Last week I spent 5 days in intensive study sessions about Rabbi Akiva, the perpetual optimist. He would look at a disasterous situation and be able to reframe it into a positive statement. Once when he was walking past Har Ha-Bayit (The Temple Mount) after the destruction of the 2nd Temple, he saw a fox run out of the ruins. His fellow Rabbis were reduced to tears when they witnessed the scene. Rabbi Akiva laughed. It reminded him of a verse that prophesied, "Again shall sit old men and women...and the city squares shall be filled with boys and girls playing."
Somehow that little piece of learning has had a big impact on me as I am watching life in Jerusalem. There really are so many old men and women, boys and girls filling every inch of this marvelous city. We are currently in the period of the 9 days before Tisha B'Av (that commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples), yet the commemoration is now filtered by the knowledge that Jews are still living in this land, that little boys and girls can grow up here and feel proud of their Jewish identities.
A few nights ago, I sat in the courtyard of Migdal David (David's Citadel) watching a sound and light show about the various conquests of Jerusalem from the time of King David to the present time. I found myself overwhelmed as I saw images of destruction. I also found myself crying tears of joy as I witnessed the final image of little Israeli boys and girls singing about their hopes for peace in Yerushalayim. The message of Rabbi Akiva was definitely contained on those walls that evening...there is an amazing Jewish presence here, one that breathes life into the very soul of the Jewish people.
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