By Kalman Clement, Special to JTNews
The captain’s announcement woke me from my sleep. We were almost there. Up ahead lay the Holy Land. I grew up hearing about it, from friends and the media, and I had read countless books and spent innumerable hours watching videos of Israel, but I still had no idea what I was getting into. It was still a bit of shock that I would have the privilege of actually going there. All my life, this place had a special, sacred meaning to me, and now I was here.
When the plane touched down on Israeli soil, my heart skipped a beat. Everyone cheered as we taxied to our terminal. I joined in, too, my voice barely audible among all of the members of my five-week trip through NCSY, called The Jerusalem Journey.
“I am here,” I thought. “I am home.”
TJJ ambassadors, as we were called, divided onto five busses, sorted by region. Bus 2 was mostly teens from the West Coast. Earlier, when we had all met at JFK Airport, I was told my bus mates would become my best friends, almost like family. I disregarded this as typical optimistic and unrealistic banter — probably because I was scared out of my wits. Needless to say, when I boarded my bus in Israel, everyone else didn’t really seem like family. Sure, I made a few acquaintances, but I still felt like a complete antisocial loner.
My negative brooding thoughts were interrupted as the sun began to set. Let me tell you, they don’t call it “Jerusalem of Gold” for no reason. I soon discovered, however, that not all of Israel can be captured through a camera lens. That sunset seemed to vaporize any nervousness or uncertainty in me. Its beauty burned through my retinas and carved itself into my mind, sealing the memory of it forever. I rode to Jerusalem in tranquility.
By the time we reached the Old City, night had set. Walking to the Kotel, the Western Wall, my heart began to pound hard. I felt unprepared for this moment. The walk became a series of left turns, right turns, and narrow passages. Then, suddenly, there we were. As I approached the Western Wall for the first time in my life, every single emotion that could possibly be felt coursed though me like an electric shock.
The next month was a blur. We went everywhere, from the Lebanon border to the Red Sea. We visited places filled with spirituality and Judaism, such as Hebron and Tzfat. We did insanely fun stuff, from banana boating in the Red Sea to jeep riding in the Golan Heights. We shared unbelievable memories, such as watching the sunrise over the Dead Sea from Masada. And yes, we actually became a family. Every person on my bus is very close to me, someone I would look out for or cheer up, because I know he or she would do the very same thing for me.
That, I believe, is what makes Israel so special. It’s not just the land’s beauty, or the culture, or the food. What makes Israel so special is that it is the land of the Jews, politically and spiritually. So during the afternoon of our last Shabbos together, I realized that I wanted my children to see the hills of Jerusalem just as I saw them. It was then that I realized who and what I wanted to be.
During the month before Rosh Hashanah, when we blow the shofar to signify the coming of the New Year, the vibrations send a chill up your spine. I felt that same chill numerous times during The Jerusalem Journey, from our first night at the Kotel to the last night when we returned to the Kotel. And through those moments, I knew I could be a better person in every aspect.