I wear a necklace close to my heart. It represents for me the deep connection that I feel to this land. I chose to say connection rather than ownership. We belong to the land more than it belongs to us. The Torah teaches us of the Jubilee year whereby every fiftieth year the land you have acquired or lost returns to its original owner. This prevents the illusion that man is owner. Within a century we return to the earth where we once came from, yet the land remains.
As a tour guide I have the honor of sharing the experience and imparting the significance of this holy space onto my groups. The necklace was a manifestation of my ideas and my identity. While touring with a group I had been collecting earth from the various sites we visited. Upon completion of the trip the participants made their own necklaces with the earth and water we had collected. They returned home with a piece of Israel close to their hearts. A friend of mine with a business mind put the necklace out on the market where it was originally known as the 'Common Ground Necklace.' In the midst of all of this fighting we tend to over look our common love of the land.