Aliba D'Rav
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Weekly Column
  • Politics
  • On being a rabbi
  • THE SIXTY FUND
  • SOMETHING SPECIAL
  • Wisdom Wherever You Find It

weekly column

Each week, find a commentary on something connected to verses of Torah or another source of wisdom

​LIVING INTO THE PSALM

7/21/2023

0 Comments

 
 
My first trip to Israel was the summer after I graduated from high school.  I was eighteen.  The eight weeks were transformative. Of course, I toured and saw the landmarks of history, ancient and modern. But there were experiences that could have happened only in Israel that made an impact on my soul.
 
One was the morning our guide took us to the top of Mt. Arbel in the Galilee to give us an overview of the land.  When he finished, he clapped and said, “Okay, back to the bus.” We stood and turned around, at which point he shouted, “Where do you think you’re going?” And then he pointed at our buses parked at the bottom of a sheer cliff. We climbed down together, astonished at what we accomplished.
 
Another was the week we spend excavating the archaeological dig at the south wall of the Temple Mount. I shlepped and sifted dirt from a small room, reaching deep into history, and recovering coins, dice, bones, and more. When I visit that now-completed dig, I can still identify the location of my very small contribution.
 
And then there was the singing. We were visited just a couple of times by a young woman with a guitar. We learned “Shoshana, Shoshana, Shoshana,” “A Night Like This,” and a modern setting of the end of Psalm 128: May God bless you from Zion. May you see the goodness of Jerusalem all the days of your life. May you see your children’s children. Peace on Israel.” These and other songs became the soundtrack of my life, right alongside the music of the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and Linda Ronstadt.
 
I guess I could have been inspired by an encounter with nature anywhere in the world, and there is no shortage of opportunities to drill down (literally) into history wherever people have lived for many generations. And music triggers emotions that flourish in any setting.  But these were my memories, and fifty-plus years later, I still live into them.  Not too many years ago I got another chance to descend the Arbel cliffs. And I have participated in other digs. And Psalm 128 makes a regular appearance in both prayer and study.
 
But.
 
This summer, I was awash in the blessing that the psalm promises. In 1970 and since, I was blessed to see the goodness of Jerusalem, which has stayed with me all the days of my life.  In those intervening years, my wife and I had the privilege and joy of raising three extraordinary children; just this season, in the course of six weeks, all three of them were blessed with children of their own. I have seen our children’s children.  I am so full of gratitude that there is barely room for air.
 
Of course, there is one not-so-small piece of the blessing left: peace on Israel. It is the dream of generations, and not just modern ones. Is it overreaching to hope that the abundance that is mine, cherished and amassed over a lifetime, is one my children and children’s children will inherit?
 
Not if we work for it.  Not if we keep singing.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jack Moline is a rabbi, non-profit exec, and social commentator.  

    Archives

    July 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Weekly Column
  • Politics
  • On being a rabbi
  • THE SIXTY FUND
  • SOMETHING SPECIAL
  • Wisdom Wherever You Find It