In Memory of my Grandfather Harry (Tzvi) Dubrow z”l Who
Passed Away this Past Friday
Immediately after Yaakov woke up from his dream about the
ladder with the angels going up and down we read in Parshat Vayetzei 28:17: “He
was in awe and said: ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the
house of Elokim and this is the gate of heaven.’”
Rashi comments that this “place” is the same “place” that
Avraham saw from afar on the way to the Akeda (the binding of Yitchak), meaning
Har HaBayit (The Temple Mount).
Living in
we may start to take these holy places for granted.
I live right neat the Tayelet in Talpiot, the promenade
where Avraham stood when he saw “the place” from afar. Even though we live so
close, each time we visit or pass by, the view is still breathtaking. When we
visit the Tayelet with friends who are here on vacation and see their
excitement it reminds us to not lose sight of the fact that we can visit these
sights on a regular basis.
This past Sunday, I went with the Midreshet Devora students
to the Kotel for Shacharit on Rosh Chodesh Kislev. It was the day of my
grandfather, Harry Dubrow’s z’l funeral in
physically at the funeral, I spiritually felt connected as I was literally
standing and praying on his behalf at the “gate of heaven.”
On Wednesday, my two younger sons, Moshe and Yehuda decided
to come with me and the young women from Midreshet Devora to Kever Rachel (Rachel’s
Tomb) and Maarat HaMachpela (The Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs) in
Chevron. They had just learned about Rachel Imenu (Mother of the Jewish People)
as her Yahrzeit (anniversary of her death) was last month in Cheshvan. Moshe
was studying Parshat Chayei Sara in school and learned about Chevron and its
holy sites. In addition, they didn’t mind missing a day of school!
Seeing the holy sites with my children and my students who
had never visited before opened my eyes to the deep holiness of the places and
how the Jewish people from all over the world strive to have the opportunity to
come to Israel to visit these sites and how we as Israelis must take time from
our schedules to remind ourselves why we are here.
What my children were most surprised about was the fact that
there are playgrounds and schools and houses in Chevron and that it is not just
the city where our forefathers and foremothers are buried, it is a city of
Jewish life.
I remember the fond memories that my grandparents Dorothy
and Harry DuBrow z”l had of the
visit in the early seventies. They enjoyed seeing first hand how the ancient and
modern cultures meshed together. My grandparents were very generous, giving
Tzedaka to hospitals and orphanages and were partners in helping build up the State
of Israel, they were true “Bonei Yerushalayim”, “Builders of Jerusalem.”
