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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