Six Fateful Days

HAND OF G-D “We see chaos everywhere” he explained. “But now on one point on the globe we see justice asserting itself — in Eretz Yisrael. After 2 000 years of exile Jews are returning to their land.” That was enough proof for him that the Hand of G-d was at work behind the scenes (Photos: AP GPO)

T he Mishnah instructs us not to make our prayers “keva” or to recite them by rote lest we forget the special significance of every word. Such is the situation in Jerusalem today. We walk the streets with ease and confidence forgetting that at one time such a stroll would have been unimaginable.

In these days of easy access to our holy places it’s difficult to understand the mindset of a Jew in Jerusalem prior to June 1967. Let’s try.

He imagined that he would never touch the Kosel with his hands. He imagined that he would visit the Jewish Quarter one day — when Mashiach comes. Until that time he would scurry to a little corner in Armon Hanatziv where a vendor would rent him a pair of binoculars through which he could capture a glimpse of what once was.