Right now I'm lying on the couch in a comfy, hoodie sweatshirt, sipping a hot, fresh mint tea (my drink of choice in Israel), wrapped up in a blanket. I have several candles going, the blinds of my huge living room window are open so I can see Jerusalem on this chilly, dreary, rainy day, and the Shabbat siren just sounded. This weather calls for a total VEG day of couching and watching bad TV and movies. I've got the couch part down pretty well...
It was another busy week here at HUC in Jerusalem! Last Thursday was our Haifa/Tzfat trip. We started the day in Haifa at the Leo Baeck school, the only Progressive/Reform Jewish school in Israel. It is grades K – 12, but they are just starting to introduce progressive Judaism into the elementary school. They will add another grade each year to the program. We spent the morning learning about the school, their ideals, and the various programs they offer. We sat in on their morning prayer service- it was awesome to see a room full of Israeli elementary children singing the Reform Jewish prayers/songs that we all grew up with and sang in camps. We also spoke to the principal of the school, as well as a panel of 4 high school students from the gifted program about their Jewish identity, community service projects, and academic life at school.
Educational and Religious principles which the new Reform Elementary School is based upon:
1. to create a religious alternative for secular people, and not just a cultural alternative to secular society
2. the major language is Jewish, meaning the framework for each day and week reflect creative Jewish values and action.
3. School will take full responsibility for the spiritual growth of the pupils and teachers, in addition to their intellectual, emotional, and social growth.
4. Method and essence of study to be in a Beit Midrash form, meaning an ongoing conversation between the pupils, teachers, and text.
5. The essential religious principles that appear in the bible and change for and content from generation to generation are still relevant, and can provide deep meaning to modern secular society.: Existence of God, reward and punishment, and Torah from "heaven."
I have said this before but I'll say it again- in Israel, you don't have to work at being Jewish. The majority of the people are Jewish, the language is Hebrew, and Shabbat is observed in one way or another (obviously to a greater extent in Jerusalem) all over the country. However, MOST Israelis identify themselves as observant (meaning religious or orthodox) or secular, meaning non-religious. There is no inbetween--it's one or the other. EXCEPT, the very very few progressive (Reform) congregations that are slowly gaining recognition in Israel. HOWEVER, there are many "secular Israelis," who are not secular by my standards. They eat a Shabbat meal together, light the candles, say the blessings. They celebrate Jewish holidays and go to synagogue on Yom Kippur. This is not so different from your average Reform Jew in the United States.
The funniest thing to me are the Israelis who grew up in a "secular" family in Israel, and found Reform Judaism through Diaspora Jews or visits to the U.S. These experiences proved to, Ofek, the principal of the school, that there is a deep need for religious experiences in Israel. He says the challenge is to integrate the Jewish language into secular Israeli family life and to create the deep understanding that not only does it not contradict their modern, secular way of life, it enhances it.
He goes on to say that right now Israel is in a unique situation: disappointment with the government, frustration with the peace process, the fact that the modern, materially comfortable existence does not necessarily guarantee a meaningful life, are driving increasing numbers of Israelis towards a search for spirituality and meaning.
The Reform Movement could be huge here. But there are problems. One- money. The government recognized and provides funds only for orthodox synagogues and schools. Without money, it is very hard to expand the movement here. And two- how do you get them in the door? In the U.S. it's easy to hook a family on Reform Judaism--parents send their kids to religious school and Jewish camps to meet Jewish friends, a nice Jewish boy, a Jewish experience, to become more aware of their heritage and roots. Then the parents become active because of their kids and the whole family is involved. Then the cycle starts over again. Here, the kids are all Jewish, they are only going to be meeting Jewish kids at school and Jewish dates, and they are certainly aware of their heritage and roots living in Israel! Even in secular schools, they study the bible! So how do you hook them? Some of the kids get hooked by visiting the States on an exchange program and visiting a camp in the summer. But there has to be more than that. This Reform school is a good start- it will infuse these kids with a sense of religion, Jewish identity, and leadership responsibility, and hopefully, in 20 years, we'll see a much more developed presence of Reform Judaism in Israel.
Next, we continued on to Tzfat, the ancient, mystical city. We divided into two groups and spent time with 2 former American Kabbalah artists who have been living in Tzfat for thirty years. The artwork was very cool--tons of symbolism, circles, and hidden religious meaning. I bought a few prints so I could remember our visit to his studio...we had some free time to walk around and browse in and out of the amazing art galleries. We also stopped at the famous, Tzfat candle company,
http://www.safedcandles.com/site/default.aspIronically, the candle company building recently BURNED DOWN. Can you believe that? Electrical shortage or something...so they are now looated in a temporary building next door...Must have been one gorgeous fire...
After Tzfat, we stopped in Tiberias for dinner on our way back to Jerusalem. The class split into two groups. Half of us went to Decks, and the other half to Pagoda, known as being the best Chinese food in Israel. Chinese food in Israel (best or not) does not sound appetizing to me, so I chose Decks. It's a huge restaurant overlooking the Sea of Galilee, famous for it's awesome BBQ. Chicken, fish, meat, sweet potatoes- you name it, they grill it. We ate like Kings starting with an AWESOME blue fin tuna carpaccio- YUM. They even made us apple cinnamon crepes at the table on the house!
Tzfat art gallery
elementary school service
high school art work
values at LB school
tree of life
It was a great tiyul, and very nice to be out of Jerusalem for the day.
Last Friday, Ari and I (and Jaclyn came along to check it out), went to Tzur Hadassah for our community service project. We led services at Elwyn and then Tzur Hadassah. We had dinner with one of the families in the congregation and their 2 very rambunctious kids.
Saturday night, Jaclyn and I headed to Tel Aviv to see the first opera of the season, Salome by Richard Strauss. It was a terrible production and did not make me want to run out to see Salome ever again. Not great singing, terrible stage direction, pitiful set and costumes. No redeeming qualities...however, we still had a nice night--it's such an easy 1 hour sheirut (shared taxi) ride away, and it's always fun to be in Tel Aviv. Here's hoping the next opera will be better!!!!
Tzfat- couple I bought my pomegranate painting from in June!!!!
candle company in Szfat
art in Szfat
art
Kabbalah art
Israel Seminar on Wednesday was pretty cool- it was all about the evolution of media in Israel. We had a speaker in the morning about television in Israel- its beginnings and its impact on the society. Then in the afternoon, we visited a high-tech company called Numonyx that manufactures computer chips. They make memory cards for phones, mp3 players, digital cameras, computers, and other high-tech equipment. It used to be an Intel factory, but they merged, and now Numonyx has been up and running for about 8 months. They are the third largest in size in their category. Samsung is #1. We got to go to "the clean room," where the chips are made. It was pretty bizarre- almost like being in a memory chip Willy Wonka facotry- we were staring into the glass windows, looking at the oompa loompa like workers covered in protective white suits and goggles from head to toe.
It's interesting to think about Israel in the beginning- it was a poor country that developed the idea of the New Jew- a strong laborer, and now look how many high-tech companies have some form of headquarters in Israel. It's an interesting progression...We spoke with 4 men in top positions about the effects that Israeli society has on the company. How it is different to take a high tech industry such as this and place it in Kiriat Gat, established in 1955 as a development town. It is possible to have a disciplined industry such as this one mixed with Israeli culture, although, the culture is different in Israel. Therefore, the way in which they reach their ultimate goal is different. Israelis are direct and very verbal and this affects the business. One man told us that when business clients from out of the country come to meetings they think the Israelis are all fighting with one another. That's their way of talking! But at the end of the day, the Israeli and the non-Israeli are reaching the same ultimate goal. They just take a different route to get there.
Lisa, Jimmy, Leslie T-giving
Sarah and Leslie
Leslie and Jaclyn
gang
Foooood
Gavin and his turkey carcass
service at Elwyn
Deck's in Tiberias
Luanne and Leslie
Adam eating drumstick
Last night we had a HUGE Thanksgiving feast at school organized by yours truly. There were about 60 of us, 4 massive turkeys, and enough delicious food to feed an army- it was awesome. It was so great to all be together, celebrating as a community. I made acorn squash and brown sugar glazed carrots. 2 of my classmates did a presentation on hunger and they collected canned food for a shelter in Jerusalem and raised money to send to the food kitchen at HUC in New York. Joel did a cute "giving thanks" program- everyone wrote something they were thankful for anonymously on a piece of paper and put it in a basket. We passed around the basket and each person read out one of the slips while everyone guessed who wrote it. We got 95% of them right even before the person finished reading the first few words. It was pretty funny. I didn't even realize that I abbreviated J'lem and T-giving, so mine was a dead give-away. Ha ha. Everything was perfect- it was a phenomenal night.
In other random news, the new seasonal fruits are strawberries (it's about time!!!), clementines, grapefruit, and persimmons. I was really starting to miss strawberries...Celery is also apparently in season now which is very exciting because for the last 5.5 months, I couldn't buy celery.
I think there were a few other things I wanted to write about, but it's not coming to me now because I'm too tired...So maybe a posting tomorrow if I have time, between my bike ride and homework.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all!!
and, Shabbat Shalom!
-Leslie
