Thoughts From My Trip to the Holy Land
by: Rabbi Yosef Koval
by: Rabbi Yosef Koval
I recently had the good fortune of taking a trip to Israel. While I have been privileged to be in Israel several times in my life, somehow this trip felt extra special. I am not sure if I can pinpoint the reason for that.
Perhaps it was the fact that my daughter is spending the year there in school and I was thrilled to come visit her? Or maybe it’s because there have been so many tragic occurrences there since the summer that I have more acute feelings of empathy towards G-d’s land and His special residents? Is it because as I get older I come to appreciate so many things that I have taken for granted in my earlier years? Or maybe I was just really craving a good falafel? (Of course that was just a joke. I am not that shallow! I was actually really craving a good shwarma.)
Truthfully, it is probably all of the above. Be that as it may, I soaked up every minute of my trip and I tried to commit every part of it to memory to be pulled out at a future time.
One of the best parts of the trip is that it provided me with more material to “ramble” about! Allow me to share with you a few thoughts over the course of my next few rambles.
I was scheduled to depart Newark airport at 4:00 pm. The captain closed the cabin door and asked everyone to please shut their cell phones (as if that was going to happen! Does anyone listen to that announcement? Most people I see are practically texting the pilot!). After sitting for an hour at the gate, the pilot asked if there were doctors on board who could come to the back.
One of the best parts of the trip is that it provided me with more material to “ramble” about! Allow me to share with you a few thoughts over the course of my next few rambles.
I was scheduled to depart Newark airport at 4:00 pm. The captain closed the cabin door and asked everyone to please shut their cell phones (as if that was going to happen! Does anyone listen to that announcement? Most people I see are practically texting the pilot!). After sitting for an hour at the gate, the pilot asked if there were doctors on board who could come to the back.
I knew what that meant – there was obviously an American Doctors Association meeting taking place on our airplane with the topics being “Obamacare: its impact on America” and “Why can no one read anything we ever write on those teeny pieces of paper that are supposed to be a prescription.” Or, possibly, there was someone who needed medical attention. I knew it had to be one or the other.
Anyways, it so happened to be someone was ill. After an hour, medics from the airport came and took her off the plane. Most of us took it in stride, realizing that although we were annoyed at being delayed, it’s not someone’s fault if she get sick (although I did see one person stick out his leg to trip her as she went past). Next, the pilot got on the intercom and mumbled, in perfect pilot-ese, “This is your captain speaking, wnjsahewqauhuhwdauhhkuaxsnuihy
What I understood from him was that now that the passenger deplaned they needed to search the bowels of the plane to remove her luggage! Yay! More delays!
I really believe, however, that what followed set the tone for my upcoming trip and was perhaps the real reason that this trip ended up feeling so special. You see, first the pilot apologized for the delay. Then he added, “The good news is that the passenger is in good condition and in capable hands, and we were particularly fortunate that this occurred while we were still at the gate as opposed to having to turn around in mid-flight which would have caused a much more significant delay.” With that small comment the pilot made me realize that in the course of a negative situation (the delay in our trip) there was a positive outlook to not lose sight of (it could have been much worse).
As much as I love Israel and the various people who call it “home," I have often harbored a hint of annoyance with some of the locals on my trips. There are certainly things that are dysfunctional and that are culturally different than what we in the good ol’ US of A are used to. And in the past some of those things bothered me a bit.
Listening to the pilot focus on the positive instead of the negative, it reminded me of what King David said in Psalms – “Ur’ay b’toov Yerushalayim” – “See the good in Jerusalem." King David speaks to us and says - are there negatives one can see in Israel? There sure are. Are some things about the people and government over there dysfunctional? You bet! But we don’t have to look at those negatives; we can focus on the positives! Those men and women are not just strangers; they are my brothers and sisters! When someone comes from a family that has issues, he tends to look more favorably towards that family than an outsider would. (“This may be a dysfunctional family, but it's MY dysfunctional family!”)
The pilot was simply a messenger from G-d to remind me what our teacher King David taught us many years ago – focus on the good that Israel has. Focus on how a tiny country, surrounded by enemies on all sides who want nothing more than to see its destruction, has flourished and thrived in every facet in the short period since it has been reborn. How there are literally hundreds of thousands of people of all ages studying Torah, engrossed in prayer and involved in any number of acts of kindness and charity. How the physical development of the country has turned a desert into a bustling, modern, cosmopolitan metropolis which leads the way in many areas of technology and economic development. And how a nation, faced with security threats and hatred from most of the world, some overt and some beneath the surface, forges on and thumbs its nose at all of its detractors. This is our land, given to us by the Creator, and we are not going anywhere. And these are my brothers and sisters who are my family, different though we may be.
It was with that mindset that I embarked upon my trip and it made a world of a difference for me.
(As a side note, this is a good attitude to have in general. If we can focus on the good in people instead of on the negative, it would lead to so much more peace and feelings of unity as opposed to strife and divisiveness. But that is a topic for another time.)
So next time you visit Israel, assuming you are one who shares my earlier sentiments, keep in mind that Israel has so much good (besides for the falafel and shwarma) - we just have to focus our attention on that part. I know I’m so glad that I did!
(Anyone have a napkin? I spilled some tahini on my shirt. Thanks.)
I really believe, however, that what followed set the tone for my upcoming trip and was perhaps the real reason that this trip ended up feeling so special. You see, first the pilot apologized for the delay. Then he added, “The good news is that the passenger is in good condition and in capable hands, and we were particularly fortunate that this occurred while we were still at the gate as opposed to having to turn around in mid-flight which would have caused a much more significant delay.” With that small comment the pilot made me realize that in the course of a negative situation (the delay in our trip) there was a positive outlook to not lose sight of (it could have been much worse).
As much as I love Israel and the various people who call it “home," I have often harbored a hint of annoyance with some of the locals on my trips. There are certainly things that are dysfunctional and that are culturally different than what we in the good ol’ US of A are used to. And in the past some of those things bothered me a bit.
Listening to the pilot focus on the positive instead of the negative, it reminded me of what King David said in Psalms – “Ur’ay b’toov Yerushalayim” – “See the good in Jerusalem." King David speaks to us and says - are there negatives one can see in Israel? There sure are. Are some things about the people and government over there dysfunctional? You bet! But we don’t have to look at those negatives; we can focus on the positives! Those men and women are not just strangers; they are my brothers and sisters! When someone comes from a family that has issues, he tends to look more favorably towards that family than an outsider would. (“This may be a dysfunctional family, but it's MY dysfunctional family!”)
The pilot was simply a messenger from G-d to remind me what our teacher King David taught us many years ago – focus on the good that Israel has. Focus on how a tiny country, surrounded by enemies on all sides who want nothing more than to see its destruction, has flourished and thrived in every facet in the short period since it has been reborn. How there are literally hundreds of thousands of people of all ages studying Torah, engrossed in prayer and involved in any number of acts of kindness and charity. How the physical development of the country has turned a desert into a bustling, modern, cosmopolitan metropolis which leads the way in many areas of technology and economic development. And how a nation, faced with security threats and hatred from most of the world, some overt and some beneath the surface, forges on and thumbs its nose at all of its detractors. This is our land, given to us by the Creator, and we are not going anywhere. And these are my brothers and sisters who are my family, different though we may be.
It was with that mindset that I embarked upon my trip and it made a world of a difference for me.
(As a side note, this is a good attitude to have in general. If we can focus on the good in people instead of on the negative, it would lead to so much more peace and feelings of unity as opposed to strife and divisiveness. But that is a topic for another time.)
So next time you visit Israel, assuming you are one who shares my earlier sentiments, keep in mind that Israel has so much good (besides for the falafel and shwarma) - we just have to focus our attention on that part. I know I’m so glad that I did!
(Anyone have a napkin? I spilled some tahini on my shirt. Thanks.)
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Yosef Koval
