Simchat Torah

It's been a while since I last wrote here. It's a pity, because there were so many things to write about - all the wonderful Portions of Deuteronomy, and now the High Holidays, etc. Every one of these things merits to have innumerable books written about, not to mention a short blog post. But I didn't find the motivation to do it. I often wonder how many people really read this, and if it has any effect in the world.
Jerusalem is such an exciting place to be in on any random day, but especially on the Holiday of Sukkot. Today is the last day of this holiday. I took my smartphone for a Sukkot shooting walk in my new neighborhood and the neighboring one. So many sukkot, it is so nice to see. Sukkot is also the holiday of the nations. When we had the Temple, our priests sacrificed a bull for every one of the nations of the world, praying for their peace and welfare. And the city is full of visitors from every country today, it is dazzling.
One of the most moving events that I merited to witness this holiday was the Singing of the Levites. Levites are Jews from the tribe of Levi, usually carrying the family name of Levi, Levin, Levinas, etc. They are direct descendants of the tribe of Levi, and their role in the Temple was to sing, to play trumpets, and to help the Kohanim (Cohen family, Jewish priests) in their work in the Temple. They were also assigned the job to teach Torah to each of the tribes of Israel, and therefore they had no piece of land for themselves, they were scattered among the tribes. When we (the tribes of Judea and Benjamin) were exiled, the Levis in these tribes were exiled with us. And when we returned to Israel after 2000 years, they returned with us. Last week, a big group of Levis, Levites, stood on the southern stairway of the Temple Mount and sang the Psalms there (including Psalm 122 that I love so much, and other Psalms of Ascension that the Levites used to sing in the old days), and also played the traditional trumpets - for the first time in 2000 years. It was SO moving, really incredible. We feel that our return to the Holy Temple and the full redemption are really near.
https://www.facebook.com/JewishInspiration5773/videos/521552461969847/
I feel privileged to be able to document these things and share them with you here.
Today is the last day of Sukkot. Tomorrow we will read in synagogues the last Portion of the Torah and finish the reading cycle of one year, and then immediately we will start reading the very first Portion of the Torah - from Genesis 1:1. This holiday is called Simchat Torah ("The Joy of Torah"), and in Leviticus 23 it is referred to as "The Eighth Day" of Sukkot. I remember this holiday as a child. I lived in a small community in the Northern Negev, called after Isaiah 35:7, and it was very new, there was no synagogue yet. One of the houses in the community was turned into a synagogue. I remember sitting on my father's wide shoulders, receiving the typical Simchat Torah flag and running around with all the other kids. All of us also received a special candy: an apple, coated with red sugar-candy. Because I didn't like apples (and also didn't like this kind of candies), I was always disappointed. I wish they had given us chocolates instead :-) Anyway, scrolls of Torah were taken out of the holy ark, and people were dancing with them, and we were kissing them. It is one of my childhood memories. A few years later there was already a big, beautiful synagogue in the community, even though it is a secular community.
       

I have very fond memories of Sukkot itself - my father sticking natural wood logs into pits he dug in the ground, and then we covered the four corners of the Sukkah with white bed-linen. The most fun part was making decorations for the Sukkah, and then sitting there and eating there. It was so special. Later, at the age of 12, when my mother was remarried and we moved to the city, there was no longer Sukkah. Secular people who live in the city do not bother building sukkahs. It is such a shame. Sukkah is such a family thing, it is a home.
Anyway, when we moved to the city, I lost my home a few times - the community grew and became much more bourgeois, the original population moved and different kinds of people moved in instead, my childhood friends moved out to different communities, etc. At least the kindergarten, school and little clinic stay the same :-)  It is located not far from Gaza, and when I was a child, my uncles used to have friends from Gaza and fix their cars there, there was no problem at all, it was peaceful and nice, but then incitement of the Arab leaders started a fire, and we know what the results of it are today. A pity. By the way, one of the largest families in Gaza is the Al-Masri family (meaning: "The Egyptian"). Most of them came to Israel from Egypt. And to think that in the past there used to be a thriving Jewish community in Gaza, this is unbelievable today, but it is true. Jews lived in Gaza. But now they can only die there. And in my old community, they sometimes get missiles from Gaza.

Anyway, I'm happy that I'm in Jerusalem now. I would not want to live in a remote community far from Jerusalem. I can't live without the air of Jerusalem, without the light of Jerusalem. And I feel that some of my missions in life are directly related to Jerusalem. So as long as I can, I want to live here. This is THE place, and the eyes of the whole world are on Jerusalem. The real drama of humanity and life is taking place here. Ever since I was a child I thought to myself that Jerusalem is the most beautiful place on earth. I was right.

Anyway, the holiday is just around the corner, and I have to start preparing.
Have a wonderful day, and write to me if you can.

Hag Sameach,
Revital