How long can I beg Him to take me home when all I need to do is buy a ticket?
How long can I beg Him to rebuild Jerusalem when a new development sprouts every week?
How long can I beg Him to “see with my eyes” when all I have to do is open them?
My hypocrisy chips away until my soul is calloused. My prayers become more superficial by the day; my dreams more faint. My heart is in the East… I think. At least that’s where I saw her last.
***
So I fly on eagles wings to where I belong. I take in the sights, the sounds, and the smells of my beloved city until she overwhelms my senses. I caress the stones, kiss the walls, I’m infatuated by her beauty.
But in those narrow streets, I seem to lose sight of You. In the roar of Torah learning and heady spirituality, my soul is deaf to Your loneliness. In the heart of Jerusalem, I have forgotten; I am home, but You are not here.
My heart is not in the East.
My heart is with You.
Please come home.