Travel Vignette (1)

On a recent visit to Jerusalem I finally achieved a life-long dream.

Whenever I used to read in the newspapers about the President attending religious services on Sunday at such and such a church, I felt a twinge of regret that I would never be able to attend such a service with the President. It was unlikely that we would ever have a Jewish President and it was just as unlikely that I would wend my way into church services.

But now comes The Millennium!

This past Shavuot in The Great Synagogue in Jerusalem while attending services, at the Torah reading the Third Aliyah was given to Ezer Weizman, the President of the State of Israel - and a long held fantasy of mine attained reality.

I might add that President Weizman, called up by his Hebrew name, recited the baruchas very well. As he stepped down from the bimah he was surrounded by well-wishers, all of whom he greeted in warm fashion with a special hug for those who had been his comrades-in-arms during his warrior days.

It was a lovely example of democracy in action as the President of Israel with no entourage and like any other Jew, had his Aliyah and was given a Yoshakoach by the Congregants nearby as he returned to his seat.

Postscript: After reciting this uplifting experience to one of our Congregants, I was casually reminded that I had often attended religious services in the past with the President - Shelley Markman!