Page 45 - HaMizrachi Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot 5782 USA

Rabbi Yosef Rabbanit Hadassah Rabbi Aryeh
Ginsberg Thau Lightstone

fter living, learning, and teaching in the t may sound cliché, but every time I find y favorite place in Jerusalem is the
Old City for nearly a decade, there are so myself in the Old City, I am truly amazed by United States Embassy on 18 Gershon
many places I feel very connected to. the way the old comes together with the new Agron street. The reasons are manifold,
Yom Yerushalayim at the Kotel, tashlich and how we, in this fortunate generation, but are best captured in one story. One
Aat the Shiloach pool, the tefillot of Yom Ican actually walk the streets of history that Mevening, Ambassador David Friedman
HaAtzmaut at the Churva – the list goes on. But our forefathers and foremothers walked upon. I hosted a dinner at his home in Jerusalem for
if I have to choose one place that I can always love the way you can turn a corner, get lost, and a senior ministerial delegation from Bahrain,
return to and instantly recalibrate my purpose, then stumble upon an awe inspiring rooftop senior Israeli officials and senior US officials.
mission, and roots, it would be the place of with a stunning view of Har HaBayit and the The evening was so amazing, not because of
learning that helped me become who I am today: Kotel plaza – all while discovering fascinating the conversation, but simply the fact that it
Yeshivat Hakotel in the Old City. historical sites along the way. took place! The United States has its embassy in
Yeshivat Hakotel is where I sat for countless I also was blessed to plan two of my friends’ Jerusalem, the US Ambassador has his home in
hours, bridging the many aspects of who I am engagement parties in the Old City, overlooking Jerusalem, and senior officials from around the
in order to become whole. It’s where I toiled in the Kotel. It was so meaningful to know that my world, including Israel’s new friend Bahrain, felt
Torah, learning both humility and how to think friends were building their future life together in comfortable having dinner together in Jerusalem.
like a Jew. And it is the place whose windows a place bound to generations of Jewish history. For too long, Jerusalem has been falsely
overlook a not-yet-rebuilt Har HaBayit, where In Israel, we are living history, and nowhere considered a place of division, chaos and hatred,
every glance is an exercise of yearning for is that more clear than in the Old City. Passing in reality, Jerusalem has been and will always
redemption. history on to the next generations is a lot easier be the city of peace, vision and leadership. I am
From that same window, beyond Har when it comes to life before your very eyes, and deeply grateful for the great privilege of making
HaBayit, I can see Har HaZeitim, the burial place nowhere is this more true than in Jerusalem! the Embassy in Jerusalem my home office for
of my grandparents, Holocaust survivors who two special years.
rebuilt their lives from the ashes, and raised a
strong and committed Jewish family. And from
a different window I can see the ruins and newly
rebuilt Tiferet Yisrael Shul of Ruzhin, home to
my family’s Chassidic heritage through the
Husiatyn line. When sitting there, or even just
contemplating that spot, my whole being is put
into perspective and nothing is impossible.

Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, formerly Regional Direc-
Rabbi Yosef Ginsberg was raised in Long Island, tor of New York NCSY, was appointed in April 2017
studied at Yeshivat Hakotel and served in an urban Rabbanit Hadassah Thau made Aliyah from West to serve as advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel
combat unit in the IDF. He is the co-founder and Hempstead as a teenager. She has worked as an David Friedman. A businessman at heart but a
regional director of NCSY Israel, the premier orga- event planner, Operations Associate at OurCrowd klal person in reality, Rabbi Lightstone infuses his
nization in Israel, dedicated to connect, inspire, and as a Chapter Director for NCSY Israel. She and entrepreneurial spirit into all of his programs. Rabbi
and empower teen olim to the Land of Israel by her husband are currently serving as shlichim Lightstone developed the first mainstream Jewish
encouraging passionate Judaism through Torah in Toronto, where Hadassah works as a Project college credit program for unaffiliated high school
and tradition. Manager at Mizrachi Canada. students from across North America.

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