Page 12 - Hamizrachi #30 USA 2021 Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot

TORAT MIZRACHI

Rabbi Andrew Shaw

The People Who Forgot How to Dance

But as they went out of the room, he And then the Babylonians came and
o me, Yom Yerushalayim is turned on the radio that was sitting on his destroyed Bayit Rishon. And then the
one of the greatest days in the desk. And when they got out of the room, Romans came and destroyed Bayit
last 2000 years, a day which he said to her mother, “Just stand and Sheni. The Romans murdered millions
transformed our people, a day
Twhich had been prophesied watch her.” The minute they left the room, of us and exiled us from Yerushalayim.
And then we stopped dancing. We
she was on her feet, moving to the music.
for centuries and then, on the 28 of They watched for a few minutes, then the began wandering, crying, praying,
th
Iyar 5727, the prophecy came true – G-d man turned to her mother and said, “Mrs. hoping.
brought us back to Yerushalayim. We Lynne, Gillian isn’t sick. She’s a dancer. However, wherever they were in
came home. Take her to a dance school.” the world, the Jewish people did not
The most watched TED talk of all And she did. She went to dance school, forget their homeland. In every prayer,
time is by Sir Ken Robinson. There he full of people like her – people who every blessing, at every event, whether
tells a powerful story, so relevant to Yom couldn’t sit still, people who had to move joyful or sad, we remembered the
Yerushalayim. to think. Land of Israel and Yerushalayim – we
The story is about Gillian Lynne, a Gillian eventually auditioned for the remembered how we used to dance.
world-famous choreographer of works Royal Ballet School. She became a soloist; And then it happened: first in 1948,
such as “Cats” and “Phantom of the she had a wonderful career at the Royal we began to feel the energy returning
Opera.” How did she become a dancer? Ballet. She eventually graduated from the to our aching limbs, and then in 1967,
When she was at school, she was Royal Ballet School, founded the Gillian 250,000 marched to the kotel on that
hopeless. Her school, in the 1930s, wrote Lynne Dance Company and met Andrew first Shavuot after its liberation to sing
to her parents to tell them that Gillian Lloyd Webber. She’s been responsible and dance – we had returned as our
had a learning disorder. She couldn’t for some of the most successful musical prophets had foretold.
concentrate; she was fidgeting. Today we theatre productions in history and she’s We need to wake up and realise the
might call it ADHD. given pleasure to millions. incredible blessing G-d has given us,
Gillian went to see a specialist with her Somebody else might have put her on to thank G-d and realise that we are a
mother and sat on a chair for 20 minutes medication and told her to calm down. rejuvenated people, that we are living
while the man spoke to her mother about The Jewish people were born to sing in an era of reishit tzmichat geulatenu –
all the problems Gillian was having at and dance. We danced out of Mitzrayim the beginning of our redemption.
school – she was disturbing people, her as we crossed the sea. The Leviim sung Rabbi Akiva told us 2000 years ago
homework was always late, and so on. in the Mishkan as we built a home that we would return, that there would
In the end, the doctor went and sat next for G-d. David danced the aron into be centuries of darkness and storms but
to Gillian and said, “I’ve listened to all Yerushalayim as he made it his capital. that G-d would be with us throughout
these things your mother’s told me. I need The nation danced at the Simchat Beit till we came back to Yerushalayim shel
to speak to her privately. Wait here. We’ll Hashoeva in Yerushalayim during the zahav.
be back. We won’t be very long,” and they first and second Temples. It’s time to dance.
went and left her.

Get to Rabbi Andrew Shaw is the CEO of Mizrachi UK and his love of music and theatre led him to create several musical
know productions including ‘Haim Potter’ and ‘Grease – the Jewish Version’. Today he is the writer of ‘Dreams of a Nation’ – a
the show that tells the story of the Jewish people from Avraham Avinu to the present day as well as writing and narrating
author: several films with Chazan Jonny Turgel. He lives in the UK with his wife Gila and two boys, Yoni and Daniel.

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