Pre-Pesach Priorities

1. matza and wine purchased ✅
2. meat and chicken ordered ✅
3. fridge cleaned ✅
4. cabinets cleaned - in progress
5. cars cleaned - not my job
6. kitchen koshered - not my job
7. food cooked - waiting for #6
8. blog posted - in progress

I think I've got my priorities in order so I'm taking a break from Priority #4 to present you with Priority #8. Hope you can take a break from whatever you're doing and come tour the National Library of Israel with me...

Our two months in Afula included two side trips to Jerusalem. Or, in the spirit of "priorities in order", our two trips to Jerusalem included two months in Afula ;-). On one of those trips, we toured the recently opened (October 2023) National Library of Israel. The guided tour was technically excellent but with priorities lacking. I would much rather have learned more of what the People of the Book are famous for and less about Franz Kafka. (That seems to depend on the particular tour guide. So when you take your in-person tour, make sure you request a guide who shares your priorities!) That aside, it was a fascinating learning experience in everything from ancient manuscripts to present day architecture. 

The beauty of the building itself is something to behold. It houses 4.5 million books, most of them tucked away in a three-story basement that is inaccessible to humans.

The basement is managed by a team of robots who pick the requested book out of the bin and shoot it out to the waiting librarian. The occasional repairman who needs to enter does so with an oxygen tank because there is no air in the basement as a precaution against fire damage! From behind a glass window, we watched the robots at work:

Although we visited the library in early March, the main exhibit hall was already in Pesach mode, with a focus on stunning, ancient Hagaddos. I took many notes but, unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced them. Suffice it to say that these Hagaddos are very old and from many far corners of the world:

Perhaps most moving of all the exhibits was the one on the main floor of the massive multi-story reading room - a chair for each of the hostages still waiting to be freed. With the input of family members, on many of the chairs is a book that is either a favorite of the hostage or hints at something about him.

The National Library of Israel and the entire Nation of Israel continue to pray for their homecoming. May each be able to sit at his Seder, read his Haggadah and thank G-d for his personal redemption as we celebrate our national one. This is, right now, our National Priority.

Yes, two short side trips were enough for me to be able to Remember Jerusalem until the next time... Living in Afula is a blessing and a gift but remembering Jerusalem will always be Priority One. 

P.S. In the midst of composing this post, I received an email saying that today, April 1, is Library Giving Day in the U.S. I don't know that this has any practical application for the National Library of Israel but I took it as a wink from Above that my priorities are in order.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, prioritized Pesach. 

Next year in a rebuilt Jerusalem! Amen!

(8. blog posted ✅)