The tale of the dragon and the queen

There is a midrash that compares Jerusalem to a beautiful queen and a horrifying fire breathing dragon. The queen is of utmost beauty inside and out. The dragon is horrific in every way.

I worked in the Heritage House right in the old city of Jerusalem for about 5 years. I met all different types of people from all over the world. I met the Messiah twice, King David himself, prophets, missionaries, human shields for the Palestinian people, a member of the Russian mafia, 1 rock star, and other various combinations of the former mentioned. Oh, there were some normal people who also stayed there, but not too many!

What was interesting is the way many of these people viewed Jerusalem and especially the old city. There were those that saw the beautiful queen and of course there were those that saw the flying fire breathing beast. How is it possible for two people to walk down from the Heritage House to The Kotel (wall) about a 10 minute walk, and see two completely different things?

A replied "It was beautiful, the stone walkways take you right back to the temple periods. In the Jewish Quarter there were children running with their parents fulfilling the words of the prophets that stated we would one day return. Upon seeing The Kotel for the first time I felt like crying for what if represents. Touching and praying at The Kotel was so intense, I realized I was part of something so much bigger."

B replied "It was awful, the stone walkways were so slippery I almost fell on my face twice. The trash was everywhere, are there no trashcans here? There were Arabs walking around everywhere, I felt so unsafe. When I finally got there it was so upsetting to see that it was separated between men and women. The Kotel was totally over-rated, just a bunch of rocks. There were people begging for money every step I took and when I finally got to the wall itself, a bird pooped on my shoulder."

This midrash can be related not just to Jerusalem but to Israel as a whole. I have met so many people who react to this land so differently. It makes me sad to hear about this dragon that people see. I have yet to see its ugly face, I don't even believe that it exists. It belongs under the bed, in closets, or in story books about make believe lands. The lesson that is clear from this midrash is that there only exists a most beautiful queen, that's what's real!! The dragon is an invention of man.