And these are the names of the Children of Israel
(Exodus 1:1)
We spent Shabbat Shemot (Names) in Herzliya named for Theodore Herzl, the towering figure of modern Zionism.
The banner on the water tower advertises the celebration of Herzl's
150th birthday and the founding of the city Herzliya 85 years ago.
We had lunch on the hotel patio overlooking the pool and
sea.
We felt all was going right when we were given the key to
room 52 in celebration of the 52nd year of our marriage.
Miriam's mother lived at Beit Juliana, the Dutch parents'
home in Herzliya, until she passed away two years ago at 102.
As founder of the Dutch Zionist Organization and chief rabbi
of Holland, Miriam's great-grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dunner, knew Herzl.
Mel's grandfather, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Kahn, participated in
the 4th Zionist Congress in London in 1900 chaired by Herzl.
Herzl imagined how the Jewish State would be in his 1902
utopian novel Altneuland (OldNewLand), titled Tel Aviv in its
Hebrew translation.
The main character in Herzl's book arrives at the newly
created Jewish State in a yacht from his exile on an isolated Pacific island.
We photographed the yachts at the Herzliya Marina and the
Imaginarium shop in the Herzliya Marina Mall.
On Sunday, we went to the Tel Aviv port to buy a new light
fixture for our dining room and had lunch at the water's edge.
Then I came to the exiles, to Tel Aviv…. and I dwelt
where they were dwelling. (Ezekiel 3:15)
