Sunday I boarded my all night flight to London and enjoyed an extended stay over at the airport hotel. This morning I woke up at 3 am to get ready to get to my early flight that would take me home to Israel. I was shocked at how crowded Heathrow airport was at 4 am! After a strong cup of coffee I boarded my flight which was almost full (I was surprised to see how many people were heading to Israel, mostly locals flying home. I was tired and tried to sleep as much as I could on the plane (and for those who know me, this is NOT something I do well). The captain of the flight explained that they are required to keep the seatbelt sign on for the last 30 minutes of the trip into Tel Aviv for security. While I am not quite sure what having my seatbelt on will do, when his words came over the intercom a feeling came over me. For the first time, I felt that same sense of excitement that I have felt so many times before. Suddenly, my lack of sleep didn’t matter and I eagerly watched out the window for that first sign of Israel as we approached over the Mediterranean Sea.
I was so glad to have those same feelings again, even though I knew I was coming home to an Israel vastly different than what I have experienced before. Walking off the plane I felt the same energy, saw the crowds of people coming in with the same excitement. I was taken by a group of kids who were coming for a 6 week Israel summer experience. Would you allow your kids to come to Israel during a war for 6 weeks? Their excitement was infectious and I intentionally walked with them heading towards immigration and baggage claim. And then I saw the posters.
Each hostage has his/her own poster, some have ribbons and other decorations around them. In the center of the walkway were these kids who were coming for the experience of a lifetime and each step was among the hostage names and photos. What a moment of “and.”
I have already learned so much from just walking down the walkway out of the airport. In a world that seems to be dominated by an “either/or” mentality, Israel will give me a huge lesson of having an “and” mentality. This is a lesson that would repeat itself with each step I took today.
The driver who met me at the airport and I made small talk for a few minutes as we sat in classic Tel Aviv traffic. And then our conversation became deeper. His son fights in the IDF and spent 3 months in Gaza protecting Israel. He said that he did not sleep for 3 months. And he was still honking his horn and weaving in and out of traffic.
I was excited that after checking into my hotel I was going to meet Rabbi Don Goor from J2 and his husband, Cantor Evan Kent, both good friends of mine. The Gett driver who drove me to dinner thanked me for coming to support Israel. As we made our way along the coast he and I were talking about how devastating it has been for Israelis, AND (please note the and, not or) Tel Aviv was alive. The beaches were packed. The restaurants were full, even on a Tuesday. The city was alive just as I remember from past trips.
I got to the restaurant a little earlier than Don and Evan. The place was bustling with locals enjoying a meal and countless people walking by, living their day to day lives. And then I turned and saw these stickers on the bench in front of the restaurant.
I noticed that there were stickers on every bench and on anything that could hold a sticker. The families of these victims chose to create holy space so that even though life goes on, and Tel Aviv is just as energetic as I remember, they are also carrying a weight with them, and those stickers are a reminder of the “and” all Israelis are living with. As Evan said, “we are not hiding in our bomb shelters, we are choosing to live,” and the weight of the hostages still held captive, the weight of the innocent lives taken on October 7 and since weighs heavy on them. What an “and” to live in.
By the way we had a delicious meal filled with great conversations, a lot of laughter, “and” moments where things turned really serious. Another “and” lesson. Tomorrow morning I will get to share some time with my dear friend Uri before our mission formally begins in the afternoon. I look forward to all the emotions that will come.
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