10/18 to 10/19 | Beit Tal Meeting in the City of David, Sukkot and Simchat Torah in Jerusalem

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in something completely unique.  Nearly 70 years after the destruction of the shtetl of Trochenbrod, my grandfather's hometown, by the Nazis in 1942, the descendants of those who survived met up in Jerusalem.  This is an annual event put on by a group called Beit Tal (meaning House of Trochenbrod and Lozisht); however, none of my family has ever been able to attend because it is always held in Israel.  When I found out that Beit Tal was planning to do a group tour of the City of David (adjacent to the Old City) followed by a small luncheon on kibbutz Ramat Rachel, I knew this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.  Not only were they meeting less than an hour away from where I live, but it would be a chance to meet other people whose ancestors lived and worked with my grandfather, Szjia "Joshua" Ruf, for whom I am named after: Robert Joshua Pines.

We started with a tour of the City of David, where the original walled city of Jerusalem was located in ancient times.  Today, the Old City of Jerusalem is to the north and west of the Temple Mount; thousands of years ago, the city was to the south of the Temple Mount.  It is kind of funny to think that all of us were bonding over our European Jewish history by going to the root of Judaism itself in Israel.  Today, the City of David is a large archeological park surrounded by the Arab neighborhood of Silwan, or Shiloach in Hebrew.  The close proximity of a Jewish historical site next to Arab housing has been cause for some friction, though, so the area is not as serene as one would imagine.

One of the most remarkable experiences from this trip was meeting the Elbaum family from Maryland.  Rose Elbaum actually knew my family because she was friends with my Aunt Miriam when they were children in Baltimore.  It was only later in life that she realized they had a Trochenbrod connection.  How amazing it was to meet people halfway around the world who knew the Ruf family personally!

Here are some pictures from my time in the City of David:

The entrance to the City of David, or Ear Dahveed in Hebrew,  featuring a depiction of King David's harp.

Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount can be seen clearly from the entrance of the City of David.

The tour guide only spoke in Hebrew, so it was a bit of a challenge to understand what he was explaining.  Fortunately, the Elbaum family was more than happy to translate for me.

Some of the Trochenbrod descendants.  There were two bus loads of people in total.

The Gihon Spring, an intermittent spring that served as the main source of water for the residents of ancient Jerusalem.

Down a path leading towards Hezekiah's Tunnel, an ancient aqueduct that was built around 700 BCE to connect the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam (and which continues to do so today).

The Pool of Siloam, which collected water from the Gihon Sping for residents of the ancient walled city of Jerusalem.

After our tour of the City of David, the the descendants of Trochenbrod headed to kibbutz Ramat Rachel in southern Jerusalem for lunch.

The route I took from Hebrew University (A) to the City of David (B) south of the Old City to Ramat Rachel (C).

The group meeting/luncheon of the descendants of Trochenbrod under a big sukkah in Ramat Rachel.

I brought a number of pictures to share with people.  The three women in the picture are my grandfather's sisters.  It is sad, but we do not know their names.  We know that my grandfather had five sisters named Keila, Rachel, Fania, Sosha, and Yita, but we cannot put names to faces.

Liat Arad was the woman who organized this event.

I cannot remember his name, but this man remembers living in Trochenbrod.  Although he told his story in Hebrew, I could hear the emotion in each and every word.  Quite powerful!

After the Trochenbrod event, I returned to the Student Village where I got ready to go to Rabbi Charles Lebow's house for the end of Sukkot.  He invited me to his home in Neve Yaakov, a neighborhood of Jerusalem, to experience the mitzvah of sleeping in a sukkah.  This was something I had never had the chance to do before, so I was very excited at the prospect of experiencing something new.  Not only that, but I was ready for a nice, home-cooked meal.  The Lebow family did not disappoint!  The food was delicious and the sukkah was extremely comfortable.  I also got the chance to shake a lulav and etrog, which I do not think I have done since preschool.  We were accompanied for dinner by Jacob Markey, who I met at the shabbaton a few weeks back.  Not only do we have a mutual friend, but we both discovered that we interned with the Washington, D.C. branch of the Anti-Defamation League!  It was a great experience and I am so appreciative to Rabbi Lebow for inviting me in to his home.

Rabbi Lebow's beautiful sukkah.  This is the view to which I awoke.

The lulav and etrog I shook.

The view from Rabbi Lebow's house.  That is the separation barrier in the center of the picture. 

After leaving Rabbi Lebow's house in the morning (and getting lost along the way), I returned to the Student Village.  I made plans with Jacob to meet up at the Kotel for Simchat Torah at 5:45 PM.  Jeff Seidel set us up for a meal which ended up being incredible because our hosts actually lived in the Old City of Jerusalem!  We met the Deitch family in their synagogue where everyone was dancing and singing with the Torah scrolls.  Simchat Torah marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah readings for the year, so it is a time of great celebration and happiness.  At the Kotel, people were doing the same, but on a much larger scale. 

For dinner, the Deitch family took us in to their home and fed us a delicious meal of salad, chicken, and potatoes.  It was absolutely one of the best meals I have had in Israel and it was made so much better because it was in the Old City!  After dinner, Jacob and I headed back to the Kotel where we hung out for a while, taking in the sights and sounds.  It was rather empty by this time, so it was nice to just sit there and reflect on everything that has happened this past week.  From Eilat to the Jerusalem Conference to the meeting of the Trochenbrod descendants to Sukkot to Simchat Torah, all capped off with the release of Gilad Shalit, all I could think is how thankful I am to be here in Israel!