For the last few days,  I find myself walking the streets of the city I love the most, Jerusalem. Not only I am in the place the very air of which makes me breathe easier even through the heat, but I am blessed to be learning at the institution that brings people together based only on one premise – their love for Torah study.

The people you meet at Pardes are each a story in itself. Young and old, male and female, experienced learners and not. Thinking of myself as always a beginner, I am amazed to find myself somewhere in the middle. Learning in havrutah with people from different countries striving to understand the truth passed down to us by the earlier generations of learners and teachers is a very humbling experience. Looking at a character like Moshe Rabeinu in light of his struggles with himself, with people, with Gd gives you hope that your struggles are not in vain, be they personal or communal.

Jerusalem is magnificent. It is with you in your pain as much as in joy. Being here is a privilege, and I feel that many Jerusalemites are keenly aware of this, and treat their lives here as a Gd given miraculous promise come true.

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I am hoping that whatever each of us has to go through, our journeys will bring us finally to the place and state of our dreams. Mine will be, certainly, here.

I wonder if any of you, my readers have favorite places in Jerusalem that I have never been to? I am sure there are many.