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

