So tonight was the night. As the assembled crowd ate donuts and cake, along with a vegetable soup and Turkish coffee, the Torah Scroll was joyously installed into the new Ark in the roughly built synagogue. The honor was given to the highest bidder, who paid over 2,000 NIS to carry it from the reading table into its new home. But I had a special honor of my own. The mezuzah on the front door was one that I wrote and checked myself (I am a practicing scribe), and sold to the congregation. Perhaps one day the IDF will be ordered to bulldoze this tiny community once again. But they will rebuild as they have before. They can only destroy what is above the ground. Underneath, these brave young people have roots that run deep and that constantly renew all of our ties to the land. I only hope to celebrate more renewals along with them.
Photos and videos to follow as I obtain them from those who had enough foresight to tote cameras.
That's right, never give up! That's the true Chanukah spirit.
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced." - Psalm 105:4-5