July 24, 2026

Whenever I lead missions here, I always encourage our travelers to make sure they use every one of their senses to take in the experience. Israel, for some reason or another, awakens every human sense. If folks who come here can be aware and awake; look, see, feel, smell, touch, listen, hear, then sometimes a deeper awakening of our hearts, souls, inner eyes and ears can manifest into a different reality.

I think the senses are so alive here because of the spectrum of difference that lives together in such a small space. The tastes, scents, accents, and points of view all can’t help but blend, even as hard as folks might want to separate. The markets, the baking, the fresh vegetables, the yelling, the smiling, the tears, the anger, and the love come at you wherever you walk. You just have to sense it all.

Joel and Gail came up to Jerusalem to have lunch with me and say goodbye because they are traveling (very hard to bid farewell). We had lunch with a student of Joel’s. Since there has been so little work for Joel in the past years because of the situation here, he has kept himself busy with all kinds of volunteering. I wrote to you last week about his work on the West Bank. He also teaches English for an organization called Hillel (not the college Hillel), which helps people adjust to modern Israeli life who make the decision to leave the Haredi, Ultra-Orthodox world.

As you might imagine, the transition on all levels is complex. Many who grow up in some of these communities never learn subjects other than those religious in nature. No math, science, etc. Many also exclusively speak Yiddish. Hebrew is used primarily as a language for study. Smartphones are forbidden, and many are largely relegated to the enclaves in which they live.

Please forgive me for painting with such a wide brush. Not everything I have written is true for all in this type of community. But it is true for many and certainly was true for this young man’s experience.

This young man (29) decided he wanted a life beyond what he knew. As part of his transition to Israeli life of other types, Joel has been teaching him English so he can study at the university, where he is now almost completed a degree in Psychology. He wants to become a therapist.

He is a kind, well-spoken, generous, funny, sensitive, and smart man. He was open to talking about it all.

What is most beautiful about his story and sadly is not the same for so many is that his family did not reject him for his decision. Many families reject their children and never see them again. They are forever considered heretics by their communities.

This young man’s father has a lot to lose in his community. He is a prominent rabbi who declared that he would never reject any of his children. Ultimately, for him, the value of family IS Judaism. Although perhaps disappointed, he embraces his son, as does the entire circle of family.

No, it didn’t solve anything. But it continues to prove that there are people we think we cannot talk to and it simply isn’t true. Too many of us live inside assumptions created by the media filters to which we subscribe. I know there are indeed many who want to kill, and vigilance is imperative. But perhaps dialogue is still possible with those willing to speak to each other. We liked each other so much that I have hired him to take me to the airport when I return home.

It was Tisha B’Av (the observance of the destruction of the Temples) this week also. A solemn day of mourning that reminds us not only to memorialize but also to remain vigilant of our enemies from the outside and those who senselessly hate from within.

I woke this morning after salivating over the smells of Shabbat to the news of two people, at least one of them Jewish (I read), being stabbed by a man yelling, “Allahu Akbar.” And so, I suddenly awoke quickly and sadly to this antisemitic act of hatred, which took place blocks from where I was raised.

I have said before, I don’t begrudge anyone for being a socialist, capitalist, or whatever. But when you spend an inordinate amount of your time singling out one group of people repeatedly, your rhetoric starts to become entry points and invitations to violence. Not everyone listens long enough to his academic discernments between Jews and Israel. To those who simply hate, they take those words as permission to inflict deadly harm.

You can all decide what resides in his heart, but my rabbinic colleagues in New York City have been begging the mayor all week to stop his line of speech or else. And here, the “or else” has happened.

Believe me, I can give you a list of the critiques and feelings Israelis themselves have for the Prime Minister here. But Mayor Mamdani doesn’t understand that he is giving implicit permission to hurt Jews. Quite frankly, shame on him. More to say when I get home.

My last sense experienced:

I sit in the park every night next to my apartment building. I go there to think and read. On Erev Tisha B’Av, I sat and heard about 100 different voices reading and wailing the words of Lamentations, traditionally read on Tisha B’Av.

>I could vividly hear their tears and the ache in their chanting. It was eerie and comforting at once. I was home.

Thank you for continuing to read and follow.

M