December 7, 2011
“I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people” — Isaiah 65:19
In yesterday’s devotion, I reflected on how Israel is the one place on earth where the Jewish people feel at home. It is their one place of refuge, and we Jews have a special bond with that land.
You see, Israel for the Jew is far more than a mere abstraction or antiquated theological proposition. It is more than just a geographic location. It is the Holy Land, the heart and lifeblood of the Jewish people. It is God’s land and, “the beloved of my [God’s] soul” and “vineyard” (Jeremiah 12:7, 10). It is where “the eyes of the LORD . . . are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:12). God’s love for Israel, the land, is intertwined with his special love for Israel, the people. “I will rejoice over Jerusalem, and take delight in my people” (Isaiah 65:19).
Over the centuries, countless Jews have gone to considerable lengths, often at great personal risk, to move to the Holy Land or at least to walk on its terrain and to be buried in its soil. It is this unchangeable bond between the people and the land of Israel, reinforced in the Jew’s daily life and routine through prayer and Torah study, that enabled the miracle of a Jewish return to occur two centuries after their dispersion. Throughout those intervening, turbulent times, the Jews’ passionate yearning to come home never wavered; their love for Israel never waned.
What I didn’t fully realize until several years ago is that Jews share this love, this bond with the Holy Land, with Christians. I came to this realization during a trip to Israel. Although I had been there many times, this was the first time that I had ever visited with a group of Christians. I was 26, a newly ordained rabbi from New York, and my roommate was 75, a Baptist minister from rural Virginia. We couldn’t have been more different!
I remember stepping out onto our hotel balcony, saying my morning prayers as I looked out over Jerusalem. I was moved to tears at being in the Holy Land again. Imagine my surprise, when I came back to the room one night and found my roommate kneeling, tears streaming down his face, as he thanked God for enabling him to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting the Holy Land. Over and over again, he said, “Lord, thank you, I am luckier than Moses. He only saw the Holy Land. I have walked in it.”
I was profoundly moved by this glimpse into this Christian’s life of faith. I, a young Jew, had been emotionally and spiritually moved by being in Israel. This elderly Baptist minister was no less affected. I realized then that a profound link existed between him and me, between his people and mine — a link I had never realized before. Because of this realization, it has been my calling and my life work to build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews.
Won’t you join me?
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President |
|
Comments
Post a Comment