I'm Rav Gaylia and I'd like to take you on a very special visit to my homeland, Israel. Why, you may ask, do I call it my homeland? After all, not only was  I born in Boston, but my family goes back four generations in the Boston area! And before that, well that's another story for another time. For now let's just say it had more to do with Lithuania and Moscow than Palestine and Jerusalem! But  still I call it   my homeland, because it is. And it's  your homeland, too. So whether you've ever been here before or this is your first time-- it always has the feeling of returning home.

My grandfather, alav ha-shalom, may he rest in peace, died last year at the age of 91. He once told me that Israel was the only place in the world where he would be called a dirty Jew and would look down at his shirt to see if he had spilled his soup! Papa hadn't been there in 20 years and the country has changed so much-- grown so much. But the heart and the soul and the people remain the same. So for Papa Jack, zecher tzadik l'vracha, may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing, and for all of you who have never been, not been recently, or simply yearn, as I do, to go back soon, I invite you to join me on this "Virtual Tour" of Jerusalem.

Behind me you see one of my favorite views of Jerusalem--the City of Peace (may it only be so in our lifetime!) Whenever I lead a tour to Israel, when we reach Jerusalem we go straight to this spot overlooking David's city and say special prayers. We read from the Book of Psalms-- A Psalm of Ascent, pray for the peace of Jerusalem and drink a  l'chaim, (to life!) with a special  Shehecheyanu to thank God for having created us and kept us alive and allowed us to reach this precious moment.
So Nu, let's go. The Bus is leaving...

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