opinion
The Belated Birth of a Jew
BY JEROLD S. AUERBACH
I had little appeal. But Jerusalem, especially the
ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Mea Shearim
and Sha’arei Hesed, were another story. I was fas-
cinated by the Jews who were least like me. They
lived in self-enclosed communities, seemingly
oblivious to the world beyond their borders.

In the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, I was
immediately drawn to the Western Wall. Whether
outside on the plaza or inside the chamber, I
watched and listened as Jews prayed at the
site of the ancient Jewish Temples, as they had
millennia before the appearance of conquering
Muslims who replaced the Temples with the Dome
of the Rock. Although I occasionally followed the
practice of wedging a note between the stones, I
remained an observer, not a participant.

Inside the high-ceilinged chamber, the echoing
sound of prayer was inspirational and soothing. I
was intrigued by elderly bearded men who leaned Jerold S. Auerbach is the author of twelve books
against the Wall as they prayed silently and by including “Hebron Jews: Memory and Confl ict in
young Orthodox boys whose teachers led them in the Land of Israel.”
Subodh / AdoberStock
f I was planning my farewell visit to Israel, where
would I go and why? Since 1972, many visits
and two year-long stays have provided ample
opportunities to select my favorite places. My
choices, I realized, were determined by the Jew I
was not.

I grew up, as did everyone I knew, with grand-
parents who were immigrants from Eastern Europe
and parents who were assimilated Jews with
little expression of their Jewish identity. Baseball
games were far more alluring to me than Shabbat
candlelighting or synagogue services, which were
never part of my boyhood. Only Chanukah pen-
etrated my Jewish indiff erence, largely because
I enjoyed the nightly fl ickering candle-lights and
the gifts I received from my parents. I intuited that
my bar mitzvah would mark my exit from Judaism.

So it did.

Nothing changed until I was in my mid-30s, when
I crossed paths with a former colleague who had
just returned from a trip to Israel for disaff ected
Jewish academics. I instantly knew that I qualifi ed
for such a trip, and I made my fi rst visit to Israel in
1973. Unexpectedly fascinated, and eager for more
time for exploration and discovery, I applied for
and received a Fulbright professorship at Tel Aviv
University. I commuted weekly from Jerusalem, my
newly chosen home away from home.

During the decades that followed, many visits
to Israel and another year in Jerusalem trans-
formed my life. My years as an assimilated Jew
faded away as my time in Israel increased. But not
everywhere in Israel. The noisy bustle of Tel Aviv
My years of indiff erence
toward and distance from
Judaism and the Jewish
state were fi nally erased
by my time in the ancient
holy cities of Jerusalem
and Hebron.

circles of joyful song. So had religious observance
passed from generation to generation.

Long before Jerusalem became a Jewish holy
site and capital city, Hebron — less than 20
miles south — was embedded in Jewish his-
tory. There, according to the biblical narrative,
Abraham purchased a burial cave, the fi rst Jewish-
owned site in the Promised Land, for Sarah. The
Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs who followed
were entombed there and King David ruled from
Hebron before relocating his throne to Jerusalem.

I caught a glimpse of Hebron during my fi rst visit
to Israel. As we passed the towering Machpelah
burial site, my interest was sparked. I was eager to
return and learn more about the place of Hebron
in Jewish history and the Israelis who had been
determined to restore the Jewish community that
was decimated during Arab riots in 1929.

Over time, as my fascination with Hebron deep-
ened, I met with the leaders of the return of Jews
following the Six-Day War. They taught me about
Hebron history and the obstacles they confronted:
Hostile, at times murderous Arabs; an Israeli gov-
ernment that had little interest in supporting their
eff ort; and Israelis on the left who yearned for
“peace now” and blamed settlers for obstructing
it. As a historian and a Jew, I was captivated.

So it was that my years of indiff erence toward
and distance from Judaism and the Jewish state
were fi nally erased by my time in the ancient holy
cities of Jerusalem and Hebron. There, I fi nally
discovered my Jewish self. JE
14 OCTOBER 6, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM