Fifty-seven bochurim who have experienced the loss of a parent participated in the Shabbos

Living Higher

Last week, Shlomie’s Club, the boys’ division of Links Family, the incredible organization that supports and strengthens thousands of children and teens coping with the loss of a parent, had their annual reunion in Eretz Yisrael. Fifty-seven bochurim who have experienced the loss of a parent participated in the Shabbos, and on Motzaei Shabbos, the boys were given a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem by tour guide Nesanel Eisenman. As the boys trekked through the alleyways of the Jewish Quarter, Nesanel explained the significance of every storied stone and stop, each one soaked in our people’s history. Finally, the boys turned into the Muslim Quarter and came to the entrance to Har Habayis; just a few meters away from the makom haMikdash. It was dark and eerily quiet, and after a few words from Nesanel, the boys all broke into song, singing Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim over and over again, their voices rising into the Jerusalem air as their voices gave expression to the fervent desire that Yerushalayim be restored. Fifty-seven boys who have known loss. Who have known pain. And yet, here they were in the very place that symbolizes pain, loss, and destruction, and when they expressed their deepest desires, it was to rebuild Yerushalayim again, and to take us all Home.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1088)