On this Yom Yerushalayim, I want to express what it means for me to live here in Yerushalayim. I am so grateful, that it behooves me to share my thoughts.
I made aliyah in January 2013 and chose to live in Yerushalayim. I have dreamt of living in Israel since I became Jewish in Montreal in 1971! I was fortunate to discover the beauty of Yerushalayim through the eyes of my mentor and teacher, Rabbanit Chaya Sara Freifeld, who signed her letters Sarah bat Yerushalayim. Born in Yerushalayim, she was from seven generations of Yerushalmis. I first inhaled the aura of Jerusalem from hearing her sing Yerushalayim’s praises. Then I traveled here from New York at least 25 times, visiting friends, visiting my children studying here, and each time leaving, wistful of living here. Then the day finally came when I could come and live out my 40-year-old dream!
What I love about living in Yerushalayim? Just walking the streets, observing a myriad of different cultures and breathing the air…there is a quality and a charisma in the ground underneath me…everywhere.
True, there is the obvious holiness of being near the location of the Beit Hamikdash, the physical beauty and charm and the antiquity of buildings and richness of our history, the diversity of cultures of Jews from all over the world. But the drawing card for me is the aura, the energy of the “place” that allows us to live in a higher dimension, to think with extra clarity, to experience really belonging as a salmon returning to the same natal river where it was spawned…
It is difficult to describe in words because the experience is somewhat metaphysical. That said, many people I have spoken to share similar thoughts, also at a loss for words to describe the heightened level of existence that one can tap into here…
But rest assured that I am far from a mystic and live a very down-to-earth lifestyle while being keenly aware of the ethereal nature of the city I dwell in.
I was born in Canada, lived in the USA for 41 years, but only in the last years have I found my true home.
I am super lucky that two of my seven children live here with their families. The rest of my children are also very fond of Yerushalayim and come to visit as much as they are able to but not as often as they would love to. I dream of the day where they will all join me here.
I am also very fortunate to have many good friends and neighbors living here who share this love of Yerushalayim.
May we be zoche to continue enjoying this wondrous city!
By Temima Markovits
Temima Markovits considered herself to be a fifth daughter of Rabbi Mordechai and Nina Glick in Montreal. She always considered them to be her Jewish parents, although chronologically it would have been impossible. During her conversion process and her great love for Yiddishkeit they encouraged her to attend Ayelet Hashachar, which was the girls’ seminary run by Rebbetzin Freifeld in Far Rockaway. The Freifelds embraced Temima and she became a bat bayit in their home as well. To this day the Freifeld daughters are Temima’s “sisters.”
