Looking Up at the Moon

This is the post I wrote for the 60 Bloggers for Israel project in 2008. In honor of Israel's 60th birthday, 60 bloggers each posted over the course of 60 days leading up to Yom Ha'atzma'ut. Unfortunately, the domain is no longer active, so my links to that post (which, for some reason, I didn't cross-post) aren't available. Luckily, I saved my post and here it is.
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It was living in Israel that I really became aware of the cycle of the moon. Was it the clearer skies? Was it the life lived by the Hebrew months? Or was it the metaphorical closeness of the heavens?  I believe it was all of the above. Only in Israel did the moon seem to guide my life, give me a sense of the date, greet my nights.

1.

Moses Montefiore’s windmill, Jerusalem, 3:00am, Shabbat morning.
Watching the moon rise and set over the Old City of Jerusalem…
talking, holding hands, waiting for him to kiss me for the first time.

2.

Mitzpe Ramon Crater, the Negev, 11:00pm
Laying on the rocks, looking up, the moon so close
we can reach out and touch it.

3.

Keren haYesod Street, Jerusalem, midnight, Yom Kippur
Walking on a quiet, car-empty street
the moon is half-there, growing in potential as we grow ourselves…


Wherever I am, wherever I go, when I see the moon, I am in Eretz Yisrael.

The waxing and waning of the moon has been compared to the Jewish people, always returning, always present, always renewing ourselves. The moon may be hard to see but it always returns, even more vibrant, more beautiful each time we see it. Israel is like this to me – no matter how many weeks, months, years pass between my visits, it is more vibrant, more beautiful.

“You are a crown of glory for those who are borne in the womb, for they, like you, are destined to be renewed.” (from Kiddush Levanah)

Eretz Yisrael…our crown of glory…may its shimmering light shine for us always.