During our five months in Israel we thought several times about going to Jerusalem, and even made arrangements once, but canceled them later, finding it hard to leave Tzfat. But with our impending return to Maine for the summer, we started to feel the need to go to Jerusalem more and more, and finally decided that Shavuot is the right time to be there.
As if testing our resolve, the forecast for the days of our trip predicted a heat wave. When we departed Tzfat Friday morning, it was 95 degrees in the shade, and much more in the sun. The next test for us was malfunctioning of airconditioner on the bus, which made for an extremely hot and tiring 3-hour ride! Nevertheless we felt happy as we were approaching Jerusalem, and knowing that this time we were not just tourists as before, but part of this Land. After spending last five months in the North with its small towns, it was amazing to see how areas surrounding Jerusalem become more and more densely populated as you get closer to the city, with new construction everywhere, new roads and industrial areas, all of it there because of Jerusalem – the spiritual focal point of the entire world. Finally we were in the city, and immediately felt its energy, vitality and holiness. The traffic was very dense, and we just had enough time to get to our destination in Rehavia to settle and prepare for Shabbos.
It was extremely hot both on Shabbos and Shavuos, but we walked everywhere, visited friends, attended Friday night service in Ohr Sameach Yeshiva, where Eber started his spiritual journey 40 years ago, and visited with the family of the Rabbi who was his teacher at that time. On Shavuot night we went to all-night learning in several different synagogues, and as we walked in the streets at 3 am, we saw many brightly lit synagogues with animated crowds of people learning together and people walking in the streets to synagogues to teach and learn in groups. Eventually we opted to go to the small neighborhood shul and attended several classes given in Hebrew, followed by morning services at 5:15 AM, and then returned to our hotel for a well-deserved sleep. The next day, when it cooled down to 90 degrees in the shade, we finally made it to the Kotel. It was late afternoon, huge crowds already dissipated, and it was very good to be there and pray, having in mind also all our families and friends.
Our return trip to Tzfat was not any easier than the trip to Jerusalem, with not enough buses for the amount of travelers, waiting at the Central bus station in extreme heat and humidity, with thousands of other people, coming back from Jerusalem to their different home towns. We got back at 1 am, happy with our memories of Jerusalem.
