I so enjoyed reading this post from my good friend Paul Mirbach who is an Israeli Citizen living in Israel.
This morning, when I went outside,
The colors of the leaves and the flowers seemed sharper, as if a fog had lifted.
I breathed deeper and the air that filled my lungs seemed to infuse me with… optimism?
The darkened clouds seemed to be filled with the promise of rain, not foreboding.
The smiles on the faces of the people I met seemed wider and their teeth whiter.
The taste of the morning coffee was more satisfying, as if at last I had the license to appreciate it.
Sounds seemed to be clearer, less muffled, no longer subdued, as if we no longer needed to feel ashamed of uninhibited noise.
People speaking seemed more animated, letting their voices carry, and the atmosphere was upbeat.
Drivers were less patient.
Am Yisrael seemed to allow itself to embrace life again.
On the drive down to Yarka, the vista was crystal clear as the valley spread before me, all the way to the Acre, where the ships seemed to sparkle in the sunlight on the dark blue sea, and I drank it in, as if at last there was no longer a feeling of shame when appreciating such beauty.
I turned my face to the sun and felt the warmth on my cheek, and for the first time in two years, I didn’t feel guilty basking in its warmth.
And as I cherished anew the magical moments of the simple pleasures of everyday routines, which seemed comfortingly boring, my mind did not wander, thinking about dank tunnels and imagining being deprived of living.
They are coming home, and now we are free to turn our faces forward.
And maybe this Simchat Torah, the hag when we start to read the Torah again from the beginning, like it was reborn, we can imagine as we dance with the holy scrolls that we are dancing with the released hostages, for they too will have been reborn.
And it can be a simcha in spirit as well as name.
Lechaim!