Photo Credit: Mendy Hechtman/FLASH90
Ultra orthodox jewish women build a snowman at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, covered in snow, on a winter day in Jerusalem on February 20, 2015.

It’s after midnight here in Israel. I’ve just finished preparing the challah dough for Shabbat. I’ll leave it to rise overnight and then in the morning I’ll shape it and bake it. I made a lot this week, more than normal. Partly because we are sharing it with friends and partly because I have a feeling in the morning there will be people unable to get challah because of the storm.

Israel is being hit with a powerful winter storm – in the area where I live, it never snows…and yet, we had a few flakes and my husband returned with my car covered with snow simply because he was in a neighborhood that is slightly higher.

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Jerusalem is already a white wonderland; south of Jerusalem in the hills of Hebron, the snow is amassing quickly. About to go to sleep, I went to check the news and saw a link to the live feed broadcast around the clock and around the world of the kotel…at any given time, pretty much 24 hours a day, you’ll find people there.

And as the camera went live, I could see and hear what is happening there now. The camera has flakes of snow that interfere with the view and still it is all so clear – this is our holy place – the Western Wall, the last remaining wall, a retaining wall of the outer Temple Mount walls…

What I heard was men singing…what I saw was man dancing. Can you imagine? It’s FREEZING out there – literally! It’s snowing…but really…and they are dancing!

 

I can’t imagine that these men have any idea they are on camera. They simply feel the joy of the snow, of it being Thursday night and knowing the Sabbath is coming.

There is the joy of living in this land and being close enough to go to this holy place…any time!

And, it is the beginning of the month of Adar – a joyous month filled with laughter, singing, sharing…fun!

This thing that they did tonight, this dance I was so lucky to catch – it is what I’ve been writing about. For all that you think we live in fear, we don’t. For all you think terror lurks behind each tree, it doesn’t. We sing and we dance…in the snow!

I was given a glimpse…and then the snow began to cover the camera lens, and the men dispersed to go home just as others arrived to say their evening prayers. This will continue through the night, through the snow, through the days and nights and months and years.

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”

        ― William W. Purkey

Heaven on earth…yes, that’s where I live…


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Paula R. Stern is the co-founder of Retraining4Israel (www.retraining4israel.com), a new organization working to help olim make aliyah successful. Paula made aliyah over 30 years ago with her husband and their three children. She lives in Maale Adumim and is often referred to as “A Soldier’s Mother”. She is now a happy wife, mother of five (including two sabras), and grandmother, happily sharing her voice and opinions with others. She is also a senior tech writer and lead training instructor at WritePoint Ltd. (www.writepoint.com). Please visit her new website: www.israelheartbeat.com