To Be Read After Tisha B’Av

We are told by the great Sages, that we – the Jewish People, have potential to
convert the days of tragedy and sadness to days of celebration and joy. It
depends on our actions, our desire to get close to Hashem and to our
willingness to reverse the ‘sins of old’ which initially brought tragedy upon the
nation.

We have just fasted on Tisha B’Av and commemorated many misfortunes for
the Jewish people, starting with the 10 Spies and the rejection of Israel, and
many years later, with the destruction of both Temples and the then-States of
Israel.

It is true that we are no longer in the physical exile.
It is true that we have a Jewish State, and hundreds of thousands of
Jews walk the streets in Jerusalem, and study Torah throughout the
Land.

It is true that many of the prophecies have been realized.

But – Close to 2000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple, we are
still surrounded by tragedy. We still find people in the nation who are rejecting
Hashem, the Land, and who cannot feel the pain of the lost Beit HaMikdash
(Temple) on Mount Moriah. There are those who are not only cut off from their
roots, but are cutting themselves off from the dream of returning to the
Promised Land. 2000 years after we were stripped of our rights in Jerusalem
by the Romans, we are faced with an Arab majority in the Old City and its
environs to the east, we have limited to no rights and access to the Temple
Mount, which is desecrated on a daily basis by illegal foreigners and
conquerors and our hold on a united Jerusalem is at times on shaky grounds.

There is a ‘battle’ raging over sovereignty and possession of our Jerusalem.
The Arab world is pumping millions of dollars-dinars into the eastern sector of
Jerusalem with the specific aim to ‘divide’ the city ; there are illegal fatwas-
edicts calling for death of an Arab seller of land to Jews ; there is the illegal
Arab building in Jerusalem which is out of control and rampant. And over the
last few years, our families and students in the old Yemenite Village have been
under daily attacks by local Arabs.

Notwithstanding the above, we have nevertheless moved along the
road to the redemption of Jerusalem. A united Jerusalem has been
declared by all Israeli Governments. We have returned to all sectors
of the City. We have established Jewish neighborhoods in the
renewed Jewish Yishuv (Moslem & Christian Quarters), in the old
Yemenite Village of Shiloach, in Maaleh HaZeitim (Ras El Amud)
and in Kidmat Zion (Abu Dis). Jerusalem is in our hands, but it is
only a start. To keep her firmly in our hands for generations, we
need to act. We need to show a desire for her, we need a willingness
to redeem, and build her and we need to strengthen Jewish roots in
the heart of Jerusalem.

This is the message for POST TISHA B’AV. The message is to invest in
Jerusalem. The message is to “fight for Jerusalem with actions.
They destroyed and laid “her” desolate. We will reclaim and rebuild “her” !
They drove us out from Jerusalem. We will return and live in every
neighbourhood of Jerusalem.

Whether it be to buy and own a piece of Jerusalem in your own name (From
only $450,000 to $1.5 million)….or whether to donate and renovate a building in
Jerusalem (From $75-180,000 to add a family) …or whether to help maintain
our nurseries, playcentres and rooftop playgrounds (New playroom in Shiloach
Heights for $80K)…..or whether to support a pioneering family or Yeshiva
students living at the forefront in Jerusalem…or restore an old Beit Knesset.
There is a time to pray, to dance, to fast over Jerusalem.
AND there is a time to act and secure Jerusalem for the Jewish People, for
generations.

We cannot afford to lose this ‘battle over Jerusalem’!

Our ‘Jerusalem history’ is replete with the crumbling and destruction of the walls
of Jerusalem. A long list of conquerors, have each besieged the city and have
driven her Jewish residents away, from the secure and holy walls of Jerusalem.
Today, G-d has given us the unique opportunity in the ever-progressing process
of Redemption(Geula), to reverse the past.

It is said, that he who truly cries & mourns for Jerusalem, will one day, rejoice
and merit to see the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
We have just mourned….

NOW is the time to show a passion for Jerusalem, to invest, and to help reclaim
& build “Our Jerusalem”.
Help transform this post Tisha B”Av period to a period of joy for Jerusalem.
Be a partner of Ateret Cohanim in the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Daniel Luria dljerusalem@gmail.com +972546544407
Israel Head Office address : PO Box 2288 Jerusalem 91022 Israel
***All donations can be sent to our NY office –
AFAC –Jerusalem Chai : POBOX 390 Woodmere NY 11598
Contributions made payable to “American Friends of Ateret Cohanim”