Next week, we celebrate Jerusalem Day  to commemorate the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.

Jerusalem – the golden city, the holy city, the beating heart of so many people, of so many beliefs and religions. Whenever I go up to Jerusalem (we don’t say that we simply go or travel to Jerusalem, we always “go up” there – עוֹלִים לִירוּשָׁלַיִם), I feel excitement, like meeting a long-lost lover, like reuniting with a dear family member. There is something about this city that I have never experienced in any other place – something in the air is different, the spiritual soul of this city embraces me.

Bar-Mitzvah at the Kotel

When my son Johnathan was about to become a Bar-Mitzvah  last summer, we felt that celebrating it at the Kotel, the Western Wall  , would be the most appropriate way for us. We invited our close relatives to join us at this special event. They came from four different continents to share this experience with us. At a hot summer day, we gathered next to the Kotel – the men and soon-to-become-a-man on one side of the partition, and the women, on the other side.

The ceremony was very exciting for me as a mother as I was very proud of my son. I felt as if the holiness of the place touched all of us, and as if the long lasting stones of the Kotel led my son peacefully into the world of adulthood, of becoming a significant part of our nation. These stones have witnessed so many Bar-Mitzvahs, so many prayers and wishes, so many tears, and so many battles and celebrations in the thousands of years they stand there. These stones signify the connections of our ancestors and our descendants, of our history and future, and most of all, of our current existence.

The Generation Center מֶרְכַּז שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת הַדּוֹרוֹת

To delve even more into the history of the Jewish nation, we followed the Bar-mitzvah ceremony by visiting the Generation Center, just next to the Wall. The exhibits in the center take us through 3,500 years – “from exile to statehood, from destruction to rebuilding, and from crisis to hope.” This place integrates art and history, light and transparency, names and dates. The unusual and beautiful glass monuments make us feel as if we can see through it into the events of the past and the future.

A Jewish soul needs some physical supply in the shape of food to digest all the spiritual events of the day. But, even a simple act of gathering and eating become a spiritual experience in Jerusalem. We climbed the stairs up to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and met our caterer who led us in the mysterious allies of the old city to a hall in a Yeshiva. Our relative, David, said that it felt like going to Platform 9 ¾ of the Harry Potter story – we will never be able to find this place again, and even if we do, we won’t be able to recognize it.

After some refreshments, we all gave my son some words of advice and stories of wisdom. Many of us felt the spiritual presence of those who were unable to attend the Bar-Mitzvah and their love and care for Johanthan. It felt as if only this spiritual city could have created this experience.

Let us hope that the glory of this city lasts forever and sparkles its love and beauty all around.

Here are some words, places, and phrases related to Jerusalem:

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