Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

When I was seven years old, I watched my father listening attentively to a kitchen radio which sat above our refrigerator. Decades before anyone knew of twenty-four hour cable news stations, my dad relied on the around the clock radio news station. My father had to explain to me that he was listening to news about Israel in June of 1967. While I did not understand the miracle that was unfolding, I remember to this day observing my father's reactions to the news reports on the radio.

Many of us vividly remember the picture of young soldiers standing in amazement right after liberation in front of the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem. Many of us vividly remember Rabbi Shlomo Goren sounding the Shofar right after liberation in front of the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem. Many of us remember how the Western Wall looked during the pre-1967 years under Jordanian rule.

We should never take for granted the vitality of Jewish life in the Jewish Quarter over the last several decades. We should never take for granted the ability for any Jew to daven at the Kotel. We should never take for granted that Diaspora families can celebrate Bar Mitzvahs at the "well known" area of the Kotel or celebrate Bar/Bat Mitzvahs in a mixed gendered area at the Robinson's Arch area of the Kotel.

Today is the Hebrew date of Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day. On 28 Iyar 5727 - June 7, 1967, the totality of Jerusalem was reunited. The tradition of facing East toward Jerusalem when we daven in Canada is no longer an abstract phenomenon. The prayers we recite to rebuild Jerusalem, as found in the weekday Amidah three times a day and in the Blessings After Meals recited numerous times per day, now take on new meaning.

It is appropriate on this day to recite Hallel and to sound the Shofar. Putting all politics aside, today is a great day, a miraculous day, a day of gratitude.

Hopefully, we will safely fly once again soon to visit and support Israel and the holiest city in the world, Jerusalem.  

"Sisu et Yerushalayim gilu va. Gilu va kol ohaveha kol ohaveha - Rejoice with Jerusalem, all you who love her." 

Yom Yerushalayim Sameach - Happy Jerusalem Day!

Rabbi Howard Morrison