החלום הופיע בחלון

The Dream Appeared in the Window

The remarkable story of Yeshayahu Orbach — a Prisoner of Zion, historian, and poet whose childhood dream of Jerusalem eventually became his home.

What brought former Prisoner of Zion Yeshayahu Orbach to live in a house overlooking the ruins of the Hurva Synagogue?

Was it the old illustration in the only book his parents had at home, the memory of an ancestor who survived a pogrom, or perhaps a commander who kept him in reserve duty just long enough to change the course of his life?

By Eti Elboim

A Jerusalem Legend

There are many Jerusalem legends about people. One of them tells the story of Yeshayahu Orbach, who sits in his home in the Jewish Quarter and hears tour guides in the street mentioning his name.

The private legend of his life has already gone far beyond his own home and has become part of the repertoire of stories told by guides in the Jewish Quarter — sometimes even in languages he does not understand.

“Every guide tells it a little differently,” he laughs.
“Some of them even add details that never happened.”

Sometimes Orbach calls the guide and tells him the real version of the story. On several occasions, he has even gone down into the street himself to tell groups of tourists about the window in his home and the extraordinary connection that developed between him and the Hurva Synagogue.

Whenever Israel’s Foreign Ministry invites him to guide important guests through the narrow streets of the Old City, he tells them his story.

And time and again, his listeners tell him that it is one of the most beautiful Jerusalem stories they have ever heard.

The Dream

In 1700, Rabbi Yehuda HaHasid arrived in Jerusalem from Poland with approximately 300 students.

They purchased land in the Jewish Quarter and began building a synagogue.

Not long afterward, Rabbi Yehuda HaHasid died, and the Jewish community fell into financial difficulties. The construction could not be completed, and the community was unable to cope with its Arab creditors.

In 1721, the synagogue and its courtyard were destroyed, and the Jews were forced to leave Jerusalem.

Most moved to Safed.

The synagogue remained in ruins, and over the years it became known simply as:

“The Hurva” — The Ruin

A Boy and One Book

Yeshayahu Orbach — historian, writer and poet — was born in Russia and grew up in Odessa.

He remembers that his father did not appreciate his attraction to poetry.

“My father was an electronics engineer. He wanted me to become an engineer — not a poet.”

But there was one book in his parents’ home that would shape his imagination for the rest of his life.

There was only one book.

It belonged to his grandfather and was brought into the family home by his grandmother.

It was one volume of a 16-volume Russian encyclopedia about Judaism, published approximately a century earlier.

As a child, Orbach loved looking at its pictures. But one picture in particular captured his imagination.

It showed a large domed building, beneath which were the words:

“A synagogue in Jerusalem.”

He knew almost nothing about Jerusalem at the time.

But he would stare at that picture for hours.

“If someone had woken me in the middle of the night and asked me to draw Jerusalem, I would have drawn exactly that building with the dome. That was what Jerusalem looked like in my imagination.”

His grandmother watched him with satisfaction as his interest in the book — and in the Land of Israel — grew.

She used to tell him that his grandfather's soul had been reincarnated in him, together with his grandfather's love of books and poetry.

The Prisoner of Zion

That image of the Jerusalem synagogue remained with Orbach as he grew older.

It followed him through his studies, his research, and eventually through the darkest period of his life — his imprisonment as a Prisoner of Zion.

By then, he had studied history, earned bachelor's and master's degrees, and was working toward a doctorate.

He and his future wife, Ruth Alexandrovich, became involved in the underground printing of Jewish books — an activity that was both dangerous and forbidden.

Their underground work brought them together, and eventually they became engaged.

But one week before their wedding, Ruth was arrested.

She was tried and imprisoned for a year as a Prisoner of Zion.

Later, Orbach himself was arrested.

He spent several weeks in prison before being released.

Arrival in Israel

In 1971, the couple arrived in Israel.

“Photographers and journalists were waiting for us at the airport. Everyone documented our story. They welcomed us with warmth and love and organized a magnificent wedding for us.”

Among those who attended were prominent Israeli leaders and public figures.

The couple settled in Ramot Eshkol, Jerusalem, and later had a son.

Eventually, however, they realized that they wanted different things from life, and they divorced.

Orbach continued his academic work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, researching the underground publication of Jewish books in the Soviet Union.

Searching for the Lost Building

During those years, Orbach often wandered through the streets of the Jewish Quarter.

Some buildings were still in ruins. Others were beginning to be restored.

And always, he searched for the building from the picture in his childhood encyclopedia.

He would occasionally open the eighth volume of the old encyclopedia, which he had carefully preserved throughout the years.

But he could not find the building.

Then everything changed.

The Victory

Between 1831 and 1840, Egypt ruled the Land of Israel under Muhammad Ali's forces.

During this period Jerusalem developed and grew, and the Jewish community was eventually permitted to return to the area of the Hurva.

After years of effort, permission was finally granted to rebuild the synagogue.

The Hurva would once again rise from its ruins.

And many years later, Orbach's childhood dream would unexpectedly become part of his real life.

The Apartment

One day, Orbach saw people registering for a lottery.

He added his name, without really knowing what he was signing up for.

Some time later, he received a message:

He had won a renovated apartment in the Jewish Quarter.

There was only one problem.

“I was stunned. On one hand, the dream of my life had come true — I had won an apartment in the Jewish Quarter. But on the other hand, I didn't have enough money to buy it.”

The solution would come from an unexpected place.

Four Months

While visiting friends, Orbach met a lawyer who told him about special government mortgages available to discharged soldiers who had served a certain amount of reserve duty during the Yom Kippur War.

The lawyer asked him:

“How long were you in the reserves?”

“I don't remember,” Orbach answered.

“About four months.”

The lawyer became excited.

“Try to remember. The requirement for the mortgage is exactly four months.”

Orbach began searching through his documents and reconstructing his military service.

During the war, he had crossed the canal with Ariel Sharon's forces and fought as an ordinary soldier.

Later, an order was issued to gather Russian-speaking soldiers into a special unit.

Their task was unexpected: they were asked to translate Russian instructions found on captured Egyptian weapons and ammunition.

For Orbach, there was something deeply ironic about it.

The Russian language had always represented literature, culture, poetry and beauty.

Now it was connected in his mind with weapons and ammunition.

The Commander Who Changed Everything

The Russian-speaking soldiers continued their work for several months.

Eventually, they realized that the other reserve soldiers had already returned home, while they were still being kept there.

They began demanding their release.

Orbach became the spokesman for the group and fought for them to be sent home.

Apparently, the commander did not appreciate his persistence.

Instead of releasing him, the commander sent him to Ashdod Port to sign for weapons crates arriving there.

Orbach was angry.

He believed the commander was simply delaying his return home.

But when he later checked his military documents, he discovered something extraordinary:

Because of those extra days, his reserve service totaled exactly four months and two days.

That was enough.

It met the requirement for the mortgage.

And suddenly, the seemingly insignificant decision of a commander had become the final piece in the puzzle.

The Dream Comes True

The little boy in Odessa who had spent hours staring at a picture of a synagogue in Jerusalem had eventually found his way to that city.

The book, the photograph, the prison, the war, the unexpected lottery, and even the days he was forced to remain in reserve duty all became part of one extraordinary chain of events.

And in the end, Yeshayahu Orbach found himself living in Jerusalem — in a home overlooking the very place that had lived in his imagination since childhood.