L'dor V'dor
L’dor V’dor. From Generation to Generation. While in Jersualem, Bus 321 visited the Old City and the Western Wall. For any Jewish person this is a special experience, whether it’s your first time or the most recent of numerous visits. For two of us (out of 33) on the trip, we became the first people in our families to visit the Western Wall. I know that personally, I am the first of four generations to visit Israel and pray at the Western Wall. This feeling is more than just special; it is the culmination of decades of Jewish cultural and religious tradition passed down through my family L’dor V’dor.
L’shanah habaah b’Yerushalayim! Next Year in Jerusalem! Standing at the wall with the Tefillin (another first) surrounded by many other Jews praying brought into perspective these words that we as a people optimistically proclaim each year as the Pesach Seder concludes. It has taken 64 years of this hopeful, Passover wish for someone in my family to fulfill its promise. I am proud to be the one to carry my family’s prayers from our home in the United States to the home of the Jewish people in Israel. This year was the first year in many generations that a Lucker could proclaim “Hashanah b’Yerushalayim!” (“This year in Jerusalem!”) and it is a beautiful thing.
This commentary speaks to a greater impact of the important role Taglit-Birthright and Shorashim play in Judaism. These trips allow American Jewry to ensure that the Pesach promise is not empty or hopeless, but a realistic opportunity to connect with your Jewish faith, culture, history, and brethren. For every Jewish youth that is able to fulfill their birthright, we invest in the next generation.
During an intellectual activity on Shabbat, we identified the tenets we feel are the most basic foundations of Judaism. Each group emphasized “raising your children Jewish” as one of the top three of these pillars of our Jewish faith and culture. I commend all of our parents for instilling Jewish values in each of us. I thank those who support the Birthright program for making this experience possible. And I believe I speak for many on our trip when I say that I look forward to converting my experience in Israel into tradition, knowledge, and values that I will pass on to those younger than I and to my own children. L’dor V’dor.
Spencer F. Lucker
Shorashim Bus 321
