Dear Into Israel Readers,

Very soon after I had arrived in Jerusalem, a new group for English writers, Writers in Jerusalem, was forming and I went to the first meeting to check it out.  I thought it would be a good idea since I was both posting Into Israel, and it would provide me an opportunity to meet people.  In our monthly meetings at the historic Tmol Shilshom, we provide samples of our work and then the group critiques them.

This past Wednesday we moved to Sam’s Bagels that has a sizable upstairs seating area that looks down on the popular pedestrian street Ben Yehuda, because we invited some well-known authors to join us, and we expected a larger attendance.  Indeed, we had a full turnout, and it turned into a wonderful evening.

I had deliberated on what to share for this special occasion, and in the end, I decided to write a poem.  I had written it as a Word document, but right before I left when I went to print it, I decided to quickly handwrite it instead.  I was searching for a piece of paper, and I came upon an envelope from a card someone from Austin had sent me.  It had taken three attempts for the card to reach me, so I wasn’t too keen on throwing away even the envelope.  I cut open the envelope and wrote it on the inside.

My Jerusalem

I could never leave you, now, my Love

Now that I have held you so close

Now that you have swept me up in your winds

I have walked your streets till I was weak and weary

I have wept in your parks till I felt your forgiveness

I have been stunned and arrested at your reclusive beauty

So my Love is now eternally forever

Precious and Pure, you will soon know the

Peace you seek, your Destiny, your Hope

United, our Love, will hold unbroken

Lo, I will neither leave nor be far away again.

When I got up to introduce myself, I inquired of the crowd if anyone was from Texas.  The audience was quiet, and then one woman said “I was in Dallas for a while.  Does that count?”  I shook my head to say, I’m sorry, no.  Be that as it may, I chatted on how I was in Love with Jerusalem, and like any new relationship, I was in Stage 1 Love.  A very pretty woman came up to me afterwards and told me she was touched by my poem, and that she had made Aliyah 11 years ago, and still was in love!

Certainly I have my own thoughts about love and relationships, and maybe one day I will write about these reflections.  For now, though, I want to share something remarkable regarding my Hebrew studies.

When I was a child at Northwood Elementary School, I always struggled with my handwriting.  It was difficult for me to connect the letters, and my hand hurt after writing.  Most likely I have Dysgraphia, yet at any rate, the moment I was no longer graded on penmanship, the letters flew apart and have remained that way to this very day.

During High School I took a summer course in Shorthand to compensate for this ache and to assist me in my note-taking, and for some reason that I can’t recall, I remember laughing a lot in the class.  It is still very difficult for me to handwrite anything lengthy, and I always prefer to type it.

That is, till I learned Hebrew script.  The cursive letters are not connected; they are made for me, or rather, the other way around.  I love to sit at my table and write; I need no incentive to practice.  My hand never throbs.  I take the circulars that come in the mail that are written in the script form, and copy them word for word.  When someone sees my writing they always ask, “Did you write that?”

I am eager to know just what I am writing, so I have increased my vocabulary knowledge much more than if I wasn’t doing these exercises, and that has lead to a higher reading comprehension.  Now, hopefully, the part of this arduous journey, fluent speaking, is not too far away.  I’ll keep y’all informed …!

Shalom,

Barbara