldn’t consider it, despite all the pieces that the Jewish people have been through in the previous few months.
On Shabbat, it was drizzling barely, so a morning prayer service was held within the underground garage of the block. For afternoon and evening services, a minyan (quorum) met within the courtyard of the block and we had a ring-side seat from our apartment, with wonderful views of the davenning (prayer) and of the Old City of Jerusalem.
This Shabbat the Torah reading has been Ki Tissa (Exodus 30:11 – 34:35), which incorporates the famous story of the Golden Calf. Moses on Mount Sinai is missed by the Children of Israel and so his brother Aaron, for the sake of peace, allows an intermediary to be fashioned by the people. This is the Golden Calf, which doesn’t help matters in the long term.
I am unable to help feeling that the story of the Gold Calf is symbolic of what the remainder of the world want the Jewish people to do at this present moment – cave in and take the straightforward way out. But let’s hope that Israel, the Promised Land of the Jewish people and the just one where we feel really at home, doesn’t cave in. Let’s hope that by some means she will be able to find the courage to carry out and make the precise decisions on this worst situation for the Jewish people for the reason that Shoah.
Blandishments never work and the people of Israel know this of their hearts. We need to think concerning the long run, similar to our biggest teacher Moses Rabbeinu. Popularity may bring short-term benefits, however the true sage all the time has the large picture in mind.
It could also be easy for me to speak – I haven’t got to make these kinds of choices. However, I actually have tremendous faith within the people of Israel, now the most important grouping of Jews on this planet, and that is why I felt far safer in a bunker in Jerusalem than I do in Greater Manchester, adjoining to Rochdale.
I’m glad my family made the choice to live in Israel, despite all of the hardships and opprobrium from the remainder of the world. I also feel that that is what the Torah reading of Ki Tissa is telling us.
Make sure that seemingly positive short-term decisions are for real, and don’t find yourself simply becoming yet one more illusory Golden Calf. Israelis know this. Let’s hope the remainder of the world wakes up.
