It had been seven years since I was last in Israel. So, when the opportunity presented itself for a short visit this month, I hopped a plane. My inner Zionist was rekindled in so many vital ways. I want to share that passion with you, dear reader, to hopefully inspire you to go to make your own pilgrimage to Israel if you’ve never been, or to go back if you haven’t visited in some time.
“We built this!”
The shiny new train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv takes just 28 minutes. Because the elevation changes so dramatically on the way up to Jerusalem, engineers determined that the Jerusalem station had to be tens of feet below ground, literally in the underbelly of the holy city. This allows the train to reach the center of town while maintaining the gradual ascent required by its steel wheels. The result is that passengers must ride a series of three very long escalators to reach the surface of the city. As I rode those escalators, I looked around me and thought with amazement: “Ten years ago this was solid rock!” I wondered if the hundreds of Jews, dozens of Arabs, and assorted tourists ascending from Jerusalem’s subterranean tunnel realized the magnitude of this latest Israeli miracle.
At the same time, there’s always something ironically humorous about Israeli endeavors! The designer of the train station at Ben-Gurion Airport forgot to check the specifications with the train manufacturer, so there’s an eight-inch gap between the floor of the train and the floor of the station. Travelers have to step up and lift their heavy suitcases over this unplanned obstacle to disembark!
I say “latest,” because this feat of civic engineering is far from unprecedented in this country brimming with history and ancient edifices. Israel is a land of modern miracles. On the sparkling Mediterranean beachfront, our people have built an entirely new city: Tel Aviv. Many of its towering skyscrapers are architectural wonders. This city, barely 100 years old, thrums with life and culture. It’s truly one of the world’s great cities drawing tourists from across the globe. As I rode the train north, I passed Israel’s “Silicon Valley” even as I read about the latest security software hatched by Israel’s techno-wizards, and I was reminded that this is a nation that punches far above its weight throughout the globe. My travel was impacted by President Joe Biden’s visit, one during which he affirmed the prioritization of U.S. friendship, and through his trip emphasized the increasing opening of the Arab world to Israeli commerce and travel.
This is the country that Israeli citizens built. A majority of them have been Jewish, but notably, many Arabs have contributed, as well. To ply its byways is to bear witness to the singular accomplishments of an astounding nation that realizes a centuries-old Jewish dream. To visit is to witness the realization of that miracle.
—Rabbi Ron Stern