TBD Israel Trip 2012: Day 3

OK, so the theme of the trip is "Israel Through the Arts" but at it's core I wanted the trip to be as hands on as possible - especially if we could do something real to make a difference in the lives of israelis in need. This morning we are off to Rehovot to volunteer with Project Leket. Leket comes from the Torah's command to farmers to leave produce in the fields for the stranger, poor, widow and orphan. Project Leket works with Israeli farmers who allow volunteers to glean their fields for the hungry. This morning we are picking onions, yep, onions. They will be distributed today to the food pantries. We seem to have a knack for picking as we picked 800 kilos of onions which will feed 250 families! Great job TBDer's!

Stopped for lunch at Aroma's, a fresh coffee shop/sandwich place- not much unlike Starbucks. Although I think I will pass on onion rings or anything with onions for a while.

Getting dirty and connecting with the earth is good for the soul. With that in mind we are going to dig for a day in Beit Guvrin. Beit Guvrin is an important tel holding thousands of years of history layer by layer. First we climbed down into one of the underground caves where the Edomites kept their workshops. Much cooler underground. David out archeologist gives us a quick tutorial on how to use the pick and shovel, what is just a rock and what is a find. Miriam digs and immediately finds a huge piece of a jug. Beginners luck! Whoa! I found a handle to something, some charcoal, and a bone.
After digging and sorting into pails - we begin a bucket brigade with all of the earth we dug up. Excavating rule #1 bring up everything. We are now sifting through each bucket of what we thought was just plain dirt. Nope Marcy found a fossilized olive pit and a bone! Very cool.

Now David offers to take us on an Indiana Jones exploration into a recently found underground cave complex. Some opt for the olive press tour but there's no way I'm missing this opportunity. First, we have to crawl through a small entry that is lit by candles. Then we have to crab walk, slide, slither, twist, lower, and pray our way through a very tight maze of barely excavated chambers and caves. Along the way we find a columbarium (carved niches to raise pigeons) and finally at the end a water cistern. Note to self: I am not Indiana Jones.

Whew! Pretty exhausted from the digging and exploring. Finally, heading to Jerusalem to check in to the Dan Panorama. Now off to Little Italy restaurant for a delicious Italian meal. Belissimo! Really recommend this place the food is outstanding.

Ah, Jerusalem city of old, city of gold. Tonight we are heading to the Western Wall Tunnels. Most people think the Wall is only the part they see but actually the wall runs through the Muslim quarter as well. We are off underground to explore. Herod the Great built a platform for the Temple Mount over the mountain in order to level it. The Western Wall is a part of that super-structure. And SUPER it is. One stone stretched an amazing distance ans each stone is so thick that it holds back a tremendous amount of pressure. Each level is set back an inch or two to make the wall seem flat. A street with shops runs along the parallel distance, while a main bridge(represented by a huge arch) connected the upper city to the Temple Mount. (Outside Robinson's Arch had a stairway up at the Southern end) Today's Muslim Quarter is actually built on stilts(columns). I am amazed how such a magnificent structure could have been built without hydraulics and huge mechanized machines. Truly remarkable.

Tonight there is a light show throughout the Old City, it is spectacular. I love being back in Jerusalem. I feel as if I'm somehow home.

TBD Israel Trip 2012: Day 2

For those of us who love the theatre- this morning we had the chance to meet an incredible group of students who are studying acting at the Goodman School of Acting in Beersheva. One of the things that impressed me most was how as part of their studies they work in the community with children at risk, the disabled, and bring contemporary societal issues to the fore through their art. It is truly a family of the arts and community.

Now we are off to the museum of the Negev and Beersheva. To imagine only four Turkish buildings in 1900 which comprised the city- to today with its university, Saroka medical center, fountains and modern high rises is an incredible achievement. The vitality and vision of a beautiful city from nothing short of impressive.

Leaving Beersheva we are heading South into the Negev on our way to one of the natural wonders of Israel machshe Ramon (mitzpeh Ramon crater). Like the Grand Canyon, Machshe Ramon was hollowed out over millions of years. It is a breathtaking site to see a place filled with awe. We recited the blessing- God who continually renews creation.

Then we got to do a little "creating" of our own with a hands on mudbrick building workshop. Everyone built bricks and Miriam & Mordechai even got to construct an arch out of mudbricks and mortar (charoset anyone?).

Finally after a quick wash and change of clothes we met my friend Rabbi Mauricio Balter of Congregation Eshel Avraham (Abraham's Tamarisk Tree) for a wonderful homemade dinner and Ma'ariv service. The community is so welcoming and active that the city of Beersheva has asked them to open more preschools and to engage in even more outreach. Proud to be a Conservative/Masorti Jew advocating for a non-coercive pluralistic Judaism.
On our way home we got to see the beautiful fountain lights throughout Beersheva - what a fitting finish to a jewel of the Negev.

TBD Israel Trip 2012: Day 1

Grounds of Ben Gurion University

Mayor of Beersheva Ruvik Danilovich

It is hard to imagine starting our trip any better! The word that sums up the day was- GOOD. Good flights, good food, Goodman family and most important good people. Got the VIP treatment in Beersheva thanks to the vision, support and love of Larry Goodman and his family in helping build the city of Beersheva. Toured Ben Gurion University, where the vision is really to integrate social justice, community outreach and top notch learning to build the Negev and Israel.

Then had the privilege to meet the Mayor of Beersheva who shared his enthusiastic vision for Beersheva and the Negev. He is young, bright and not only a dreamer but a doer.

Goodman Bat-Dor Dancers "Checking Status on Facebook"

I could never imagine being blown away by interpretive dance but at the Goodman Bat-Dor Dance School, that's just what happened. We witnessed a rehearsal and private performance of "Facebook Status" an interpretive dance. Wow! Unreal!

TBDer's in Lakiya Bedouin Tent

On to Lakiya a Bedouin village where through women's embroidery, small steps to culture change and the path to women's rights has begun. It was difficult to hear and see the plight of women stuck in the past but also inspiring to witness their resolute courage to begin changing their future.

Perez/Martinez Family in Beersheva

Ended the day in an extraordinary way by sharing dinner with the whole Martinez/Peretz family. It was great to see them and hear the next chapter in their incredible lives. Stay tuned with pictures to follow. Shalom v'l'hitraot!

A Tale of Two Memorial Days

This coming Monday is memorial day - a day to remember the men and women who gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice for our country. It is also Shavuot - The Feast of Weeks, when we recall receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Traditionally we recite Yizkor - a service of memory for those who have passed on in our lives. It is hard not to think of the confluence of these two days but, especially how both of them are in danger of disappearing from most American Jews consciousness, let alone practice.

At the heart of it, both Memorial Day and Shavout should be about the shared communal experience and its larger connection to our country, our people and our lives. Yet, when most people think of Memorial Day, they think about the pool, or the beach, a BBQ, and sales, sales, sales! And when asked what Shavuot is about?, either a look of confusion or "oh, yeah isn't that the holiday with cheesecake."

We forget that for some families, Memorial Day is an incredibly difficult day as they recall a life cut short, a dad not able to see his children grow up, or a brother and son no longer around the holiday table. Somehow this aspect of the holiday is relegated to those families alone, a private mourning, a private pain. Contrast this to Yom haZikaron in Israel, where a siren goes off and a whole country comes to a standstill. Where people whether they had someone close to them or not still mourn, recall and comfort those that did. Names are read, cemeteries are visited, prayers are offered - it is part of the communal psyche, part of the essence of what it means to be an Israeli, a people, and a Jew.

For Shavuot, the entire holiday is centered on the idea of community. Unlike so many other traditions, God's revelation wasn't made to an individual or a small group of special people but rather, the entire Jewish people was witness to it. Men, women and children together stood at Sinai and accepted upon themselves the covenant and received the Torah. In later times, the first fruits of the land were brought to the Temple in Jerusalem and each person recited the communal history of how our people started with Abraham, became slaves in Egypt and eventually were saved by God, brought to the Promised Land and today stand grateful for all of God's blessings and bounty. It was a connection to country, people, faith and how these were an integral part of their identity and their lives. Shavuot is about stand to hear the Ten Commandments read and saying together that we will accept the responsibility of this Torah and renew it for us and for the future. We are the Jewish people, we are in this together!

Yizkor reminds us of the debt we owe to those who came before us, raised us, loved us, guided us.  Their lives were not in vain and their values are a part of who we are, and who we strive to be. We remember those who perished in the Shoah (Holocaust), those who gave their lives over the centuries so that we could be Jews today. We recall the blessings of those who touched our lives and our communities by building synagogues, helping those in need, establishing and sustaining our communities, and passing down the tradition to us l'dor vador (from generation to generation). It is personal but it is also communal. Indeed the Mourner's Kaddish must be said in the context of at least a minyan (10 people= the smallest divisible number of community).

So this year Memorial Day and Yizkor on Shavuot coincide. It is not out of guilt or shame, but out of honor, respect, love, that I hope we recall our communal covenant with each other both as Americans and as Jews. It is why I think these days are so important to us as a community and why at their core they are essential for us as individuals. Together let us remember, and rededicate ourselves to their memories and our collective communities. Let us renew our Covenant of Community.

Moadim L'Simcha - Happy Holiday!

Will You Still Need Me... When I'm 64! Yom Ha'atzmaut 5772

Today Israel turns 64 years old and this is no small birthday. I am continually amazed at how a place so ancient on the one hand is yet so vital and modern on the other. How values we have held as Jews for centuries can be put into practice in building our homeland and improving the world. Now I know Israel isn't perfect but hey show me someone or someplace that is! As a lover of Israel and our people, I can't help beam with pride at how this small country the size of New Jersey (my home state) has in the face of adversity since it's founding built a vibrant, successful, democratic nation out of Jewish immigrants from across the world and from all walks of life. Never in the history of humanity has a people brought a language back from the brink of death, and a land from desert to fertility. Through sheer hard work, ingenuity and imagination Israelis have built a model state which is the envy of countries far beyond their years of existence. It is often said that age is a frame of mind. For our homeland which is steeped in such ancient history and filled with a spiritual presence unlike any other place in the world, Israel is young at heart and filled with life. I believe we need Israel more than ever and Israel needs us. So here's to 64 years of miracles! But don't only take my word for it. Check out Israel's many accomplishments and blessings to the world at: www.Israel21c.org. As we say when we return the Torah to ark, "Help us turn to You, Adonai, and we shall return. Renew our lives as in days of old." May God continue to bless the miracle that is the State of Israel, and may our people continue to make the old, new and the new, great! Chag Sameach!

B'chol Dor Va'Dor - In each generation

Maybe because Spring is such a hopeful time, a moment of rebirth and dream optimism. Maybe because Passover (Pesach) is my favorite holiday. Whatever the reason, I am deeply moved once again by a line in the Haggadah that says, "In each generation, every individual should feel as though he or she had actually been redeemed from Mitzrayim" (Mitzrayim means Egypt but also means a restricted, narrow or difficult place, ie. between a rock and a hard place - tzuris shares the same Hebrew root).  I believe this statement is profound on a number of levels but in particular in stressing how important it is to be able to feel a sense of ownership of our tradition and it's story. Each of us is an important part of the larger fabric of the Jewish people and our history, but also each of us as individuals can find personal meaning in the story of moving from slavery to freedom, from that hard place to a better place in our lives. Whether it is fighting and surviving cancer, grappling with what to do about elderly parents, trying to stay afloat financially, or dealing with the ups and downs of relationships -no matter the difficult situation or challenge, our faith can give us the tools and support needed to find the courage, inspiration, love and hope to overcome whatever holds us back. I find that Pesach gives me the chance to look beyond the tzuris, count the blessings God has given me, and to look forward to breaking the chains of those things which limit or diminish me. It helps me realize the potential inside myself, and recognize where I am in the journey of freedom. A freedom journey, which is about using our precious days to better our personal lives, our families, and that of our larger community. Understood in this way, b'chol dor va'dor (in each generation) we can honestly tell our children and grandchildren, this is what God, the Eternal One did for me when I went forth from Mitzrayim. May God's love and guidance strengthen all of us as we march forward to freedom. Chag Sameach!

A Leap Of Time

Observed fact: More teens look at their phones to tell time than at their watches (if they even have on a watch). Telling time and time itself has always gone through subjective changes. The Jewish day starts at sunset because it says in the story of Creation, "It was evening, it was morning day X". The secular day starts at 12:00 a.m. or midnight (which to me doesn't really make sense). How we tell time has been influenced by many things. In Britian and America in the mid to late 1800's for example, the railroad revolutionized time with "time zones" and helped to foster standardized times for the whole country. People would set their clocks and watches to match the railroad's time instead of using each town or village's time. Whether it is told with a wind-up watch, a cellphone or the atomic clock, time has always been something humans measure but are never masters of. Our Jewish poets and liturgist understood it so well, namely that God is the Master of the Infinite of time and space, and we can for a moment be part of this amazing journey called life. What we make of this precious gift is how we treat each other, partner to make this world better, and stop (Shabbat) to become more aware of just how blessed we truly are. I am grateful for the leap day today. One more day of February, one more day to say thank you for family, friends, and life. Baruch Adonai, Yom Yom!