How can we sing the lords song in a strange land?

On the wedding day of my esteemed publishers, Elana Amminadav, standing beneath the wedding canopy in her pure white dress called the whole ceremony to a halt. With a tear in her eye, she reminded us all, that in the midst of the happiest day of her life, she was still mourning for the state of the world, and the loss of zion.

Sitting here, a couple of kilometers (Metric System Shout Out) from mount zion, i can't but feel cheated. In my mind, Zion doesn't mean constant bar fights in jerusalem, zion doesn't mean burning hatred between religious jews, and non religious jews, jews and muslims, and anyone else who cares to step into the ring.

Zion doesn't mean bullets flying, bombs dropping, buildings exploding, children dying.

Zion, it seems, is more of a concept, a state of mind, then a physical place.

And so Elana Amminadav reminded all the onlookers to her wedding ceremony that when the jews were entering babylon they asked each other "How can we sing the lord's song in a strange land?" It wasn't a rhetorical question. It wasn't a complaint, said with hung head.

It was an honest question, and it was a promise.

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem​​, let my right hand wither; Let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you,
if I do not keep Jerusalem​​ in memory even at my happiest hour."

Once again, the question is asked, "How can we sing the lord's song in a strange land?"

The only way is to stand amidst the flying bullets, amongst the debris, in the middle of a battlefield, to stand inside of confusion, and remember.

And when we remember the true zion, and when we can sing the lord's song in this strange land, in this false and incomplete zion, cut off from true reality, only then can we expect to see peace, and love, and unity, and the true redemption.

Bob Marley said "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind."

And so the question we must ask ourselves once again, the question me must answer for ourselves.

How can we sing the lord's song in a strange land?