20 | APRIL 6 • 2023
by new friends, amidst voices lifted in songs that
I couldn’t understand but could feel, I had my
transformational moment. Spiritual Moment No.
4 left me a different woman.
I was overcome with joy and a feeling of
camaraderie and something I can’t even name
— maybe the touch of God’s finger on our little
group — and the tears came unbidden. Nothing
I could do to stop them. I was still wiping them
away when we each got to light a Shabbat candle
before going to the Western Wall to add our
prayers to the countless others who came to pray
and ask for God’s grace in their lives. I added my
slip of paper to the Wall, but the emotion I felt
didn’t come close to what I experienced on the
Hermelin Steps.
DAY 6: SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
Shabbat in Jerusalem is a peaceful time. I opted
for a guided walking tour of the Old City (the
slow-walker group), which highlighted the city
as the center of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
I fell in love with the Old City and its narrow
streets and curves, never knowing what delight-
ful things I would see around the next turn. A
glimpse of a 2,000-year-old road? An observant
Jewish family making their way through the city?
A group of old nuns holding rosary beads? A
colorful shop selling fabrics or jewelry?
Although the Jewish Quarter was largely silent
during Shabbat, there was plenty of activity and
shopping to be had in the Christian Quarter,
as well as a tour of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre.
Later that day, a Havdalah ceremony was held
in the hotel lobby, the rain putting the kibosh
on the planned trip to the Jerusalem Windmill
Plaza. That evening, it stopped raining long
enough for us to explore the old Train Station,
now an outdoor mall/entertainment/restaurant
area.
DAY 7: YAD VASHEM
Today we went to Yad Vashem, where we had
a guided tour of the museum. So many horrific
stories of the Nazi’s inhumanity, so many stories
of Jewish suffering and death.
I walked out of the museum filled with emo-
tion — horror, sorrow, regret, disbelief that
human beings could be so cruel and awe that
Jews endured so much terror and pain …
We ended the visit with a mission-wide
memorial service in the Hall of Remembrance.
As Rabbi Bergman laid a wreath on the grave
in this cavernous building, his grief became
too much to bear, and he broke down in tears.
Seeing his grief made my own grief bubble up
and spill out as well, and again the tears came
OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER
continued from page 18
“THE FEELING ONE HAS WHILE WALKING ON
THE SAME PATH AS JEWS, CHRISTIANS AND
MUSLIMS FROM THOUSANDS OF YEARS
AGO CANNOT BE DESCRIBED.”
YEVGENIYA GAZMAN
Mike Smith on
the rooftop of
Notre Dame