A Shehecheyanu for a Shared Experience (and my contact information)

First of all, let's get down to business:

Phone:

o11-972-526092612

or if you call 1-678-245-4960, it should connect.



Address:

Kfar HaNoar Mosenson, 9 Aliyat HaNoar Street

Hod Hasharon, Box 322, Hod Hasharon, Israel, 45102



Skype:

anna.perling (don't forget that dot. slippery little bugger, right there- regular old anna perling was taken).



Whew. I'm glad that's all out of the way.



So yesterday, in between panicking and packing, I went to synagogue to "get blessed." Sitting in a room full of Jews for three hours made me meditate on a few questions I've been getting a lot recently:



Why are you going to Israel?

And:

What will you be doing there?



Well, here's the thing. Mom, Dad, Jewish Federation: I'm sorry, but I have no idea what I will be doing in Israel. I have never been, and the Hebrew names of various historical sites on our itinerary literally mean nothing to me at the moment. Over three months, I am sure we will see most of the country; after all, it's not that big. But truthfully, I'm just sort of going along for the ride on this one. I have no expectations and an open mind. I for one think this shows personal growth, because if you know me you know I am an anxious stress bunny who has to plan everything in advance.


I expressed my newly adopted laid-back attitude to a classmate a few days ago, and the response I recieved was totally unexpected. She said something along the lines of, "Oh yeah, you're just 'going along for the ride' to the land of our people's history for which thousands toiled to create and defend."


Yikes.

I guess I forgot about how seriously people take Israel. Jews of course have incredibly strong emotional ties to this tiny strip of desert, and as I sat in a Shul and rose to face Jerusalem, thousands of miles away, I thought that it was because Israel is something we as Jews share, and all humans have a basic need to share stuff. I think this is why we join clubs, get married, and why I am blogging right now: humans don't like being alone. They want to identify with an idea, be a part of something, have someone with whom to convey their thoughts and feelings, or be able to post those thoughts and feelings on a public web page which millions could easily access. Israel gives Jews that outlet, it provides a community and a source of identity at the same time. Saying my aliyah with a few of my classmates, I realized that I too will be sucked into this powerful shared experience of tradition, religion, pride, violence, and joy, and that I will be able to share my experience not only with my 25 classmates and the 100 kids from D.C. who come with us, but with hundreds of thousands (or even millions?) of Jews who have done what I will be doing over the next three months.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

In Judaism, we say the Shehecheyanu blessing over new things or experiences, so in honor of my venture I leave you with it:

Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, Ruler of the Universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and allowed us to reach this occasion.

Thank you to my parents, teachers, friends, family, and Weber for not only allowing me to do this but for supporting me in all that I do.

And on that note...5 hours 'til take-off!