Chag Sameach

The Kotel


A belated, yet sincere Happy New Year/Shana Tova to all the members of the Tribe. May 5768 bring you all sweetness, happiness, health, success, and iPhones.

Being in Jerusalem for the Jewish High Holidays is a very singular experience. For example, there's something incredibly spiritual and novel about doing the Yom Kippur fast in Jerusalem, the single most important place in Judaism. For Yom Kippur services, I walked to the Kotel (Western Wall) from my apartment with some friends and took in as much of the day as possible. Or at least as much as was possible with my empty stomach growling at me. I don't consider myself to be particularly religious by traditional, dogmatic standards. But I couldn't help marvel at the moment I was a part of: Yom Kippur...the holiest day for Jews and I was standing at our holiest site in our holiest city. Stuff like that leaves a mark. I don't care how much of an atheist you are.

Quick story from the Kotel: I may not be overly religious, but some of the dudes at the Kotel sure as hell were. For example, my friends and I were standing near the wall looking around somewhat aimlessly. By then it was about 4:00 pm and we were a mix of tired, famished, bored, and thrilled to be where we were (weird mix, I know). Out of nowhere walks this orthodox kid who could not have been older than 14. And when I say he walked up to us out of nowhere, I really mean out. of. nowhere. Seriously, he may have fallen out of the sky for all we knew. He was very religious-looking, probably Yemenite, and he wore a traditional long black coat topped off with a black hat. But what was most enchanting about this kid were his eyes. They were the brightest emerald green eyes I had ever seen. Almost freakish. They made you listen to him.

At any rate, he walks up to us and offers to lead us in the prayer. So we happily obliged since we didn't know what was going on. So this manchild starts to lead the prayers. A few minutes into it, it was clear...The Kid knew what he was doing. He became almost possessed by the prayers, slamming his hand and literally reaching up to the heavens every few minutes. I had never seen anything quite like it. Here I was, at the Kotel on Yom Kippur, starving, with this future rabbi leading us in the prayer the way a conductor leads a philharmonic.

So this went on for about an hour and a half, during which time The Kid never missed a beat. I seriously did not know whether to be blown away or scared to death. Either way it was impressive. Finally, around 6:15, prayers were wrapping up and we went home to eat. We thanked The Kid, and then we went our separate ways. Who knows where he lives or who he is. But thanks to him, Yom Kippur 2007/5768 is one I'll definitely remember for a long time.

-E


Jerusalem. The view from my bedroom...