Portugal

     A group of Jewish teens came to the Kotel on a trip from Portugal. They were really excited. One asked me, "Why is the connection so much stronger here?" Another was excited to tell me that he cried by the Kotel. They wanted to know why these things were happening.

     I answered them in two ways. First, I told them what they wanted to know, what they asked… Then I told them what they had to know.

     "Hashem is equally everywhere, at all times. There is no more of Hashem here in this holy place than anywhere else in the world, not even more than in Portugal.

      Hashem is equally everywhere, but He hides. He hides so we will seek Him… and He hides here in this holy place less than in any other place in the World. He does this because this is the home of His Torah, and He wants to draw us to His Torah, His ways, His instructions for us."

     "And why is all this here so special for you but not to the rest of the World? Why do you feel what you call a 'stronger connection,' … why do you cry here but they don't? Because you are a Jew. And you are a Jew because your mother is a Jew.

     You were born a Jew for some reason, and the only way you can pass this on to your children is if you marry a Jewish girl. Make a Jewish family, then Jerusalem will not only always be yours, it will always belong to your children, too."