D'var Torah

Hamvaser Nisan-Iyyar 5768

Dream a Little Dream with Me

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
Until my lover's dreams come true
- Bobby Darin (1959)

Several weeks ago, having recently returned from our congregational trip to Israel, I asked the question “Do Dreams come true?” I suggested the classic American dream was a house in the suburbs, at least two cars, several vacations a year, and children who attend one of the Ivy’s. And the classic Jewish dream? Before 1948, the dream of a return to Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Promise. For nearly two thousand years we dreamed, we hoped, we aspired, and we waited – sometimes patiently, sometimes not. Ours is the generation blessed to witness the return to Zion and the establishment of a sovereign state of Israel. Merely three years after the full revelation of the destruction of European and North African Jewry, rising quite literally from the ashes of the Shoah, a Jewish state. Miracles happen. Signs and wonders and sparks of holiness. Those born after 1948 have never known a world without a state of Israel, without the existence of a thriving, burgeoning, vibrant Jewish State – and as a result may be prone to take it for granted. As with any important relationship in our lives, we dare not take that path. Rather we are to relish the reality.

In ancient times, property possession was predicated on perambulation, marking the boundaries of one’s property by walking around it. Weeks ago, in the feet of Abraham, we trekked to the west, east, north and south, we walked throughout the width and breadth of the land. We felt the land in our legs, our calves, in every muscle; we experienced nearly every climatic zone in Israel, and breathed in the air that revivifies and rejuvenates. We traveled through a crater that was formed 200 million years ago, and sat down to meet with a member of the Knesset in a conference room barely a month into use. It is one thing to read about something, to passively participate in another’s experience. We lived the art, architecture and archaeology of Israel. We walked on cobblestones two thousand years old, journeyed to a marketplace (now below ground level) dating to the time of the Maccabees, searched for copper and manganese sitting ground level at Timna, basked in the cool shade of a marvelous art museum in the Jordan River Valley, and sampled some of the marvelous cuisine that makes Israel so very special.

We stood on the very steps where ancient pilgrims sang the step songs, the psalms of ascent, perhaps including Psalm 126:

A song on the steps.
When Adonai brings about the return of Zion from exile, we shall be like dreamers.
At that time, our mouths shall be filled with laughter, our tongues with gladness.
At that time, the nations shall declare “Adonai has done great things with those people.”
Indeed, Adonai will do such great things for us that we shall be truly happy.
Adonai, bring us home as effortlessly as those desert stream flow through the Negev.
People who sow in tears shall reap in gladness; one who goes out crying as he carried his bag of seed shall
surely come back in gladness carrying mature sheaves.

In this sixtieth year of the independence of the sovereign state of Israel, we laughed, we rejoiced and we were glad. Through Anita Schick’s masterful retelling of our journey we created a virtual congregational trip to Israel. Regrettably some 75% of American Jews have never been to Israel; one of the opportunities we seek to provide GHC members and friends is the opportunity to make dreams come true. Our next trip to Israel is being planned for Presidents’ Week, February 2009. Join us as we move forward in Jewish time, history and destiny, waiting for our Dream Lover’s dream to come true. In the meantime, join us May 4, Israel Day at GHC. Check the calendar and elsewhere in the Hamvaser for details about this program.

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