Holy Land Vacation

The WhatsApp group started six months before
Nobody knows how it got so big

A hundred messages before breakfast
Forty opinions before lunch

Grandma wants a quiet hotel
The kids want something fun

Dad has a spreadsheet open
With a plan for everyone

King David has the view
Citadel is the place

Waldorf has the lobby
Where everybody knows your face

Someone says:
"Don't forget יְרוּשָׁלַיִם"

Someone says:
"The Shuk is a must"

Someone says:
"Whatever we do..."

"Please don't make us rush"


מִיָּם וּמִזְרָח
וּמִצָּפוֹן וְתֵימָן

שְׁלוֹם רָחוֹק וְקָרוֹב
שְׂאִי מִכֹּל עֲבָרָיִךְ

From the west and from the east
From the north and from the south

From far away and from nearby
Your children call from every route



We walked through the Shuk
With a serious plan

A map in our pocket
Food in our hands

Kiyurtush spinning
Kinafah in the air

Chachapuri from the oven
Everybody wants to share

דָּנִי פִּצּוּחִים calling:

"Come inside, it doesn't cost a lot"

We walked out forty minutes later

With something we forgot we bought

Falafel Moz for lunch
Halo Teiman at night

Kraft Pizza with the kids

Because somehow that feels right

Katzefet after dinner
Crave when it's late

Entrecote for the big night

Waffle Bar before the gate



מִיָּם וּמִזְרָח
וּמִצָּפוֹן וְתֵימָן

שְׁלוֹם רָחוֹק וְקָרוֹב
שְׂאִי מִכֹּל עֲבָרָיִךְ



We came for the restaurants
We came for the view

We came for the places
Everybody told us to do

Rimon for the evening
Rodriguez with friends

Skyline on the calendar

Three months before it begins

Everyone knows better:

"My idea is the best one here "

And somehow every argument ends:

"We're coming back next year"



Then somebody said:

"Enough eating"

"Let's see the land"

So we traded the tablecloth

For the desert sand

Benzi Jeeping through the mountains

Dust flying everywhere

Caliber 3 with M16s

Adventure filling the air

Eretz Bereishis camels on the cliff

Stories carved into the stone

We thought we came for a thrill

We didn't know what we'd find at home



Then תַּנַךְ Warriors

The ultimate fun

"It's only two hours"

"Something fun for the kids"

Then Grandma grabbed the sword

Shedding decades when she did

Mom picked up the bow and arrow

The kids started laughing:

"Who's going first?"

Ancient weapons
Ancient stories

The whole family joined the fight

We came looking for an activity

We found something that felt alive



שִׁנְעָר וּפַתְרוֹס
הֲיַעַרְכוּךְ בְּגָדְלָם?

וְאִם הֶבְלָם יְדַמּוּ
לְתֻמַּיִךְ וְאוּרָיִךְ?

Can Babylon and Egypt compare?

Can all the wonders of the world match you?



We went to Fiji for the beaches

Dubai for the gold

Paris had the fashion

Prague stories to be told

Every place was beautiful

Every place had something new

Every place gave memories

Every place had a view

But nobody says:

"Let's go back again"

Nobody counts the months

Nobody feels that pull inside

That brings you back again



Maybe it wasn't the hotel

Maybe it wasn't the food

Maybe it wasn't the schedule

Or everything we thought we knew

The eyes came looking for pleasure

The body came looking for rest

But the soul was quietly searching

For the place it knows best

The world gives moments

The soul remembers home



וּכְבוֹד הַשֵּׁם לְבַד
הָיָה מְאוֹרֵךְ

וְאֵין שֶׁמֶשׁ וְסַהַר
וְכוֹכָבִים מְאִירָיִךְ

Your light was never from the sun

Never from the moon

Never from the stars

We thought we came for a vacation

Our soul knew where we are



The taxi was terrible

The traffic didn't move

Someone cut the line

Someone lost a shoe

The weather was crazy

The schedule fell apart

And everyone was smiling...

Because יְרוּשָׁלַיִם had already found their heart