Hello, my name is Shimon and I live here in Babylon with my wife Ester. We were exiled out of Jerusalem in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. When we first entered Babylon we considered it much better than Jerusalem. We had never been to any other cities before and this was incredible. There were tall buildings, the markets were overflowed with traffic and the roads were so wide. However, as children, we remember how our families wept over the destruction of the Temple and how our homeland was burned down to the ground. They really enjoyed living in Jerusalem. Ester and I are wondering if we should go back to our homeland or just stay here. Our children and grandchildren and encouraging us to go back saying that there are good things to come and that G-d has forgiven us of all of our sins. Still, Babylon is a much better place for us to live in at the moment. If we went to Jerusalem, we would have to rebuild our lives all over again and I think Ester and I are too old for that. We have had a successful life here in Babylon. I don’t think we can leave all of our friends forever either. The trip to Jerusalem would also be very unhealthy for us. I encourage anyone that wants to go back to Jerusalem to go but we are simply not ready for that type of change.