Part I
"Kumu vena'aleh beis Hashem! (Arise and let's go up to the
house of Hashem!)" was the banner under which a huge operation to
bring Jews from all over Eretz Yisroel to Yerushalayim, was arranged
and successfully completed on Chol Hamoed Pesach 5704 (1944). The
event had special significance in view of the tragic background of the
times. For a fourth consecutive year, Europe had been awash with an
ocean of Jewish blood and there was still no end in sight. The central
event was a gathering that was held in the Batei Machseh square in the
Old City's Jewish Quarter, which in those pre-1948 days, was the
oldest religious neighborhood. The gathering's theme was, "Hashem's
Voice Is Speaking To Us From The Flames."
Elderly Yerushalmim belonging to the yishuv hayoshon, amongst whom the
present writer is numbered, still recall that gathering from their
youthful years, almost seven decades ago. There was nothing unusual of
course about crowds coming to visit the Kosel, even during the rest of
the year. What made it special this time were the ambitious plans of
the organizers — Agudas Yisroel activists of the then still-tiny
"new yishuv" — to arrange a massive aliyah laregel from all over
the country at the same time, for all those for whom a trip to
Yerushalayim was ordinarily a difficult, long-distance trip.
Nowadays, to get to Yerushalayim from almost anywhere in Eretz Yisroel
is a relatively simple matter. It's almost a local ride, involving
little more than boarding a bus, especially if one has access to one
of the ever-improving special lines to Yerushalayim that now run from
almost every chareidi locale. In those days however, even travel
between Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv was an ordeal that few undertook and
even they, rarely. The cost of the journey too, was very high for most
people, who lived in conditions of severe penury that hardly bear any
comparison to the lives of even those who live beneath what is deemed
the Poverty Line nowadays.
By Rail or Road
To get to Yerushalayim in those days, one had to board either a train
or an Egged bus. One could get an idea of what the journey by rail
was like until quite recently. Till about ten years ago, Israel
Railways' Jerusalem line ran at the same leisurely speed, along the
same scenic route and arrived at the same quaint, tiny station
between the Emek Refaim and Talbieh neighborhoods on the one side and
Har Tziyon on the other as it did sixty years before. Long before its
closure though, the line had ceased to be a serious contender for
conveying a significant proportion of the travelling public. Those who
used the train did so to enjoy, or to give their young children the
experience of the journey itself.
Travel by bus has progressed tremendously in speed, comfort and
efficiency since those days. Sixty years ago, Yerushalayim's Central
Bus Station was situated in the middle of Rechov Yaffo, next to the
intersection with Rechov King George, in the yard behind what is still
known today as the building with columns. There was parking space for
ten buses at the most there and they were far smaller than the
vehicles in use today. The times were hard and few could spare the
price of a ticket and allow themselves the luxury of an inter-city
trip.
Even for those who had the means, there was more to setting out than
simply boarding a bus. Tickets had to be purchased in advance at the
building next to the station (today a fruit store). They were sold at
two windows, before which a long queue always stretched. Travelers
often purchased their tickets several days in advance.
Ticket in hand, the traveler had to stand in line again in the yard.
By each bus stood an official who punched a hole in the ticket before
the holder boarded. Near the main line was another one for "standing
only", for those who preferred making a quick departure to having a
seat. Following the 1948 War, the already expensive cost of tickets
rose even further. This was due to the lengthy detour that had to be
made from Shaar Hagai along what was known as the Burma Road, in order
avoid the Arab snipers who hid in the hills above the road, and reach
Yerushalayim safely.
The organizers in 5704 chose the train as the preferred means of
transport for only it had the capacity to carry the "multitudes" that
they hoped would avail themselves of the opportunity to visit
Yerushalayim. The kind of numbers they were thinking about is apparent
from the following item from the Agudah's weekly publication, Haderech
(7th Nisan 5704). "The news that Agudas Yisroel has obtained [the use
of] a special train with a thousand places from the management of the
Railway [Authority] of Eretz Yisroel, for the massive aliyah laregel
to Yerushalayim was met with great joy by our members. The organizing
committee is currently accepting orders [for seats] from both
individuals and groups all over the country!"
The Director: Rav Meir Dovid Levenstein
In those days, when the yishuv was still small, a thousand olei regel
were "multitudes". In fact, the number of participants was several
times larger. Many Yidden found others ways to reach Yerushalayim and
the visitors were joined by further thousands of Yerushalmim, who
attended the gathering in Batei Machseh, prayed with them at the Kosel
and took part in the various tours and visits that were arranged in
different parts of the Holy City.
"Kumu vena'aleh beis Hashem!" was the title of the leaflet
circulated by the organizing committee, which was headed by Rav Meir
Dovid Levenstein z'l, who later became the Agudah's first Knesset
member. In subsequent years, with the beginning of the aliyah of
Georgian and Bukharian Jews, Rav Levenstein volunteered to head the
Agudah's Department for Spiritual Absorption, in which position he was
responsible for much valuable religious work among the new olim.
The leaflet contained details about the travel arrangements and
purchase of the special train tickets. "Prices: until age fourteen a
return ticket costs three hundred mil, for those aged fourteen years
old or more, four hundred and fifty mil. Included in this cost are:
storage of belongings in Yerushalayim, a printed guide, guidance on
tours, a seat at the main gathering in the Old City and other
entitlements. Permission to board the train will only be given to
those holding tickets issued by the Agudas Yisroel Central
Organization, together with the special badge that will be sent to
every participant upon receipt of payment in full!"
Every detail of the well-ordered and meticulously planned operation
bears Rav Levenstein's personal imprint. Here is one example: "In
Yerushalayim, a special committee has been set up to arrange overnight
lodgings for all the olim. Whoever has relatives there with whom he
can stay is requested to help us by letting us know."
The travel arrangements are another example: "The Head Management of
the Train Service in Eretz Yisroel have agreed to let us use a special
train for this aliyah laregel. The train will be leaving Tel Aviv and
travelling directly to Yerushalayim on Monday, the seventeenth of
Nisan, the second day of Chol Hamoed Pesach, at 8.03 a.m. exactly. It
will be leaving Yerushalayim to return to Tel Aviv the following day,
Tuesday the eighteenth of Nisan, the third day of Chol Hamoed Pesach
at eight p.m. sharp, arriving in Tel Aviv at approximately eleven p.m.
All participants in the aliyah laregel who live in the vicinity of Tel
Aviv, until Kefar Saba in the north, to Rechovot in the south, will be
able to return home that night from Tel Aviv by means of a special
service that the various bus services have promised us. Overnight
arrangements in Tel Aviv will be made for those who do not manage to
return home that night."
A People That Has Survived The Sword
Many Yerushalmim went to the railway station on that Monday chol
hamoed to welcome the olim. The exalted and uplifting feelings that
everyone felt at the time, and the occasion's echo of our ancient
sources' descriptions of the welcome that was extended to olei regalim
in bygone days, are hard to describe. When the train came to a halt
and the doors of the carriages opened, all the olim, young and old,
came out with joy on their faces and excitement at the crowds that had
turned out to meet them. The two groups merged into one and left the
railway station in a single procession, that made its way to Batei
Machseh.
We children walked in the procession next to our father z'l. My main
recollection is of the gathering in the Batei Machseh plaza. Upon the
specially built platform sat the gedolei Torah and the leaders of the
chareidi community, several of whom addressed the gathered crowds.
Despite its being chol hamoed, none of the speakers was able to
refrain from mentioning the tragic times, when European Jewry was
being wiped out.
As children of course, we were unable to grasp the implication of the
two sharply contrasting themes that underscored the occasion. On the
one hand, this was the very first mass gathering of Jews from all over
the Holy Land in modern times, who had come up to the last remnant of
the Beis Hamikdosh in Yerushalayim on a regel. On the other hand, at
the very same time, millions of our Jewish brothers and sisters, our
grandfathers and grandmothers, parents with their babes and young
children had gone up in flames and more still were suffering the same
fate.
Looking back, one certainly better understands the deep desire of the
organizers and of the thousands of participants to show that despite
all our enemies' efforts, large numbers would gather, demonstrating
our solidarity and our banding together. The posuk uttered by
Yirmiyohu perhaps fit the occasion: "So says Hashem, 'They found favor
in the desert, a people that survived the sword, going to calm
Yisroel' " (31:1). The Malbim explains that, "When the survivors of
the sword remain, after the slaughter and destruction that they will
wreak upon them, they will ultimately find favor in the desert and the
[yoke of] exile will be eased from [upon] them."
Many were searching for some slight scrap of comfort and that was
possibly to be found in the message of the following posuk, "For the
day will come when watchmen on Har Efraim will cry, 'Rise and let us
ascend to Tziyon, to Hashem…!' " The Malbim explains, "For there will
be a day when, instead of watchmen having originally been posted on
Har Efraim to prevent people from being oleh to Yerushalayim (in the
time of Yerovom ben Nevat,) the time will come when the watchmen and
guards will stand and call, 'Rise and let's ascend to Tziyon!' "
End of Part I
