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Marcia
Cohen, Education Director
Chicago, IL
"What I Did on my Summer Vacation……………"
Many
of us remember being asked to write such an essay when we
started school each September. Somehow all the fun times we
had in July and August never seemed quite as memorable when
it was reduced to a composition for English class. For now,
I will try to put my classroom angst aside, as I have just
returned from a remarkable two week Melton Israel Seminar,
and I am anxious to share some of my thoughts and experiences
with the Congregation.
For
the past two years I have spent every Thursday morning studying
the intricacies of the Jewish calendar and holidays, history,
ideology, and ethics as part of the Florence Melton Adult
Mini-School for Teachers, a project of the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, which is sponsored locally by the Board of Jewish
Education (BJE). The Israel Seminar is designed for graduates
of the Melton program, and thus is not a typical bus touring
trip of the country. This was made clear to us at our opening
night dinner at Hebrew University when our group educator
told us "You are not tourists. You are going to learn
about the land and its people. It's not going to be glossed
over and put in a pretty package." Thus began our 12
days of study, travel, interviews, lectures, debates (and
of course some time to bolster the Israeli economy with shopping
purchases of Judaica and jewelry!)
Here
is a brief outline of what I found to be the most memorable
parts of the Seminar:
o Visiting Independence Hall in Tel Aviv and hearing
about the events leading up to David Ben Gurion's proclamation
of Israel as an independent country on May 14, 1948. (While
I have shown video clips of this speech in Family School,
it was so much more powerful to be in the actual spot where
it occurred and to hear a tape of those very words, and
then standing together as we all sang "Hatikva.")
o
Visiting Masada and analyzing the choices the Jewish
zealots made in the year 73 when fighting against the
Romans. At the time of our visit there was a group of soldiers
on Masada who had just completed their 8 months of basic
training and were preparing for their formal induction ceremony
on top of Masada. Their commanding officer spoke with us
and shared his thoughts that the decision made by the Jews
on Masada in 73C.E. is not altogether different than what
he might face as a soldier if he is caught in a situation
totally surrounded by the enemy. Will he command his troops
to "fight to the death," to surrender, or consider
other options as the ancient Jews did on Masada? The afternoon
on Masada was even more emotional for me, as I recognized
my cousin Tzachi as one of the new soldiers. Although Tzachi
was born in Israel, he grew up in Chicago, and our families
have spent every Rosh Hashanah and Passover seder together
for the past 12 years. Tzachi made the decision last summer
(at age 22) to return to Israel for his adult life. The
coincidence that I happened to be on Masada at the same
time that he was there for army induction really made me
appreciate the unity of the Jewish people and how we are
all linked to the country and land.
o
Listening to a debate between two Israelis regarding
the government's decision on disengagement from Gaza and
the West Bank. We had dinner with 2 Israelis - one is
a settler living outside the green line who opposes the
government's plan to pull out of Gaza, and the other lives
within the established borders of Israel who feels that
we must let the Palestinians establish their own state in
order to promote peace in Israel, and to keep Israel a Jewish
country. It was fascinating to hear their very different
opinions on the disengagement. It is an issue that has really
split the country and has no easy solution.
o
Interviewing Israelis in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem -
On a Thursday afternoon we were sent out on the streets
of Tel Aviv to interview Israelis as to whether they thought
Tel Aviv was a Jewish city. Unlike what we would expect
in America, Israelis were very willing to talk to strangers
who approached them on the street. The answers we received
to our interview questions were also surprising. Most replied
that "Yes," Tel Aviv was a Jewish city since it
was in Israel, and Israel is a Jewish state. They didn't
pinpoint an observance of Shabbat, holidays, kashrut, or
Jewish traditions as making the city Jewish, just that Jewish
people lived there.
On
Friday morning (erev Shabbat), just when we thought our
experience approaching strangers was completed, our Melton
Seminar teachers had yet another outing planned for us:
Working in groups of 2 or 3 people, we were sent out to
neighborhoods all over Jerusalem and asked to knock on doors
and try to get invited inside to interview the families.
Fortunately, my group was successful at the first apartment
building we tried. A 53-year old woman who emigrated from
Sweden to Israel as a teenager in 1966 invited us into her
home. She said that as a daughter of Holocaust survivors
she felt that she needed to come to Israel and make her
home there. We spent close to 1½ hours speaking with her
and her college-age son about Israeli politics, the disengagement,
and their observance of Jewish traditions. This was certainly
a lesson that could never be taught in a classroom or with
textbooks!
o
Shabbat in Jerusalem is unlike any other place in
the world. It's as if the whole city looks forward to Shabbat,
and when it arrives everything stops and becomes holy. From
the most orthodox families all the way to tourists everyone
cleans up for Shabbat and wears their best clothes. Our
group met for Kabbalat Shabbat services at the Kotel (Western
Wall), and then we walked back to our hotel. We enjoyed
a leisurely dinner at our hotel intertwined with stories
and singing. On Saturday morning I attended services at
Hebrew Union College (where all Reform Rabbis spend the
first year of their studies.) Since the rabbinical students
were all away on summer break, the congregation was totally
filled with tourists. It was wonderful to see so many Reform
Rabbis from the U.S., England and Australia who had all
brought groups from their congregations, as well as groups
of teenagers and young adults who were participating on
Birthright or NFTY Israel trips. While on Friday night it
was interesting to be surrounded by orthodox and ultra-orthodox
families observing Shabbat within the walls of the old city,
I was definitely much more within my own comfort level praying
amongst Reform Jews on Shabbat Morning with our familiar
Gates of Prayer siddur.
Other
highlights for me included visiting Qumran (the site where
the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Yad Vashem (the Israel Museum
campus commemorating the Holocaust), and Katzrin in the Golan
where we learned about the strategic importance of the Golan
to Israel. We mixed a little play with our studies as well
and spent an afternoon rafting (and splashing) on the Jordan
River. This was my 3rd trip to Israel, and every time I'm
there I feel more and more drawn to the country. Although
my home is in the U.S., I know that I also have a home in
Israel.
To
make my trip even more special, I was fortunate to have several
of our Or Shalom teachers participate in the Israel Seminar
with me: Andi Freier (Family School grade 4 and 6th grade);
Paula Spitz (new Family School grade 5 teacher); and Jenni
Pestine (new Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor). I met these teachers
through my Melton classes the past 2 years, and have formed
new friendships, as well as the opportunity to add their innovative
teaching talents to our program.
I am thrilled to report that tourism is very strong in Israel
this summer as evidenced by the totally full airplanes and
hotels. I was absolutely comfortable walking in Jerusalem
on my own during the day, or in small groups after dark. While
it's a bit of a shock at first to see not only uniformed soldiers
walking around with their rifles slung over their shoulder,
but off-duty soldiers dressed in casual clothing with their
rifles as well, within a day or two it becomes just part of
the "landscape" of the country, and you stop thinking
of it as being unusual. In the sage words of Nike advertising,
I urge any of you (parents or students) who are considering
a trip to Israel to "just do it." You will be very
glad that you did!
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