ה י ו נ ב ה ם י ל ש ו ר י ב ה א ב ה ה נ ש
ל L ’ shanah Haba ’ ah B ’ Yerushalayim
Next Year in Jerusalem
Never Again ... … Will I forget you
Rabbi Len Muroff
Excerpts from this reflection on a December 2023 Mission to Israel can be read before L ’ shana Ha ’ bah b ’ yerushalim .
There are so many thoughts cascading through my soul .
For one , I now feel closer to Israel and her people than any time since 1984 . There is no “ next year in Jerusalem ” because my heart has been in Israel ever since October 7 th . I will never forget my Israeli brothers and sisters , what they experienced that day , their resiliency since then , and their gratitude for each of us visiting in the middle of a war .
The Torah teaches us that we are to leave our mother and father and cleave to our spouse . 36 It is time for my deep bonds to Israel to be realized and respected . If I really mean that my “ heart is in the east ,” then I must act accordingly .
36
Gen . 2:24
131