A dot that went for a walk…

“Why is Yerushalayim always two, the celestial and the earthly

I want to live in Yerushalayim the middle

Without banging my head up above and without stubbing my foot down below

And why is Yerushalayim in the language of pairs like hands and feet

I want to live in only one Yerushal

Because I am only one and not two”

— Yehuda Amichai, translated by Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld

Yehuda Amichai was one of Israel’s iconic poets and a chronicler of Jerusalem. He wrote this poem about being caught between the heavenly and earthly Jerusalem.

There is a tension being stuck in the middle…which resonates this Yom Yerushalayim. Many things are competing for our attention and fealty that don’t always sit well together.  מחזירים אותם הביתה עכשיו – Bring Them Home Now…עד הנצחון – Until Victory…among other slogans and calls to action.

How can they coexist? And how can we stand on solid ground in the middle?

A thought came to mind when I realized that Yom Yerushalayim falls on the 43^rd day of the Omer. The gematria of that day, mem + gimel, happens to be that of the Hebrew word: גם, which means “also” or “as well.”

I think there is a message here – sometimes we are supposed to hold multiple truths that don’t always sit well together. Like the two Jerusalems that Amichai describes, even though it would be a lot easier to be in one Yerushal.

We often think of holidays as points on a calendar. Yet the time between Pesach and Shavuot is unique. There is a built-in connection between the two chagim; the date of Shavuot is the only holiday defined in relation to another, which is reflected in the counting of the Omer. Neither holiday stands entirely on its own…like the dot that went for a walk.

We can trace some of our progression as a people through this journey. We start with yetziat mitzrayim, which we retell in the Haggadah during Pesach. While independence was likely always the aim, Moshe’s original request of Pharaoh was presented as a 3-day journey to worship our God. If there were an ancient version of WAZE, Mt. Sinai was ostensibly a pit stop. But what happened there is much more significant than that.

The Midrash describes how God first asked all the other nations of the world if they wanted to accept the Torah. Each refused for a different reason, a prohibition that they didn’t want to give up. The Jewish people said yes – and committed to living our lives according to the values embodied in the Torah.

So…what did we do with our new-found “freedom” after Egypt? We took on an obligation and accepted the Torah.

There’s a profound message here – that freedom isn’t the endgame. Or, in the words of Pippin: if you’re never tied to anything you’ll never be free. We are a people with a purpose. That is what justifies our role as a chosen people and why we have survived for so long. Freedom is the start of this journey, but to reach the end successfully what we do and how we behave matters.

We can look and see other stops along the way during the Omer, “Yoms”…each with an important message that ties into the story of our journey as a people – including Lag BaOmer, with its lesson of respect and tolerance.

Towards the end of our counting we have Yom Yerushalayim. And I am brought back to the feeling of being stuck in the middle. We have a united city, but the city is far from unified. How can we find a way to fulfill the vision in Psalm 122 of Jerusalem built as a city united together, יְרוּשָׁלַ֥͏ִם הַבְּנוּיָ֑ה כְּ֝עִ֗יר שֶׁחֻבְּרָה־לָּ֥הּ יַחְדָּֽו? While we can take pride in our accomplishments, we should also recognize that there is no one Jerusalem. Besides the heavenly and the mundane, Jerusalem is home to many parts and pieces…אֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ and גם וגם.

On Pesach we say, Next Year in Jerusalem – and on Yom Yerushalayim, we have almost made it to that goal. But not quite. There is still a whole week from Yom Yerushalayim to Shavuot. A week can represent a whole cycle of creation. It certainly means we haven’t quite reached the end of our story.

Can we see a hint of that ending on Shavuot? This is the holiday where we bring the bikkurim, our first fruits – both to thank the Creator of the world and to place Jerusalem in the center of our communal lives. This annual pilgrimage ensured that Yerushalayim would remain at the heart of the Jewish people, as well as ensuring that Jews from all places and perspectives would interact and unite in service to HaShem.

We still have further to go on our journey, with many dots to connect. The path forward isn’t always straight or clear.

As Paul Klee wrote: A line is a dot that went for a walk.

May we all pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: שַׁ֭אֲלוּ שְׁל֣וֹם יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם.

Keith Krivitzky

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Note – this essay appears in the HaMizrachi Magazine’s US Edition for Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot.