Oh, Jerusalem! Yom Yerushalayim, Part 1
A few images for the start of Yom Yerushalayim. My favorite place to kick off the day that marks the 46th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem is Beit Orot, the hesder yeshiva on the Mt of Olives, a few hundred yards away from Hebrew University’s Mt Scopus campus, and just down the road from the Mormon Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center.
Hundreds of people converged on Beit Orot tonight for a festive prayer service marking the start of Yom Yerushalayim.
When was the last time you had this kind of view to accompany your prayers?
Rabbi Danny Izak, the rosh yeshiva, spoke about Beit Orot’s special connection with Yom Yerushalayim–founder Chanan Porat z”tl was one of the paratroopers who broke through to the Temple Mount in the Six Day War and his commander Giora Askenazi was killed near Beit Orot. For the past couple of decades, one of the traditional Yom Yerushalayim activities is the pre-dawn walk from Beit Orot to the Western Wall via Lions Gate–retracing the steps of the paratroopers.
Four new buildings with 24 apartments are just about ready for occupancy at Beit Orot-a new Jewish neighborhood on the Mt of Olives.
All photos © Judy Lash Balint. All Rights Reserved.