I’ll never forget the moment I fell in love with Israel.
I traveled to Israel on an extreme sports tour during the summer before college. I had never gone rappelling, and we reached the edge of a huge cliff.
“Ok, chevra (my friends). Yalla (let’s go)!” our Israeli guide shouted to us after he spent five seconds setting up a loop of ropes. “Who’s first?”
I stepped towards the edge of the cliff and looked down. It was hundreds of feet of sharp desert rocks. I couldn’t even see the bottom. Was he insane? They did not really expect us to go down this thing. There was no way. The rest of the group had a similar expression on their faces.
I turned to the guide and asked, “Is there another way down?”
“No chabibi, this is it. Yalla.” And then he gestured for me to put on the rope harness that he had made.
I shook my head.
“Yalla! Let’s go. Zeh beseder.” I stepped into the ropes and waited for his instructions.
“Turn around and go,” he said, indicating that I should go backwards off the cliff.
As I stood on the edge of this steep cliff I thought, I am going to die.
“Go!” he shouted, and suddenly I was making my way down the cliff, my feet stepping on jutting rocks. When I turned around and looked at the view, I saw miles of beautiful mountains and valleys and a sky the color of deep blue water. I have never in my life seen anything this beautiful. It was that moment, hanging off of a cliff in the middle of the Golan, that I fell in love with Israel for the first time.
Since then I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to live and raise children there for many years. And even though we now live in America, my heart remains in our homeland, and I am grateful every day for the gifts that Israel has given me. This is why I am grateful for Israel:
1. Israel taught me to overcome my fears. Whether it was rappelling down a cliff for the first time or learning how to speak in a language that was not my own, Israel taught me that many things in life only look intimidating until we muster up the courage to actually do them. Israel instilled within me the idea of “Yalla” – let’s go!
2. Israel taught me the value of simplicity. Holding a small, plastic bag of milk for the first time or looking at the size of the kitchen in our first apartment in Israel, I wondered how we were going to survive. But living in Israel taught me that we really don’t need big kitchens or supersize products. The comforts of my childhood, I discovered, were overrated. I soon learned to focus on what was essential in my life instead of becoming distracted by my surroundings.
3. Israel connected me to my ancestors. Before I moved to Israel, I was an American first and a Jew second. Israel gave me back the strength of my Jewish identity and drove me to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors. It was there that the wisdom of Judaism became the foundation of everything that I do. It was there that I discovered that I wanted to raise my children with the beauty of our traditions and with the light of our Torah.
4. Israel taught me the value of unity. It was in Israel that I learned to interact with and appreciate people who were different from me. I learned from a myriad of fascinating cultures and ways of life. I learned the incredible beauty of being a part of a land where Jews from all over the world come and live together. And it was there that I learned that ultimately, there is so much more that unites us than divides us.
Thank you Israel for your beauty and for your wisdom. For your steep cliffs and your ocean blue skies. And above all, thank you for teaching me so many years ago how to step forward into my life instead of waiting by the edge.
Tell us why you’re grateful for Israel in the comment section below.
(8) Daubmir, May 10, 2017 8:24 PM
Israel, Source of Love and Trampoline to the Divine
Unconditional love, is my love for Israel. It comes from deep down, where my soul seeks contact with Hashem and finds Israel as the ladder to reach Him.
(7) Anonymous, May 3, 2017 11:32 AM
who is like your nation Hashem? who gathers together at times of sorro and at times of joy?!
(6) Shelly, May 3, 2017 2:07 AM
Reply to Judith Pollack
Judith Pollack commented on this article via Facebook. As I have no Facebook account, I did want to mention here how beautifully she described why she loves Israel. Israel gave her parents, Holocaust survivors, dignity. How true and how beautiful.
(5) Shoshana-Jerusalem, May 2, 2017 7:08 PM
because G-d is so close to us
I am grateful to be living in Israel because here I feel hashgacha pratis every minute, because G-d is so close to us.
Daniel Gold, May 3, 2017 11:36 AM
So do I
From Tzfat.
(4) charles richman, May 2, 2017 2:40 PM
Israel is part of me and I am part of Israel
On research grants to conduct studies on kibbutzim and in Jerusalem I spent 1990-91 and as a Lady Davis Visiting Scholar at Hebrew University in 2003-04 and then with an IDF research proposal with a Special IDF Committee and two ICT leaders. In Israel I always felt happiness beyond description, peace with myself and others, and contentment. There is absolutely no other place on earth like the modern day Gan Eden, Eretz Yisrael.
Am Yisrael Chai
(3) Bruce, May 1, 2017 3:40 PM
Grateful for G_ds Chosen People in Their Nation
I am grateful that we have living proof of the Almighty's works in restoring the Jewish people to their Nation. While I am not Jewish I am blessed by the people of Israel sharing their story, their wisdom and themselves with the world.
(2) MESA, May 1, 2017 1:34 PM
I remember the time when our boys- Naftali, Gilad, and Eyal- were missing. Only in Eretz Yisrael would we think of them as our boys even though we didn't know them. And when Sarah and Ariel Bigel invited all Jews to their wedding, thousands showed up. Only in Eretz Yisrael do we really see our fellow Jews as family. And only in Eretz Yisrael can you really see Hashgachah Pratit all the time- after all, the whole nation is just miraculous. So yes, I'm grateful that we have Eretz Yisrael. May we all get there very soon.
Shelly -Scottsdale, May 3, 2017 2:05 AM
I LOVE ISRAEL
When you speak of "our boys", you nailed it. The country came together and Jews throughout the world all joined hands. We may not "like" all Jews but we must "love" them.
(1) Yael, April 30, 2017 11:51 AM
I'm grateful for Israel
because in her borders, a Jew is safe. A Jewish life is valuable. We walk the streets of Israel and see many Jews, old Jews, maybe not the most rich or "important Jews"; but in Israel, to Israel, they are precious, they are cared for, they are invaluable, they are guarded, they are safe.
I am grateful to Israel because even though there is so much in-family fighting there that it can make you cry, in its heart, all Jews are one and united.
I am grateful to Israel because it is like a lone, brave, young child, who stands up again and again and again and again, against adversity, criticism, hatred, bullying and vast stupidity. I am grateful to Israel for being so brave.
Thank G-d for Israel. Every second of its existence is an open miracle.
Anonymous, May 6, 2017 7:35 PM
Well said and feelings Expressed. Am Israel chai!!!