Today’s flight from Warsaw to Israel was uneventful. The majority of passengers consisted of secular Israelis or Russian emigres. I heard lots of Russian and Hebrew, but no English. Interestingly, I was the only passenger wearing a kippah, a first for me on an El Al flight.
I find the applause of passengers upon touch down at Ben-Gurion one of the most endearing of Israel travel customs. I’ve been on a few rough flights where passengers have applauded the pilot for landing safely, but the clapping that accompanies an arrival in Israel is different. For some it’s a kind of non-verbal Sh’hehiyanu, the blessing we recite at liminal moments of gratitude in our lives. For others, it’s a way to express their happiness at coming home.
As we taxied to the terminal, I noticed a dearth of planes from any other than Israeli airlines: El Al, IsraAir, and Sundor, an El Al subsidiary. That and the departure/arrivals board confirmed how much non-Israeli carriers have scaled back on flights to Tel Aviv.
After deplaning, it didn’t take long for me to notice new signage in the terminal indicating secure areas in which to shelter during an attack. As if on cue, the air raid sirens went off. It turned out that a number of projectiles were fired from Yemen toward central Israel. All were intercepted, the sirens being a precaution for fragments of debris.
Here’s what was remarkable: while deplaning before the sirens sounded, I witnessed the kind of pushing and shoving to get off the plane I associate with Israeli crowds, but the minute the sirens sounded, everyone made their way to the shelter in an orderly fashion. We squeezed together in the most cooperative and supportive way imaginable — as tight as we were packed together, no one was left outside. Israelis come together in the most incredible way in moments of danger. Of course, given the thousands of missile attacks our brethren have lamentably faced in the last 14 months alone, they’ve had plenty of practice.
On the way to passport control, there are pictures of the hostages everywhere, a grim reminder of captivity to those who have the freedom to travel as they please.
I’m now comfortably ensconced in my hotel in Jerusalem with an incredible view of the Old City (photo below). Tomorrow morning I’ll drive down to Kiryat Gat to spend the day at Neve Hanna, a home for children from broken families. I’m sure I’ll have more to report when I return.
Until then, laila tov from Jerusalem. It feels so good to be here!
Jonathan Lubliner
Jack F. Shorstein Senior Rabbi
Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner 