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Over the last two millennia, Jews have visited Jerusalem in honor of the festivals, in lieu of the biblically-ordained pilgrimages. On the holiday of Shavuot, there was also the custom to visit the purported grave of King David on Mount Zion, since the date of his death was on Shavuot. When Shavuot arrived in 1948, it was a month after the establishment of the State of Israel, and Jews could no longer continue to make the pilgrimage to the Western Wall. The Jordanians, who occupied the eastern half of the city since the War of Independence, blocked all rights of passage to the Jews. However, the pilgrimage to King David's tomb on nearby Mount Zion, located on the Israeli side of divided Jerusalem, continued. Over the next 19 years, crowds made their way to Mount Zion, where across barbed wire they could view the Old City and the Temple Mount. On the morning of Shavuot, June 15, 1967 -- just six days after the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in the Six Day War -- the Old City was officially opened to the Israeli public. (The army wanted to be sure there were no landmines or snipers still in the Old City.) For the first time in almost 2,000 years, masses of Jews could visit the Western Wall and walk through the cherished streets of Judaism's capital city as members of the sovereign Jewish nation. Each Jew who ventured to the Western Wall on that unforgettable day was realizing their ancestors' dreams over the millennia. It was one of those rare, euphoric moments in history. From the late hours of the night, thousands of Jerusalem residents streamed toward the Zion gate, eagerly awaiting entry into the Old City. At 4 a.m., the accumulating crowds were finally allowed to enter the area of the Western Wall. As the sun continued to rise, there was a steady flow of thousands who made their way to the Old City. The Jerusalem Post described the epic scene: Every section of the population was represented. Kibbutz members and soldiers rubbing shoulders with Neturei Karta. Mothers came with children in prams, and old men trudged steeply up Mount Zion, supported by youngsters on either side, to see the wall of the Temple before the end of their days. In total, 200,000 visited the Western Wall that day. It was the first pilgrimage, en masse, of Jews to Jewish-controlled Jerusalem on a Jewish festival in 2,000 years, since the pilgrimages for the festivals in Temple times. An eyewitness described the moment: "I've never known so electric an atmosphere before or since. Wherever we stopped, we began to dance. Holding aloft Torah scrolls we swayed and danced and sang at the tops of our voices. So many of the Psalms and songs are about Jerusalem and Zion, and the words reached into us a new life. As the sky lightened, we reached the Zion gate. Still singing and dancing, we poured into the narrow alleyways beyond." Published: Sunday, May 13, 2007
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It is my new desktop picture.
I don't need a picture to see the hope we shared then. I pray daily that our tikva is not in vain
(2) Marsha 5/13/2007 9:47:00 AM
Being part of Jewish history
I will never forget the spread Life magazine did shortly after the 6 Day War showing Israelis/Jews flocking to the Kotel. The euphoria of those days was amazing. I fear we will never again see the day when the arab world grovels at the feet of the IDF...
(3) Anonymous 5/13/2007 3:54:00 AM
a scene to be repeated
For those not old enough to have experienced this great moment, or for those of us who do not live in the land of Israel, we can only sense with longing the thrill of those 200,000 Jews who merited that first pilgrimage to the Kotel in 1967; yet, we are a step removed; our joy is not as intense as those who were actually there and we are envious and filled with longing . So, too, shall it be upon Mashiach's arrival, with one difference: today, for the first time in history, coming to Israel is possible for nearly all of us without the great sacrifices of the past. Who wants to feel the awe and joy of the Final Redemption second-hand when we have the ability to experience it ourselves in person? Now is our chance; let us not tarry!