A walk through the Tel here (in Itamar) is a great place to meditate and put your mind to the next hours of awe ahead of us. Houses of ancient stones, large gaping pits, tiny holes in the charred rocks tell a story of a people, my people who lived here once. The space here was an arena of activity, a hill pulsing with handiworks in wine and olive oil production as well as grinding wheat and digging wells, there are so many of them here. Silent messages are sent from the distant past.
Under the broken crumbly soil the earth is rich here. Autumn crocuses flower purple low down on the ground and if you listen to the wind, it echoes. Times of festivals were celebrated here and also times of trouble and destruction. The sky now, as the white clouds of Tishrei roll in must have been the same sky, alive. My mind’s eye visualizes not a fiction but fancies the miracle of my life as I was always one to think out of the box and of all places winded up right here in the very heart of biblical Israel. I’m trying to wrap my head around it. This is the time we think more about things, so I’m enjoying this Divine Appointment especially in the shade of a now larger cloud declaring and creating the official mood of Yom Kippur about to happen.
On Yom Kippur a new level of understanding comes into play and it all really begins to make sense, my life, my stubborn intercession. We’ve entreated You for the last nine days- soon the fear of heaven will graduate into love for it. We have been pleading with you, now we are about to be decided on. It’s a clean slate and a chance to rise; we rise because we realize how powerless we are without You. Now is our opportunity to wake up in the morning and ask what our goals are. If they are challenging, the better!
GIVE ME KOACH, strength for what you lead me to! Israel has proved that the people actively involved in restoration and overcame obstacles were the ones that diligently and laboriously shaped history- the WORLD’S history! Sure, there is opposition. That’s the momentum of this story. If you are reading this now- you are a part of this story. Yes, there were failed attempts, sure there are hard days, yes there are days we all fall, but rephrase that now into “I didn’t YET succeed”. Hey, there were eight attempts to settle Itamar before it got on the ground. Each time we tried we were scraped away (by our own army and government)
Crisis leads to opportunity. A sprinkling of diehard stubborn zealous for Zion people did not give up. Half a million Jews live in Israel’s heartland today. This is template for your life where ever you may be! Trials are placed before all of us! Dare to try again.
This is the power of Yom Kippur. You’re getting a n o t h e r chance. We rake the earth; Hashem pours down the rain in the right time with the right amount- we pray for that. Your mental state right now is affected by your emotional state and that sits right upon your spiritual state.
This is the power of YOM KIPPUR!
We have been gifted with an amazing feast right after this time, Sukkot. We build this temporary building with the full understanding that what-ever falls down – rises.
We say a special blessing “הרחמן הוא יקים לנו סוכת דוד הנופלת- May the all merciful raise up for us the fallen Tabernacle of David. We believe firmly in TEKUMAH- rebirth!
We have prayed for two thousand years for THIS. As a holocaust survivor’s daughter, looking back just ONE generation- now forward to barren hills revived, the grapevines, the olive trees, the children singing praises!
THERE IS NOTHING HASHEM CAN’T DO BUT HE NEEDS US ON THE GROUND TO BE READY TO SERVE. Itamar is building a new mikveh now and new neighborhoods are going up, our dorms at the school are almost completed as well as many other projects on the ground, we have plenty more challenges ahead in RESTORATION.
Please remember Friends of Itamar, our 501c3.
TZOME KAHL GMAR CHATIMAH TOVA, Leah
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