For me this story began in Jerusalem on December 11, 1917, but I didn't know it then. On that day, my grandmother Esther, who I'm named for, was one of the flower girls who welcomed General Allenby to the city of Jerusalem, which the British had just won from the Turks.
My grandmother was born in Rishon L'Tzion - a little town whose name literally means First to Zion. It was established by Jews from Lithuania who came to what was then Turkish Palestine. A few years later she was one of the flower girls welcoming Allenby. And not long after that, she was on a ship to New York with her younger brother and sister.
In New York, Esther met her husband who had also been born in Turkish Palestine and as a teenager wanted to join the British army but was only allowed to be a drummer boy. Eventually he made his way to New York - even after being denied entry the first time.
They had two kids and took them on the long voyage back to Palestine to meet the relatives - grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Years later a third child was born, my father, who missed this trip.
And many, many years after that, I became the first person in my immediate family to go to Israel when I spent my junior year of college living in Jerusalem.
Wow did I love Jerusalem. I mean, really love Jerusalem - and all of Israel.
And I miss it every day.
Which is why, when I got the opportunity to read the new memoir Jerusalem, Drawn and Quartered, I really identified with the first line of the book: "This is a love story." The author, Sarah Tuttle Singer, and I talked about the complexities and the layers of Jerusalem, and about her experience living in four quarters of the Old City last year.
I highly recommend getting a copy of her book, which is available in stores and on Amazon at http://bit.ly/JerusalemDrawnQuartered
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The music on this episode is thanks to Rabbi Cantor Robbi Sherwin and comes from the album: Aish Hakodesh, available at OySongs.com
For more information about Out-of-the-Box Judaism or to get in touch, visit me at www.OutoftheBoxJudaism.com or connect on Facebook.
