Sitting at the airport I am still not able to believe that my journey in Israel over. I thought walking out of the Kfar would do it, or maybe saying goodbye to everyone, but it still did not feel real then. I got to the airport, sweaty from carrying all of my stuff in the sweltering summer heat of Isreal, and called my parents to tell them everything was ok and all that jazz. My Dad says to me on the phone, "it must have been tough to leave" and just then it felt like a frog was in my throat and my heart jumped into my stomach and I responded "not really, I just need a beer..."! Nonetheless, it is hard...it is difficult to put these 5 months into perspective. Did I do enough? Did I accomplish what I came to? Was my dream fulfilled? Thinking about these things gives me a headache, just thinking about "what if" but the biggest one is "what if I never came?"...when I think about that I know that I did enough, accomplished enough and fulfilled a dream just by stepping outside of the box and trying to give back to this world. It would be a lie to say that I never shed a tear of sadness, never got frustrated with the program, the kfar or the students or that I didn't want to go home sooner that I had planned.
I could go on in a list of the things I didn't accomplish here: my hebrew still is not good, I did not make many strong friendships, nor did I see so much of the difference I made at Hakfar Hayarok. However, the lessons I have learned here about myself and others, religion, Israel and the world are irreplaceable and could never have been expected. It is like when you don't get the present you want but you get something even better you never could have imagined. This is how I feel about my Israel experience.
In the end, though, the memories I am thinking of as I sit in the airport today are those of students happy to see me when they returned from holidays or weekends with their families,
celebrating 60 years of Israel in the streets of Tel Aviv, showing Alfredo the wonder of this land, and challenging myself to see new perspectives on people, places and life.
My mom wrote me last night to tell me how proud she and my dad were that I had realized a dream at my age and left the comfort of home to do so. I think everyone does something at my age that is realizing a dream-this is what your 20s are for-but mine was just a little farther away. My parents moved across the country to Michigan, where they knew no one, which was certainly a huge step for both of them. My sister just got married...my brother won award after award in graduate school...Maya moved across the country to work on a campaign because it was a dream of hers...Alyssa taught English in Korea. Everyone does this, and must, because otherwise you wake up when you are 50 and think "Where did my life go?"
It is actually funny because on my program I ended up sharing a room with a girl named Amy who could not have bee nmore different than me but saw life in a very similar way. She would approve of me to describe her as a rucksack wanderer...a Canadian hippy with dreadlocks. This was probably the person I was the closest with here, the last one I would have expected. The thing that bonded us, though, was our desire to live life to its fullest, to see the good in life and to always hope for a better future in this world. We spoke yesterday how it may be morbid but we think often about "If I died tomorrow, would I have done enough?" and both decided that it was better to think this way than to have it any other because when it comes to the end of our lives, we hope to be happy and fulfilled.
So now I will go back to my life, hopefully just glide right back into where I was when I left my family and friends and start law school. In explanation of my cheesy title to this entry, "lehitraot" is the Hebrew was of saying "See you later" and that is how I feel about leaving Israel because I know I will be back soon, very soon. Israel will always be in my heart, my soul and my thoughts because my connection to Israel is forever a part of me. Just as I cannot tell the beginning of it, so too can I not tell the end. I leave knowing I will return soon to see the country that means so much to me and reminds me that anything is possible in this world, in a land that has been taken away from and given back to the Jews, brought them together after thousands of years in Diaspora and has survived so many enemies. For me, this is my homeland and always reminds me that, as a Jew, I have a place in this world too!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Ramat HaGolan and Druze
The past two days have been spent on a very interesting trip with my program. We went up north to the Senir Stream to hike near Mt. Hermon, the tallest mountain in Israel which is shared with Syria and Lebanon. It was beautiful hiking through the lush green of the north after having spent so much time in the desert with Gadna and my trip to Eilat. It was still very hot but it was beautifully refreshing. We also visited the Hula Valley Nature Reserve which is in the valley adjacent to the Golani mountains of the Golan Heights. This Nature Reserve is well known as a common stopping place for the birds that migrate from Europe to Africa in the winter and is filled with many of them during the migratory season. Unfortunately, when we were there we saw but a few birds in the beautiful landscape although we did enjoy the sunflower seeds of the sunflowers that were growing and the trees with delicious wild berries.
That night we arrived at a Druze village called Peki'in, where we were staying the night. In all honestly, Jews and Christians live in this village as well but it is predominanty Druze. In fact, the oldest dated synogogue is in this village and is dated to be 2,000 years old from the second temple period. We had tea at a beautiful place (see the pictures) and then dinner at a family's home. This family owns a restaurant in the town but since we were such a large group they closed their restaurant and had it on the roof of their home, where their family has lived for over 100 years. The family in the village itself for far longer. We watched the most beautiful sunset and the rising of the moon over the mountains (see the pictures) while we ate the most delicious meal of stuffed grape leaves, kabobs, salads and falafel that I have had yet since being here. Afterwards, we sat and talked to the family about the family, Druze culture and lifestyle. We learned that Druze is a unitarian monotheistic reformation of Islam that is very small and peaceful. They reside almost wholely in the mountains of Israel, Syria and Lebanon where they used to have to hide to escape persecution and struggle to maintain the Druze life, which is also why they were forced to keep the religion a secret for many, many years. They dress and eat and pray much like Muslims but it is forbidden to consume drugs or alcohol and no one can convert to be Druze and one cannot marry a non-Druze and still be considered Druze. It is a small, strong group that considers itself more of a social group or a culture than a religion, we were told by this family.
Druze live with the Jews and Christians in the town beautifully and, in fact, helped to hide Jews in the caves of the mountains when they were trying to escape persecution from the Romans. Today, there are only 3 Jewish families who maintain the synagogue and a small number of Christians (I am unsure of the number) but they live comfortably and peacefully together, we were told and observed. Druze signed, upon creation of the IDF, that they will serve just as any Israeli does even if it means that they may have to fight against other Druze in Syria and Lebanon. It is unlike the Bedouins, who signed that they had the option to fight for Israel or not when they were of that age.
The next day we took a walk around the town, which the 100 shekel bill is designed after (the buildings, tree and pool of water you see on the bill are from this town) and went to a soap factory that has a secret formula generations old in a Druze family of Peki'in. Then we went and saw the tomb of a Rabbi in Tiberias who was well known for his contribution to the Talmud. People were praying devoutly to this Rabbi as if he held a secret to life, and it was strange to me that I did not feel the same power I have at other places of Jewish worship and history. However, I do commend those that are able to do so by giving so freely of their faith and believing so devoutly.
We ended the trip in Jerusalem where Lori's son was finishing his 40 kilometer hike to get his beret, meaning he finished his training to be in the Paratroopers Unit. It was very emotional and beautiful to see these men accomplish something they have worked so hard for, and to make it into such an elite unit of the army. For Israelis, this is a real rite of passage to finish this hike, which all the units have to do but in different places in the country to get their beret. The berets are different colors for the different units and until you finish this hike you must wear a gray one, which means that you are still in training, so receiving the colored beret is a big deal. Lori cried and her family and in-laws, except the twin of the son receiving the beret because he is in a different elite unit and could not get out of the army in time, came to see the ceremony. There are awards for outstanding soldier, which he was considered for, but he was honored when his Officer took his beret off his head and gave it to him rather than give him a new one. It is a great honor to have your officer do this for you and Lori cried when it happened...oh moms! It was really fascinating to see this, though, because I have heard about it from friends and to see it just helps me understand just a bit more about the culture of the army and the life of the army, as well as that of Israel in general. One of the friends of Lori's son is what they call a "lonely solider" meaning he does not have family in Israel. This friend, Rafael, made Aliyah from Australia and is now in this elite unit, which is quite impressive. Anyway, his mom came in and surprised him when he finished the hike and for the ceremony so I thought it was so beautiful how powerful that must be for an olim (immigrant to Israel) and his mother.
It was a very interesting trip where I learned about Druze culture as well as more about Israeli culture by attending the paratrooper ceremony and understanding a cultural group that is an integral part of Israel as such a friend to Jews.
That night we arrived at a Druze village called Peki'in, where we were staying the night. In all honestly, Jews and Christians live in this village as well but it is predominanty Druze. In fact, the oldest dated synogogue is in this village and is dated to be 2,000 years old from the second temple period. We had tea at a beautiful place (see the pictures) and then dinner at a family's home. This family owns a restaurant in the town but since we were such a large group they closed their restaurant and had it on the roof of their home, where their family has lived for over 100 years. The family in the village itself for far longer. We watched the most beautiful sunset and the rising of the moon over the mountains (see the pictures) while we ate the most delicious meal of stuffed grape leaves, kabobs, salads and falafel that I have had yet since being here. Afterwards, we sat and talked to the family about the family, Druze culture and lifestyle. We learned that Druze is a unitarian monotheistic reformation of Islam that is very small and peaceful. They reside almost wholely in the mountains of Israel, Syria and Lebanon where they used to have to hide to escape persecution and struggle to maintain the Druze life, which is also why they were forced to keep the religion a secret for many, many years. They dress and eat and pray much like Muslims but it is forbidden to consume drugs or alcohol and no one can convert to be Druze and one cannot marry a non-Druze and still be considered Druze. It is a small, strong group that considers itself more of a social group or a culture than a religion, we were told by this family.
Druze live with the Jews and Christians in the town beautifully and, in fact, helped to hide Jews in the caves of the mountains when they were trying to escape persecution from the Romans. Today, there are only 3 Jewish families who maintain the synagogue and a small number of Christians (I am unsure of the number) but they live comfortably and peacefully together, we were told and observed. Druze signed, upon creation of the IDF, that they will serve just as any Israeli does even if it means that they may have to fight against other Druze in Syria and Lebanon. It is unlike the Bedouins, who signed that they had the option to fight for Israel or not when they were of that age.
The next day we took a walk around the town, which the 100 shekel bill is designed after (the buildings, tree and pool of water you see on the bill are from this town) and went to a soap factory that has a secret formula generations old in a Druze family of Peki'in. Then we went and saw the tomb of a Rabbi in Tiberias who was well known for his contribution to the Talmud. People were praying devoutly to this Rabbi as if he held a secret to life, and it was strange to me that I did not feel the same power I have at other places of Jewish worship and history. However, I do commend those that are able to do so by giving so freely of their faith and believing so devoutly.
We ended the trip in Jerusalem where Lori's son was finishing his 40 kilometer hike to get his beret, meaning he finished his training to be in the Paratroopers Unit. It was very emotional and beautiful to see these men accomplish something they have worked so hard for, and to make it into such an elite unit of the army. For Israelis, this is a real rite of passage to finish this hike, which all the units have to do but in different places in the country to get their beret. The berets are different colors for the different units and until you finish this hike you must wear a gray one, which means that you are still in training, so receiving the colored beret is a big deal. Lori cried and her family and in-laws, except the twin of the son receiving the beret because he is in a different elite unit and could not get out of the army in time, came to see the ceremony. There are awards for outstanding soldier, which he was considered for, but he was honored when his Officer took his beret off his head and gave it to him rather than give him a new one. It is a great honor to have your officer do this for you and Lori cried when it happened...oh moms! It was really fascinating to see this, though, because I have heard about it from friends and to see it just helps me understand just a bit more about the culture of the army and the life of the army, as well as that of Israel in general. One of the friends of Lori's son is what they call a "lonely solider" meaning he does not have family in Israel. This friend, Rafael, made Aliyah from Australia and is now in this elite unit, which is quite impressive. Anyway, his mom came in and surprised him when he finished the hike and for the ceremony so I thought it was so beautiful how powerful that must be for an olim (immigrant to Israel) and his mother.
It was a very interesting trip where I learned about Druze culture as well as more about Israeli culture by attending the paratrooper ceremony and understanding a cultural group that is an integral part of Israel as such a friend to Jews.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
As a dream comes to an end...
Well, it is hard ot believe that there is only one week left to this five month adventure of mine. The last few weeks when I have not been writing have been filled with exciting trips, events and just savoring the last cherished times here in Israel. Although I know I will be back, and I am sure soon, it will never be like I was on this trip-here for so long, so familiar and free and open. In case any of you do not know, this was a dream of mine to live in ISrael for al ong period of time since I was bat mitzvahed here atop Masada when I was 12 years old. The fact that this dream of mine, for so much of my life, is coming to a close is like a strange reality that I must face...what is next? REAL LIFE!
Since I last wrote I have been on many trips with my group and on my own. First, we took a day trip to Ashdod, a small city south of Tel Aviv on the coast that is home to many Ethiopian immigrants. We met with people at an absorption center to learn about Ethiopian life in Israel, since we work with so many Ethiopians on the Kfar. It is so fascinating how they lead their life and then came to Israel. They practice Judaism as if it never had so much of the Rabbinical law that we follow. However, their laws of Kashrut and regarding Shabbat are nearly the same. When they first came to Israel, though, the State of Israel determined that they were JEwish in terms of the "law of return" meaning that they had the right as Jews to return to the land of Zion, but the religious Rabbis did not accept them as Jewish. They wanted all of them to be converted to be Jewish, or else they could not marry in Israel. There were many protests regarding this, because the Ethiopians did not want to convert to a religion they beleived they were-the men did not want to be re-circumsized when they had had their bris when they were babies just like every other Jewish man. Aside from the shock that they were not accepted as Jews, they moved from third world Africa to first world Israel. If you have read "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamante, just imagine their lives in Ethiopia as it was described in that book. They had to be taught about running water, toilets, cooking indoors, etc. But one thing must be remembered- they had a holiday in Ethiopia where they would go up on a particular hilltop and pray to get to Jerusalem, to return to Jerusalem, and now they were returned to the land of Zion. Many of them live in poverty in Israel because the parents do not know how to speak Hebrew well and they do not know how to live in this world, or how to do the jobs that are necessary. So, the absorbtion center that we visited helps the youth to keep them off the street and out of trouble so that the next generation will be better integrated into Israeli life. It was an interesting visit.
The next trip that we took was to the West Bank, to Judean Samaria where radical Jews have been creating settlements to take back the land they believe to be ours from the time of the bible. We saw how they live and why they choose to live in this area "illegally" since Olmert has made building new "homes" in the West Bank illegal according to the zoning laws. We learned how they get around the laws to build their homes. While this is certainly not a funny matter, it was an interesting tour because it was like one of those new developments in the US where they give you a pamphlet about how great it is and how you around...only this time they showedy ou the factory where they produce the walls that go up over night so that no one comes and stops them, the Yeshiva, the Shul and the Mikveh. It is actually a beautiful place with magnificent views that we saw through windows of the bullet proof bus we took there. At the end the man who took us there and gave us his very biased view of life there, as a resident, he told us "thank you for coming and seeing the "facts" for yourself. Now there was a great deal I learned on that day, and much of it was truthful information, but from a biased point of view and much of it was certainly not warranting the title of "facts". Nonetheless, you can't know the whole picture until you see the extremes, right? Or maybe the proper go-to phrase is "that's why they make vanilla and chocolate ice cream" as my mom always said.
The most interesting part of the past few weeks, though, was certainly my 4 day Gadna experience in which I learned a taste of what it is to be a combat soldier. Yes, I smeared charcoal on my face and decorated myself with leaves and branches when I learned about camoflauge (there are pictures that are posted here so you can see) and I shot an M-16. The M-16 is the gun that all the soldiers in Israel carry, and also the gun used for Vietnam. Yes, my father was apparantly an excellent shot on an M-16 but that certainly did not get passed on to me who did not hit the target event once (it was the gun!). Does anyone know where those guns were made? Yes, that is correct by Colt in Hartford, Conn. It is labeled on every gun, along with "Property of the US Govt." Strange to see the first time but we are allies, right? I learned a lot about the army and sat in the place of a 17 year old who would be going to the army in the next year. Gadna was developed for high school students with only 1 year left before the army, so they are about 17, to give them a perspective of what it will be like, mostly so that they are not scared and learn about it before they get there so they know how it will be. For me, it was culmination of a lot of learning about the army when I was able to understand it more and see what basic training would be like, even if for just 5 days. There were recent Ethiopian Immigrants, Israelis, Russians and another Masa group from Brazil. Our group was certainly the oldest and best behaved, but it was good to interact with others from different places and experience it all together.
Since Gadna we celebrated Shavuot on the Kfar with a big festival in which parents and others came to see the Kfar and a show the kids put on for everyone with singing and dancing. I have been going to the beach and enjoying life on a farm where they are growing the most delicious cantaloupe I have ever tasted. Last weekend I went to Eilat, which is the southern most point in Israel where it meets the Red Sea and borders with Egypt and Jordan. It is in the middle of the desert and it is crazy the resort town they build in the last like 40 years from nothing. There are the most beautiful fish there because there is a lot of Reefs, so I went snorkeling and I swear saw colors I didn't know could exist under water.
It is hard to believe that I am leaving in just one week, a number of people I know from my program and others I have met here who are on Masa pograms have already left and it is just strange and sad that this dream is coming to a close. Nonetheless, I know that I have taken complete opportunity here to grow and experience before the rest of my life begins. While it is still a mystery where it comes from, my connection to Israel and my Judaism is deeper than ever and I understand myself a great deal more than when I got here...with stronger conviction in my values and the person I am! Today there was a ceremony for us at the Kfar and it was crazy how many of the students wanted to keep in touch, how many cheered for me when I went on stage to accept my certficate and how much my program director listed that I had done here at the Kfar in this short amount of time. It made me realize that I have worked to do a lot here, even if at times it seemed unrecognized and unimpressive. In fact, I was speaking with a woman today who knew I was on the "American" program at the Kfar and began to tell me how her daughter had made an "American" friend who she loved and spoke of often. She says, "Do you know a girl named Kara?" When I told her it was me, she pointed out her daughter and it was one of the girls I have been working with to get the paper at the Kfar recycled but hse is very shy and I never actually did more than tell her what to do and say hello to her on campus. To know that she had told her mother about me and been positively impacted by my small interaction was just so rewarding to me...it made me feel powerful and accomplished. With that note, a dream has certainly been fulfilleD!
Since I last wrote I have been on many trips with my group and on my own. First, we took a day trip to Ashdod, a small city south of Tel Aviv on the coast that is home to many Ethiopian immigrants. We met with people at an absorption center to learn about Ethiopian life in Israel, since we work with so many Ethiopians on the Kfar. It is so fascinating how they lead their life and then came to Israel. They practice Judaism as if it never had so much of the Rabbinical law that we follow. However, their laws of Kashrut and regarding Shabbat are nearly the same. When they first came to Israel, though, the State of Israel determined that they were JEwish in terms of the "law of return" meaning that they had the right as Jews to return to the land of Zion, but the religious Rabbis did not accept them as Jewish. They wanted all of them to be converted to be Jewish, or else they could not marry in Israel. There were many protests regarding this, because the Ethiopians did not want to convert to a religion they beleived they were-the men did not want to be re-circumsized when they had had their bris when they were babies just like every other Jewish man. Aside from the shock that they were not accepted as Jews, they moved from third world Africa to first world Israel. If you have read "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamante, just imagine their lives in Ethiopia as it was described in that book. They had to be taught about running water, toilets, cooking indoors, etc. But one thing must be remembered- they had a holiday in Ethiopia where they would go up on a particular hilltop and pray to get to Jerusalem, to return to Jerusalem, and now they were returned to the land of Zion. Many of them live in poverty in Israel because the parents do not know how to speak Hebrew well and they do not know how to live in this world, or how to do the jobs that are necessary. So, the absorbtion center that we visited helps the youth to keep them off the street and out of trouble so that the next generation will be better integrated into Israeli life. It was an interesting visit.
The next trip that we took was to the West Bank, to Judean Samaria where radical Jews have been creating settlements to take back the land they believe to be ours from the time of the bible. We saw how they live and why they choose to live in this area "illegally" since Olmert has made building new "homes" in the West Bank illegal according to the zoning laws. We learned how they get around the laws to build their homes. While this is certainly not a funny matter, it was an interesting tour because it was like one of those new developments in the US where they give you a pamphlet about how great it is and how you around...only this time they showedy ou the factory where they produce the walls that go up over night so that no one comes and stops them, the Yeshiva, the Shul and the Mikveh. It is actually a beautiful place with magnificent views that we saw through windows of the bullet proof bus we took there. At the end the man who took us there and gave us his very biased view of life there, as a resident, he told us "thank you for coming and seeing the "facts" for yourself. Now there was a great deal I learned on that day, and much of it was truthful information, but from a biased point of view and much of it was certainly not warranting the title of "facts". Nonetheless, you can't know the whole picture until you see the extremes, right? Or maybe the proper go-to phrase is "that's why they make vanilla and chocolate ice cream" as my mom always said.
The most interesting part of the past few weeks, though, was certainly my 4 day Gadna experience in which I learned a taste of what it is to be a combat soldier. Yes, I smeared charcoal on my face and decorated myself with leaves and branches when I learned about camoflauge (there are pictures that are posted here so you can see) and I shot an M-16. The M-16 is the gun that all the soldiers in Israel carry, and also the gun used for Vietnam. Yes, my father was apparantly an excellent shot on an M-16 but that certainly did not get passed on to me who did not hit the target event once (it was the gun!). Does anyone know where those guns were made? Yes, that is correct by Colt in Hartford, Conn. It is labeled on every gun, along with "Property of the US Govt." Strange to see the first time but we are allies, right? I learned a lot about the army and sat in the place of a 17 year old who would be going to the army in the next year. Gadna was developed for high school students with only 1 year left before the army, so they are about 17, to give them a perspective of what it will be like, mostly so that they are not scared and learn about it before they get there so they know how it will be. For me, it was culmination of a lot of learning about the army when I was able to understand it more and see what basic training would be like, even if for just 5 days. There were recent Ethiopian Immigrants, Israelis, Russians and another Masa group from Brazil. Our group was certainly the oldest and best behaved, but it was good to interact with others from different places and experience it all together.
Since Gadna we celebrated Shavuot on the Kfar with a big festival in which parents and others came to see the Kfar and a show the kids put on for everyone with singing and dancing. I have been going to the beach and enjoying life on a farm where they are growing the most delicious cantaloupe I have ever tasted. Last weekend I went to Eilat, which is the southern most point in Israel where it meets the Red Sea and borders with Egypt and Jordan. It is in the middle of the desert and it is crazy the resort town they build in the last like 40 years from nothing. There are the most beautiful fish there because there is a lot of Reefs, so I went snorkeling and I swear saw colors I didn't know could exist under water.
It is hard to believe that I am leaving in just one week, a number of people I know from my program and others I have met here who are on Masa pograms have already left and it is just strange and sad that this dream is coming to a close. Nonetheless, I know that I have taken complete opportunity here to grow and experience before the rest of my life begins. While it is still a mystery where it comes from, my connection to Israel and my Judaism is deeper than ever and I understand myself a great deal more than when I got here...with stronger conviction in my values and the person I am! Today there was a ceremony for us at the Kfar and it was crazy how many of the students wanted to keep in touch, how many cheered for me when I went on stage to accept my certficate and how much my program director listed that I had done here at the Kfar in this short amount of time. It made me realize that I have worked to do a lot here, even if at times it seemed unrecognized and unimpressive. In fact, I was speaking with a woman today who knew I was on the "American" program at the Kfar and began to tell me how her daughter had made an "American" friend who she loved and spoke of often. She says, "Do you know a girl named Kara?" When I told her it was me, she pointed out her daughter and it was one of the girls I have been working with to get the paper at the Kfar recycled but hse is very shy and I never actually did more than tell her what to do and say hello to her on campus. To know that she had told her mother about me and been positively impacted by my small interaction was just so rewarding to me...it made me feel powerful and accomplished. With that note, a dream has certainly been fulfilleD!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
At my mom's request...
Back by apparently popular demand (or just that of my mother) is my blog...I have gotten lazy recently although I have been a part of some really unbelievable events. Yesterday marked one month until I leave Israel and it is a very bittersweet feeling, to be honest. I have spent a great deal of time in Israel very uneasy with this or that, feeling stagnant and frustrated with what I have accomplished or the lack there of, if there is...have I made enough of my time here? Has my mind been stuck back in the US too much? It is hard to be so far from family and friends, and I miss them more here than ever before-and I was not one to be homesick at camp or college, for those who don't know me so well! It is strange because it is the most fulfilling experience to live out the words of the Torah in the land of Israel, to see what we learned about the harvest holidays and to be a part of the holidays that I only learned about in Sunday school. For example, I live on a farm where I see the wheat change with the seasons in accordance with the Jewish holidays and calendar. It is an interesting way of seeing the world-to realize how realistic what is written in that book that we study and read as "the bible" really is in this world.
In any event, this country is amazing more than just for how it relates to biblical Judaism, but for its people-those that built this land to what it is today in only 60 years as well as those that maintain that drive and inspiration. It always amazes me how so many great ideas have been put into action here-new initiatives for change are constantly being adopted to make the situations with the borders of the state of Israel as great as possible. While they may not have the perfect roads and they may not have the best school system, they are getting kids off the streets with a number of different initiatives for change in the problem of poverty in the country-it is not avoided but attacked straight on. For example, the village that I live and volunteer at, which is mainly paid for by the government of Israel, for children who live in high risk areas for crime, violence and poverty, to be removed from that environment before they get into trouble is a fantastic idea. Here they are given chores on the farm, responsibility and a family-ish environment-most of their teachers live on the village and the village has university students living here for free in exchange for tutoring the students. It amazes me how it works and all the interworkings of which children they give which tasks and how much responsibility they give them. There is nothing like this in the US, absolutely nothing...and we are a more "advanced society"? Where are such initiatives? Part of me thinks "wow, what a great place to raise children with such innovation and creativity, living out the Jewish lifestyle in the land of our people" but then I remember how far it is from the US and my loved ones, the terrorism and war, as well as the lifestyle I love in America!
In any event, all of this inspiration mainly comes from the "Presidential Conference" that I recently attended, put on my President Shimon Peres (who one I met at the milk festival). He wants to improve the image of Israel in the world, so he intends for the conference to be annual but this was only the first. In fact, we (the BFLers) respresented Masa at the conference and had the privilege singing Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem) on stage at the opening ceremony to with Peres-we were on the news and in the papers for it! Presidents and Prime Ministers came from all over the world, reknowned authors, politicians from Israel and the world attended this event...even President Bush attended (as you may have seen in the papers). All political opinions aside, it is a pretty amazing experience to be at the event of only about 2,000 people when the President of your country visits the country you have been living in and you get to hear him speak. Granted, a large amount of the audience there was from the US, but nonetheless. It was really cool to see the secret service agents line the door with 5 rows of them seated behind him! Geez, it was a bit excessive....but he spoke well about the history of the relationship between Israel and the US and working towards peace in the Middle East by refusing to work with terrorist organizations. Here, Bush is revered for going into Iraq and taking down Saddaam because he was one of the largest threats to the security of Israel.
Moreover, I shook hands with Elie Weisel (you can see it in my pictures) at a lunch with 7 nobel prize laureates speaking, all of which were Jewish. Then I shook hands with Vaclav Havel, a personal hero who was a huge leader in the Czech revolution against the Soviets when they won independence, and I heard him speak at a panel discussion with Alan Derschowitz, Zeev Bialsky and Henry Kissinger. I almost brushed shoulders with Tony Blair but his security got in the way. However, it was not the people being close to me that got me excited, but their ideas for how to solve the problems in Israel through the economy and innovation, about leveling morals with reality in the security issues and about how to improve Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. It was a unique experience to be around so many experts in the most hotly politically debated land in the world! For a political science nerd it was an extraordinarily stimulating and thought provoking environment...and exhausting!
After I spent three very full days at the Presidential Conference focusing and thinking and sitting and eating...I had two more days for the final BFL Seminar (I was able to go to the Presidential Conference as one of only 100 Masa participants of 5,000 because I was in BFL)! It was actually really fun, we did team building and leadership oriented activities the first day at Neot Kedumim, a biblical Nature preserve outside of Jerusalem (where I went for the Israel-Diaspora Relations Seminar) which has only vegetation that would have been in this land during the biblical period. There, among other things, we herded sheep and goats. It was so funny and we learned about which one is the leader and why and how to learn from them and blah blah blah! That night we played "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" with memories from the past BFLs. It was sad to say bye to the people there because I really really enjoyed my time with them and we all got close. At Kabbalat Shabbat during each seminar, not everyone came but it was always a certain group of us and there were unique tunes we did for certain prayer taught by the different people from around the world which was beautiful. I will miss the people and the experience of BFL because it was so nurturing and trying to teach us leadership in the Jewish world and inspire us and our individuality.
The day after BFL ended, I went on a trip with my group to the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, Mitzpe Ramon, Sde Boker (Ben Gurion's desert home) and this ecological village that the Jewish Agency funds as an educational center for recycling and the environment. We stayed at the "Sukkah B'Medbar" which is the "Sukkah in the Desert" and it is like totally "green" with solar power for the lights and hot water in the shower and there no running water in the bathrooms (they use Woodchips so it does not smell and they can compost it). It was so peaceful and nice there, I slept like a baby. It was also nice to have some bonding time with the group and Lori.
Now it is back to real life on the Kfar. School is winding down at the high school and they are all taking exams or are unfocused or whatever. So, I have been helping out at a pre-school that rents space on the Kfar and it is nice. The kids are great and I am having fun playing with them practicing my hebrew with the kids and the staff. Plus we have a ton of trips and the end coming up so it is good that things are winding down...but as I said before, a bit weird. It was my dream to come here to live for an extended period of time and it is really great that I did it, I would never change or replace it. I got to know Israeli culture and participated in as much as possible-no matter how frustrating it was...even last week I went to a big fire for Lag B-Omer even though I was tired and it was not totally my thing. It was crazy-everywhere you looked someone was having a big fire, like we learned we were supposed to do in Sunday school but no one in the US really does nowadays. Lori told me that one year she flew out of the country on that night and it was beautiful from the sky with like the whole country with huge flames of fire. These are the beautiful things about living in Israel, living the Jewish calender of holidays and harvest that we only learn about in the US.
Now I need to get some sleep but mom-is this good enough? I am glad everyone is enjoying my thoughts and insight-if there is any in these entries. I am trying to enjoy my remaining time and really take advantage of the freedom before law school! Hope all is well in the US!
In any event, this country is amazing more than just for how it relates to biblical Judaism, but for its people-those that built this land to what it is today in only 60 years as well as those that maintain that drive and inspiration. It always amazes me how so many great ideas have been put into action here-new initiatives for change are constantly being adopted to make the situations with the borders of the state of Israel as great as possible. While they may not have the perfect roads and they may not have the best school system, they are getting kids off the streets with a number of different initiatives for change in the problem of poverty in the country-it is not avoided but attacked straight on. For example, the village that I live and volunteer at, which is mainly paid for by the government of Israel, for children who live in high risk areas for crime, violence and poverty, to be removed from that environment before they get into trouble is a fantastic idea. Here they are given chores on the farm, responsibility and a family-ish environment-most of their teachers live on the village and the village has university students living here for free in exchange for tutoring the students. It amazes me how it works and all the interworkings of which children they give which tasks and how much responsibility they give them. There is nothing like this in the US, absolutely nothing...and we are a more "advanced society"? Where are such initiatives? Part of me thinks "wow, what a great place to raise children with such innovation and creativity, living out the Jewish lifestyle in the land of our people" but then I remember how far it is from the US and my loved ones, the terrorism and war, as well as the lifestyle I love in America!
In any event, all of this inspiration mainly comes from the "Presidential Conference" that I recently attended, put on my President Shimon Peres (who one I met at the milk festival). He wants to improve the image of Israel in the world, so he intends for the conference to be annual but this was only the first. In fact, we (the BFLers) respresented Masa at the conference and had the privilege singing Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem) on stage at the opening ceremony to with Peres-we were on the news and in the papers for it! Presidents and Prime Ministers came from all over the world, reknowned authors, politicians from Israel and the world attended this event...even President Bush attended (as you may have seen in the papers). All political opinions aside, it is a pretty amazing experience to be at the event of only about 2,000 people when the President of your country visits the country you have been living in and you get to hear him speak. Granted, a large amount of the audience there was from the US, but nonetheless. It was really cool to see the secret service agents line the door with 5 rows of them seated behind him! Geez, it was a bit excessive....but he spoke well about the history of the relationship between Israel and the US and working towards peace in the Middle East by refusing to work with terrorist organizations. Here, Bush is revered for going into Iraq and taking down Saddaam because he was one of the largest threats to the security of Israel.
Moreover, I shook hands with Elie Weisel (you can see it in my pictures) at a lunch with 7 nobel prize laureates speaking, all of which were Jewish. Then I shook hands with Vaclav Havel, a personal hero who was a huge leader in the Czech revolution against the Soviets when they won independence, and I heard him speak at a panel discussion with Alan Derschowitz, Zeev Bialsky and Henry Kissinger. I almost brushed shoulders with Tony Blair but his security got in the way. However, it was not the people being close to me that got me excited, but their ideas for how to solve the problems in Israel through the economy and innovation, about leveling morals with reality in the security issues and about how to improve Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora. It was a unique experience to be around so many experts in the most hotly politically debated land in the world! For a political science nerd it was an extraordinarily stimulating and thought provoking environment...and exhausting!
After I spent three very full days at the Presidential Conference focusing and thinking and sitting and eating...I had two more days for the final BFL Seminar (I was able to go to the Presidential Conference as one of only 100 Masa participants of 5,000 because I was in BFL)! It was actually really fun, we did team building and leadership oriented activities the first day at Neot Kedumim, a biblical Nature preserve outside of Jerusalem (where I went for the Israel-Diaspora Relations Seminar) which has only vegetation that would have been in this land during the biblical period. There, among other things, we herded sheep and goats. It was so funny and we learned about which one is the leader and why and how to learn from them and blah blah blah! That night we played "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" with memories from the past BFLs. It was sad to say bye to the people there because I really really enjoyed my time with them and we all got close. At Kabbalat Shabbat during each seminar, not everyone came but it was always a certain group of us and there were unique tunes we did for certain prayer taught by the different people from around the world which was beautiful. I will miss the people and the experience of BFL because it was so nurturing and trying to teach us leadership in the Jewish world and inspire us and our individuality.
The day after BFL ended, I went on a trip with my group to the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, Mitzpe Ramon, Sde Boker (Ben Gurion's desert home) and this ecological village that the Jewish Agency funds as an educational center for recycling and the environment. We stayed at the "Sukkah B'Medbar" which is the "Sukkah in the Desert" and it is like totally "green" with solar power for the lights and hot water in the shower and there no running water in the bathrooms (they use Woodchips so it does not smell and they can compost it). It was so peaceful and nice there, I slept like a baby. It was also nice to have some bonding time with the group and Lori.
Now it is back to real life on the Kfar. School is winding down at the high school and they are all taking exams or are unfocused or whatever. So, I have been helping out at a pre-school that rents space on the Kfar and it is nice. The kids are great and I am having fun playing with them practicing my hebrew with the kids and the staff. Plus we have a ton of trips and the end coming up so it is good that things are winding down...but as I said before, a bit weird. It was my dream to come here to live for an extended period of time and it is really great that I did it, I would never change or replace it. I got to know Israeli culture and participated in as much as possible-no matter how frustrating it was...even last week I went to a big fire for Lag B-Omer even though I was tired and it was not totally my thing. It was crazy-everywhere you looked someone was having a big fire, like we learned we were supposed to do in Sunday school but no one in the US really does nowadays. Lori told me that one year she flew out of the country on that night and it was beautiful from the sky with like the whole country with huge flames of fire. These are the beautiful things about living in Israel, living the Jewish calender of holidays and harvest that we only learn about in the US.
Now I need to get some sleep but mom-is this good enough? I am glad everyone is enjoying my thoughts and insight-if there is any in these entries. I am trying to enjoy my remaining time and really take advantage of the freedom before law school! Hope all is well in the US!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Yom HaZikoron and Yom Haatzmaut
In creating this entry, I had to pause about whether to write these two days into one entry or separate them out as the separately powerful days that they were for Israel. In the end, though, there is no way to separate these inextricably linked days. For those who are unaware, Zikoron in hebrew means memory and Atzmaut means Independence and Yom means day. So, Yom HaZikoron is Memorial Day and Yom Haatzmaut is the Independence Day, and they are celebrated in consecutive days, which were this past Tuesday and Wednesday. Like all Jewish holidays, the holiday began at sunset the night before the actual day. Most people, including myself, find it to be a difficult concept to grasp that you hold memorial services for fallen soldiers in the day before you party to celebrate the birthday of your country. Until you have experienced it, you cannot imagine how powerful of an experience it is to celebrate in this way. (I apologize for the lack of pictures but somehow nothing captured the experiences I had during these days.)
On Tuesday my group was part of a memorial for fallen soldiers put on my Masa, the non-profit organization that my program is connected with here in Israel. It was a service that was based on the idea of six degrees of separation, in which every person in the world is separated from every other person by no more than six degrees. In Israel, as such a small country, there seem to be even less separation and when a terrorist attack happens or soldiers are lost, it would amaze you to know how many people you know are connected to someone that was lost. It was specifically about people who had made aliyah to Israel that were about my age and either joined the army or was killed in a terrorist attack. There was not a dry eye in the crowd of this outdoor program that was integrated with music written in the memory of those who were killed. And to be reminded how, in such a small country, the distance between someone being killed and those that remain is usually none at all-everyone always knows someone involved in the tragic events that unfold here all too often. Furthermore, it began with the erie sound of the sirens sounding to begin the Memorial Day.
If I did not tell you all in the last entry, on Yom HaShoa and Yom HaZikoron, Israel sounds sirens, which are what an American would think of as the old school sirens from war movies when a bombing is going to happen. It is an erie sound, especially when the entire country stops wherever they are to hear it. On Yom HaShoa it is sounded once during the day but on Yom HaZikoron it is sounded twice: once to begin the day of remembrance at sunset and once during the day on Yom HaZikoron. A friend of mine, whose father is Israeli and has family here, was on the way to a memorial service for his cousin who was killed in the army when the second siren was sounded during the day of the Memorial Day. He was driving on the highway and told me that all of the cars stopped, including the train that was running on the tracks adjacent to the highway.
I chose to attend at a memorial service at the cemetery next to the Kfar, which is one of the largest in the country, rather than the service the Kfar was putting on. Walking into the cemetary was like walking into a concert, with free water and flowers being given out to those that entered and a sticker to put on in memory of those fallen. It was filled with people surrounding every grave and I had to remind myself that this was because every person there had lost someone who was buried in this cemetery as a result of those that defend the land. We stood next to the grave of the brother in law of the director of my program. The sounding of the sirens began this service and I listened to the Mourner's Kaddish, a memorial service (Yiskor), and a speak by a military officer (which I was proud to at least partly understand). It was very moving to be surrounded by so many people who had lost someone in defense of this country.
After a heavy day of Memorial services, sirens, and thoughts and prayers for those who made even my ability to come to this Jewish state safely, sunset rings in Yom Haatzmaut- "Independance Day". One would think that this must be impossible to celebrate after such a solemn day, but somehow it feels right to celebrate the country for which so many have died.
The night of Yom Haatzmaut my group went to be part of what we thought was a rooftop party overlooking Tel Aviv at a television news station. However, we were the studio audience who could not even be seen on TV, and while it was on the roof it was hardly overlooking Tel Aviv. Furthermore, we were not allowed to talk or make noise during the taping. Nonetheless, it was neat to watch them broadcast the news (even if it was in Hebrew) as well as watch all of the events unfolding throughout Israel on a big screen. What was not fun, though, was in the elevator on the way down when 12 of us got stuck in an 8 person elevator. I am telling you, though, that we had a moment in there! Judith finally says to everyone to be quiet, prayer is the only thing that can help us now- and she was serious. After 15 minutes of yelling, banging and ringing the bells, we all went silent for a long moment and the doors opened for us!
After this we went to a huge street party in Tel Aviv on a street called Florentine and the spirit in the crowd was unwaveringly filled with pride and hope for the state of Israel. We partied and danced until six in the morning when we finally went home with the sun rising as we walked into the Kfar. The next day I attended a barbeque put on by the Greater Hartford Jewish Federation, in which I was shocked to see the number of people living in Israel who either moved from the Hartford area to Israel or have roots of their family back in Hartford. It was a wonderful experience and I gladly spoke to the group about my experiences in Israel as part of a Masa program.
That evening my entire group barbequed, the usual activity on Yom Haatzmaut, and just spent time talking about our time in Israel. It was the first time that my group did something all together without the Kfar or the director of my program or anything and it was great. We talked about how special it was to spend the 60th birthday of Israel here after having been living here for at least 3 and a half months (some of the people on the program were here before the program began). It was a special and unique experience to feel already immersed in the life here, and then to celebrate the 60th year of independence within that understanding and immersion. It is something I never expected to be so moving, because I would have felt huge pride and excitement for the event if I had been in the US or if I had visited Israel during it. But I could never have expected the feeling I got from seeing the pride in the people on Florentine, the youth of Israel who will be carrying on the nation in the future. It gave me hope and further love for this land and its people, and made me feel, again, like I am no longer a tourist here.
On Tuesday my group was part of a memorial for fallen soldiers put on my Masa, the non-profit organization that my program is connected with here in Israel. It was a service that was based on the idea of six degrees of separation, in which every person in the world is separated from every other person by no more than six degrees. In Israel, as such a small country, there seem to be even less separation and when a terrorist attack happens or soldiers are lost, it would amaze you to know how many people you know are connected to someone that was lost. It was specifically about people who had made aliyah to Israel that were about my age and either joined the army or was killed in a terrorist attack. There was not a dry eye in the crowd of this outdoor program that was integrated with music written in the memory of those who were killed. And to be reminded how, in such a small country, the distance between someone being killed and those that remain is usually none at all-everyone always knows someone involved in the tragic events that unfold here all too often. Furthermore, it began with the erie sound of the sirens sounding to begin the Memorial Day.
If I did not tell you all in the last entry, on Yom HaShoa and Yom HaZikoron, Israel sounds sirens, which are what an American would think of as the old school sirens from war movies when a bombing is going to happen. It is an erie sound, especially when the entire country stops wherever they are to hear it. On Yom HaShoa it is sounded once during the day but on Yom HaZikoron it is sounded twice: once to begin the day of remembrance at sunset and once during the day on Yom HaZikoron. A friend of mine, whose father is Israeli and has family here, was on the way to a memorial service for his cousin who was killed in the army when the second siren was sounded during the day of the Memorial Day. He was driving on the highway and told me that all of the cars stopped, including the train that was running on the tracks adjacent to the highway.
I chose to attend at a memorial service at the cemetery next to the Kfar, which is one of the largest in the country, rather than the service the Kfar was putting on. Walking into the cemetary was like walking into a concert, with free water and flowers being given out to those that entered and a sticker to put on in memory of those fallen. It was filled with people surrounding every grave and I had to remind myself that this was because every person there had lost someone who was buried in this cemetery as a result of those that defend the land. We stood next to the grave of the brother in law of the director of my program. The sounding of the sirens began this service and I listened to the Mourner's Kaddish, a memorial service (Yiskor), and a speak by a military officer (which I was proud to at least partly understand). It was very moving to be surrounded by so many people who had lost someone in defense of this country.
After a heavy day of Memorial services, sirens, and thoughts and prayers for those who made even my ability to come to this Jewish state safely, sunset rings in Yom Haatzmaut- "Independance Day". One would think that this must be impossible to celebrate after such a solemn day, but somehow it feels right to celebrate the country for which so many have died.
The night of Yom Haatzmaut my group went to be part of what we thought was a rooftop party overlooking Tel Aviv at a television news station. However, we were the studio audience who could not even be seen on TV, and while it was on the roof it was hardly overlooking Tel Aviv. Furthermore, we were not allowed to talk or make noise during the taping. Nonetheless, it was neat to watch them broadcast the news (even if it was in Hebrew) as well as watch all of the events unfolding throughout Israel on a big screen. What was not fun, though, was in the elevator on the way down when 12 of us got stuck in an 8 person elevator. I am telling you, though, that we had a moment in there! Judith finally says to everyone to be quiet, prayer is the only thing that can help us now- and she was serious. After 15 minutes of yelling, banging and ringing the bells, we all went silent for a long moment and the doors opened for us!
After this we went to a huge street party in Tel Aviv on a street called Florentine and the spirit in the crowd was unwaveringly filled with pride and hope for the state of Israel. We partied and danced until six in the morning when we finally went home with the sun rising as we walked into the Kfar. The next day I attended a barbeque put on by the Greater Hartford Jewish Federation, in which I was shocked to see the number of people living in Israel who either moved from the Hartford area to Israel or have roots of their family back in Hartford. It was a wonderful experience and I gladly spoke to the group about my experiences in Israel as part of a Masa program.
That evening my entire group barbequed, the usual activity on Yom Haatzmaut, and just spent time talking about our time in Israel. It was the first time that my group did something all together without the Kfar or the director of my program or anything and it was great. We talked about how special it was to spend the 60th birthday of Israel here after having been living here for at least 3 and a half months (some of the people on the program were here before the program began). It was a special and unique experience to feel already immersed in the life here, and then to celebrate the 60th year of independence within that understanding and immersion. It is something I never expected to be so moving, because I would have felt huge pride and excitement for the event if I had been in the US or if I had visited Israel during it. But I could never have expected the feeling I got from seeing the pride in the people on Florentine, the youth of Israel who will be carrying on the nation in the future. It gave me hope and further love for this land and its people, and made me feel, again, like I am no longer a tourist here.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Yom HaShoah
Today in Israel is Yom HaShoa, beginning yesterday evening and finishing this evening. I have been a part of many different events on this day in the US and in Europe, but it is something different here in Israel. This country is built on the survivors from the Holocaust and having a memorial day here has had a strong impact on me. I have been to the camps during a semester spent studying Eastern European Jewry before, during and after the Holocaust, I went to Yad Vashem last week for my third visit, in every city I visit in the world I try to find their Holocaust Memorial or museum (if they exist), but being here for this has left me with a feeling in my body that is better than visiting any of those places. Here, it is as if the Jews really have done more, they have persevered and succeeded in the wake of this, but still remember it with the power of its occurence. There are 6.7 million Jews in Israel today, the same number as those killed in the Shoah.
In case you are not aware, Shoah is the Hebrew name for the European Holocaust. This word, in literal translation of the Hebrew word, means "calamity". The choice of this word is interesting, because the word in English "Holocaust" does not mean "calamity", but rather was originally defined as "a sacrifice consumed by fire", before it was the name for the European Holocaust. The definition of the word "calamity" is "a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering", which I feel much more accurately defines what occured in Europe between 1931-1945. For this reason, I choose to use the word "Shoah" in place of the word "Holocaust" as often as possible. The disappointing thing to me, though, is that the world has not adopted this word, this title, for the destruction caused by the Nazis during WWII. Holocaust does not fully explain what happened during those years to Jews, Gyspsies, Homosexuals and all those that stood up to the Nazis. It was a true calamity, a time consumed by great loss and leaving long lasting suffering in the world for those involved, those who lost someone, and the groups discriminated against during its time.
In the US, the Holocaust is taught about in non-Jewish schools as a unit in a history class. During this unit, students are taught about it as something of the past, something from a far away land, and something that can never happen again. Here in Israel, it is taught
as something that the people who founded Israel were a part of such as the grandparents and aunts and uncles of everyone around them, as something that everyone must ensure never happen again. With this is a much most impactful connection than anywhere else in the world, we must be honest with ourselves that, in reality, it is happening and has happened in places like Armenia, Rwanda, Darfur, and Cambodia. When will genocide end? When will we learn?
Last night I watched a film with the 11th and 12th grades called "The Wave", which is based on a class in 1957 in Palo Alto, California. I had read about this but never seen the film, and while it was completely outdated in every way except the message, it was a great message to be made to any and all students. People ask all the time, "why did people allow the holocaust to happen?" "why did so many people follow Hilter?" "why didn't more people stand up to the Nazis?". Well, this story shows human proof of the answer to that question: it is human nature to follow. Essentially, the story is about a high school teacher who was presented with the question by a student "Why did no one stand up against the Nazi's?" "How could 6 million Jews be killed without anyone stopping the Nazi's?" As a result, he began a "movement" among the students called "The Wave" in which the students did not know it was only an experiment but began to act filled with power and superiority. In the end, he told them that a national leader of the movement would announce himself to them, but he got them all together and when they asked who the leader was, the teacher showed them a film of Hilter and his followers. Every student was so distraught to have learned that they too, followed without question, just like the Germans and the Nazis during the Shoah. The reason I mention this is that I consider myself a very involved and relatively conscious American Jew, and I worry that American school children are not taught this message, the message that will keep the Shoah from being repeated, the message that will help future generations prevent genocide, a message that could hopefully make this world a better place.
In Israel, Yom HaShoa is taken seriously by the students, and they are reminded every year for an entire day what happened during the Shoah, not only in a unit in high school or middle school. It is my hope that Yom HaShoa will be adopted throughout the world, the world that turned its back when this was happening, the world that allowed 6 million Jews die before they stopped the Nazis. But I am only one person-how am I to help this? How am I to make such a large difference? All I can do is blog to you all, who will hopefully pass the message on to friends and family, and maybe then we will not see the destruction in Darfur, maybe there will not be a new group discriminated against and killed for who they are, who their family is, their customs and history or for whatever reason. And if they are, maybe with the message I want to be portrayed though Yom HaShoa, more people will stand up to them. But we can only hope it is enough to educate and remember and send the right messages to the future generations.
In case you are not aware, Shoah is the Hebrew name for the European Holocaust. This word, in literal translation of the Hebrew word, means "calamity". The choice of this word is interesting, because the word in English "Holocaust" does not mean "calamity", but rather was originally defined as "a sacrifice consumed by fire", before it was the name for the European Holocaust. The definition of the word "calamity" is "a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering", which I feel much more accurately defines what occured in Europe between 1931-1945. For this reason, I choose to use the word "Shoah" in place of the word "Holocaust" as often as possible. The disappointing thing to me, though, is that the world has not adopted this word, this title, for the destruction caused by the Nazis during WWII. Holocaust does not fully explain what happened during those years to Jews, Gyspsies, Homosexuals and all those that stood up to the Nazis. It was a true calamity, a time consumed by great loss and leaving long lasting suffering in the world for those involved, those who lost someone, and the groups discriminated against during its time.
In the US, the Holocaust is taught about in non-Jewish schools as a unit in a history class. During this unit, students are taught about it as something of the past, something from a far away land, and something that can never happen again. Here in Israel, it is taught
as something that the people who founded Israel were a part of such as the grandparents and aunts and uncles of everyone around them, as something that everyone must ensure never happen again. With this is a much most impactful connection than anywhere else in the world, we must be honest with ourselves that, in reality, it is happening and has happened in places like Armenia, Rwanda, Darfur, and Cambodia. When will genocide end? When will we learn?
Last night I watched a film with the 11th and 12th grades called "The Wave", which is based on a class in 1957 in Palo Alto, California. I had read about this but never seen the film, and while it was completely outdated in every way except the message, it was a great message to be made to any and all students. People ask all the time, "why did people allow the holocaust to happen?" "why did so many people follow Hilter?" "why didn't more people stand up to the Nazis?". Well, this story shows human proof of the answer to that question: it is human nature to follow. Essentially, the story is about a high school teacher who was presented with the question by a student "Why did no one stand up against the Nazi's?" "How could 6 million Jews be killed without anyone stopping the Nazi's?" As a result, he began a "movement" among the students called "The Wave" in which the students did not know it was only an experiment but began to act filled with power and superiority. In the end, he told them that a national leader of the movement would announce himself to them, but he got them all together and when they asked who the leader was, the teacher showed them a film of Hilter and his followers. Every student was so distraught to have learned that they too, followed without question, just like the Germans and the Nazis during the Shoah. The reason I mention this is that I consider myself a very involved and relatively conscious American Jew, and I worry that American school children are not taught this message, the message that will keep the Shoah from being repeated, the message that will help future generations prevent genocide, a message that could hopefully make this world a better place.
In Israel, Yom HaShoa is taken seriously by the students, and they are reminded every year for an entire day what happened during the Shoah, not only in a unit in high school or middle school. It is my hope that Yom HaShoa will be adopted throughout the world, the world that turned its back when this was happening, the world that allowed 6 million Jews die before they stopped the Nazis. But I am only one person-how am I to help this? How am I to make such a large difference? All I can do is blog to you all, who will hopefully pass the message on to friends and family, and maybe then we will not see the destruction in Darfur, maybe there will not be a new group discriminated against and killed for who they are, who their family is, their customs and history or for whatever reason. And if they are, maybe with the message I want to be portrayed though Yom HaShoa, more people will stand up to them. But we can only hope it is enough to educate and remember and send the right messages to the future generations.
Pesach in Israel with Alfredo
Well, Pesach in Israel is certainly a GREAT experience for any Jew-everywhere you turn there is something to eat that is Kosher for Pesach! It's AMAZING!
Aside from that, I had a wonderful seder that was half Israeli and half American in Tel Aviv, near the beach. We sort of just went around the table and read each in English or Hebrew- as we preferred. It went much more quickly than reading it in BOTH languages! HAHAHA! In any event, it was delicious food and wonderful company and I was very excited to be having Seder in Israel. It was funny, though, because even the Israeli's say "Next year in Jerusalem!" and the Americans thought that was interesting because we are in ISRAEL!
In any event, Alfredo got in in time for the Seder and then we spent a couple days at the beach in Tel Aviv, went to Cesarea, spent a night in Haifa, went to other ruins on the way to camp on the Galilee, saw Tsfat and then drove from there all the way down past the Dead Sea to too a small town in the desert called Mamshit, near Arad, to stay at a Bedouin tent. The drive through the country from north to south was so amazing...probably one of the most interesting experiences I have had in Israel. Everyone who comes here witnesses the difference from north to south, east to west, with every form of land imaginable. To drive it yourself, in one day, was really cool! As we were driving we had the Jordanian border, the fence separating the countries, on our left side and the Judean Hills on our right. We drove from the Mountains of Tsfat through the Yisreal valley, through the Judean hills to the Dead Sea and the Negev. Alfredo told me it was one of his favorite memories, that and spending Shabbat in Israel, seeing the Western Wall on a Friday night. After staying in the desert we went to Masada, the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi before going to Jerusalem for the weekend. Next, we spent a day and a half on the Kfar where I live just so that he could see it and we could relax before he went back to the grind of work (yes this rigorous itinerary was what he called a vacation!).
It was an interesting experience to see Israel through the eyes of a first time visitor, of a person so curious about Judaism and Israel. In fact, it affirmed my belief that Israel is a magical place, filled with endless possibility and a power in the land, a place where miracles have and continue to happen. I told him about how being in Israel makes me believe anything is possible on one of his first nights and I think he was sort of like "oh, ok" but by our first night in Jerusalem he too understood what I meant. He was very moved by the Western Wall on Shabbat, and by the beauty and history he found here. As he told me, there are remains of cities here before he ever knew there were remains to be found and people from more places than you can ever expect. And this is why I wanted to spend an extended period of time here, to experience this and to understand it as more than a tourist. To explain these words in an action, when Alfredo wanted to put a note in the Wall on Sunday (because he had not done so on Shabbat), I joined him in doing so. What is surprising to me and maybe to many of you is that I cannot count the number of times I have visited the Wall before, and I have never left a note. To me, I finally realized that I do believe in its power, the strength of this country and the miracles that can happen!
Through Alfredo's visit, I realized that I have become more than a tourist here. I think that I know this land pretty well both from north to south and east to west and also from inside out, as much as possible as an outsider. But more than that, I have found a connection to this land more than just as a Jew, but as a believer that this land is truly beyond your wildest dreams, further than expectations and filled with endless promise.
Aside from that, I had a wonderful seder that was half Israeli and half American in Tel Aviv, near the beach. We sort of just went around the table and read each in English or Hebrew- as we preferred. It went much more quickly than reading it in BOTH languages! HAHAHA! In any event, it was delicious food and wonderful company and I was very excited to be having Seder in Israel. It was funny, though, because even the Israeli's say "Next year in Jerusalem!" and the Americans thought that was interesting because we are in ISRAEL!
In any event, Alfredo got in in time for the Seder and then we spent a couple days at the beach in Tel Aviv, went to Cesarea, spent a night in Haifa, went to other ruins on the way to camp on the Galilee, saw Tsfat and then drove from there all the way down past the Dead Sea to too a small town in the desert called Mamshit, near Arad, to stay at a Bedouin tent. The drive through the country from north to south was so amazing...probably one of the most interesting experiences I have had in Israel. Everyone who comes here witnesses the difference from north to south, east to west, with every form of land imaginable. To drive it yourself, in one day, was really cool! As we were driving we had the Jordanian border, the fence separating the countries, on our left side and the Judean Hills on our right. We drove from the Mountains of Tsfat through the Yisreal valley, through the Judean hills to the Dead Sea and the Negev. Alfredo told me it was one of his favorite memories, that and spending Shabbat in Israel, seeing the Western Wall on a Friday night. After staying in the desert we went to Masada, the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi before going to Jerusalem for the weekend. Next, we spent a day and a half on the Kfar where I live just so that he could see it and we could relax before he went back to the grind of work (yes this rigorous itinerary was what he called a vacation!).
It was an interesting experience to see Israel through the eyes of a first time visitor, of a person so curious about Judaism and Israel. In fact, it affirmed my belief that Israel is a magical place, filled with endless possibility and a power in the land, a place where miracles have and continue to happen. I told him about how being in Israel makes me believe anything is possible on one of his first nights and I think he was sort of like "oh, ok" but by our first night in Jerusalem he too understood what I meant. He was very moved by the Western Wall on Shabbat, and by the beauty and history he found here. As he told me, there are remains of cities here before he ever knew there were remains to be found and people from more places than you can ever expect. And this is why I wanted to spend an extended period of time here, to experience this and to understand it as more than a tourist. To explain these words in an action, when Alfredo wanted to put a note in the Wall on Sunday (because he had not done so on Shabbat), I joined him in doing so. What is surprising to me and maybe to many of you is that I cannot count the number of times I have visited the Wall before, and I have never left a note. To me, I finally realized that I do believe in its power, the strength of this country and the miracles that can happen!
Through Alfredo's visit, I realized that I have become more than a tourist here. I think that I know this land pretty well both from north to south and east to west and also from inside out, as much as possible as an outsider. But more than that, I have found a connection to this land more than just as a Jew, but as a believer that this land is truly beyond your wildest dreams, further than expectations and filled with endless promise.
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