Drawing close is no simple matter. At times, it can be difficult—even dangerous. And yet, to come near is also wondrous: it can nurture, enrich, and expand life. The possibility of a misstep is always near—but so too are countless opportunities. The line between one kind of closeness and another is often fine. It depends on sensitivity, harmony, the insistence on not including elements foreign to the relationship, and attentiveness to the nature of the invitation.

Dedicated in loving memory of my nephew, Yishai Elyakim Urbach, who fell in Gaza one year ago, a few weeks after setting out to build his own home.

Tehillim 127:1 "Unless God builds the house, those who build it labor in vain."

Human beings cannot truly build alone. What we build by ourselves, the psalmist suggests, cannot ultimately endure.

And yet one of the most beloved songs sung in Israel on Yom Ha’Atzma’ut insists: “I built a house in the Land of Israel.” Human initiative—human courage, labor, and creativity—stands at the heart of the Zionist ethos. Even in religious communities where the day is marked by the recitation of Hallel, a prayer of gratitude to God, the name of the day itself—Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Independence Day—centers the human story.

Chapter 12 of the Book of Vayikra deals with the sacrifice of the woman who has given birth.