Some may sing, "The hills are alive with the sound of music," but my heart sings a different song. I call it, "The hills are alive with the history of the Jewish people."
From my first trip to Israel in 1984 as an exchange student at Haifa University, until today, six years after my Aliyah, I have merited to live in various homes here. The one point that they all had in common, and actually it is the main prerequisite for choosing a place to live, is that they have had a view of Eretz Yisrael.
The land of Israel not only fills my eyes with beauty, but also my soul.
Call me partial. I can take it, because I am. To me, there is no land more beautiful than the land of Israel. Baruch HaShem, I have seen the wonders held in the Swiss Alps, the Black Forest of Germany, and many mountain peaks from California to New York to Florida. They are all certainly worthy of a "Kodak moment".
However, the land of Israel not only fills my eyes with beauty, but also my soul. If a person desires some understanding of how our forefathers lived in the land, how the Jewish people might have felt when leaving Egypt, what dreams our father Abraham might have had while he followed G-d’s commandment to travel the breadth and length of the land - this can only be achieved where it all took place; in Israel.
When one views the Golan Heights, the Galilee, Samaria, Haifa, the Hills of Jerusalem, the Negev, Gush Etzion, the areas around Eilat, and all the places in between, one has received a feast for the eyes and the soul. In a day, it is possible to enjoy the snow of Mount Hermon, swim in the hot springs of Hamat Gader, pray at the Western Wall, and float in the Dead Sea - all the while, knowing that our ancestors may have enjoyed a similar experience long ago.
On the other hand, for thousands of years, generations could only dream and fantasize about spending a day in the land of Israel as described above. The glory of our homeland was denied us. For only the past 60 years have Jews been blessed with the opportunity to walk in the ancient footsteps of our history as free people in the land of our inheritance.
I am now blessed with a view from my home balcony of the hills of Judea and Gush Etzion. What a miracle! What a blessing! I invite you to join me, to sit together viewing the hills of our history, our present and our future, and to fill ourselves with the beauty of the land of Israel and of the Jewish people.