2023 אוגוסט 134 בינה מלאכותית אדריכלות ישראלית 89 | | | Editorial anyone with a thirst for light raise his eyes and come! editorial One of the moving stories about Levi Eshkol, the calmest prime minister in the country's history, is that during the recession of 1966, when emigration to the Diaspora was skyrocketing, he stood on the roof of Migdal Shalom, the tallest building in Israel at the time, bent over the railing to see what was happening on Herzl Street, and fell...when he reached the third floor he shouted, "So far everything is fine". And this happened exactly when someone penned the painfully well-known sign in the departure hall of Ben Gurion Airport, "The last one to leave, turn off the lights." The latest poll by one of the TV channels, before it is shut down reveals that about a third of Israelis are considering leaving the country, while the rest will probably consider doing it soon. The thing is, that in Israel you never know what the next day will bring, who impregnated the day and why. And in the midst of this confusing uncertainty, I came up with the revolutionary idea that the next time I get to to the airport I’ll hang a new sign in bright letters: "The first to return, turn on the lights." As my grandmother, who worked at the Electric Company, used to say, anyone who can push down the schalter (the main switch) can also raise it, as they would say in Yiddish, "care op de licht". And indeed, within a year from the recession that taught us what the true the cost of living is, the intoxicating victory of the Six Day War arrived, turning the cart on its head, when thousands of young people from around the world volunteered to immigrate to Israel of their own free will, or simply believing that Jerusalem is actually made of gold, as Naomi Shemer attempted to convince us. Hence, within a week Moshe Dayan was crowned Messiah, even though he didn’t see anyone with his one eye, and after the death of the calmest prime minister, we felt confident enough to appoint a prime minister who wore Golda’s Shoes, and nylon stockings one size too large, so that they will last through the next year, with 63 mandates behind her party, as opposed to the competing one having only 22 mandates, though it was led by Menachem Begin - an over-dramatic speaker, who established heavenly peace soon after he was elected Prime Minister in 1977. Our sages teach us that any promise regarding the next incarnation is dwarfed compared to the importance of life in this one, and as is written in Pirkei Avot Mishna (IV 17): "One hour of Torah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life in the next world". All this is well supported by the forceful song written about the Hidden Springs of Light, where all that is needed to rekindle them is "to bear torches in dark nights, while the paths shine beneath our feet, and anyone, with a thirst for light need only raise his eyes and come". By the way, this powerful "We Bear Torches" song was written during the '30s, when the world almost committed suicide, to emphasize the message that miracles don't always happen by themselves, sometimes one must bring them. Architect Dr. Ami Ran Click to listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ygpz5NlrY Dawn in Haifa bay. Photo: Architect Emil Avraham
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