Marilen Pitler

By Marilen Pitler

My first trip to Israel was in May 1977, with Temple Chai, our synagogue in Long Grove, IL.  Besides many friends, including our rabbi, Floyd Herman, I was with my husband, Jordan, and mother, Mildred Wiley.  For my family, it was our first visit to Israel; especially meaningful for my mother, a recent widow and now traveling with her daughter and son-in-law.

Besides being our first visit to Eretz, there were so many other firsts, paramount among them the 10^th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem and the election of Menachem Begin as Prime Minister.

I will never forget the thrill of sitting on folding chairs in a courtyard in the Old City, just feet away from dignitaries like Jerusalem’s mayor, Teddy Kollek, hearing them speak, feeling the thrill of being in a unified Jerusalem, with fingertips that had touched the ancient the stones of the Western Wall, and then being brought back to reality, looking up and seeing the soldiers sitting on rooftops, with their feet dangling down, holding their Uzis, ready….  The day was calm, our attention brought quickly back to the speakers.

Then, several days later we were in Arad, where we spent the night before climbing Masada.  Some slept, but most of us stayed up, playing backgammon, and listening with rapt attention as our guide translated the radio reports on the prime ministerial election.  Menachem Begin was running for office and won.  For us, we were witnesses to history.  In the early hours of the morning, we began our climb up Masada’s Roman ramp.  As the sun peaked out of the night, we were drawn to a bamah.  We prayed.

We continue praying, Am Yisrael Chai.