By Debbi Levy
A blind date in May 2014 drew Barry Rothschild and me together. Like any couple who met as strangers, we had places in our lives that overlapped and places that brought forth question marks as we compared our individual experiences. Our love of Judaism, devotion to our children and even tight holds on ancestral ties presented us with roads to fall in love and enjoy our similarities, but there is a glue that has been a primary strengthener in both joyful and challenging seasons that we never could have anticipated. I share this “marriage glue” concept because you, too, may find it productive and even romantic.
Barry and I were the co-chairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas Community Mission to Israel that was to depart only weeks after the nightmare that was Oct. 7. Our group was going to fill two buses, and we had become bonded in our meet-and-greets and pre-mission dinner. We had determined our tracks that focused on our specific interests and customized our trips. With the travel expertise of Federation’s professional staff, all we had left to do was board our planes. Our canceled mission felt like the least of all there was to process, but we mourned the loss of that mission nonetheless. I, for one, feel ready today to put the chapter of the canceled mission to bed and plan anew.
Upon the release of our hostages and amidst all the grief, a firm tug for a Solidarity and Rebuilding Mission trip began to form in our hearts and minds. I am more than delighted to report that the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas Solidarity and Rebuilding Mission to Israel will take place in January 2026. Your presence would be just the gift Israel needs in this moment.
How does the news of the newly unveiled mission relate all the way back to the opening of my story about “marriage glue”? For us, these missions have become an intersection Barry and I never knew we needed. We couldn’t have guessed that Federation would be the entity that would provide us with a Jewish kind of “honeymoon” each time we said yes to a mission launching from our Dallas home. This upcoming mission will be our fourth, cementing our 11th wedding anniversary in a glue that feels as important as our chuppah. Our community all around us while we are there — breaking bread together, embracing our Israeli sisters and brothers — all makes us feel a terrific sense of belonging, shared purpose and attraction for each other as we dwell in our ancestral homeland. To pray at the Kotel is life-affirming and couple-affirming. When we walk the streets of Jerusalem with our community from Big D, we become one cohesive unit, and that feeling does not fall away once we return home. I never knew how much I needed to seek the presence of the Creator with the one I love rather than being in my own heart by myself.
One interesting party favor that we always return home with is new friendships. It is interesting because the circles we typically travel in will ask us, “How do you know this one or that one?” Perhaps our new friends are affiliated with a different congregation, live farther away from us or don’t practice yoga. Yet once that bond — courtesy of sharing our homeland — takes place, it too is cemented forever.
My final invitation as I open my heart and marriage recipe in this space is about praying with our feet, as they say. There are so many times that I watch a newscast or hear a speaker we have brought in from Israel, and I imagine ways I can be a part of the healing for Israel. My friends, this is it. Although you will be the recipient of the sacred glue that nurtures both the individual and community relationships with your fellow travelers, this mission is for the benefit of Israel’s exhausted people. Bring your tiny prayers written on paper, turn some dollars into shekels, bring your smile and wide arms for embraces. Be prepared to share a meal with our hosts and to speak about all you’ve seen and learned when we arrive home so that our community members can receive some of your knowledge. Israel is our heritage; please come share it with your good friends and family members.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Kohenet Debbi Levy is busy making the snack list for the bus, sending registration links to possible travelers and looking for her passport. She welcomes your conversations and questions about the mission and hopes you’ll join Jewish Dallas in Israel.