August 6

— Fasting and reciting “kinot” in Jerusalem on Tisha B’Av
— Praying with many Jews on Mt. Zion overlooking the “Kotel”
— “What a pity it’s (the Kotel) not in our hands”
— Jerusalem summer weather: Cool evenings, low humidity, no rain
— “What a pity it’s (the Kotel) not in our hands”
— Israeli produced irrigation system

My father sitting in “no man’s land” at a Jerusalem dividing line between Israel (left) and Jordan (right).

August 6, 1957 Tuesday afternoon
Dear Mom, Dad and Alan,

It’s in the afternoon now and I’m taking it easy being its Tisha B’av and I’m fasting. I hope Daddy’s fast is as easy as mine. The weather so far has been delightful with the evenings cool enough to require a blanket and the days are pretty hot but since it’s not humid it’s very comfortable. Of course it still hasn’t rained since I’m here. As for clothes the most useful items I have are the short pants which I have from last year. I still haven’t seen a person wearing a suit.

This morning I visited a farm and saw how the irrigation system works. It is composed of aluminum pipes which have a gummed part at the end. One pipe fits into the other and a slight push forming a water tight joint. It takes about a 1/10 of a second. Sprinklers attach at the joints the same way. All parts and pipes are Israeli produced.

Last night we read ” Kinnot” on a lawn in the dark by means of a flashlight. I never knew that Kinnot should be read in a semi darkness. It really made it a touching scene. This afternoon mass services are held at Mt Zion overlooking the Wailing Wall. What a pity it’s not in our hands.

I am getting very sunburned and it is possible for me to pass as a “MaLato” (Mulatto) already, not quite.

Love
Bob

In 1968, my parents were finally able to visit the Kotel following it’s liberation one year earlier during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Comments:

August 6, 1957 Tuesday afternoon

It’s … Tisha B’Av (9th ofAv) and I am fasting. I hope Daddy’s fast is as easy as mine.”
The Jewish people fast on Tisha B’av to commemorate the many tragic events in Jewish history that occurred on this day. My grandfather passed away in 1973 when I was nine years old. Until I read this letter, I was not aware that he fasted on the 9th of Av.

“The weather so far has been delightful with the evenings cool enough to require a blanket and the days are pretty hot but since it’s not humid it’s very comfortable.“
Many people who have never visited Israel are under the impression that all of Israel is like one big, arid desert. However, they are surprised to learn that the climate in the Jerusalem hills is very different. Cool on summer nights and cold during the winter.

“Of course, it still has not rained”
It rarely rains during the summer in Israel.

“This afternoon mass services were held at Mt. Zion overlooking the Wailing Wall. What a pity it’s not in our hands.”
In 1957, the Wailing Wall, also known as the Kotel or Western Wall was under Jordanian rule and the Jews were forbidden from praying at the Kotel. Parts of the area of the Kotel were even used by the Jordanians as a latrine. Nine years after this letter was written, the Kotel was liberated from Jordan by Israel in the June 1967 Six Day War.

“This morning I visited a farm and saw how the irrigation system works. It is composed of aluminum pipes which have a gummed part at the end. One pipe fits into the other and a slight push forming a water tight joint. It takes about a 1/10 of a second. Sprinkler attach at the joints the same way. All parts and pipes are Israeli produced.”
Since my father’s first visit to Israel in 1957, he has always been impressed with the efficiency of Israeli agriculture. Because of Israel’s lack of natural resources and rainwater, they always had to come up with innovative methods of irrigation. As someone who had experience in plumbing, my father was keenly observant of Israel’s creativity in water design systems and their efficient approach.