Our day began at Kibbutz Misgav Am, which is located on a mountain at Israel's border with Lebanon. We spoke to a kibbutznik about his experiences in the area, and he shared with us his perspective on the strategic advantage of being located at the top of the mountain.
Next, we drove to Nachal Ayun, where we took a beautiful hike near several waterfalls and other magnificent works of creation.
We spent some time in the Golan Heights, learning about how this territory was acquired in 1967. While at an overlook, we had a fruitful group discussion about the presence of left wing and the right wing politics in Israeli society. The students' insights and questions provided much food for thought.
Our final activity of the day was a visit to a Druze village. Here, we enjoyed a magnificent feast and spoke with Muneer, a member of the Druze community. He spoke about the Druze religion, its beliefs, their communities in Israel, Syria, and beyond, and answered dozens of questions. (Druze are Arabs but not Muslims. Their religion is highly secretive, and they are known for their allegiance to the country in which they live. For example, Druze are Israeli citizens and serve in the IDF.)
Tomorrow, we will leave Hannaton and return to the area around Jerusalem. Our big highlight for Wednesday will be meeting our peers from Kiryat Gat. We will spend two days in and around Kibbutz Tzuba (in the Jerusalem mountains) getting to know them and participating in leadership and Jewish identity workshops. Some of the students were in Chicago last spring; the rest will come to visit this spring.
Tomorrow, we will also bid farewell to Dr. Schaffner, as he flies back to Chicago early Thursday morning.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Reflections...
Yachad, yachad...yachad, yachad...kulam kedusha l'cha y'shaleshu.
These words, and their accompanying melody, have been running through my head over and over since last Shabbat. As the week of classes (and the summer session) came to a close yesterday, I found myself reflecting on how much I've learned, how much I've grown, and the holiness that seems to abound here in Yerushalayim, Ir HaKodesh (Jerusalem, the Holy City). Studying at the Conservative Yeshiva has been a life-changing experience. This is not hyperbole. I truly feel that I have gained so much from my study of Talmud--just one chapter of mishnah! just one page of gemara!--as well as from my in-depth study of tefillah and the many other classes and seminars I attended.
Before my first time in Israel in 1995, many people asked me why I was going. I answered that there was a part of me that I didn't even know about, a part that would not be opened up until I was in Israel. I was right--I learned so much that summer about myself, Judaism, Jewish history, Zionism, liturgy, and the magnificence of the land, the ubiquitous Jerusalem stone, and the very air that is breathed here. Since that summer, I have been in Israel in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2004 (not a typo), and 2005 for various programs, but not until these last three weeks have I had such an eye-opening, re-centering, tremendous experience. Why? With an undergraduate degree in English, I am quite familiar with picking apart essays, poems, novels, and other forms of the written word. However, I have always had trepidation and difficulty when approaching our sacred texts.
My Talmud class--beyond the content, and there was an enormous amount of amazing content (I have more than 40 handwritten pages of notes)--this class, and our extraordinary instructor, provided access to Jewish texts in a way that was both meaningful and beautiful. At our Talmud siyum (closing ceremony) yesterday--more about the siyum later--our instructor said, "The fact that one is a beginner at [studying Talmud, or any other sacred text] doesn't mean that you have to have a simplistic conversation." So true.
When I started this Talmud class, my motivation was twofold: to learn more about this text to which I had not previously had access, and to be able to open a new level of conversation with my students. I had no idea that over the course of three weeks--and indeed, in much less time!--my life would be changed. Here's a look into the very first day of class...
We began our study with the sixth chapter of Masechet Brachot (mishnah only at this point), which focuses on brachot hanehenin, blessings on things that give you enjoyment--generally food. A classmate turned to me and said, "Do you want to work in chevruta together?" From this, a partnership was born between Sy and me. We poked through the text, facing frustrations and revelations along the way. We started with questions about word choices and rabbinic personalities, and we moved toward recognizing distinctions in the origins of food and appreciating the diverse ways through which our food comes to us--sometimes, quite naturally (like a pear or carrot) and sometimes through a partnership between God and man (like bread, for example). We questioned this Rabbi Yehuda fellow, who seemed to have the last word in this mishnah (verse), even though our current understanding of halacha dismisses his opinion. Who was Rabbi Yehuda, this purist who seemed to emphasize eating the most natural foods available--perhaps a vegan before his time--and who endorsed a bracha that was unfamiliar to us (borei minei d'sha'im)?
As we moved from chevruta to shiur (class) on this first (!) day of class, we began to discuss the Biblical terminology in brachot and the idea that God gave pri ha'etz (fruit of the tree) to Adam and Eve. Why fruit first? It's easily accessible! God gave us fruit, so eating fruit is like eating out of God's hand. It's quite a visceral, spiritual, Edenic experience to eat what God has given you. If you don't believe me, take a moment to contemplate this, closing your eyes the next time you bite into a strawberry, nectarine, blueberry, papaya, date, etc.
This was only part of my learning experience on the first day of Talmud. As we continued to plow through the chapter of mishnah, my appreciation for the concepts of bracha and the Mishnaic tradition intensified. At the core of our discussions was the question--what does it mean to make a bracha (blessing)?
I could go on and on--and in upcoming posts, I will describe the siyum in more detail, including the presentation Robin and I made to our class, and perhaps share some of the writing I did in my Heschel class. For the present, I'd like to conclude this section by remarking that although in many courses, chevrutas changed every day, my Talmud chevruta and I stuck together for the entire three weeks. Sy lives in Gary, and he and his wife have an apartment in Chicago, not far from mine, so we hope to continue studying together.
It's been a great week for seeing friends and family. I had dinner on Sunday with Leslie, my former roommate in Boston. It was great to catch up with her--and bump into Daniel, a former USYer/student at the same time! Leslie is studying in Har Nof for the summer.
On Tuesday night, my roommates and I had an intense evening of nikayon, apartment cleaning! We scrubbed, swept, mopped, and dusted our apartment into a state of significant beauty as we prepared for a changing of the roommate guard. (The next day, Lisa departed, and last night, Gwen's husband arrived.) Following the Great Apartment Cleanup, Eric came over and shared the news that he placed into Daled--the highest level--at his ulpan (intense Hebrew-learning program). He is ecstatic to finally be living in Israel!
On Wednesday night, my roommates and I stopped at a hotel for a pit stop on the way home. Who did I bump into there, but Marcel, Dina's father-in-law! I thanked him once again for his family's hospitality this past Shabbat, and wished him well. Apparently, I seem to have friends all around Jerusalem! This was made even more clear yesterday morning, when my bothersome ankle pushed me to take a cab to school. I gave the destination address to the driver, and he turned and said, "I have driven you before." It was Itzik, who last week enchanted me with his story of being born in Jerusalem and encouraged me to continue speaking Hebrew, as that's the only way to improve. He and I had an incredible conversation once again as he drove toward the CY.
This is my final Shabbat in Jerusalem...Gwen and her husband, Jef, are heading to Herzliya for the weekend, and Robin and I are looking forward to a quiet Shabbat here. We're going to someone's home for dinner tonight, and we're having a couple--really, only a couple!--friends for lunch tomorrow. Tomorrow night, I'll see Dina again. We both really treasure the opportunity to spend quality time together here. It has been a pleasure to play with and bestow hugs and kisses upon her two boys, Aharon and Binyamin. Meeting seven-month-old Binyamin, who bears the name of our beloved Papa, z"l, has been one of the greatest highlights of being in Israel.
I would be cold and heartless if I did not mention the heavy feeling upon the nation right now. The bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were returned on Wednesday and buried yesterday, and their families are now sitting shiva after a long two years of waiting and hoping for something much better. May God comfort the Goldwasser and Regev families among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
May Gilad Shalit return home quickly and safely, and may the world soon realize and recognize that we are a tiny people who are living in only a tiny piece of land, and that to expect secure borders, safe walkways and a future of promise for children, and not to be threatened for having the audacity to exist…well, that should not be so much to ask.
Shabbat shalom.
We’ll talk soon…
Caroline
These words, and their accompanying melody, have been running through my head over and over since last Shabbat. As the week of classes (and the summer session) came to a close yesterday, I found myself reflecting on how much I've learned, how much I've grown, and the holiness that seems to abound here in Yerushalayim, Ir HaKodesh (Jerusalem, the Holy City). Studying at the Conservative Yeshiva has been a life-changing experience. This is not hyperbole. I truly feel that I have gained so much from my study of Talmud--just one chapter of mishnah! just one page of gemara!--as well as from my in-depth study of tefillah and the many other classes and seminars I attended.
Before my first time in Israel in 1995, many people asked me why I was going. I answered that there was a part of me that I didn't even know about, a part that would not be opened up until I was in Israel. I was right--I learned so much that summer about myself, Judaism, Jewish history, Zionism, liturgy, and the magnificence of the land, the ubiquitous Jerusalem stone, and the very air that is breathed here. Since that summer, I have been in Israel in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2004 (not a typo), and 2005 for various programs, but not until these last three weeks have I had such an eye-opening, re-centering, tremendous experience. Why? With an undergraduate degree in English, I am quite familiar with picking apart essays, poems, novels, and other forms of the written word. However, I have always had trepidation and difficulty when approaching our sacred texts.
My Talmud class--beyond the content, and there was an enormous amount of amazing content (I have more than 40 handwritten pages of notes)--this class, and our extraordinary instructor, provided access to Jewish texts in a way that was both meaningful and beautiful. At our Talmud siyum (closing ceremony) yesterday--more about the siyum later--our instructor said, "The fact that one is a beginner at [studying Talmud, or any other sacred text] doesn't mean that you have to have a simplistic conversation." So true.
When I started this Talmud class, my motivation was twofold: to learn more about this text to which I had not previously had access, and to be able to open a new level of conversation with my students. I had no idea that over the course of three weeks--and indeed, in much less time!--my life would be changed. Here's a look into the very first day of class...
We began our study with the sixth chapter of Masechet Brachot (mishnah only at this point), which focuses on brachot hanehenin, blessings on things that give you enjoyment--generally food. A classmate turned to me and said, "Do you want to work in chevruta together?" From this, a partnership was born between Sy and me. We poked through the text, facing frustrations and revelations along the way. We started with questions about word choices and rabbinic personalities, and we moved toward recognizing distinctions in the origins of food and appreciating the diverse ways through which our food comes to us--sometimes, quite naturally (like a pear or carrot) and sometimes through a partnership between God and man (like bread, for example). We questioned this Rabbi Yehuda fellow, who seemed to have the last word in this mishnah (verse), even though our current understanding of halacha dismisses his opinion. Who was Rabbi Yehuda, this purist who seemed to emphasize eating the most natural foods available--perhaps a vegan before his time--and who endorsed a bracha that was unfamiliar to us (borei minei d'sha'im)?
As we moved from chevruta to shiur (class) on this first (!) day of class, we began to discuss the Biblical terminology in brachot and the idea that God gave pri ha'etz (fruit of the tree) to Adam and Eve. Why fruit first? It's easily accessible! God gave us fruit, so eating fruit is like eating out of God's hand. It's quite a visceral, spiritual, Edenic experience to eat what God has given you. If you don't believe me, take a moment to contemplate this, closing your eyes the next time you bite into a strawberry, nectarine, blueberry, papaya, date, etc.
This was only part of my learning experience on the first day of Talmud. As we continued to plow through the chapter of mishnah, my appreciation for the concepts of bracha and the Mishnaic tradition intensified. At the core of our discussions was the question--what does it mean to make a bracha (blessing)?
I could go on and on--and in upcoming posts, I will describe the siyum in more detail, including the presentation Robin and I made to our class, and perhaps share some of the writing I did in my Heschel class. For the present, I'd like to conclude this section by remarking that although in many courses, chevrutas changed every day, my Talmud chevruta and I stuck together for the entire three weeks. Sy lives in Gary, and he and his wife have an apartment in Chicago, not far from mine, so we hope to continue studying together.
It's been a great week for seeing friends and family. I had dinner on Sunday with Leslie, my former roommate in Boston. It was great to catch up with her--and bump into Daniel, a former USYer/student at the same time! Leslie is studying in Har Nof for the summer.
On Tuesday night, my roommates and I had an intense evening of nikayon, apartment cleaning! We scrubbed, swept, mopped, and dusted our apartment into a state of significant beauty as we prepared for a changing of the roommate guard. (The next day, Lisa departed, and last night, Gwen's husband arrived.) Following the Great Apartment Cleanup, Eric came over and shared the news that he placed into Daled--the highest level--at his ulpan (intense Hebrew-learning program). He is ecstatic to finally be living in Israel!
On Wednesday night, my roommates and I stopped at a hotel for a pit stop on the way home. Who did I bump into there, but Marcel, Dina's father-in-law! I thanked him once again for his family's hospitality this past Shabbat, and wished him well. Apparently, I seem to have friends all around Jerusalem! This was made even more clear yesterday morning, when my bothersome ankle pushed me to take a cab to school. I gave the destination address to the driver, and he turned and said, "I have driven you before." It was Itzik, who last week enchanted me with his story of being born in Jerusalem and encouraged me to continue speaking Hebrew, as that's the only way to improve. He and I had an incredible conversation once again as he drove toward the CY.
This is my final Shabbat in Jerusalem...Gwen and her husband, Jef, are heading to Herzliya for the weekend, and Robin and I are looking forward to a quiet Shabbat here. We're going to someone's home for dinner tonight, and we're having a couple--really, only a couple!--friends for lunch tomorrow. Tomorrow night, I'll see Dina again. We both really treasure the opportunity to spend quality time together here. It has been a pleasure to play with and bestow hugs and kisses upon her two boys, Aharon and Binyamin. Meeting seven-month-old Binyamin, who bears the name of our beloved Papa, z"l, has been one of the greatest highlights of being in Israel.
I would be cold and heartless if I did not mention the heavy feeling upon the nation right now. The bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were returned on Wednesday and buried yesterday, and their families are now sitting shiva after a long two years of waiting and hoping for something much better. May God comfort the Goldwasser and Regev families among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
May Gilad Shalit return home quickly and safely, and may the world soon realize and recognize that we are a tiny people who are living in only a tiny piece of land, and that to expect secure borders, safe walkways and a future of promise for children, and not to be threatened for having the audacity to exist…well, that should not be so much to ask.
Shabbat shalom.
We’ll talk soon…
Caroline
Sunday, July 13, 2008
It's a Small World (and a Big Kibbutz)
This past Shabbat, our dinner theme was 7/11, a Shabbat of Convenience. (Alternately, we planned to focus the meal on the Seven Species, but that didn't really turn out.) It was a fun evening with many guests--both expected and unexpected--and a delicious dinner. Fortunately, none of our LFs chose to grace us with their presence.
On Shabbat morning, Robin, Gwen, and I went to Mayanot, a Conservative egalitarian minyan in our neighborhood. Just as two weeks ago we walked into a bar mitzvah at shul, so this week did we walk into an aufruf. It seems that simchas are all around in Jerusalem. Afterward, I walked to the home of Dina's inlaws. If you are not part of my immediate family, you might not know that my cousin Dina lives in Israel with her husband and two sons, and her inlaws live in Jerusalem...only two blocks up my street. I suppose, to be honest, that I live two blocks down their street, as their house has been in Ruchama's (her mother-in-law's) family since the time of the British Mandate.
The rest of Dina's extended family was there, too--brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law, and a couple adorable kids. We had a marvelous afternoon together, and aside from a brief walk, I ended up staying there until Shabbat was over. Their family is lovely, with many Yemenite traditions from Ruchama's family. Although the entire family is Israeli, everyone in my generation spent a significant part of their youth living in the United States, so the conversation around the table was a pretty generous mixture of English and Hebrew. I asked if the English was for my benefit--as I could follow a fair portion of the Hebrew--and they said no, that they always talk like this.
In other news, I finally used the compact first aid kit I've kept tucked into my backpack! Now I know it was there for a reason. (No worries...an inexplicably bloody finger--my own--got a spray of neosporin and a little bandaid.)
This morning, I had a special treat...I saw a friend who is staffing Pilgrimage, and then I popped into breakfast at the guest house to surprise three of my kids (two current, one former). It was great to see how much they are enjoying their Israel experiences.
Tonight, I learned that someone else (!) knows our landlord here. First, our Talmud teacher knows him and officiated at his wedding. Next, I used a bencher on Shabbat from the wedding of Debbie and James...quite familiar names, right, CJHS people? This is to say nothing of the CY and Mayanot people who certainly know him. Finally, a friend of mine called the apartment today and ended up in voicemail--turns out the landlord was one of his educators (?) on OTZMA. As one of my internship supervisors in grad school liked to say, it's a small Jewish world--and a big kibbutz.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
On Shabbat morning, Robin, Gwen, and I went to Mayanot, a Conservative egalitarian minyan in our neighborhood. Just as two weeks ago we walked into a bar mitzvah at shul, so this week did we walk into an aufruf. It seems that simchas are all around in Jerusalem. Afterward, I walked to the home of Dina's inlaws. If you are not part of my immediate family, you might not know that my cousin Dina lives in Israel with her husband and two sons, and her inlaws live in Jerusalem...only two blocks up my street. I suppose, to be honest, that I live two blocks down their street, as their house has been in Ruchama's (her mother-in-law's) family since the time of the British Mandate.
The rest of Dina's extended family was there, too--brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law, and a couple adorable kids. We had a marvelous afternoon together, and aside from a brief walk, I ended up staying there until Shabbat was over. Their family is lovely, with many Yemenite traditions from Ruchama's family. Although the entire family is Israeli, everyone in my generation spent a significant part of their youth living in the United States, so the conversation around the table was a pretty generous mixture of English and Hebrew. I asked if the English was for my benefit--as I could follow a fair portion of the Hebrew--and they said no, that they always talk like this.
In other news, I finally used the compact first aid kit I've kept tucked into my backpack! Now I know it was there for a reason. (No worries...an inexplicably bloody finger--my own--got a spray of neosporin and a little bandaid.)
This morning, I had a special treat...I saw a friend who is staffing Pilgrimage, and then I popped into breakfast at the guest house to surprise three of my kids (two current, one former). It was great to see how much they are enjoying their Israel experiences.
Tonight, I learned that someone else (!) knows our landlord here. First, our Talmud teacher knows him and officiated at his wedding. Next, I used a bencher on Shabbat from the wedding of Debbie and James...quite familiar names, right, CJHS people? This is to say nothing of the CY and Mayanot people who certainly know him. Finally, a friend of mine called the apartment today and ended up in voicemail--turns out the landlord was one of his educators (?) on OTZMA. As one of my internship supervisors in grad school liked to say, it's a small Jewish world--and a big kibbutz.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A Day of Emotions
This month in Israel has been a different sort of experience for me. I have, in the past, ridden on tour buses and visited various tourist sites. I have been in the Dead, the Red, the Med, and the Kinneret. I have ascended to Jerusalem and heard the story of Avram and Melchizedek (Genesis 14:8) and eaten bread and wine at the Montefiore Windmill. I have hiked through the desert, and I have sat in awe at the Hall of Independence. And I have loved every minute.
Don't get me wrong--I have my favorites...walking along King George or Emek Refaim, Marzipan rugelach, meandering through the streets of the Old City, a moment of uninterrupted prayer at the Kotel...and I'm making sure that I get my fill of these areas.
This time, however, I wanted new experiences. Certainly, being in an apartment for a month--rather than living out of a suitcase and spending part of each day moving from site to site--has given me a different look at Israel. As I stated yesterday, one of my favorite parts of being in Israel is walking around, people-watching, etc. This is part of what led me to last Friday's tefillah experience. It's why I enjoy wandering through Machaneh Yehuda as I search for the perfect vegetables, nuts, and fruits.
This morning, I had the pleasure and privilege of viewing an experience that was both new to me and the very opposite of touristy. Two of my friends were on a Nefesh B'Nefesh aliyah flight, and they landed at Ben-Gurion Airport this morning. Thanks to the magic of modern technology, I was able to watch a live streaming webcast of the festivities. In fact, from the comfort of our kitchen table, my roommates and I were able to watch more than 220 new olim (immigrants to Israel) descend from the chartered plane, kiss the ground, and board buses to Terminal One.
Upon arrival at the terminal (remember the doors with Welcome to Israel/ברוּכים הבאים לישראל posted above?), the olim were greeted by and walked between two lines of soldiers waving Israeli flags. One man said, "I got onto the plane as an American, and I walked onto the tarmac (here) as an Israeli." They continued into the terminal, where guests were waiting, and after a great deal of hugging, kissing, and shmoozing, the welcoming ceremony began. Many dignitaries filed forward to make their speeches; their words came straight from their hearts, and their universal message was "Welcome Home." The cameras scanned the audience throughout the ceremony. Watching all of these people...men, women, children, babies, senior citizens, singles, marrieds, families, etc. ...just reminded me of last night's journal extolling the beautiful people of Israel. As of this morning, we have more than 220 new beautiful people who are card-carrying citizens of the State of Israel.
I was moved to tears at many points in this live webcast, and I was awed by the power of the experience--and I was only watching it online! In case you have a particular question in mind for me, the answer is no. For a number of reasons, I do not believe aliyah is the right choice for me. However, that does not in any way mitigate my great respect and admiration for those who have made this great, Jewish, Zionist choice.
If you're curious, yes, I did see both Eric and Annette on the webcast--many times each.
I thought this would be the end of tonight's post, but after classes were over today, my roommates and I took a cab to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial. Although I have been to Yad Vashem a few times before, a new museum has been built there, and I wanted to see it, along with the other memorials across its campus. We headed first to the Children's Memorial, where we entered a cave-like structure, inside of which several candles are lit and reflected through mirrors to appear 1.5 million times, since that is the number of children who were killed in the Holocaust. While you walk through the dark and look at the reflections, which appear like stars in the sky, names of children are read, along with their ages and native countries. Afterward, we walked through the Children's Garden, which was filled with a stunning quiet, a silence that practically pleaded for the bustle of laughter, chatting, and other exhibitions of noise by beloved children.
The new Holocaust History Museum is incredible. Its major tool of communication is the words of those who died and those who survived; this testimony is delivered in both written and oral form. The video testimonies of survivors were particularly poignant to me because they were almost all recorded in Hebrew. While I have studied the Holocaust extensively, it was incredibly different to see and hear the responses of people who went from Europe to Israel rather than to the States. The museum was filled with an incredible yet coherent cacophony of voices of witness--yet the audio is wired in such a way that you hear only what you are meant to hear, while never quite losing the voices in the background.
One of the most remarkable rooms in the museum was the Hall of Names, which contains more than two million pages of testimony about Holocaust victims. The museum has room on its shelves--which are visible in the Hall--for six million pages of testimony...but of course, many will never be completed, so those shelves will always remain empty.
At the end of the main exhibit, the focus shifts to survivors moving forward, leaving Europe, highlighting those who made aliyah to the Land of Israel before it was a State, and of course, the founding of the State of Israel. This was especially poignant given the continued aliyah, as I witnessed just this morning.
To Eric and Annette, ברוּכים הבאים הביתה, welcome home.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
P.S. Pictures of last week's pre-Shabbat adventures with Stephanie have been posted on Facebook.
Don't get me wrong--I have my favorites...walking along King George or Emek Refaim, Marzipan rugelach, meandering through the streets of the Old City, a moment of uninterrupted prayer at the Kotel...and I'm making sure that I get my fill of these areas.
This time, however, I wanted new experiences. Certainly, being in an apartment for a month--rather than living out of a suitcase and spending part of each day moving from site to site--has given me a different look at Israel. As I stated yesterday, one of my favorite parts of being in Israel is walking around, people-watching, etc. This is part of what led me to last Friday's tefillah experience. It's why I enjoy wandering through Machaneh Yehuda as I search for the perfect vegetables, nuts, and fruits.
This morning, I had the pleasure and privilege of viewing an experience that was both new to me and the very opposite of touristy. Two of my friends were on a Nefesh B'Nefesh aliyah flight, and they landed at Ben-Gurion Airport this morning. Thanks to the magic of modern technology, I was able to watch a live streaming webcast of the festivities. In fact, from the comfort of our kitchen table, my roommates and I were able to watch more than 220 new olim (immigrants to Israel) descend from the chartered plane, kiss the ground, and board buses to Terminal One.
Upon arrival at the terminal (remember the doors with Welcome to Israel/ברוּכים הבאים לישראל posted above?), the olim were greeted by and walked between two lines of soldiers waving Israeli flags. One man said, "I got onto the plane as an American, and I walked onto the tarmac (here) as an Israeli." They continued into the terminal, where guests were waiting, and after a great deal of hugging, kissing, and shmoozing, the welcoming ceremony began. Many dignitaries filed forward to make their speeches; their words came straight from their hearts, and their universal message was "Welcome Home." The cameras scanned the audience throughout the ceremony. Watching all of these people...men, women, children, babies, senior citizens, singles, marrieds, families, etc. ...just reminded me of last night's journal extolling the beautiful people of Israel. As of this morning, we have more than 220 new beautiful people who are card-carrying citizens of the State of Israel.
I was moved to tears at many points in this live webcast, and I was awed by the power of the experience--and I was only watching it online! In case you have a particular question in mind for me, the answer is no. For a number of reasons, I do not believe aliyah is the right choice for me. However, that does not in any way mitigate my great respect and admiration for those who have made this great, Jewish, Zionist choice.
If you're curious, yes, I did see both Eric and Annette on the webcast--many times each.
I thought this would be the end of tonight's post, but after classes were over today, my roommates and I took a cab to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial. Although I have been to Yad Vashem a few times before, a new museum has been built there, and I wanted to see it, along with the other memorials across its campus. We headed first to the Children's Memorial, where we entered a cave-like structure, inside of which several candles are lit and reflected through mirrors to appear 1.5 million times, since that is the number of children who were killed in the Holocaust. While you walk through the dark and look at the reflections, which appear like stars in the sky, names of children are read, along with their ages and native countries. Afterward, we walked through the Children's Garden, which was filled with a stunning quiet, a silence that practically pleaded for the bustle of laughter, chatting, and other exhibitions of noise by beloved children.
The new Holocaust History Museum is incredible. Its major tool of communication is the words of those who died and those who survived; this testimony is delivered in both written and oral form. The video testimonies of survivors were particularly poignant to me because they were almost all recorded in Hebrew. While I have studied the Holocaust extensively, it was incredibly different to see and hear the responses of people who went from Europe to Israel rather than to the States. The museum was filled with an incredible yet coherent cacophony of voices of witness--yet the audio is wired in such a way that you hear only what you are meant to hear, while never quite losing the voices in the background.
One of the most remarkable rooms in the museum was the Hall of Names, which contains more than two million pages of testimony about Holocaust victims. The museum has room on its shelves--which are visible in the Hall--for six million pages of testimony...but of course, many will never be completed, so those shelves will always remain empty.
At the end of the main exhibit, the focus shifts to survivors moving forward, leaving Europe, highlighting those who made aliyah to the Land of Israel before it was a State, and of course, the founding of the State of Israel. This was especially poignant given the continued aliyah, as I witnessed just this morning.
To Eric and Annette, ברוּכים הבאים הביתה, welcome home.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
P.S. Pictures of last week's pre-Shabbat adventures with Stephanie have been posted on Facebook.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
As I spend time wandering through the streets of Jerusalem, I am constantly struck by the same thought: Israelis are beautiful. I don't mean that in the Glamour or Vanity Fair way. I mean beautiful in the vibrant spectrum of young, old, secular, observant, charedi, white, black, brown, Ashkenazi, Sefardi, driving taxis, putting out fruit at a makolet, studying a page of Talmud on the bus, sweeping the street, hawking falafel, checking through backpacks, running a cash register--all remarkably beautiful.
When I hear Hebrew being spoken--with a variety of accents--on every block of every street, it makes me inexplicably happy. Every day I walk around (slowly, but surely, my ankle is healing) and I marvel at the cornucopia of individuals who have cast their fortunes along with those of the Jewish people and have chosen to be a living part of Jewish history in the land--and State--of Israel. As I write this, two of my friends are on an aliyah flight to Israel, and soon after I wake up tomorrow (perhaps before you go to bed tonight), they will land at Ben-Gurion Airport here...and be home. To Eric and Annette, I am so proud to be a friend to each of you, and I wish you the greatest successes and experiences as you forge your way in our homeland.
I haven't written because I've been exhausted all week...and it rather seemed as though not much had happened, but I seem to have come up with an interesting list. Please bear with the fact that it is not sorted by theme. (Yes, I said that.)
*My ankle is healing. :)
*In addition to seeing many friends in Israel--mostly without knowledge that they would even be here!--I have also seen my students. On Tuesday, I went with two friends/colleagues to the base where many of the students were staying, and we surprised them!
*Heather, I finally went to Joy. Delicious!!!
*Today, I got to see Sarah, Josh, and Sidney, friends who left Chicago last summer.
Talmud continues to be interesting and challenging. We completed our chapter of the Mishnah, and I was thrilled when I came up with an incredible connection/meaning for one portion of the text. If you actually want more details, ask me about salty dishes and bread. Having mastered (?) this section of the Mishnah, we have now dived headfirst into the Gemara. Our instructor likens it to the New York Times crossword puzzle because there are a lot of rules and structures, and you have to figure out how it works to, well, figure out how it works. It's great. Today, I had an exciting moment when a concept in the text, gezerah shava, was familiar to me because I had already learned about it in my Midrash/Aggadah class!
My Tanach class (Reading the Text Closely) is taught by a marvelous, brilliant instructor...and since I'm not using last names in this online journal, I will just tell you that he's pretty well-known for some of his recent views on rabbinic things...and listening to him and learning from him truly make my Monday and Wednesday afternoons incredible. Also--he looks and sounds exactly like Anita's dad. Today, we looked through several sets of verses from the Torah and developed lists of questions about the oddities of the texts (in order to prepare us for what Ibn Ezra, the commentator of the day, had to say about these texts). Sometimes it can be difficult to find the most critical questions--but for one of the passages in particular, I found it with ease and was able to share my find with the rest of the class!
As I write this, I am more than halfway through my time here; it seems like I've been here for so much longer than two weeks, and yet I will be back in Chicago in just under two weeks. I am sorry to announce that our Roach Chodesh festivities seem not to be over...as a Roach Chadash (new roach) was discovered this morning--on my Tanach! It looks like more Raid is in our future.
Speaking of our future, we are planning our next potluck Shabbat dinner. This week, we have a dual theme. Since the date is 7/11, we are planning a Shabbat of Convenience. At the same time, the work Robin and I have done in Talmud class has led us to give our Shabbat dinner a Shivat HaMinim (Seven Species) theme. See Deuteronomy 8:8 for the seven species....or just keep reading: "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and (date) honey; a land where you may eat food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper. When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you." (JPS translation, emphasis mine)
If you will be near Talpiot this Shabbat, I hope you will join us.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
When I hear Hebrew being spoken--with a variety of accents--on every block of every street, it makes me inexplicably happy. Every day I walk around (slowly, but surely, my ankle is healing) and I marvel at the cornucopia of individuals who have cast their fortunes along with those of the Jewish people and have chosen to be a living part of Jewish history in the land--and State--of Israel. As I write this, two of my friends are on an aliyah flight to Israel, and soon after I wake up tomorrow (perhaps before you go to bed tonight), they will land at Ben-Gurion Airport here...and be home. To Eric and Annette, I am so proud to be a friend to each of you, and I wish you the greatest successes and experiences as you forge your way in our homeland.
I haven't written because I've been exhausted all week...and it rather seemed as though not much had happened, but I seem to have come up with an interesting list. Please bear with the fact that it is not sorted by theme. (Yes, I said that.)
*My ankle is healing. :)
*In addition to seeing many friends in Israel--mostly without knowledge that they would even be here!--I have also seen my students. On Tuesday, I went with two friends/colleagues to the base where many of the students were staying, and we surprised them!
*Heather, I finally went to Joy. Delicious!!!
*Today, I got to see Sarah, Josh, and Sidney, friends who left Chicago last summer.
Talmud continues to be interesting and challenging. We completed our chapter of the Mishnah, and I was thrilled when I came up with an incredible connection/meaning for one portion of the text. If you actually want more details, ask me about salty dishes and bread. Having mastered (?) this section of the Mishnah, we have now dived headfirst into the Gemara. Our instructor likens it to the New York Times crossword puzzle because there are a lot of rules and structures, and you have to figure out how it works to, well, figure out how it works. It's great. Today, I had an exciting moment when a concept in the text, gezerah shava, was familiar to me because I had already learned about it in my Midrash/Aggadah class!
My Tanach class (Reading the Text Closely) is taught by a marvelous, brilliant instructor...and since I'm not using last names in this online journal, I will just tell you that he's pretty well-known for some of his recent views on rabbinic things...and listening to him and learning from him truly make my Monday and Wednesday afternoons incredible. Also--he looks and sounds exactly like Anita's dad. Today, we looked through several sets of verses from the Torah and developed lists of questions about the oddities of the texts (in order to prepare us for what Ibn Ezra, the commentator of the day, had to say about these texts). Sometimes it can be difficult to find the most critical questions--but for one of the passages in particular, I found it with ease and was able to share my find with the rest of the class!
As I write this, I am more than halfway through my time here; it seems like I've been here for so much longer than two weeks, and yet I will be back in Chicago in just under two weeks. I am sorry to announce that our Roach Chodesh festivities seem not to be over...as a Roach Chadash (new roach) was discovered this morning--on my Tanach! It looks like more Raid is in our future.
Speaking of our future, we are planning our next potluck Shabbat dinner. This week, we have a dual theme. Since the date is 7/11, we are planning a Shabbat of Convenience. At the same time, the work Robin and I have done in Talmud class has led us to give our Shabbat dinner a Shivat HaMinim (Seven Species) theme. See Deuteronomy 8:8 for the seven species....or just keep reading: "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and (date) honey; a land where you may eat food without stint, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you can mine copper. When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you." (JPS translation, emphasis mine)
If you will be near Talpiot this Shabbat, I hope you will join us.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The Battle of Roach Chodesh Continues...
I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July festooned with flags, barbecues, fireworks, and more. Here in Jerusalem, my roommates and I invited several friends to share a red, white, and blue potluck Shabbat dinner; we decorated our coffee table with a red- and blue-Sharpied American flag, and we were ready to go. We kicked off the meal with red and blue m&m's (the other colors are in a baggie in the freezer) and a few words about blessings that reflected what Robin and I learned in Talmud last week. The evening lasted into the (early end of the) wee hours, as we reflected on our experiences here, shared stories from the past week, and got to know each other better. A good time was had by all, even our new friend, David, who is British and therefore wasn't sure whether he should partake in our festivities.
Today was quite relaxing. I stayed in for much of the day, gently encouraging my ankle to regain its strength. Early this evening, we took a short stroll to the Tayelet, the Haas Promenade from which one can get a great view of the city, in order to see the sunset. We had been there for about five minutes when I recognized an eight-year-old child. It was Liora, who I have not seen since leaving Boston three years ago! (Yes, her parents, Abby (from Hornstein) and Mark, were there too, along with Liora's younger brother and sister.) We had a great time reminiscing.
I forgot to mention yesterday that I also bumped into a family from school just outside Machaneh Yehuda. (Laura--that would be your cousins.) Isn't it great how you can travel 6000 miles to the other side of the world and still see the people you know from Chicago and elsewhere?
Perhaps you are wondering about the title of today's journal. One of our Shabbat guests was creative enough to dub Rosh Chodesh (the new month) Roach Chodesh in honor of our adventures with our little friends. This came on the heels of my explanation of how Raid works, in a manner appropriate for the day. You see, the scent of the Raid is appealing to the cockroaches. One might even call it a ריח ניחח, a pleasing odor for them.
I am sorry to say that the Battle of Roach Chodesh continues. Upon my return from the Tayelet tonight, I saw a (not so) LF meandering across the floor. I got the Raid, but he had already scampered away. I sprayed anyway, but he did not emerge. Soon, however, the ריח ניחח trick worked, and within five minutes, I had taken out two cockroaches and a spider. Upon my roommates' return, we sprayed our baseboards, and we've had one casualty so far. Maybe this will mark the end for our LFs, but I fear it may only be the end of the beginning. Apologies to Winston Churchill for poorly adapting his famous line...
I'm off to bed; the second week of classes begins early Sunday morning. Have a wonderful weekend.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
Today was quite relaxing. I stayed in for much of the day, gently encouraging my ankle to regain its strength. Early this evening, we took a short stroll to the Tayelet, the Haas Promenade from which one can get a great view of the city, in order to see the sunset. We had been there for about five minutes when I recognized an eight-year-old child. It was Liora, who I have not seen since leaving Boston three years ago! (Yes, her parents, Abby (from Hornstein) and Mark, were there too, along with Liora's younger brother and sister.) We had a great time reminiscing.
I forgot to mention yesterday that I also bumped into a family from school just outside Machaneh Yehuda. (Laura--that would be your cousins.) Isn't it great how you can travel 6000 miles to the other side of the world and still see the people you know from Chicago and elsewhere?
Perhaps you are wondering about the title of today's journal. One of our Shabbat guests was creative enough to dub Rosh Chodesh (the new month) Roach Chodesh in honor of our adventures with our little friends. This came on the heels of my explanation of how Raid works, in a manner appropriate for the day. You see, the scent of the Raid is appealing to the cockroaches. One might even call it a ריח ניחח, a pleasing odor for them.
I am sorry to say that the Battle of Roach Chodesh continues. Upon my return from the Tayelet tonight, I saw a (not so) LF meandering across the floor. I got the Raid, but he had already scampered away. I sprayed anyway, but he did not emerge. Soon, however, the ריח ניחח trick worked, and within five minutes, I had taken out two cockroaches and a spider. Upon my roommates' return, we sprayed our baseboards, and we've had one casualty so far. Maybe this will mark the end for our LFs, but I fear it may only be the end of the beginning. Apologies to Winston Churchill for poorly adapting his famous line...
I'm off to bed; the second week of classes begins early Sunday morning. Have a wonderful weekend.
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
Friday, July 4, 2008
Quieter Days...Settling in for Shabbat
It's been quieter in Jerusalem since I wrote last, which has been a relief. Yesterday marked the end of the first week of classes. Here are a few highlights of my learning:
1. In Intro to Talmud, we are working through Masechet Brachot, Perek Vav (mishnah only for now, gemara to be added next week). It's an incredibly exciting classroom, and with lots of brainpower generated at all times. I'm enjoying the challenge of studying in a way that I never have done before, and the balance between chevruta (partnered learning) and the whole class together has been great.
2. I'm taking a tefillah class, a more extended version of the lunch-and-learn sessions taught by the same instructor last fall at CJHS. Each time we meet, I gain more understanding for and appreciation of the prayers with which I am already familiar.
3. We are reading excerpts from Heschel and learning about the man behind the texts, connecting his words with our own thoughts about God. This is an incredible way to end the day twice a week.
4. My roommate compares our Midrash/Aggadah class to law school (which she did not attend). We are learning, day by day, how the rabbis--from 1000-2000 years ago, not the contemporary ones--approached sacred texts and explained the difficulties of the texts. Although this can be a struggle for us, engaging with our traditional texts in this way is both revealing and enlightening.
5. I'm taking a class on reading Tanach (Bible) and looking at the works of various commentators. This week, we looked at the first narrative in Genesis when Avram told Sarai to pretend she was his sister, not his wife, and how that played out. Hint--not well.
In addition, being a Legacy Heritage Fellow means that I attend a couple extra meetings per week to network with other Jewish communal professionals. In other news, I had dinner with Dina (plus adorable Aharon and beautiful Binyamin) on Wednesday night. It was great fun to spend time with my cousins, and I look forward to seeing them a couple more times while I am here. What a fantastic coincidence that Dina's in-laws live only a couple blocks from me on Korei HaDorot...
Last night, my roommates and I came upon some of our, shall we say, little friends. The best explanation comes from Gwen, who emailed the following to her friends and family today:
This morning was enlightening on many levels. First, Stephanie and I went to the Old City super-early to join a women's tefillah group at the Kotel. (Since I am not using any last names or proper names in this journal, I will let you figure out the group. Or ask me.) Going to the Kotel is always an experience. I think the memorable--and frustrating--moment of the day was watching men go into the women's section. I'm not kidding.
Next, we headed to Machaneh Yehuda, where we bought cucumbers (ten for six shekels), challahs, rugelach, and Mediterranean/Asian appetizers. There's nothing quite like having kubeh, egg roll, potato puff, random meat in fried dough, etc. for breakfast!
As we made our way down King George, we saw something amazing--a Magen David Adom mobile blood donor unit. How could we say no? Although I've had trouble the last two times I attempted to donate blood, things went well for me today. Although Stephanie was not able to donate in the end, I gave 500 ml of my blood, and I've never felt so good. I can't believe we did all three of these things before 11:00 in the morning.
Shabbat is coming soon...we look forward to hosting several of our friends for a red, white, and blue potluck Shabbat dinner. Happy Fourth of July, and Shabbat Shalom!
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
1. In Intro to Talmud, we are working through Masechet Brachot, Perek Vav (mishnah only for now, gemara to be added next week). It's an incredibly exciting classroom, and with lots of brainpower generated at all times. I'm enjoying the challenge of studying in a way that I never have done before, and the balance between chevruta (partnered learning) and the whole class together has been great.
2. I'm taking a tefillah class, a more extended version of the lunch-and-learn sessions taught by the same instructor last fall at CJHS. Each time we meet, I gain more understanding for and appreciation of the prayers with which I am already familiar.
3. We are reading excerpts from Heschel and learning about the man behind the texts, connecting his words with our own thoughts about God. This is an incredible way to end the day twice a week.
4. My roommate compares our Midrash/Aggadah class to law school (which she did not attend). We are learning, day by day, how the rabbis--from 1000-2000 years ago, not the contemporary ones--approached sacred texts and explained the difficulties of the texts. Although this can be a struggle for us, engaging with our traditional texts in this way is both revealing and enlightening.
5. I'm taking a class on reading Tanach (Bible) and looking at the works of various commentators. This week, we looked at the first narrative in Genesis when Avram told Sarai to pretend she was his sister, not his wife, and how that played out. Hint--not well.
In addition, being a Legacy Heritage Fellow means that I attend a couple extra meetings per week to network with other Jewish communal professionals. In other news, I had dinner with Dina (plus adorable Aharon and beautiful Binyamin) on Wednesday night. It was great fun to spend time with my cousins, and I look forward to seeing them a couple more times while I am here. What a fantastic coincidence that Dina's in-laws live only a couple blocks from me on Korei HaDorot...
Last night, my roommates and I came upon some of our, shall we say, little friends. The best explanation comes from Gwen, who emailed the following to her friends and family today:
"On my first night here, a shriek from the bathroom alerted me to the presence of a "little friend," (LF) our code word for cockroaches (and, truth be told, they're neither our friends nor so little)....Last night, I spotted a LF walking on the side of the dining room table. Robin jumped up and shrieked... and I asked (only slightly hysterically) for a shoe. By the time the weapon was in my hand, he had scuttled away. Flash forward about 1/2 an hour, when we decided to open the table ... and who did we see when we pulled the sides apart? Yes, indeedy, our LF. As you might guess, more shrieking ensued and he disappeared, yet again....[At last,] I concocted a sure-fire strategy: we put the table "back," waited 5 minutes and then armed Robin with the Raid (our landlord's suggestion) and pulled the table apart. As he survived the first spray (ok, so Robin's shrieking may have led to shaky arms) and ran down the table, Robin continued to spray him. I am happy to report that he quite literally bit the dust, after some writhing around."Then, as we LF-proofed the rest of our apartment, we repeated the previous scene two more times. You might notice that I am absent from this narrative. I provided a large amount of moral support, and I cleaned the table afterward.
This morning was enlightening on many levels. First, Stephanie and I went to the Old City super-early to join a women's tefillah group at the Kotel. (Since I am not using any last names or proper names in this journal, I will let you figure out the group. Or ask me.) Going to the Kotel is always an experience. I think the memorable--and frustrating--moment of the day was watching men go into the women's section. I'm not kidding.
Next, we headed to Machaneh Yehuda, where we bought cucumbers (ten for six shekels), challahs, rugelach, and Mediterranean/Asian appetizers. There's nothing quite like having kubeh, egg roll, potato puff, random meat in fried dough, etc. for breakfast!
As we made our way down King George, we saw something amazing--a Magen David Adom mobile blood donor unit. How could we say no? Although I've had trouble the last two times I attempted to donate blood, things went well for me today. Although Stephanie was not able to donate in the end, I gave 500 ml of my blood, and I've never felt so good. I can't believe we did all three of these things before 11:00 in the morning.
Shabbat is coming soon...we look forward to hosting several of our friends for a red, white, and blue potluck Shabbat dinner. Happy Fourth of July, and Shabbat Shalom!
We'll talk soon...
Caroline
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