A Paratrooper's Story

By Dr. Moshe Amirav

I wrote A Paratrooper's Story on June 8th, 1967 as I lay wounded in Hadassah Hospital in
Jerusalem, waiting for surgery to remove a small piece of copper shrapnel in my head
from the battle for the liberation of Jerusalem. Far more than my wound
preoccupied me, I was overwhelmed by my encounter the day before with the
Kotel. The paratroopers' meeting with the Kotel, which has been documented and
filmed so extensively, symbolized, more than any other event, the magnificent
victory of the Six Day War for the country and the nation. I felt that we, all the
paratroopers that participated in the battle for Jerusalem, became representatives;
messengers of generations of Jews who sent us to liberate the city they yearned
for, prayed and dreamed about for two thousand years.

I knew Menachem Mendel, a frequent visitor to our home in Netanya, since my

childhood. He was a strange and grumpy man. I never saw even so much as a
shadow of a smile on his lips. My father once told me that he spent his life
mourning "not for his family, but for Zion". My father also told me that he was a
member of a group called Mourners of Zion which gathered in his home. "And
what do they do?" – I asked, and my father answered: "They miss the Western
Wall". My curiosity, the curiosity of a 12 year-old, was aroused. Thus, in 1957, I
arrived at a Mourners of Zion meeting in Netanya. My mouth open in wonder, I
spent the evening listening to Menachem Mendel's stories about the history of the
Mourners of Zion throughout the generations and diasporas. "Even in the
Treblinka concentration camp", Menachem Mendel told me, "we had a group of
Mourners of Zion. One day a week, we would torment our souls by fasting". I
couldn't believe my ears! Even in the death camp people fasted as a sign of
mourning for the destruction of the Temple!

When I parted from him, he told me something I remembered for many years: "It
says in Tractate Baba-Batra: ‘Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will be privileged to
see it in its joy'." And thus, in those years, the years of my youth, while my
friends spent their leisure time having fun, I was busy mourning a captive
Jerusalem on the other side of the border.

On Monday, the 5th of June 1967, I arrived in Western Jerusalem as a soldier in a

paratrooper brigade. All through that night, we advanced from house to house
under heavy fire. The battalion advanced to the east; I knew that it was in the
direction of the Old City and the goal was clear: the Western Wall. At the end of
that night, which was the longest in my life, we arrived in the area near the
Rockefeller Museum. I climbed up onto the roof of the adjacent building and in
dawn's first light I was able to see – Jerusalem.
A Jordanian shell exploded on the roof of the building. As a result of the blast, I
flew up in the air. I felt a piece of shrapnel ripping my face and it felt as though it
was blowing up my head. Immediately, my face bled and all I heard were screams
of "Medic, Medic!" Ofer the medic stopped the bleeding by bandaging me
quickly and professionally. He calmed me down by saying: "In a few minutes, a
rescue jeep will get here and take you to the hospital." I understood that for me,
the war was over. "But I have to get to the Kotel!" – I cried. Ofer looked at me as
though I'd lost my mind: "That's what interests you now, the Western Wall?!"

A few hours later, I was already at Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem. I could hear
the echo of shooting from the Old City. The next morning, we listened to the
broadcast of the Voice of Israel reporter, Raphael Amir: "At this moment, I am
going down the stairs toward the Western Wall… I am touching the stones of the
Western Wall…" Sounds of gunfire could be heard in the background mixed with
the elated cries of the soldiers and the sounds of shofar blowing. I could not
continue listening to the broadcast. I got out of bed and told Motti, who was lying
in the bed next to mine: "I am going to the Kotel!"

I smile now when I remember how I ran to the Kotel, holding Motti's hand since I
could hardly see where to go. We did not take our time – we ran quickly, past the
Moghrabi Gate, pushing forward in a hurry. Suddenly we stopped, thunderstruck.
Standing opposite us was the Western Wall: gray, huge, silent, and restrained. I
remembered feeling this awe-struck only once before, as a child, when my father
brought me close to the Holy Ark.

Slowly, I began my approach to the Kotel, feeling like a shaliach tzibbur, a cantor
praying for a congregation; representing my father – Herschel-Zvi of Jerusalem
and Lithuania, representing Grandfather Moses and Grandfather Yisrael who were
slaughtered in Punar, representing my teacher and rabbi Mourner of Zion
Menachem Mendel and his entire family that was killed in Treblinka, representing
the poet Uri Zvi Greenberg whose poems I knew by heart and had sent me here.

Someone near me made the "She'hechiyanu" blessing, but I could not answer
"Amen". I just put a hand on the stone and the tears that streamed from my eyes
were part water and part prayers, tunes, and longing of generations of Mourners of
Zion.

I came back to the hospital later that day to undergo surgery to remove the piece of
shrapnel from my head. The next day, lying in bed, I wrote "A Paratrooper's
Story". The story was published in a book about the paratrooper's brigade, "Lion's
Gate", and from there it reached other books and publications until a renewed
adaptation found its rightful place in the light and glass exhibit – The Generations
Center near the Western Wall.
About “The Generations Center”
A new permanent exhibit called “The Generations Center” has recently been opened near the
Western Wall. Visitors will enjoy a moving experience that relates the fascinating story of the
Jewish people throughout the generations. This story takes us through 3,500 years- from exile to
statehood, from destruction to rebuilding, and from crisis to hope.
Guests to the center will find an unusual and enchanting fusion of many creative elements: music,
sculpture, archeology and light effects that together create a masterpiece to delight all the senses.
The visitor is more than a spectator; he becomes an active participant who delves deeply into the
history of the Jewish nation.
The center is divided into several rooms. Each room exposes the visitor to a different period in
the chain of generations of the Jewish people, beginning with the forefathers and twelve tribes
and concluding with the establishment of the State of Israel. Each room contains impressive
works of art created from layers of glass illuminated by rays of light that shine forth through the
darkened rooms. A play of light and glass creates the illusion of texture, shade and shape.
Building the center took seven years. During construction, fascinating archeological finds were
discovered and it was decided to integrate them into the exhibit. In the “Room of Yearning” you
may see a unique example of the combination of works of art and archeological finds. The
foundations of the room include a wall from the period of the First Temple, a Mikveh (ritual bath)
from Second Temple times, Crusader walls and a Mamluk ceiling. A glass floor was added,
reflecting the Mikveh. A huge column “sprouts” from this floor, symbolizing the yearning for
Zion. The creation of this work of art requires a tremendous amount of raw materials; the column,
rising to the height of nine meters (approximately 29 feet), weighs about 15 tons!
The last portion of the center is called the “Hall of Light,” and this area contains the central
message of the entire voyage. The visitors, surrounded by candles and pillars, sit in a darkened
space around a lighted well. A holographic image of a man, shown on a screen amidst light and
smoke, tells the story of Rabbi Yisrael Halevi, a Jew whose entire life was a song of yearning for
Jerusalem, but who was taken to a concentration camp in Poland and was never fortunate enough
to reach the Holy City. A paratrooper who took part in the battle for Jerusalem in 1967 hears from
a student of the rabbi, who survived the Holocaust, the story of Rabbi Yisrael. This story leaves
its stamp upon the paratrooper’s heart, and while he fights in the battle to liberate the city, feels
that he represents the Jewish people over the generations, and that Jews from previous
generations are fighting alongside of him.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy places, adds: “The story of
Rabbi Yisrael Halevi , that completes the experience of visiting The Generations Center,
epitomizes the secret of Jewish continuity – the nation that knew how to believe in rebuilding
alongside destruction, and to build hope despite pain.”
The Center was established under the auspices of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation with the
help of generous benefactors who sponsored the project. The Hall of Light was created with the
generous help of Ira and Inge Rennert. The Hall of Names was established through the generosity
of Mort Zuckerman in honor of his daughter Abigail.
There is no doubt that the tremendous investment in the site has born fruit. This has resulted in
using a delightful medium to bring home a strong, touching and meaningful message. A visit to
the Center provides food for further thought and a lasting impression. Each one of us is a link in
a long chain of generations – a chain that is anchored in the past and offers us continuity in the
future.