My Jerusalem: 'The city that makes me feel alive...'

A passionate and poignant piece about Jerusalem, written by one of our readers from Madrid, Spain.

By VERA HACHUEL SUISSA
My Jerusalem (photo credit: VERA HACHUEL SUISSA)
My Jerusalem
(photo credit: VERA HACHUEL SUISSA)
Jerusalem, the city where I belong, the city that makes me feel alive, tremendously alive. The city whose light is magic, whose colors caress the stones, between the rosy orange dawn and the gold of the sun, climbing towards the sky.
Jerusalem, where songs are sung everywhere, whose language is written under our feet, but speaks highly of a brighter and greater being, conducting our steps, leaving the imprints of our footsteps for centuries.
Jerusalem, based only on love, on passion, something enigmatic that is constantly guiding our souls, our thoughts, our feelings.
The city where, while wandering her streets, I had the sensation that I was there a long, long time ago. Nothing seems to be new, strange or unknown. When I go for a walk, I experience that strange sensation of "déjà vu."  
I have been here before.
Maybe, centuries ago, I was here, but I don' t know who I was. Not yet Zionist, but already Jewish. Not loved, but alive. Being a part of the land, the land I am walking on now, looking to my right, to my left, admiring new buildings, new architecture, beautiful parks, astonished to see streets, shops, gardens and sculptures bursting with ideas.
Jerusalem is surrounded by life; it's everywhere, pinching you, provoking you, making you smile. Perhaps too much life, too many deep sensations, too many questions...
You just have to relax and allow your soul to slip away, as she will lead you to incredible places, where art is embedded in the stones.
I am very fond of the Supreme Court; it is just perfect. I love its lines, its colors, its materials, its ideas and its philosophy. Every time I go to Israel, I visit it, as it is a gift for the eyes of everyone, especially mine.
You may find yourself in the Israel Museum, walking through the Billy Rose Art Garden, listening to the sounds, admiring the sculptures that live within the silence of nature. Just nature, art and you. Blue trees, masses of rhizomes, ancient stones and reflective iron sculptures.
All this creativity is just for you, and it lies in a modern country born out of an ancient, loved land.
It must be difficult to be an atheist in Jerusalem, as G-d is waiting for you at every street corner, for Israel is a miracle, and Jerusalem her seal.
Once, while wandering through the German Colony, I found a little square, with a simple, stone monument resting on it. The inscription on the stone was so moving, and it reflected so clearly what Jerusalem means to me:
"Jerusalem is a port city on the shore of eternity." ( Yehuda Amichai)
Jerusalem is also the city where I feel at home, as I always have a smile on my face, questions in my head and love in my heart when I am there.
Vera Hachuel Suissa is a reader from Madrid, Spain.
To submit a personal story, memoir, poem or piece of writing about your experience/s in Jerusalem, please email campaign@jpost.com with the subject line 'My Jerusalem'.