Anna in the Eretz

From South to North, Shavuot

2010-05-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we began our journey to the opposite end of the country: the Golan Heights. Along the way we stopped at the site of the Valley of Tears, where very few Israeli tanks battled outnumbered for 3 days against Syria during the Yom Kippur war. We discussed the battle and later stopped to see a movie in which participants were interviewed. we also stopped at a scenic overlook of the mountains to discuss the story of Eli Cohen, and Israeli spy who gathered information for years in Syria that proved crucial to Israel's success in the Yom Kippur war and ultimately to its survival as a country.The story of the Syrian defeat was crazy, and it was interesting to learn about something more modern and relevant in Israel's history. The North is my favorite part of Israel; it's lush, green, and mountainous. Despite its beauty, however, the countryside is still punctuated with barbed wire fences and signs warning of remaining land mines from Syria. To me, these symbols serve as reminders that Israel's existence is indeed precarious. Additionally, we were in what is called the "finger of Israel," or its Northernmost part-Lebanon and Syria are literally a mountain away. Again, crazy.

We had an afternoon of fun as we kayaked and rafted down the Jordan river, which is surprisingly not that wide across. At night we stayed at the Ginossar Hotel again and enjoyed their famously delicious dinner. The next morning we zip-lined or rappelled down a mountain, which was cool, and had a picnic lunch at a park. Amazingly, it rained! At the park we had a serious discussion about whether or not Israel should give the Golan Heights back to Syria. Afterwards, we boarded the bus for a long ride home and DOTS.

Tuesday we woke up late and cleaned up a little; we had been on the move like crazy for the past few weeks. In the afternoon we headed to Jerusalem for Shavuot. We checked into our hotel and then had free time on Mahane Yehuda, a street with a famous shuk, or market. My friend Jess and I decided to forgo shopping and instead purchased fruit, nuts, parmesan cheese, and olives from the fresh outdoor food stalls and have a picnic; it was a gorgeous, breezy day- a nice break from the heat of the rest of the country.

At night we walked to services at a Karlebach shul for Shavuot. The singing was beautiful and I really enjoyed the service. Afterwards we went back to the hotel for a little to rest, because it's a custom to stay up all night learning on Shavuot and I fully planned on doing so. I succeeded in attending 2 sessions and staying awake for one and a half (I tried for three, but one was too full), walking around Jerusalem in the middle of the night with my friends and hundreds of other Jews, and pulling an all-nighter. I know my mom is probably freaking out as she reads this but it was really, really cool to be able to do this while feeling safe and like it was the norm. We met up with the rest of the group at the hotel at 4 a.m. to walk to the Kotel; it is also customary to go there on the Shalosh Regalim, which consist of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, so we went. It was insanely crowded, so I said the Amidah and then left- the sleeplessness and pushiness of hundreds of women were not a good combination. We returned to the hotel to sleep, and in the afternoon we went to a park to eat, rest, and hang out.

Thursday and Friday were pretty uneventful (for me at least) because I had to take the AP Spanish and English Literature exams. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but I started speaking Hebrew into the recorder during the oral part of the Spanish examination.

Thursday night, however, I was able to go to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (which I have been wanting to do since spring break) with two of my friends. It was a great museum, and I know it sounds silly but I was so proud of it- even though I think of Israel as being so small and such a new country, the museum housed works of big names like Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Klimt, and Matisse. Anyway, I was impressed. I went to 4 exhibits: Tamar Getter, Robert Baser, Edgar Degas, and Melanie Daniel. The explanations for Getter's work were all in Hebrew, so while I didn't learn that much about her pieces I enjoyed them for their aesthetic value. The Robert Baser exhibit was really cool, firstly because it was huge and showcased a wide variety of styles and mediums and secondly because his pieces represented different times in Israel's history- reading the titles and dates helped me put each piece (many were about the Lebanon and Gaza wars, and one that gave me chills, called "Unknown Soldier," consisted of polyester tubes painted and sculpted to look like organs with a circular mirror on top where the head should have been) in context. On a different note, the Degas exhibit consisted of his entire collection of bronze sculpture that mostly represented French ballerinas during the 1880's. On an obvious level it was interesting to see a representation of movement cast in bronze. My favorite thing I learned though was that instead of glorifying the womanly figure, Degas chose to show the suffering and humanness of what was a lower class profession; over half the sculptures portrayed women bathing, pulling on stockings, or rubbing their backs. Melanie Daniel won a prize for new Israeli painters, and I really liked her paintings because they were different than what I had been told while visiting the galleries was traditional "Israeli" art. She's from Canada, so she painted scenes of snow and forests in cool colors, very different than the art (which was lighter and often inspired by the Bible or the Israeli desert) I saw in Tel Aviv. There was also a really cool installation by an artist named Tzuri Guetta, which is hard to describe but I would suggest looking up- it blew my mind. With that, I am done ranting. I really got a lot out of it though, and I'm glad I got to go before leaving.

So back to Friday...after the exam we had free time and just hung out. Shabbat services and dinner were nice but a little sad as they signalled the coming of our group's last weekend in Israel together. We stayed up late, talking, playing Bananagrams, and packing. It's scary to see our rooms start to empty; I can see some parts of the floor for the first time in weeks.

Now it's Saturday, and services today were as special as those in Tzfat. We actually had to break to eat lunch because we were running overtime and the cafeteria workers needed to get home. People read Torah and Haftorah, gave a Dvar Torah, and a speech. It was an involved, participatory Shabbat, and I started tearing up during the Torah service. I know I can go to Shul at home, but I'll miss the feeling of oneness I have when I look up at the podium and see that those men and women are just 18 year old kids, kids my age- my friends. It never fails to impress and amaze me. Our circle of singing Adon Olam was even louder and more spirited this time around, but as powerfully beautiful as the sound was it also saddened me- it was another one of those "lasts."

After services I finished packing, and then we had a final bus meeting in which we said one challenge from the trip and what we had gained. Mine are sort of long and well-suited for a final blog post, so I'll save it for then. But yeah. Second to last night? Time has flown. On the plus side, I am typing in the present- I'm caught up! To give you an outline of what's left, we have Havdallah tonight, a day in Jerusalem tomorrow, banquet, and then...JDS leaves. I'll try and post before Weber does too. Shabbat Shalom, Shavua Tov.

Eilat!

2010-05-19T23:51:00.000-07:00

The dates are messed up again- the last post was actually published on May 20; right now I'm blogging about the Sunday after Tzfat (May 9). I don't actually remember what we did- I think just unpack from Yam el Yam and rest, but that night we did have a concert with some hippy-dippy new age Israeli musicians which was a lot of fun and a little bit funny.

Anyways, on Monday we began our journey to Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel. The trip takes about 5 and half hours, so we stopped along the way. We visited Ben Gurion's house in Sde Boker and discussed the possibility of making Aliyah in light of the fact that Ben Gurion was one of the strongest Zionists (who said that to be a true Zionist, you had to make Aliyah). We then made our way to the Bedouin tents in the desert (and this was really desert-sandy, windy, and brown), which is one of the trip's highlights. We rode camels (fun, but mounting and dismounting was terrifying), and then rested in the tents before a delicious dinner of traditional Bedouin food- kebab, rice, hummus, etc. To the Weber kids' surprise, a group from Davis was at the tents also. We were happy to see fellow Atlantans and conveyed our love of Weber to all of the incoming students. They were having a Bedouin music concert and dance party, so we crashed along with some JDS kids and had a great time dancing and drumming. Later that night our group shared tea and baclava, cuddled in the tents, and sang and played guitar.

In the morning we stopped for Tefillah at the largest crater in the world in what I think was Mizpeh Ramon. I've expressed before how beautiful the canyons and cliffs of the Israeli desert are, and this was another gorgeous view of them. I chose to do a creative writing Tefillah, in which we sat in a circle overlooking the drop and wrote pass-it-on poetry inspired by the desert (each person writes a line, and then you pass it on). Afterwards we took a bus and hiked to the sand dunes. To me the concept of having sand dunes be a tourist destination was sort of odd, because I was envisioning little ones like those at the beach. These sand dunes, however, were hugely massive and soft and very conducive to frolicking, and I proceeded to run down and up them 3 times. It's crazy to think that even though Israel is so small it contains such a variety of landscape and weather- again, this was true desert- no trees and 100 degree heat. It was a ton of fun but needless to say I was grateful to come back to the air-conditioned bus.

We kept driving and made another stop at a view of more mountains. Our teacher, who is now religious and made Aliyah after being an agnostic for almost 27 years of his life, shared his story with us and we discussed journeys in general. He told us that according to the Baal Shem Tov, each person has 42 journeys in life, and the group shared some of our experiences with our journies as well. As we were talking, I saw a big white plane in my periphery, puncturing the clear blue of the sky. I walk my dog every day at home and for some reason I usually look up and see planes while doing so. I always think about the people on them, where they are going, and that if I were on the plane what I would be doing. The weeks before this trip I always envisioned myself on the ride over to Israel, but sitting there I began to think about the quickly approaching plane ride that would begin another phase of my life-going back home, and then going to college. I was sad to think about leaving Israel, happy to be back with my friends and family in Atlanta, nervous and excited to think about the upcoming adventures I would have; it was one of those moments.

On Wednesday I opted to hike Har Shlomo, which our teacher said was his second favorite hike in Israel. It was awesome, and I'm so glad I did it. I felt like I was on Mars- everything was red, rocky, and sandy. We started early to beat the sun and it thankfully wasn't too hot; when we reached the top we had a nice breeze as we looked below onto the city of Eilat and neighboring Jordan. The view was incredible. In the afternoon we had some free time and I went to the beach. The water is totally clear, and looking out at the sea with mountains in the backdrop made me never want to leave Israel. Sure, Eilat is a little touristy, but with good reason. It's paradise. That night we boarded a disco boat for a dance party. It reminded me of the first night, except that now I knew everyone, and it was a ton of fun.

Thursday was our last day in Eilat, and those that did the Har Shlomo hike went snorkeling in the morning. I had no idea that Israel had coral reefs, but my assumptions about this country were proven wrong yet again. The fish and coral were awesome and it was also nice because the water was so clear- I could see everything. Afterwards we had some more free time in which I soaked up more of the gorgeous beach view and did a little shopping. A five and a half hour bus ride followed with incredible views of the Israeli landscape, and then we were back to campus again.

A Bit More Catching Up, Yam El Yam, Shabbat in Tzfat

2010-05-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

Our kibbutz group rejoined everyone else for shabbat at another kibbutz in the North the Friday after we finished volunteering. Before we departed to dinner and evening services, our teachers made us make a circle and had people on one end go around the inside to hug each person and wish them a "Shabbat Shalom" so that every person ended up being hugged and greeted. It was so nice to see everyone again, both from JDS and Weber, and as I looked around I realized that this circle didn't feel like 93 random people. It felt small; I knew every face and every name.

On Saturday we went to services and then walked to a nearby park. We all may be 18, but that doesn't stop us from frolicking around on playground equipment, and that we did in addition to sleeping in the sun and enjoying more melon (it's in season and apparently very inexpensive here). After Havdalah, we had a customary Lag B'Omer bonfire in which we sang and roasted marshmallows and sweet potatoes, and then we headed home.

Sunday was one of my favorite days on the trip thus far. We all got to split up and choose different things to do in Tel Aviv in the morning, and I chose to do an art gallery tour with ten other people. We had a little extra time in the morning, so we set off to find a coffee shop, but a few friends and I ended up at an amazing cupcake bakery-not a bad way to start the day. Then we met with a woman who gives art tours and she showed us around four different galleries and gave us a little background on Israeli art. We saw some truly amazing pieces, both old and new, and the gallery setting combined with the small group size made for an intimate and meaningful experience. The Dan and Stern galleries were my favorites. What I found most interesting regarding what the woman had to say was how the artists used color and light to express the Israel and its people in contrast to the places (mostly Eastern Europe, so think dark and oppressive) from which they immigrated. After our tour we rejoined everyone else for an afternoon on the beach. Unfortunately I spent most of it studying for my upcoming AP Government exam, but it was still nice to be outside. For dinner we went to a mall and did some gift-getting as well. It was a nice day to have a day in the city after being secluded on the kibbutz for so long.

Monday I took the AP Gov exam, and all I can say is that I am glad to be done with it. Once we finished we boarded a bus to join the rest of the group for dinner at a Druze village. We had a short introduction to Druze culture as well, and its so interesting. The Druze are Arab but fight in the Israeli army. Their religion is about 60 years old, and the tenets of it are actually secret. They believe in reincarnation and members of the religion have three opportunities to become religious (most stay secular during childhood and young adult years), after which they learn the secrets of the religions. Dinner was delicious and was followed by fun live music and dancing.

Tuesday began our 4 day trip of hiking from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kineret, also known as Yam el Yam. Our depature was prefaced by a tekes, or ceremony, at the sea, in which we all recieved Weber-JDS headbands and got excited for our adventure. We actually didn't start with hiking, but biking! It was a little hectic doing so with 90 kids, and the rocky dirt roads made for a bumpy ride, but we accomplished our goal of covering a lot of flat, boring ground quickly. At lunch we dismounted and split up into hiking groups. I opted to go with Etgar Plus, which means that you hike a little extra each day. I was nervous before going but it ended up being a great decision, and I did this group every day. Our "plus" was visiting some ancient ruins on the top of a hill, and the view and wind (our madrich took a "wind shower," which consists of stripping down to underwear and facing the wind to air out, and got all the boys to join him) was awesome. The cool part about hiking in Israel is that not only is the landscape incredibly gorgeous but there are also random historical sites and ruins everywhere that give the land a special significance and feeling. We also stopped at a Mayan, or spring, on our route, and went into an underwater cave. The water and Turkish coffee made by our teachers hit the spot.

The other nice thing about this hiking trip is thata catering company followed us around to provide us with 3 meals a day and set up our tents. So yeah- not that hardcore, but I wasn't complaining. We arrived at camp just in time for hot soup and dinner, and our evening activities included looking at stars, sitting aroubd a bonfire, singing, and cuddling- just a few of my favorite things.

Etgar Plus completed 21 kilometers (almost 12 miles!) of hiking on the second day of Yam el Yam. The hike was just as beautiful as day 1, with the added bonus of what our teacher called the "little spot of heaven"- a hill with a perfect view of Tzfat below us. The next day we did 19 kilometers and encountered an extra uphill challenge as we ascended to a mikveh at the top of a hill.

Friday was our last day, and probably my favorite. The terrain was different from the rocky ups and downs of the previous few days; the trail was flat and obscured by thorny bushes. Our teacher talked about how while the thorns hurt hikers, they help plants pollinate and grow, and we had a very meaningful discussion in which the group opened up about the thorns in our lives and how we could grow from them. We then embarked on a silent and separate hike for the next hour. I love hiking silently, and it gave me some time to reflect on our trip thus far as well as to take in the beauty of the cavernous rock walls above me. We regrouped after a while to begin the final stretch of hiking towards our destination, the Kineret, which was pleasantly interrupted by a fresh-from-the-field melon-eating stop. When we finally made it we stripped off our clothes and jumped in. The Kineret is technically a lake, but it is an incredibly beautiful one surrounded by mountains, and getting in the water with my friends and taking in my surroundings after those four days of hiking was one of my favorite moments on the trip; I felt not only accomplished but also a sense of unity with the people and land surrounding me. We walked across the country! Unfortunately we didn't have too much time there because we had an appointment to make at a nearby water park. Water slides, a pool, more Kineret-frolicking, and ice cream awaited, and this was a great break after being on our feet for so long.

Post water-park we left to spend Shabbat in Tzfat. Friday night we walked around the city, went to services, and had dinner- nothing too special. Saturday morning, on the other hand, was one of the best Shabbatot I've had. A little background- every Shabbat that we are on campus, we (the students) have the option of attending several different minyans, or prayer services. There's a secular/storytelling/alternative minyan, and there's an orthodox one. Even though I'm not religious and half the time I have no idea what's happening in the service I always go to the orthodox minyan. I figure if I have to spend time praying I might as well do it right, and I enjoy the silent reflection time. There is a mechitzah, of course, and the boy's side definitely wins in terms of both attendance and spirit. The girl's side starts out alright, with about 10-15 people in attendance, but slowly dwindles down to about 4. My friend Michal and I are always two of the last ones standing (good old fashioned Jewish guilt keeps me from dipping out, I can't speak for her), and we also always roll our eyes at all the ditchers and joke about our hardcoreness.

This Shabbat was no different than usual in that the girls slowly slipped away as the Torah reading approached. For some reason, however, as the service progressed the boy's side got more and more into it, singing prayers aloud instead of saying them in silence for the sake of saving time and adding more and more optional songs and prayers as well. I didn'tknow all of the words but I participated when I could- I just love listening to people praying. Apparently our ruach was noticed by others as well, because something miraculous happened- we actually gained members as the secular minyan let out! At the end each side usually makes its own circle and sings Adon Olam to conclude the service. Today, however, we joined together, and with our arms around each other sang the song to a beautiful Karlebach tune. I smiled the whole time. I know this seems like such a little thing, but as someone who has had mostly negative experiences with prayer growing up (and I'm sure many Jews can relate- I'm talking Sunday school and forced prayer in Jewish day school, common complaints from my peers as to why they dislike praying so much), this moment of unity, harmony, and joy expressed through song was so refreshing. Birkat at lunch was equally spirited, with musical accompaniment courtesy of forks tapped on glasses and plates and fists banged on tables; singing after dinner and during Havdallah was stronger than usual as well. Maybe it was the spirituality of the city of Tzfat, maybe our group had become closer after Yam el Yam, maybe it was just one of those days, but this Shabbat was really wonderful.

Yom HaAtzmaut, Last Weeks of Kibbutz

2010-05-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm behind! Here's a recap of the last few weeks of our volunteer period on kibbutz, starting where I left off (after Yom HaZikaron):

Yom HaAtzmaut in Israel turned out to be exciting in more ways than one. Various members of our group worked all day to prepare for the kibbutz's festivities by working in the kitchen and setting up tables for the epic dinner that would feed over 500 people. That night we gathered on the lawn with the rest of the kibbutz to enjoy the fruits of our labor and celebrate Israel's independence, and some kids were throwing around flares and fireworks in honor of the day. One flare went a little too high, and landed in a palm tree, which subsqequently caught fire and caused much excitement. My boss, the head of the vineyard, had to bring a tractor with an elevated platform used to pick dates to hoist someone up to hose down the top of the flaming (ok, it wasn't that bad, but it was still on fire!) tree. After that was taken care of, we enjoyed dinner, a fantastic fireworks show, some crazy Israeli dancing that does not resemble American-Israeli dancing in the least, and a bunch of the boys in our group played with the kibbutz kids.

The next day we joined one of the other volunteer groups that stayed in Tzfat (and about a million other Israelis who also wanted to barbecue on the holiday) for a day off at the natural springs of Sachne. It was a beautiful day spent with wonderful people, and we really appreciated the break after experiencing two weeks of 8 hour work days and 5:30 a.m. wake-ups. We swam, vegged out, and thoroughly enjoyed the traditional Yom HaAtzmaut barbecue and watermelon.

The rest of volunteer period passed by so fast. I finished working in the kitchen and went back to the vineyard (thank goodness) and we moved on to pruning pomegranate trees. This was slightly more stimulating than plucking leaves off the grape vines to make sun windows, and the pomegranate trees were also quite fascinating to me (pomegranates are my favorites fruit). The fruit begins as a bright red flower with 6 petals, and these harden as the blossom matures. If you split the bulbous bottom part of the flower in half, you can see the hundreds of tiny yellow grains that will magically transform to the juicy, succulent ruby-colored gems that make up the fruit of the pomegranate. And as an added bonus, the orchards smell wonderful.

Other highlights of activities our group did included going to Tiberia for a night off, again with the Tzfat people, making poyke (which is a delicious and hearty stew filled with meat, beans and vegetables that has to cook for 3 hours but is well worth the wait), going on a star-gazing night walk, having a bonfire, and watching many movies. The three weeks went by too fast, and I was sad to leave the intimate setting of our group (but not as sad to leave the early wake ups) when the time came to go. Living on a kibbutz was a great learning experience, and I was able to hear from many kibbutzniks about the pros and cons of such a lifestyle. Although I don't think I would be able to live on a kibbutz, it was interesting to see that this societal model could function and prosper.

Home

2010-04-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

I want to talk about experiencing Yom HaZikaron, or Remembrance Day for the fallen soldiers of Israel. But first I want to share a letter with you that my friend sent me. For the record, she's Catholic- we met through Weber's Peace by Piece program, which involves Marist, the W.D. Mohammad school, and Weber and promotes interfaith education. She references Garden State, which is a great movie, and the song "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Here it is:

"Greetings from the U.S.!

I found this sweet little card lodged behind some papers in my desk that I bought just for fun, and I thought you'd like it! I have a lot of things I want to say, but I'll start out with a quote from a favorite book of mine, Into the Wild: "The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences," and you are definitely embarking on a life-changing adventure.

I'm not Jewish, obviously, and I don't think Christians really have an "Israel-like" place that I can make a comparison to- but I do feel that I understand teh longing to be home. To finally have a place in the world that is truly yours, somethign precious and special to call your own.

Just last night I was watching Garden State again and noticed the line whre Andrew tells Sam he feels safe with her-he feels home. And the Edward Sharpe song- "home is wherever I'm with you." It seems to be a recurring theme that is surrounding me lately, and I'm finally understanding how important human relations and the feeling of being comfortable- completely yourself, is what everyone is searching for.

How does this all relate? Well, I'm pretty good at history, and I remembered how even in biblical times the Jews were always searching for home. It seems like Jews have never really been able to have a place to call their own for a long time. Except until Israel. You're in it- you're in that special place that is so important and close to many Jewish hearts.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is welcome home- to the home of your people-the home of your family past, present, and forever. I hope you are drinking in your surroundings with your whole heart. Think of you and everyone daily."

And now back to me.

On Erev Yom HaZikaron, we gathered in our common room area to have a discussion about the day. A day whose purpose had felt so distant every year previous as I sat tapping my foot in a schoolwide assembly listening to stories of people I had never met and singing songs in a strange language became real and emotional very quickly as we shared our thoughts about the army and the day itself. Because as obvious as it is to say, every Israeli that I have met here, from my madrichim to the 70 year old man in the vineyard to the cute babies at the playground, has been or will go to the army; all are potential victims, all have lost a friend or family member. The significance of the night for our group was intensified as one of my friends read the eulogy of her cousin that was written by his father, bringing the immediacy of the day even closer to home. Afterwards, we discussed the dying words of the famous Israeli nationalist Joseph Trumpeldor, who said it was "good to die for our country."

Usually, I would disagree wholeheartedly with this statement. Upon hearing it, I thought of Wilfred Owen's "Dulce Et Decorum Est." For some reason, maybe because I've read it every year in high school, the poem's irony and images of war have left a deep impact on me and effecitvely conveyed that war is not pretty, nor is it glamorous; dying for one's country is never a good or positive thing, despite the glorification of violence in our times. Like my friend so eloquently said though, I think Israel is more than a country. A country is a piece of land. Israel is a home. This word connotes love, family, unity, community, a haven, roots, religion- all of these things are positive, all are what Israel embodies and emanates. I might be being blindly Zionistic right now, because yes, all of the things I'm saying are purely emotional; they can't be cited by the CIA World Fact Book. But you come here and you feel it. Israel is more than a place on the map. It's truly a home for the Jews, home to all of these ideas greater than that of just nationalism, and while I don't think it is "good" to die for anything, I think I agree with Trumpeldor in that the concept of this country is worth defending.
If you have moment and you did not already do so on Yom HaZikaron, spend it in silence on behalf of the fallen soldiers of Israel and their friends and families. If you are interested in supporting Israeli soldiers, visit http://www.israelsoldiers.org/ for information and donation opportunities.

April 7-10, and Kibbutz! Week 1 (scroll down for an April 16 post)

2010-04-18T05:27:00.000-07:00

After returning from Pesach vacation and reuniting with all of our friends, our group did another week of tiyulim before embarking on our 3 week volunteer period.

On Wednesday my bus volunteered at a soup kitchen in Jerusalem and also visited a special old age home that teaches elderly, poor immigrants craft skills in exchange for a weekly stipend and two meals a day. Their products are surprisingly beautiful, ranging from simple papier-mache birds to intricately carved wooden chamsas to silk challah covers to silver jewelry, and are sold to profit the organization. It's a really cool idea and it was comforting to see that these peopel were both being helped and empowered as they produced amazing art.

That night we had a guest speaker, Murray Greenfield, who was a New Yorker who made aliyah to Israel in the late forties to help smuggle immigrants into the country and get them out of detention camps, where the British often forced them to stay before Israel became a country. It was really interesting as I didn't know much about the detention camps or this period of Israel's history, and the subject was again approched on Thursday as we went to the Atlit detention camp to see how the detainees lived. Before going we stopped at the beach for a fun activity. When Israelis would smuggle immigrants in on boats, they would swap clothes with them in the harbor so that British officials wouldn't be able to distinguish the foreigners from the natives. So we split up into partners with one person going in the water and one person staying on shore- the shore person had to "rescue" the person in the water by switching clothes (we had bathing suits on underneath, not to worry) and carrying them ashore. It was a lot of fun and we frolicked in the waves for a good long while, but more than that the activity of carrying one another on our backs symbolized to me how Jewish people really strive take care of their own, both then and now. Afterwards we visited the remains of the detention camp, and it was beyond creepy. Keep in mind that most of the detainees were survivors of the Holocaust, and to me it felt like even after arriving in Israel they had just gone from one camp to another- Atlit consisted of barracks, barbed wire, watchtowers, and a shower room. Again, I really knew nothing about these camps so although I was slightly horrified it was interesting to learn about.

Friday was a fun day in which we got to know our madrich Eran a littler better. First we went to Latrun, the Israeli tank museum, and learned about the Independence war. Eran was a tank commander during his army service, so he gave us a tour of the different models that were on display and shared his experiences with us. We were invited back to his house for a lunch of hummus and falafel with his family. Good food, good company, and lots of funny baby pictures.

After a restful Shabbat on campus with the whole group, we split up to go on our three week period of volunteering. Some people went to Tzfat, two groups to different kibbutzim, and some people went to Sar El (an army base). I, however, am on the best volunteer option of all (in my humble opinion). I am volunteering on kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, which is a modern Orthodox kibbutz with a vineyard, pomegranate orchard, spice factory, carrot factory, and something called BioBee which uses insects as pesticide alternatives. They also produce many other food crops which are all organic; the farmer in charge is 86 and was Israel's first organic farmer. We are in a valley close to the Kineret, so basically we are surrounded by a 360 degree view of mountains. There are a multitude of natural springs, or mayanim, around us, and the groomed lawns, playgrounds, flowers, and palm trees give the grounds a resort-like feel. People travel everywhere by bike (I have only counted 6 cars) and there's no money here; instead, you can exchange shekalim for "funny money" (green paper squares imprinted with their monetary value) to use in the store, where everything is at least half the price it would be anywhere else in Israel because it is subsidized by the Kibbutz. There is a beautiful synagogue, a dining hall with 3 great meals a day, wireless internet, a swimming pool. It is truly amazing what this establishment, which was founded only 60 years ago by German immigrants, has accomplished and produced; people here live comfortably, perhaps even a bit luxuriously, through a socialist, religious system.

So here's how it works. We live on the kibbutz in dorm-like areas and have our own moadon, or common area, and get three meals a day, laundry, and whatever else we need in exchange for 8 hours of volunteer work. Each person does a different job each week. I started out in the kerem, or vineyard, last Monday (April 12), and basically I never wanted to leave. Work starts at 6:15, and my walk to the fields was made better by the sun rising in pink streaks above the mountains around us. Before we departed to the vineyard to get down to business all the workers meet in the shed/gathering area to drink coffee and listen to passages of Jewish wisdom- this week a Yeshiva student read to us from a book condemning LaShon Hara, or speaking ill of others. Only in Israel.

After this nice start to my day, I went to pick leaves off the grape vines to create sun windows for the fruit. I talked with Chanita, the only English speaking worker, about Kibbutz life, and I did my best with the other three Kurdistani women there who are so sweet. Eventually I zoned out as my limited Hebrew ran out and I fell under the spell of the rising sun's warmth and the rhythmic motion of plucking the leaves. Chanita, whose youngest child (out of 5!) is 9 months old said she came to work in the kerem because it was good for the soul. I would have to agree.

Monday night was erev Yom HaShoa, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, and our group had an intense and meaningful discussion about the Holocaust and how it affected each of us and our families. Afterwards we watched Defiance, which is a great movie and apparently unusually accurate as far as Holocaust movies go.

Tuesday was another day in the vineyard. I brought my Ipod this time and caught up on my music listening. I also spotted a lot of wildlife over the two days: two bird's nests, one with eggs and one without, a snake, two baby scorpions, a giant praying mantis, iguanas, a hummingbird, and a random wild parrot-like bird. We get off work early, so afterwards we went to the nearest mayan- lots of fun after a hard, hot day. At night we barbecued, and it was delicious. It's crazy to me that the jobs that we are volunteering for, which consist mostly of physical labor, are what people do for years and years here-there's a little old lady in the kitchen who has lived here for over 60 years. I think working so hard during the day really makes our group appreciate the small things, like sitting around a table with friends over a good homemade meal and talking and laughing.

On Wednesday I switched to working in the kitchen to help prepare for a wedding, which translates to scrubbing industrial sized pots (they feed almost 1000 people per meal) for 8 hours, but I made friends with the two ladies I worked with and enjoyed listening to Gal-Gal-Galatz (I butchered that transliteration), which is the major Israeli radio station that plays songs ranging from Cindy Lauper to Kesha to Israeli singers and makes for an interesting medley. Wednesday night was a lot of fun. We watched Stepbrothers and ate Tim-Tams, which was an even in and of itself. When you nibble both diagonal ends of the cookie, place it in a hot beverage, and suck on one end like a straw, the chocolate coating on the cookie melts and it magically transforms to something gooey and melty and delicious beyond cookie-ness. Randomly our madrich also took some bees from the BioBee factory back from work to "babysit," and we took them out and played with them- I petted one; they don't sting.

Thursday I returned to my haven, the kerem, and picked more leaves and listened to more music. So nice. Our evening activity that night was hearing the story of Maor, our madrich, whose family was evacuated from their moshav in the Gaza strip. I am going to see if he will do a guest post, because I don't think I will do his story justice.

Friday we ended work early and went to the mayan for swimming, Turkish coffee, and some relaxation- just what we all needed after waking up at 5:30 every morning. On Saturday I slept til 10- absolutely glorious. And now...I'm just about caught up. Today is Sunday; I switched jobs and am back in the kitchen. Today is Yom HaZikaron, or Remembrance Day for the fallen soldiers of Israel, and I will discuss this more in my next post.

Gadna, Pesach in Tel Aviv

2010-03-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm still playing catch-up as far as posts go, and I'm on two Fridays ago after Yad Vashem- around March 23?

In the morning, the entire Alexander Muss High School in Israel group, JDS, and Weber performed a flash mob dance on the boardwalk in Tel Aviv. A flash mob, in case you were wondering, occurs when a group of people randomly perform a pre-choreographed dance in the middle of a crowded public area, to the surprise of innocent bystanders. Here's a youtube of ours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka3vxRzyaU. So funny. The dance was also intended to help raise awareness about Gilad Shalit.

After our performance we departed to our first open shabbat, which I spent with my friends Michal and Melanie at Michal's Safta's South African retirement home. Basically it was the cutest Shabbat dinner and lunch of my life, filled with lots of English tea and old people. On Saturday we met up with some friends, went to the beach, and walked around the Herzliyya mall, which was a nice little slice of American culture (they had the Gap?). It was relaxing and much-needed, and I returned on Sunday ready to go to Gadna.

Gadna is a program that all Israeli high school students complete. It's sort of like a week long taste of the army. Kids live on a base for five days, wear Tzahal uniforms, do boot camp, and learn to shoot a gun. We left on Sunday morning and I was not looking forward to it. I'd been working out before the trip mainly in anticipation for the boot camp part of the week (my friend I would do push-ups over the phone together); I basically thought I wouldn't make it. Getting off the bus to all-Hebrew shouts of scary, unsmiling uniformed soldiers wasn't that comforting either. All of us assembled in the "achshev" or "attetntion" position on the basketball court while we were randomly chosen by the commanders (Mephakdim; our female commander was a Mephakedet) to be in tzevets (units) of about 15 kids. We traveled as a unit to get our uniforms, mattresses, sleeping bags, and blankets, and we had to do everything while counting down the seconds in Hebrew. If we weren't in formation by the end of the counting- push-ups! Our mephakedet told us her name only once so we would be able to find her in case of an emergency, but after that she was just "Hamephakedet." Everything we did followed an order and a loud, united "Ken hamephakedet!" or "yes commander!" in response to it.There was no standing, sitting, moving in formation without one. It was intense. Every command was also completely in Hebrew, so I was basically confused all of the time, but thankfully we had kids in our tzevet who would rotate translating our mephakedet's orders. The rest of the first day passed in grumpiness, running after the mephakedet, and five million sets of counting down to thirty seconds and assembling in "chets"- a Hebrew letter that looks like a semi-circle.
The next day was our day in the field...the long dreaded boot camp. We woke up at 5:30 and left in buses to go to a big open field/plain thing in the desert. We learned how to crawl, camouflage ourselves, build hidden shelters, and run from "rimonim," which literally means pomegranates but is the term the Tzahal uses for grenades. It ended up being fun, because we learned everything through games. I worried and worked out for nothing, but I did do 28 push-up sin a row at one point, so I guess that was a plus. Our tzevet made up cheers, snuck up on other tzevets to practice our rimonim-dodging, and covered our faces (and teeth!) in dirt. The fact that all of these things that we were learning and taking so lightly were actually vital to the survival of soldiers really disturbed me at many points during the day though. I had to keep telling myself that it wasn't that serious, but the whole thing felt strange. After our "training," our group finished the day with a "masa," or journey. We walked up hill to a water tower that overlooked the desert with the slogan "In the desert, the people of Israel will be tested" written on it, and discussed what the quote meant. Sde Boker, which is where the base is located, is actually beautiful. There are just huge sand dunes and rock cliffs everywhere, and we were high up enough to get an amazing view of the city, base, and nature surrounding it. All soldiers complete a masa at the end of their basic training, but theirs is a little different than what we did- they have three months of boot camp and their masas can be 35 miles long. Insane. If I lived in Israel, that would be in less than half a year, not to mention all 90 of the people I am with on this trip. It made me think-would we be ready to do that? Because here, it's not a question of readiness, or of wanting to go. It's the law.
After our first day of boot camp we had to start taking classes on how to shoot the guns. Guns are pretty uninteresting to me. The combination of the totally Hebrew classes occurring outside in the hot sun while I was in my long sleeved uniform lulled me to sleep time and time again, and this was pretty much the peak of my dislike for Gadna; time had never moved so slowly. Later that night, though, our mephakedet brought us to a spot outside with another incredible view of the desert while the sun was setting. She asked us to make a map of Israel out of stones, and then we discussed what Israel meant to us. It was a great conversation, and it was really nice to hear her open up about her perspective on Israel and the army, because she was only a few years older than us.
On the way back from the pleasant spot to dinner, I got sick. Miraculously (and thankfully) I woke up fine the next morning, because I would be darned if I didn't have the experience of shooting the gun after all of those classes. I wasn't exactly excited about firing the gun, but I felt like I needed to do it. After all, the point of Gadna is to see what it's like to be a soldier, and soldiers use guns. We went to the shooting range in the morning and took turns shooting. I was the first one done in my group because I just wanted to get it over with; it wasn't that bad, but I jumped with every shot. Thankfully, I didn't pee my pants. I was worried about that.
The afternoon was really interesting though. We met with our mephakedet to discuss how using the guns, which is the culmination of the week, went. The discussion was completely different than I thought it would be. It focused on what she called the "purity of the weapon." She emphasized that shooting shouldn't be fun but serious and that this is t aught to all soldiers, that the Tzahal was a defensive army and that Israel only uses guns because it needs to in order to survive, and that what makes the weapon "pure" is the intention and thought that goes into using it. Our group also went through many different scenarios that real soldiers have been put in and discussed what the ethical thing to do would be in these situations. Here's an example: you are a male soldier at a checkpoint with no one else around you. A pregnant Palestinian woman needs to get through because she is about to give birth. You need to check her, but you can't because you are a man and this is both a violation of her beliefs and army rules. What do you do? Well, this actually happened in real life, and it turns out that the soldier checked the woman and found that her pregnant belly was really a bomb. We argued and argued about this and other "hypothetical" scenes, but the scary thing is that again, if we lived in Israel, we would be the ones making those decisions in less than half a year. Despite the intensity of the discussion, I felt relieved and glad that we were talking about this kind of stuff. My weird feelings about the fake-war boot camp passed as I realized that Gadna is really about changng people's perspectives about the army, not propagating militarism or making a joke out of it. My positive view on the program was strengthened later that night as we had a talk with the head commander about Tzahal- she talked about how joining Tzahal is not as much about joining an army but about defending an idea- that of having a Jewish state and home.
The next day was our last, and after a closing ceremony at Ben Gurion's grave and giving back all of our army gear we met with our mephakedim one last time before leaving. It was so funny- our mephakedet miraculously became human, laughing with us, telling us her story, taking pictures with us- she even hugged us and gave us her email address! Again, it showed us another view of soldiers. I'm really glad we had the experience of Gadna; it sounds cheesy, but I really appreciate soldiers, and especially Tzahal, so much more now- it was an eye-opening couple of days.

As much as I gained from Gadna, I was more than happy to get back to a campus and relax for a few days before leaving for spring break. I spent Pesach with a friend's cousin in Tel Aviv, and it was so nice to be a part of a family temporarily for Seder. Other cool things about Pesach in Israel:
1. You know that part of the seder where they say "next year in Jerusalem?" Well, I wasn't in Jerusalem, but I was in Israel, so I think it counts!
2. So my friend Melanie and I were walking to Seder (we stayed with the grandparents of the cousins, and they live on the same street, which is adorable) and we were looking into everyone's windows and observing their family gatherings when Mel made an interesting observation. The Jews in Egypt had to put blood over their doors so that the plague of the first born would pass over them and so that their houses would be distinguished from those of the Egyptians. But here, everyone was Jewish, and everyone was having a Seder- literally. Pretty neat.
3. Israel has kosher for Passover bread. Even neater!
Anyways, after Pesach and hanging out for a day we went with my friend's family to the North. We met his cousins for a picnic on the beach at a boarding school that gives therapy to kids and tramautized soldiers. It sounds weird but the campus (and Northern Israel in general) is amazingly beautiful; it's green, flower-filled, and there's an ocean view. The school has horses that they also use for therapeutic purposes, and we were able to go for a horseback ride on the beach. So yeah, that was incredible. Later that night we went to an amazing Israeli barbecue with about 30 members of my friend's Israeli family- very warm, entertaining, and fun. The next day we went for an ATV tour of the countryside, which was just awesome. We passed through a national park as well and saw a lot of random wildlife in addition to the usual Israeli wildflowers. We also went to this really cool spice and tea market in the afternoon where most of the stuff is grown locally, and we went to lunch at a place famous for "hummus im basar," or hummus with meat. Best hummus I've ever had, and yeah...the restaurant was in a gas station. In Israel, that's acceptable, apparently. I love it.
We returned to Ramat Efal to the grandparent's house (their names are Yorem and Shoshi, and I can't say enough nice things about them- I felt like they were my actual family) which is right outside Tel Aviv, and that's where I spent the rest of the break. Tel Aviv is such a cool city. I really got to know it because we literally walked everywhere to avoid paying for cabs. Melanie and I walked for over 5 hours one night, just exploring, and we ended up seeing Yentl in Hebrew because we randomly stumbled upon a theatre while we were trying to find the Tel Aviv art museum. I couldn't understand that much, but I enjoyed the music and it was still a nice cultural experience. Other than that, we beached, we shopped, we shuk-ed, we ate. Basic vacation requirements, fulfilled.

The Past Two Weeks, Part III- Yad Vashem (scroll down for parts I & II)

2010-03-27T00:14:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that I had never been to a Holocaust museum before Yad Vashem, and that I was really nervous about going. Thursday morning we heard a Holocaust survivor speak, whose name I think was Hannah Gislar (she was a good friend of Anne Frank and wrote a book about her own life. I feel terrible but my bus arrived late and I missed hearing her introduction and name) and in the afternoon we went to the museum. Recently renovated and located just outside Jerusalem, it is truly an incredible monument and memorial. From the outside it appears to be a concrete triangle, and when you enter you start at one side and can see a little pyramid of light far at the other end. Every architectural feature is intentional; the walls are grey and unfinished and make you feel like you like the building is closing in on you. Guides take you back and forth from each side to different rooms, which discuss and display the chronological development of the Holocaust. It was a very factual tour at first; my European history knowledge was refreshed as I observed maps, pictures, and different types of propaganda from the beginning of the war. As we progressed through the rooms, however, I strayed from our tour to listen to videos of survivor's testimony. I only watched about 3 videos, and teared up at each. I think I have always subconciously avoided learning about the Holocaust because it is obviously incredibly difficult to hear about. But even worse for me at Yad Vashem was seeing evidence of the Holocaust's atrocities-actually looking at pictures and video of camps, emaciated people, mass killings, hangings, and public humiliation of Jews. Sadly, everything at the museum is real and the footage original to guard against Holocaust deniers. When I attended Jewish elementary school, and even at Weber, we were usually spared seeing horrifying and gory pictures, but here I made myself look at them; I had to. I guess I had to acknowledge to myself that these things happened, that people actually experienced this. The least I could do was to take it in and never forget what I saw (which is only the tiniest fraction of the awfulness that occured) so that it will never happen again, because what was hardest for me to come to terms with was that people- intelligent, emotional, sane human beings- stood by and actually photographed and videoed these acts. I know it isn't this simple, but I felt like they stood by and let the Holocaust happen.

At the end of the main museum we went to the Children's Memorial, which is housed separately on the property. It is a dark, circular room with a tape reading off the names, ages, and countries of origins of the document children who died in the Holocaust runs continuously. In the middle of the room is one lit candle, but on the walls and ceilings are hundreds of mirrors. The light bounces off of all of them and the bits of flame surround you like stars. The reflections seem infinite; each flame represening a separate child's life, each preserving a memory, each salvaging a spark of humanity and innocence from the blackness of the Holocaust. When you have walked completely around the circular path, you exit into a courtyard where you are welcomed by the view of Jerusalem. The Hebrew name for Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, can be broken into two parts: Yeru, which means to see, and Shalayim or Shalem, which can mean wholeness or peace. I emerged from the darkened room feeling grateful that the Jewish people had emerged from this period of darkness, and that Israel had emerged from it in a way as well. I looked down upon the sand-colored walls of Jerusalem, glimmering in the afternoon sun, a place radiating with light. I saw peace.

The Past Two Weeks, Part II (scroll down for Part I)

2010-03-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

We returned from our Shabbat well rested and excited to see our JDS friends on Sunday. In the afternoon we travelled to some natural hot springs which were a wee bit stinky, but it was nice to just hang out and catch up with everyone about their respective weekends. We travelled to Ginossar afterwards to a hotel with the best food ever- I would recommend it. After dinner, our group gathered in a conference room to hear a speaker. A traditional looking Orthdox man with a beard and black suit stood before us next to what appeared to be a wooden podium. His name is Noach Greenberg, and I am going to try and explain what he showed us (here is a little bit about him- I googled him and couldn't find much, but if you have a chance you should see one of his shtenders in your lifetime- http://www.bezalel-editions.net/noah.html).

Mr. Greenberg has been working on making an incredible, intricate, extraordinary shtender for the past 25 years of his life. We found out that the podium thing was the shtender- it's a wooden box that holds almost every traditional object necessary to carry out Jewish rituals throughout the day, week, month, and year, all hidden in different compartments. When I say every object, I mean every object, and that means that in this 4 foot tall treasure chest, hand- carved out of wood, was a siddur, tefillin box, candlesticks, kiddush cup, megillah, etrog box, lulav holder, seder plate, device to count the Omer, channukiah, tzedakah box, challah plate and knife, and more. The talk was more like a magic show as Mr. Greenberg pressed latches and revealed each thing one at a time to the gasps of our enraptured group. Seriously, this guy was good- it takes a lot to keep 120 kids quiet for more than an hour. Each piece was ornamented with an artistic inerpretation of one of the 7 fruits of Israel, a tangible translation of the beauty and traditions of Judaism. I really can't capture how amazing this thing was; I think you would have to see it. I heard from one of our teachers that the shtenders run at about $40,000, if that gives you any idea of the work that goes into them (Mr. Greenberg wouldn't tell us the actual cost, so this could be completely wrong, but I would say it was worth it).

On Monday morning went for a hike to a castle fortress. More lovely scenery and an epic encounter with a herd of goats, which we succesfully passed without harm (I am terrified of them- they have scary horns!). Our teacher told us a good story at the end, which I will relate to you now. It has a point, I promise:
Once upon a time there was a man named Yankeleh who lived in some Eastern European town, I forget which one. He was an average guy, poor, Jewish, wife and kids. One day he had a dream about a bridge- he didn't know where this bridge was located- but underneath it was a huge amount of gold. For some reason, even though it was just a dream, he felt compelled to find this bridge and hopefully the gold underneath it. He saved money for months so that his family would manage while he journeyed to find it, and begged his wife to let him go. She did, even though she thought he was crazy. He was gone for weeks, travelling and searching, and finally one day he found the bridge in his dream. Immediately he started digging like a madman, but some policemen saw him and thought he was a deranged homeless person, violating public property. They arrested him. They asked him his name and what he was doing, but Yankeleh was too scared and shocked to answer, so he was taken to the police station for questioning. The chief of police interrogated him upon his arrival, demanding answers. Poor innocent Yankeleh finally blurted out that he had dreamt about the bridge and was just trying to find it and the gold beneath it. The chief of police laughed, and replied "You crazy Jew! I had a dream that some man named Yankeleh had a pot of gold under his stove, imagine if I had gone looking for him!"
After being dismissed from the station and written off as a loony, Yankeleh immediately returned home and dug under his stove, only to find a chest of gold underneath it. He became a wealthy man and he and his family enjoyed health and prosperity.
The point of this story, our teacher told us, is that sometimes you have to go on a journey, to follow a dream, to find something you had all along. For me, I think coming to Israel is that journey; a more Jewish, spiritual side to myself that I never thought I had has been awakened by this country. Anyway, I liked the story.
In the afternoon we took a bus to the old and religious city of Tzfat. It is gorgeous. It reminded me of the Old City of Jerusalem, with all of the floor-to-ceiling white stone everywhere, but also of Greece- there are a lot of turqouise, intricate, curlicued iron doors and windows adorning the buildings and houses. Our teacher told us that the blue was to remind people of the ocean, which led them to think of the sky, which therefore made them think of heaven and G-d, serving as a reminder to aspire to a higher level of living. A nice thought. We went into an old Sephardic synagogue and then walked around the city to look at all of the beautiful art made by its residents. I drooled over lots of beautiful jewelry that I could appreciate but not afford, and ended up purchasing only a mint lemonade. At night we went to Afula for DOTS (dinner on the streets), which is the home of the best shwarma I have eaten so far.

Tuesday was Tel Aviv day. Our group started out in the old city of Yaffo, where Tel Aviv originated, and we discussed the city's founding. Ice cream at nine in the morning at a legendary shop followed a windy walk on the beautiful beach, and then we went to the Shuk, or market. It's like another world, an old world, removed from the bright streets of modern Tel Aviv, which has office buildings, a Renaissance hotel, and a kosher Burger King on its streets. The shuk is dark, crowded, humming with energy, a mix of incredibly fresh food, touristy crap, Israeli-looking clothing, and other random things; no one speaks English, and bargaining is not only permissible but the norm. I did a good bit of hankering for some great Israeli leather sandals, harem pants, handmade earrings, and pomegranate seeds (my favorite food). We then walked to the site of Rabin's assasination, which is smack in the middle of the city. We had a moment of silence for him, and seeing it reminded me that although Tel Aviv looks like any other city, its existence, and Israel's existence, was only made possible because of a lot of sacrifice. I said a silent thank you for everyting and everyone that has helped Israel survive.
At night we attended a really interesting play in which the majority of the cast was both blind and deaf, though some were only one or the other. It was a short play composed of different scenes from the cast's life, and it was very inspiring. Each cast member kneaded and baked a loaf of bread which baked throughout the play, appealing to smell- a sense they possessed. Not only did they share their experiences with us, but they invited the audience up afterwards to share their bread and talk to them. The director spoke about the play afterwards, and most of it was in Hebrew, but I think that this is the only blind and deaf touring cast in the world. Very cool.

I am currently living with about 120 other kids in dorms, and such close quarters lead to the spreading of germs. I was sick on Wednesday, and took the day off to sleep and consume lots of cold meds. Yum.

On Thursday, we went to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. I will talk about that in the next post.

The Past Two Weeks, Part I- Yokneam

2010-03-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

1. I am behind on my posts. I am starting where I left off (about 2 weeks ago) and working my way up. Additionally, the dates do not post correctly. It's really March 26.
2. For some strange reason, I can't respond to comments left on the blog! It may just be the Muss computers. So for those of you I know (Allison, Ari, Erin, Dana)- love you and miss you! And for those of you I don't know, thanks for your support and comments.

So. Two weeks ago. After our Weber afternoon, we boarded a bus to Yokneam, Atlanta's sister city in Israel. We were to be split up into pairs and assigned to host families. Having never stayed in a random person's house before, let alone one who didn't speak my language, I was a little nervous, but I cannot say enough good things about the people of Yokneam. We arrived at a park in the evening to meet the group of kids that would be hosting us and played a round of iniative games and got to know everyone. My friend Hannah and I stayed with a girl named Mor, who was basically the sweetest person ever. Her dad took us home and we went to bed at 9 (they keep us busy around here and we were exhausted). The next day we all went for a hike, and of course, it was absolutely beautiful- the usual rolling hills, agricultural fields, wildflowers, and blooming trees of Israel. It was so interesting to talk to all of the Yokneam kids during the walk, who were mostly our age, because they are about to go the army and we were about to go Gadna the next week (I will explain Gadna in a later post, but basically it's a program that all Israeli kids go on before the army, sort of like a mini- boot camp). Trying to communicate with our language barriers and hearing their different perspectives on life was really cool. We also went for an off-road Jeep ride that day, and I saw what Land Rovers are really supposed to be used for, to say the least. Afterwards, we all departed to our separate homes. Mor, Hannah, and I took a glorious 3 hour nap and then had Shabbat dinner. I have to describe the food, for my own memory's sake, because Friday night and Saturday may have been the most glorious two eating days of my life. I told my family it was like a marathon Thanksgiving dinner, but the reference was a little lost on non- Americans. Still, they served us whole fishes for appetizers, two types of roasted vegetables, meat, a Yemenite baked eggplant dish, potatoes, couscous, raw vegetables and salads, and chocolate cake for dessert- definitely a step up from Muss cafeteria food. Besides the food, my first Shabbat with an Israeli family was quite enjoyable. Dinner was savored and eaten slowly, lasting almost two hours, with plenty of time for conversation, laughter, and digestion in between courses. Afterwards, at around 10, we (the girls) walked for 30 minutes to a friend's house so all of the Weber and Yokneam kids could get together, because Mor's parents didn't drive on Shabbat. At first, the city girl inside of me was a little nervous about walking this long this late at night, but the streets were literally deserted, and Mor told me she did this all the time (I warned her not to in America). It was such a nice feeling- I felt safe and calm, and it was nice to be in fresh air and walk off my meal. It also made me appreciate my life in America a little bit more, because how often do I have to walk half an hour to see my friends? Anyway, we went to hang out with everyone and it was a lot of fun, and we walked back at around midnight with no qualms. Crazy.
Shabbat morning dissapeared into Shabbat afternoon; we woke up at around 11 to awesome meal number 2. The family, who has Yemenite roots, made us two traditional foods- jachnon and cubano. Cubano was like a savory couscous/bread casserole, and it sort of tasted like yeast. The jachnon, however, was a glorious fried-bread-phyllo-dough-esque roll that when eaten with tomato, zoog (a spice blend), and yogurt was absolutely delicious. Brunch was followed by family Rummikub playing, chatting, more food (yes, they fed us dessert after breakfast- traditional Jewish hospitality) and another walk to see Weber and Yokneam friends. Shabbat here was exactly as it was supposed to be- relaxing, free of work, and full of good company- and the cool thing was that the whole city was doing it, not just a select few families. But before we knew it Shabbat ended, and the whole group had a rather tearful goodbye as the Weber kids boarded the bus. I can't speak for everyone, but I think the majority of us felt that even though we had only known our Yokneam families for a few days, their hospitality and kindness made us feel like we were a part of their community. I hope these kids visit us in Atlanta and keep in touch, not only to fulfill the purpose of our city partnership, but because they and their families were wonderful people- I didn't know strangers could be so nice. You guys might not see this, but to the city of Yokneam, our host families, and program coordinators- a million thanks for a wonderful few days.

One Long Post and Thoughts About Pardeis

2010-03-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

Brace yourselves for one long post.
Sundays don't exist in Israel. After returning from Jerusalem, our group split up into different volunteer projects for the day, and my bus (Bus Krembo, named after some delicious Israeli equivalent of the Mallowmar) went....ORANGE PICKING. Ok, if you know me, you know I flipped out- I love that kind of thing. The organization we worked for was really cool- basically a man donated a bunch of fields and all of the produce in them goes to charity. It's called Shulchan L'Shulchan, or Table to Table. So yeah- beautiful sunny day, 5000 pounds of oranges picked and donated, enough said.
Monday we returned to Jerusalem and visited the Israel Museum, an outdoor model of the city as it would have looked during the time of the First Temple. It was really cool to see it from a bird's eye view and really see everything, because the Old City of Jerusalem, which we went to afterwards, is like a maze. The high stone walls and floors made are all the same color; there are no trees or flowers or open spaces in the heart of the city. It felt like a cocoon in a way that Israel feels like a cocoon to me-it feels safe. We drove to the South in the evening and went for a walk at sunset to a place I have a hard time describing. I've never been to the Grand Canyon, but I imagine the place we went would look like it. We're talking sand dune/cliff/mountains, layered in stripes of reds, browns, and oranges. Middle of nowhere. Vast. You can throw a rock off the side and hear it tumbling for a good minute or so. I hope that inaqequate description of one of the most beautiful places I have ever been will satisfy your imagination. We meditated at the top as the sun set and stars undiluted by city lights peeked out, and I think it gave all of us some much needed alone time.
We went to bed early because the next morning involved a 3:15 wake up to climbe Masada. The way up was fun and I was grateful not to be doing it in the heat of the day, despite my initial sleepiness and grumpiness. We spent a good 6 hours at the site, touring, discussing the Jew's choice to commit a mass suicide, and also having an interesting discussion about Mikvehs and practices of Orthodox Jewish courtship. I stayed awake for most of it. Before descending, our group shared a cool moment at the Southern fort as we shouted the Hebrew equivalent for "Masada will not happen again!" into the desert valley below us, and it echoed back perfectly. Very cool. A little eery.
In the afternoon we went to the Dead Sea, which was not as terrible as everyone hyped it up to be. Covered myself in mud, check. Floated and felt the strange density of the water, check. I experienced no tear-inducing burning, but I did lick the water and I wouldn't recommend doing that to anyone.
Wednesday was another awesome day involving a lot of caving and an archeological dig. I think the caves we visited housed Jews during the Bar Cochba rebellion while they were being persecuted by the Romans (I may be wrong on this one; I don't have my notebook with me). I cannot even imagine having to hide underground for that long or even go through the tiny tunnels we encountered. Our group shared a really cool moment at one of the caves as we sat in the main room, a place where people would have lived and studied Torah by candlelight. There is total silence and darkness; total nothingness. We sat for a minute taking it all in and listening to the quiet, and then we just sort of all spontaneously started singing a song that our Morah (teacher) taught us, a three part round/chant that I will try to upload at some point. This positive, beautiful sound filled the cave, and our Morah afterwards said that sometimes the past sings to you, but in that moment we sang to the past.
Thursday we went to Sippori. We walked around some ruins of beautiful mosaics and discussed how the Romans and Jews lived together. Afterwards we partook in an intense discussion about Gilad Shalit. Our Madrichim shared their personal opinions about the situation and their connections to Gilad. I started shaking while they spoke.
In the afternoon Weber and JDS split up to go spend Shabbat with their respective sister cities. Weber took a small Tiyul to the Maayan at Yashuv, or spring. We walked in beautiful flower filled meadows, took a dip in a natural spring, drank some Turkish coffee, and caught up with each other. It was a wonderful, chill, much-needed afternoon of Weberness.
Right before we boarded the bus to go to Yokneam for Shabbat, I stopped to pee with my friend Jason (and don't worry, we went in different directions). As I climbed down from my spot, I heard a strange sound emanating from the hills and fields below me. It was Muslim prayer. Jason and I were the only ones not on the bus, and we shared this moment of looking out at a valley containing no signs of humanity-just plants-with our arms around each other, looking at the view below us and listening, losing ourselves to the place we were in.

My second week in Israel is coming to an end. I am falling more in love with this country with each day. While picking oranges on Sunday with my friends and our teacher, our group got to talking about the story of Pardeis. I may not be getting all the details right, but the story basically involves 4 Rabbis going into paradise, or Pardeis, and only one of them making it out (Rabbi Akiva) because they weren'temotionally prepared for going or for leaving.
I know Israel is not perfect. I know I am on a tour and being selectively shown the good parts of this country. But for me, Israel is a Pardeis, and I am wondering how prepared I will be to leave this country and this trip because I do not even know if I was prepared to come. I cannot speak Hebrew, I cannot daven at an Orthodox synagogue without guidance from the person next to me, I am unfamiliar with the stories and Mishnot our Morim share with us. I know this is my own faulty, but I just never expected to feel the connection with Judaism and Israel that I am experiencing. In a way, I feel spiritually excluded from my own relgion and people here because of my lack of knowledge. I never thought I would say this, but I want to learn Hebrew and continue my Jewish studies in college. It's so weird. When I came to Israel, one of our teachers greeted me not with "Welcome" but "Welcome home." I may not ever make Israel my physical home, but the next time I come, which I hope I will be able to do, I want to feel at home with Israel's language, customs, and people- I want to be prepared to make the most of this Pardeis.

Jerusalem, If I Forget You...

2010-03-07T09:49:00.000-08:00

Drive into Jerusalem in a really tall bus, so you can see everything embedded in the hills around you, and listen to the song "Jerusalem" by Matisyahu:

Jerusalem, if I forget you, fire not gonna come from me tongue. Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do.
In the ancient days, we will return with no delay/Picking up the bounty and the spoils on our way/We've been traveling from state to state/And them don't understand what they say/3,000 years with no place to be/And they want me to give up my milk and honey/Don't you see, it's not about the land or the sea/Not the country but the dwelling of his majesty
[chorus]
Rebuild the temple and the crown of glory/Years gone by, about sixty/Burn in the oven in this century/And the gas tried to choke, but it couldn't choke me/I will not lie down, I will not fall asleep/They come overseas, yes they're trying to be free /Erase the demons out of our memory/Change your name and your identity/Afraid of the truth and our dark history/Why is everybody always chasing we/Cut off the roots of your family tree/Don't you know that's not the way to be
[chorus]
Caught up in these ways, and the worlds gone craze/Don't you know it's just a phase/Case of the Simon says/If I forget the truth then my words won't penetrate/Babylon burning in the place, can't see through the haze/Chop down all of them dirty ways,/That's the price that you pay for selling lies to the youth/No way, not ok, oh no way, not ok, hey/Aint no one gonna break my stride/Aint no one gonna pull me down/Oh no, I got to keep on moving/Stay alive
Jerusalem, if I forget you, fire not gonna come from me tongue. Jerusalem, if I forget you,let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do.

You will cry. I did.

Random emotional-ness round 2 came at the Kotel that night; as soon as I stepped onto the women's side, my friend Chelsea and I lost it. Needless to say we recieved many concerned looks, but I cannot even describe to you the power of seeing hundreds of people united under the Jerusalem sky as a praying, swaying, unified mass of Jewishness, a humming ball of energy focused towards this one rock wall. I think what brought the tears on for me was seeing a group of female Israeli soldiers dancing and singing in a circle with so much Ruach- these women fight for what the Kotel stands for; they fight for my religion, they are willing to die for it. That was a scary thought. The other thing that scared me was the fact that I have no idea how much longer the Kotel will be there. I learned yesterday that the same day we went there were riots and rocks thrown over the wall. I am so glad I was able to go in peace and experience that moment. Using my excellent maneuvering skills acquired from attending many concerts and being short, I eventually pushed to the front of the crowd. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the cool rock that absorbed so many thoughts before mine and meditated for a good long while. I said the Amidah and walked backwards away from the wall, a custom I really liked. I didn't want to turn away from it, I didn't want to leave; I never want to forget that image of the Kotel on Shabbat.

Anachnu B' Yisrael.Ayn Baayot.

2010-03-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

Anachnu b'Yisrael. Ayn Baayot.

We are in Israel. There are no problems.

This is the mantra for our trip, or my trip at least. Remember how I talked about about having no expectations? I kinda lied. I thought Israel would be a desert. Instead, our campus is dripping with hibiscus, lantana, and wildflowers, and there are fruit trees dotting (if not overtaking) every landscape I view from the bus window. Israel is beautiful. Our campus, Alexander Muss High School in Israel, is beautiful. This school serves as a local high school for the nearby town of Hod Ha'Sharon, a boarding school for Israelis, and a home for about ten other programs like Weber's-there are even a group of Budakhan warriors staying here. The feeling of being surrounded by youth is a little unnerving. I guess this is what college will be like, but it's hard to describe-there's such a different vibe here. It's relaxed and energetic at the same time.

So we got in on Monday after a lovely twelve or so hour flight in which an Israeli woman with a baby got into a screaming fight with the flight attendant, who threatened to stop the plane and kick her off because she was apparently illegally housing her baby in a basinet during turbulence. Yep, my first taste of Israel. Anyway, once we arrived we settled into our dorms, which are very nice. For those of you who don't know, I went to a semester school called the Outdoor Academy for 3 months during the first semester of my sophomore year, and that meant three months of living in a wooden cabin with no air conditioning or heat. Muss is definitely a step up. For all the worried relatives out there (mainly my parents), the food is also good. I eat hummus, cucumbers, raw peppers, and cottage cheese for every meal. I'm happy.

There are about 85 other kids from JDS in Maryland who do this three month program with us, and they arrived the day after we did at 5 a.m. from a harrowing week in Poland. Our first day together consisted of orientation session after orientation session and occasional dozing off, but everyone quickly woke up after a delicious dinner of traditional Israeli food and the most intense dance party I have ever experienced. These kids are a lot of fun; I think we make a great group.

The next day we took a quick tour of Hod Ha'Sharon, which is pretty cute. In the afternoon we took our first Tiyul, which means trip, to Tel Gezer. We took a short walk to the top of a hill with an incredible view and also stopped by Solomon's Gate. Everywhere we went was also blanketed with yellow wildflowers, a definite plus.
Today we went to Har Gilboa and Sachne. Well, we climbed down Har Gilboa, which was slippery but a lot of fun-thank you REI for my wonderful new hiking boots. A lot happened in the Jezriel valley below (and the view was amazing) including the stories of a bunch of famous battles which I am not going to list at the moment. After we went to Sachne, some famous hot springs.
That's about it. Tomorrow we go to Jerusalem for Shabbat, and I can't wait. Israel so far is an amazing country, and I've only seen...3 places? Well, another update next week!

p.s.- first real shwarma today (:

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

2010-02-27T21:26:00.000-08:00

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!

5 days and counting.

2010-02-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

Like the title says- t-minus 5 days, folks. I will post my itinerary and contact information soon!

On another note, this is my first post. I feel slightly square-ish for hopping on the blog bandwagon, and even more square-ish because I am technologically challenged and have no idea how to work this.
However, finding the "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Quotes" gadget made me quite happy, and if you look to the right hand side of the page you too can enjoy some good ole HP witticisms, words of wisdom, and literary gems. Hey, this is what would keep me coming back to a webpage...