6 | MAY 5 • 2022 

essay
Israel and Me: 
Birthday Twins
M

y Israeli husband, 
Mickey, and I are 
on our way to Israel. 
We will be celebrating Yom 
Ha’
Atzmaut, Israel’s 74th birth-
day in the “hatzar,
” the yard, of 
the home where 
Mickey grew up 
and his family has 
lived continuously 
since 1934.
Independence 
Day celebrations in 
Israel, in the yard, 
are a long-held tra-
dition. It is a festive gathering for 
the extended family and friends. 
Israeli flags decorate the entrance 
gate, the home, and the yard. The 
barbecue continuously produces 
displays of a variety of delicious 
meats. Visitors bring salads and 

accompaniments from pitas to 
desserts.
The day is highlighted by 
stories, sing-alongs and even 
dancing. We excitedly board 
our plane anticipating the joyous 
day to be with Mickey’s family. 
Israel and I will both be celebrat-
ing birthday number 74. 
I am a post-World War II baby. 
I, too, was born in the spring of 
1948. Growing up in Detroit, my 
mother made sure our joint des-
tiny of birth dates was a fact that 
I was keenly aware of with each 
passing year. We, Israel and I, 
were new, exciting entities hoped 
for by my mother: I, the gift from 
my father’s recovery from severe 
World War II wounds; Israel, the 
hoped-for Jewish state that arose 
from the ashes of the Holocaust. 

My mother was a passionate, 
proud Zionistic Jew. Each year, 
she announced, “You and Israel 
are celebrating your 10th, 16th, 
21st birthday (whichever one it 
happened to be). Little did she 
know then that our joint destinies 
would become more firmly tied. 
When I graduated from 
college, free to go anywhere, I 
decided that this was the time 
to visit the mysterious place that 
shared my birthday. I signed up 
for an ulpan (Hebrew immersion 
program) in Israel on Kibbutz 
Mayan Tzvi. My college room-
mate, Debbie, prepared me for 

my forthcoming adventure. She 
taught me important words in 
Hebrew: ice cream, bathroom, 
please and thank you. 
I have now visited Israel many 
times, yet the initial impressions 
of awe of actually seeing the land 
and places that I learned about, 
heard about and studied can 
never be forgotten. The phrase 
“So, this is …?” repeatedly played 
in my mind. “So, this is a kib-
butz?” “So, this is Jerusalem?” 
“So, this is the Western Wall?” 
Where Jesus walked? The bloom-
ing desert? The “Skadia” (almond 
tree) that we sang about on Tu 

Beverly Kent 
Goldenberg

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 12

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