Just time for a short reflection on something I've noticed, living in the poorest city in Israel.
There's a very different sort of work schedule for most people around here. As I mentioned, the men at the synagogue where I study don't pray until 9:15 or so. Some of them are employed at ordinary businesses, but can apparently make time in their work schedules for morning prayer. Others, especially the older men, are professional Torah scholars: they study all day long, and the state supports them. At least one other, in his 20s, is in a one-year period following his marriage, in which he learns Torah full-time, and the state supports him. With his government paycheck, he can afford expensive clothes, plenty of good food, and rent, for himself and for his wife.
Those who are employed, at least, in commerce, have very short work hours. Stores tend to close at around 2:00 pm here, may be closed all afternoon on Fridays and (for some reason) Tuesdays. Today, Friday, at around 10:15 am, I visited the post office, and it was already closed for the weekend, even though the schedule posted outside indicated that it should have been open.
All of the Rabbis whose homes I have visited have large houses, well-furnished, and with large libraries. The Chabad House can afford to give large public meals, with copious vodka, on Saturdays.
The question is: with apparently so little work being done, where is all of this money coming from, and why isn't there more obvious poverty? There are poor people here, but they're as much a part of the community as anyone else; the only difference is that they need to borrow Tefillin, and go around the synagogue and Beit Midrash asking for money (which they always receive).
This reminds me of an article I read a couple of years ago, on the Washington Post website. I can no longer find it, but the poorest community of 100 or more people, in the United States, is an ultra-orthodox Jewish community just outside of New York City. All of the shop signs are in Yiddish, most of the women don't have jobs, all the men spend their days studying Torah. Everyone has enough to eat and to wear, though, because everyone shares necessary articles (strollers, etc), especially the wealthier community members.
Is this how Tzfat remains statistically poor, yet apparently well-off? Does Tzfat just run on state money (and how do taxpayers who are secular Jews feel about supporting Torah scholars and Yeshiva students)? Does it run on endowments from affluent Jews who want Tzfat to have a functioning Jewish community? I don't know.
Shabbat Shalom!
~JD
"אדם מועד לעולם
בין שוגג בין מזיד
בין ער בין ישן"
[A person is always liable to cause damages -- whether unintentionally or intentionally, whether waking or sleeping] (Bava Kama 2:4).
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Typical Day at Tzemach Tzedek
So, it's about time that I gave some kind of description of my daily schedule. Here's a sample, using this Tuesday as fairly typical (actually, better than many). Now that Rabbi Eli is gone, I'm spending less time in Shiurim with him, and more time with other Rabbis, at least in terms of classes.
By the way, I've tried to attach links to any unusual terminology I may have used without thinking. They links are for you, George, in case you're reading this.
6:50 -- Got out of bed, performed morning necessities, and left for the Beit Midrash. I thought that we had Chasidut class this morning, but because of the Fabrengen that kept everyone up until 1:00 or 2:00 last night, we didn't. So I continued to read from my Tanakh, finishing the final chapters of Chronicles, and reading some more Psalms, including what might be one of my favorites, 119.
9:00 -- Shacharit in the Synagogue. Chabad takes a really long time for prayer, so I had enough time to actually say every part of P'sukei D'zimra, which is very unusual for me. I needed to wait for my friend Yosi to finish, so I waited for everyone to finish, which didn't happen until nearly 10:40 (I wonder if community members have problems with their employers, because they can't realistically make it to work until 11:00, and I see them in the Beit Midrash at the middle of the day). I kept on reading Psalms, and made it to 145, Ashrei.
10:40 -- Left the Synagogue with Yosi, who showed me the way to the bank and the post office. I needed to withdraw money (I only had 8 shekels left -- sorry, parents, but I'm trying to be financially responsible!). I then went to the post office to mail four postcards, to Eliezer's bookstore to buy four more, and back to the dormitory for a breakfast of some porridge with fruit. On the way back to the dorms, I saw a very upsetting incident on the street. However, it could just have been because of cultural differences in Israel and the U.S. that I found it so upsetting.
11:15 -- I arrived back at the Beit Midrash, in time for Gemara lesson with Rav Asi. Not everyone was on time, and I have the chance to ask Rabbi Pasternack about the event on the street, and what I might or might not have been obligated to do under such circumstances. In class, the course got caught up in some pilpul. We're looking at a dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nachman, in tractate Bava Kama, over the circumstances under which a person may take the law into his own hands (in my opinion, a very important question). Pretty much, the two agree that a person should always defend his property when it's in immediate danger, but they tried to search for a certain case in which there was clearly no immediate danger, in order to resolve the dispute. (According to my reading of the text, there's actually a third opinion, held by Rabbi Chisda, that a person may under no circumstances defend his property out of court, but he's clearly in a 2-to-1 minority.) Today, because one student and Rav Asi got in a dispute over the mathematics of logic, in relationship to a Baraita. I now know this Baraita all too well. Here is a paraphrase: If a man sees his neighbor's ox getting on top of his own ox in order to gore it, and he pulls his ox out from under it, and the other ox falls and dies as a result, then he is exempt from payment; but if (under the same circumstances) he pushed his neighbor's ox off of his ox, and his ox died, then he is liable for payment. In any case, the argument lasted so long that we missed our Halachah class with Rabbi Gorenstein, which typically lasts from 1:00 until 1:30, in which we're learning the laws of making Kiddush on Friday nights. (I'm hoping that we'll get to the issue of the validity of grape juice, which a very good friend of mine has questioned, and which I therefore would like to know more about.)
1:30 -- Minchah. Done and done.
1:50-2:50 -- Read Kitzur Shulchan Aruch on hurtful speech (cursing, insulting,etc) with Ben. Ordinarily, we would have instead reviewed Gemara together, but because of today's lack of progress, we never got very far in class, so we read the Halachic work instead. We are learning, for instance, that one may not misdirect people in commerce, call someone by an insulting nickname even if that nickname has become thoroughly attached to him or her, ask someone a difficult question to which one knows the respondent does not know the answer, or insistently invite one's neighbor to one's house.
2:50-4:15 -- Read the book of Jeremiah with Ari, alternating by chapter, with some discussion. Got through chapters 5-16, or so, I think. Visions, prophecies, denunciations, false prophets, corrupt monarchs, idolatry, Babylonians at the gate -- all in a day's work. I'm glad to be returning to this prophetical book; in fact, I think that I should really go back and review all of the Former Prophets, and then the three Major Prophets. In other words, I have a lot of homework to do!
4:15-6:30 -- Two back-to-back classes with Rav Asi. The first one was on relating certain Psalms to certain events in King David's life, with relevant midrashim, etc.; today, the topic was David's annointment as king. The second class is based on a sicha by the Rebbe on spiritual challenges.
6:30-7:40 -- Cross-referenced in Bava Mezia 58b-59a of passages from Kitzur Shulchan Aruch with Ben. We learned some interesting things. Also, I finished the book of Psalms, and tried my best to continue reading Mishnah Bava Kama, reviewing legal responsibility for damage caused by one's livestock's feet (and, by extension, all damage caused by animals' general movements, excluding eating and deliberate attacking). I'm doing my best to understand as much as possible of each Mishnah in Hebrew; Rabbinic Hebrew, at least in this tractate, tends to be both very simple and very repetitive. I really like the Kahati edition that I'm using (recommend to me by both Eli and Peninah), which includes a brief summary of the associated Gemara and other famous interpretations, in order to give the reader some idea of the classical understanding of the Mishnah.
7:40-9:00 -- Two back-to-back classes with Rabbi Gorenstein. The first is on Tanya, continuing with chapter 12. The second I didn't really understand, we became so sidetracked, but it was more Chasidut.
9:00 -- Ben and I run back to quickly eat dinner, of vegetable soup, with some cold salad. We walk back with Dovid.
9:30 -- Ma'ariv. Done and done.
10:20 -- Back at the dorm, in time for my least favorite part of the day: e-mail and other computing. I have a huge pile I need to answer every day, and I don't even have time to write certain important ones. I also wrote all of the last post, and most of this one, too.
2:30 -- Bed, really tired, by now.
~JD
כיצד השן מועדת לאכול את הראוי לה"
הבהמה מועדת לאכול פרות וירקות
"אכלה כסות או כלים משלם חצי נזק
[In what case is the tooth (of the animal) fully liable (for the damage it causes)? For eating what is natural for it. The beast is fully liable in regards to eating fruits and vegetables. (For) eating a garment or utensils, (the owner) pays for half of the damages] (Bava Kama 2:2).
By the way, I've tried to attach links to any unusual terminology I may have used without thinking. They links are for you, George, in case you're reading this.
6:50 -- Got out of bed, performed morning necessities, and left for the Beit Midrash. I thought that we had Chasidut class this morning, but because of the Fabrengen that kept everyone up until 1:00 or 2:00 last night, we didn't. So I continued to read from my Tanakh, finishing the final chapters of Chronicles, and reading some more Psalms, including what might be one of my favorites, 119.
9:00 -- Shacharit in the Synagogue. Chabad takes a really long time for prayer, so I had enough time to actually say every part of P'sukei D'zimra, which is very unusual for me. I needed to wait for my friend Yosi to finish, so I waited for everyone to finish, which didn't happen until nearly 10:40 (I wonder if community members have problems with their employers, because they can't realistically make it to work until 11:00, and I see them in the Beit Midrash at the middle of the day). I kept on reading Psalms, and made it to 145, Ashrei.
10:40 -- Left the Synagogue with Yosi, who showed me the way to the bank and the post office. I needed to withdraw money (I only had 8 shekels left -- sorry, parents, but I'm trying to be financially responsible!). I then went to the post office to mail four postcards, to Eliezer's bookstore to buy four more, and back to the dormitory for a breakfast of some porridge with fruit. On the way back to the dorms, I saw a very upsetting incident on the street. However, it could just have been because of cultural differences in Israel and the U.S. that I found it so upsetting.
11:15 -- I arrived back at the Beit Midrash, in time for Gemara lesson with Rav Asi. Not everyone was on time, and I have the chance to ask Rabbi Pasternack about the event on the street, and what I might or might not have been obligated to do under such circumstances. In class, the course got caught up in some pilpul. We're looking at a dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nachman, in tractate Bava Kama, over the circumstances under which a person may take the law into his own hands (in my opinion, a very important question). Pretty much, the two agree that a person should always defend his property when it's in immediate danger, but they tried to search for a certain case in which there was clearly no immediate danger, in order to resolve the dispute. (According to my reading of the text, there's actually a third opinion, held by Rabbi Chisda, that a person may under no circumstances defend his property out of court, but he's clearly in a 2-to-1 minority.) Today, because one student and Rav Asi got in a dispute over the mathematics of logic, in relationship to a Baraita. I now know this Baraita all too well. Here is a paraphrase: If a man sees his neighbor's ox getting on top of his own ox in order to gore it, and he pulls his ox out from under it, and the other ox falls and dies as a result, then he is exempt from payment; but if (under the same circumstances) he pushed his neighbor's ox off of his ox, and his ox died, then he is liable for payment. In any case, the argument lasted so long that we missed our Halachah class with Rabbi Gorenstein, which typically lasts from 1:00 until 1:30, in which we're learning the laws of making Kiddush on Friday nights. (I'm hoping that we'll get to the issue of the validity of grape juice, which a very good friend of mine has questioned, and which I therefore would like to know more about.)
1:30 -- Minchah. Done and done.
1:50-2:50 -- Read Kitzur Shulchan Aruch on hurtful speech (cursing, insulting,etc) with Ben. Ordinarily, we would have instead reviewed Gemara together, but because of today's lack of progress, we never got very far in class, so we read the Halachic work instead. We are learning, for instance, that one may not misdirect people in commerce, call someone by an insulting nickname even if that nickname has become thoroughly attached to him or her, ask someone a difficult question to which one knows the respondent does not know the answer, or insistently invite one's neighbor to one's house.
2:50-4:15 -- Read the book of Jeremiah with Ari, alternating by chapter, with some discussion. Got through chapters 5-16, or so, I think. Visions, prophecies, denunciations, false prophets, corrupt monarchs, idolatry, Babylonians at the gate -- all in a day's work. I'm glad to be returning to this prophetical book; in fact, I think that I should really go back and review all of the Former Prophets, and then the three Major Prophets. In other words, I have a lot of homework to do!
4:15-6:30 -- Two back-to-back classes with Rav Asi. The first one was on relating certain Psalms to certain events in King David's life, with relevant midrashim, etc.; today, the topic was David's annointment as king. The second class is based on a sicha by the Rebbe on spiritual challenges.
6:30-7:40 -- Cross-referenced in Bava Mezia 58b-59a of passages from Kitzur Shulchan Aruch with Ben. We learned some interesting things. Also, I finished the book of Psalms, and tried my best to continue reading Mishnah Bava Kama, reviewing legal responsibility for damage caused by one's livestock's feet (and, by extension, all damage caused by animals' general movements, excluding eating and deliberate attacking). I'm doing my best to understand as much as possible of each Mishnah in Hebrew; Rabbinic Hebrew, at least in this tractate, tends to be both very simple and very repetitive. I really like the Kahati edition that I'm using (recommend to me by both Eli and Peninah), which includes a brief summary of the associated Gemara and other famous interpretations, in order to give the reader some idea of the classical understanding of the Mishnah.
7:40-9:00 -- Two back-to-back classes with Rabbi Gorenstein. The first is on Tanya, continuing with chapter 12. The second I didn't really understand, we became so sidetracked, but it was more Chasidut.
9:00 -- Ben and I run back to quickly eat dinner, of vegetable soup, with some cold salad. We walk back with Dovid.
9:30 -- Ma'ariv. Done and done.
10:20 -- Back at the dorm, in time for my least favorite part of the day: e-mail and other computing. I have a huge pile I need to answer every day, and I don't even have time to write certain important ones. I also wrote all of the last post, and most of this one, too.
2:30 -- Bed, really tired, by now.
~JD
כיצד השן מועדת לאכול את הראוי לה"
הבהמה מועדת לאכול פרות וירקות
"אכלה כסות או כלים משלם חצי נזק
[In what case is the tooth (of the animal) fully liable (for the damage it causes)? For eating what is natural for it. The beast is fully liable in regards to eating fruits and vegetables. (For) eating a garment or utensils, (the owner) pays for half of the damages] (Bava Kama 2:2).
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Weekend in Jerusalem
Friday morning, the other students, Rabbi Eli, and I took a bus to Jerusalem. On the way to the bus-stop, we stopped at two sites, the tombs of the Arizal and of Shimon bar Yochai. On the bus, I re-read the book of Ezra-Nechemiah from the pocket Tanakh that I obtained last week (see last entry). We arrived in Jerusalem at just past noon, and moved into our rooms in the Mayanot Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and met the full-time students there, most of whom were very friendly, and very easy to meet. I felt as if I could have stayed there several weeks, feeling very much at home. While the other students with Rabbi Eli visited the marketplace or the Mount of Olives, Alex helped guide me to where I was supposed to meet one of my favorite people living in Israel right now!
After we got a little bit mixed-up and turned around in the Jerusalem market, we found Peninah! Alex stayed with us for a while, while we walked around a little bit more in the marketplace, making our way to the bus station, because Peninah was leaving Jerusalem that evening. We had some conversations that we needed to have, and she reminded me of why I'm in Israel. She really re-ignited my enthusiasm in learning, and I know that the next week in Israel will be just fine, now, thanks to her.
I felt really great after I spoke to her, and walked back to Mayanot happy, and barely got lost at all on the way. I studied more and took a shower, until Minchah-Kabbalat Shabbat-Maariv. Everyone at Mayanot really loves and respects Rabbi Eli, who has taught there for some time. At Shabbat dinner (which he apparently sponsored), he spoke at length about the history of European Jewry. I stayed up late learning, and got to bed fairly late.
Saturday morning, I panicked when I saw light flowing through the window of my bedroom; I thought that it was nine or ten, and that I had missed my Chasidut lesson at 7:30. It was actually 6:00, but I was fully awake, and so I went to the Beit Midrash to read Mishneh Torah, to resolve a disagreement I had had the night before. Rabbi Eli was also up early, but nobody else showed up for the lesson on time, so I got some more reading in. Anyway, Rabbi Eli spoke well in class, as he did later, to everyone, at our very late second meal. There was almost no vegetarian food, and having little else to consume, I had a fair amount of wine, and got rather sleepy. I spent most of the rest of the day reading Mayanot's copy of the Judaica Press edition of the first part of the book of Chronicles. It was a Saturday well spent, with copious amounts of cocoa and learning.
Sunday morning, before we left, I had time to visit a tallit store, and buy myself a new tallit from the bargain bin. Someone in Tzfat had objected to the length of my tallit (it covered me fully at my Bar Mitzvah, but it's gradually gotten shorter and shorter on me, and it's now several centimeters too short for my height). It's 60cm long, and someone of my size only needs a 48cm-long tallit, according to a stringent opinion, so I no longer have any reason to fear criticism (even Hillel, who is Charedi, has told me that he thought that my old tallit was long enough).
At around 11:00, we met up with Prof. Ben Artzi again, who was ready to take us on a tour of the region around Jericho, stopping at a few other sites on the way. Our first stop was Mount Scopus, a hill overlooking Jerusalem, which I recognized mostly from having read Josephus. However, it's also where the Tanakh (Bible) describes King David as having stopped to mourn, on his flight from Jerusalem, during the rebellion of his son (though it was then called the Mount of Olives, when it was still covered with olive trees): "David was going up on the ascent of [the Mount of] Olives, crying as he ascended, with his head covered, going barefoot. And all the people with him wrapped their heads and went up, crying as they ascended" (Samuel II 15:30-31). Prof. Ben-Artzi also pointed out the low-lying region, in sight of Scopus, where the book goes on to describe a man cursing "King David came until Bahurim, and behold -- a man of Saul's family was coming out from there, named Shimei sone of Gera, and he was cursing as he was coming out. He pelted David and all of King David's servants with stones, as well as all the people and the soldiers, to his right and to his left" (ibid. 16:5-6).
Our next stop was the site of one of my favorite Haftorot, that of Parshah Behar (the full reading is Jeremiah 32:6-27), the Bat Mitzvah portion of one of my favorite people (see above)! Pretty much, the prophet was in prison, and his cousin Chanamel wanted to liquidate all of his property before the Babylonians arrived to destroy it all. And the prophet received a command to buy his plot of land, in Anatot; he then takes the title deed, and has it placed in a jar. Well, we sat in Anatot, and looked down on a valley, with some of the best farmland in the region. It was really a beautiful spot.
The next Jewish site on our winding path to Jericho was where archaeologists believe that ancient Gilgal was located. Gilgal, in the book of Joshua, was the location where the Tabernacle was first set up, after the people had crossed into the land: "The people ascended from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamped at Gilgal at the eastern end of Jericho" (Joshua 4:19). There is a Greek Orthodox church located there now (it's also a Christian holy site, because of an incident involving a Roman soldier climbing a tree). The Biblical description mentions a spring at Gilgal, and the site we visited is the only known spring in the region. The site is also close to where the Ark's crossing of the Jordan is believed to have taken place (see below), and there is also a local oral tradition identifying this site with biblical Gilgal.
It was getting into late afternoon by this point, and the heat was quite intense, in the Israeli desert. We stopped at a pomegranate farm, where an Israeli woman is reclaiming wilderness, albeit illegally. From her home, we began walking into the desert, towards the nearby Jordan river. We passed close to the caves where it is believed that Elijah the prophet hid with Elisha, and were probably in sight of where the book of Kings describes his ascent to heaven. As we approached the Jordan, we saw the golden dome of a mosque on the banks, where local tradition locates the exact place of the Jews' crossing. We also saw a green patch on the mountains on the other side of the river (i.e. in Jordan itself), where local tradition is held that Moses died (not where he was buried, though), and the site of the fourth and last covenant of the Torah. This is also where he spoke the words of the book of Deuteronomy. Eventually, we arrived at the rocky hill Professor Ben-Artzi believes to be Giv'at-Ha'aralot. What exactly is this place? Well...
"At that time Hashem said to Joshua, 'Make sharp knives [or "flint knives," char'vot tzurim] for yourself and circumcise the Children of Israel again, a second time.' So Joshua made sharp knives for himself and circumcise the Children of Israel at Giv'at Ha'arlot [Hill of the Foreskins]" (Joshua 5:2-3).
The hill we stood on lies directly between Gilgal and the site of the crossing of the Jordan. Moreover, it is the only hill in all the region which has the stone which some archaeologists associate with tzur, which is sharp enough to make an effective cutting tool. Some of these stones we found were sharp, like arrowheads in the United States.
We dropped off Professor Ben-Artzi, drove back to Jerusalem, and parted ways. Rabbi Eli left to make his way to the airport, because he's leaving the country; the remaining students and I waited for the bus back to Tzfat; it finally arrived, and we were back in Tzfat by around 10:30.
I'm thinking of you all! I mean that! I can't skype with any privacy here, but I'll be able to when I'm in Tours!
~JD
"Rabbi Chelbo said: One must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man's home only on account of his wife, for it is written And he treated Abram well for her sake (Genesis 12:16). And thus did Raba say to the townspeople of Machuza, honor your wives, that you may be enriched" (Bava Metzia 59a).
After we got a little bit mixed-up and turned around in the Jerusalem market, we found Peninah! Alex stayed with us for a while, while we walked around a little bit more in the marketplace, making our way to the bus station, because Peninah was leaving Jerusalem that evening. We had some conversations that we needed to have, and she reminded me of why I'm in Israel. She really re-ignited my enthusiasm in learning, and I know that the next week in Israel will be just fine, now, thanks to her.
I felt really great after I spoke to her, and walked back to Mayanot happy, and barely got lost at all on the way. I studied more and took a shower, until Minchah-Kabbalat Shabbat-Maariv. Everyone at Mayanot really loves and respects Rabbi Eli, who has taught there for some time. At Shabbat dinner (which he apparently sponsored), he spoke at length about the history of European Jewry. I stayed up late learning, and got to bed fairly late.
Saturday morning, I panicked when I saw light flowing through the window of my bedroom; I thought that it was nine or ten, and that I had missed my Chasidut lesson at 7:30. It was actually 6:00, but I was fully awake, and so I went to the Beit Midrash to read Mishneh Torah, to resolve a disagreement I had had the night before. Rabbi Eli was also up early, but nobody else showed up for the lesson on time, so I got some more reading in. Anyway, Rabbi Eli spoke well in class, as he did later, to everyone, at our very late second meal. There was almost no vegetarian food, and having little else to consume, I had a fair amount of wine, and got rather sleepy. I spent most of the rest of the day reading Mayanot's copy of the Judaica Press edition of the first part of the book of Chronicles. It was a Saturday well spent, with copious amounts of cocoa and learning.
Sunday morning, before we left, I had time to visit a tallit store, and buy myself a new tallit from the bargain bin. Someone in Tzfat had objected to the length of my tallit (it covered me fully at my Bar Mitzvah, but it's gradually gotten shorter and shorter on me, and it's now several centimeters too short for my height). It's 60cm long, and someone of my size only needs a 48cm-long tallit, according to a stringent opinion, so I no longer have any reason to fear criticism (even Hillel, who is Charedi, has told me that he thought that my old tallit was long enough).
At around 11:00, we met up with Prof. Ben Artzi again, who was ready to take us on a tour of the region around Jericho, stopping at a few other sites on the way. Our first stop was Mount Scopus, a hill overlooking Jerusalem, which I recognized mostly from having read Josephus. However, it's also where the Tanakh (Bible) describes King David as having stopped to mourn, on his flight from Jerusalem, during the rebellion of his son (though it was then called the Mount of Olives, when it was still covered with olive trees): "David was going up on the ascent of [the Mount of] Olives, crying as he ascended, with his head covered, going barefoot. And all the people with him wrapped their heads and went up, crying as they ascended" (Samuel II 15:30-31). Prof. Ben-Artzi also pointed out the low-lying region, in sight of Scopus, where the book goes on to describe a man cursing "King David came until Bahurim, and behold -- a man of Saul's family was coming out from there, named Shimei sone of Gera, and he was cursing as he was coming out. He pelted David and all of King David's servants with stones, as well as all the people and the soldiers, to his right and to his left" (ibid. 16:5-6).
Our next stop was the site of one of my favorite Haftorot, that of Parshah Behar (the full reading is Jeremiah 32:6-27), the Bat Mitzvah portion of one of my favorite people (see above)! Pretty much, the prophet was in prison, and his cousin Chanamel wanted to liquidate all of his property before the Babylonians arrived to destroy it all. And the prophet received a command to buy his plot of land, in Anatot; he then takes the title deed, and has it placed in a jar. Well, we sat in Anatot, and looked down on a valley, with some of the best farmland in the region. It was really a beautiful spot.
The next Jewish site on our winding path to Jericho was where archaeologists believe that ancient Gilgal was located. Gilgal, in the book of Joshua, was the location where the Tabernacle was first set up, after the people had crossed into the land: "The people ascended from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and encamped at Gilgal at the eastern end of Jericho" (Joshua 4:19). There is a Greek Orthodox church located there now (it's also a Christian holy site, because of an incident involving a Roman soldier climbing a tree). The Biblical description mentions a spring at Gilgal, and the site we visited is the only known spring in the region. The site is also close to where the Ark's crossing of the Jordan is believed to have taken place (see below), and there is also a local oral tradition identifying this site with biblical Gilgal.
It was getting into late afternoon by this point, and the heat was quite intense, in the Israeli desert. We stopped at a pomegranate farm, where an Israeli woman is reclaiming wilderness, albeit illegally. From her home, we began walking into the desert, towards the nearby Jordan river. We passed close to the caves where it is believed that Elijah the prophet hid with Elisha, and were probably in sight of where the book of Kings describes his ascent to heaven. As we approached the Jordan, we saw the golden dome of a mosque on the banks, where local tradition locates the exact place of the Jews' crossing. We also saw a green patch on the mountains on the other side of the river (i.e. in Jordan itself), where local tradition is held that Moses died (not where he was buried, though), and the site of the fourth and last covenant of the Torah. This is also where he spoke the words of the book of Deuteronomy. Eventually, we arrived at the rocky hill Professor Ben-Artzi believes to be Giv'at-Ha'aralot. What exactly is this place? Well...
"At that time Hashem said to Joshua, 'Make sharp knives [or "flint knives," char'vot tzurim] for yourself and circumcise the Children of Israel again, a second time.' So Joshua made sharp knives for himself and circumcise the Children of Israel at Giv'at Ha'arlot [Hill of the Foreskins]" (Joshua 5:2-3).
The hill we stood on lies directly between Gilgal and the site of the crossing of the Jordan. Moreover, it is the only hill in all the region which has the stone which some archaeologists associate with tzur, which is sharp enough to make an effective cutting tool. Some of these stones we found were sharp, like arrowheads in the United States.
We dropped off Professor Ben-Artzi, drove back to Jerusalem, and parted ways. Rabbi Eli left to make his way to the airport, because he's leaving the country; the remaining students and I waited for the bus back to Tzfat; it finally arrived, and we were back in Tzfat by around 10:30.
I'm thinking of you all! I mean that! I can't skype with any privacy here, but I'll be able to when I'm in Tours!
~JD
"Rabbi Chelbo said: One must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man's home only on account of his wife, for it is written And he treated Abram well for her sake (Genesis 12:16). And thus did Raba say to the townspeople of Machuza, honor your wives, that you may be enriched" (Bava Metzia 59a).
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Eliezer's Bookstore
I'm beginning this post at 1:15 am, having just come back from a weekend in Jerusalem. I don't have enough time to describe that now, so for now, I'm just going to tell an amusing story from last week.
Although I have a copy of my own Tanakh at home, which I received at my Bar Mitzvah, it was too large and heavy for me to take with me on the trip; furthermore, it's English-only, and although the translation is excellent (JPS), and I've decided that I really need a parallel Hebrew-English edition.
So, I asked my friend Yosi where I could find a Judaica bookstore with books in English. He directed me to Yerushalmi Street, and after some wandering, including into a visit to the wrong shop where I found a really excellent gift for someone back home (for only four shekels!), I made my way to Eliezer's Bookstore. It's run by a man only a few years older than me, along with his father. When I walked in (the store was only about the size of my family's living room, minus the piano), the former asked me if I had come to pick up a book on reserve. I hadn't, and asked for some help looking for a Hebrew-English Tanakh. The store was too small to have anything more than the Artscroll Stone Edition, which you can pretty much find anywhere. Unfortunately, there were no pocket-sized editions, only the large hardcover version. It turned out, however, that the book on reserve was a paperback Stone Edition! It was the only copy, though, and the man told his father they needed to order more copies, and told me that if the book hadn't been picked up by 2:00 pm that afternoon, I was free to buy it. Willing to wait a few hours, I walked back to the dormitory. I did, however, buy a few postcards, which I hope will arrive back in the U.S. over the next couple of weeks.
Adam and Ben had come back from buying fruit and bread in the market, and when I walked into the kitchen, they asked me if I had picked up the book at bookstore. It turns out that Adam had actually found Eliezer's Bookstore first, and, knowing that I was searching for a Hebrew-English Tanakh, he had reserved the only pocket edition in the store for me! So the book on reserve had been for me all along! I ran back to the store, bought the book, laughingly explained the whole chain of events to the father, and headed off to class.
OK, expect information about Jerusalem and Jericho the next time I update!
~JD
Although I have a copy of my own Tanakh at home, which I received at my Bar Mitzvah, it was too large and heavy for me to take with me on the trip; furthermore, it's English-only, and although the translation is excellent (JPS), and I've decided that I really need a parallel Hebrew-English edition.
So, I asked my friend Yosi where I could find a Judaica bookstore with books in English. He directed me to Yerushalmi Street, and after some wandering, including into a visit to the wrong shop where I found a really excellent gift for someone back home (for only four shekels!), I made my way to Eliezer's Bookstore. It's run by a man only a few years older than me, along with his father. When I walked in (the store was only about the size of my family's living room, minus the piano), the former asked me if I had come to pick up a book on reserve. I hadn't, and asked for some help looking for a Hebrew-English Tanakh. The store was too small to have anything more than the Artscroll Stone Edition, which you can pretty much find anywhere. Unfortunately, there were no pocket-sized editions, only the large hardcover version. It turned out, however, that the book on reserve was a paperback Stone Edition! It was the only copy, though, and the man told his father they needed to order more copies, and told me that if the book hadn't been picked up by 2:00 pm that afternoon, I was free to buy it. Willing to wait a few hours, I walked back to the dormitory. I did, however, buy a few postcards, which I hope will arrive back in the U.S. over the next couple of weeks.
Adam and Ben had come back from buying fruit and bread in the market, and when I walked into the kitchen, they asked me if I had picked up the book at bookstore. It turns out that Adam had actually found Eliezer's Bookstore first, and, knowing that I was searching for a Hebrew-English Tanakh, he had reserved the only pocket edition in the store for me! So the book on reserve had been for me all along! I ran back to the store, bought the book, laughingly explained the whole chain of events to the father, and headed off to class.
OK, expect information about Jerusalem and Jericho the next time I update!
~JD
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
From Ithaca to Tzfat
I realize that this post occurs chronologically before the previous post. However, my journey is, I think, important and interesting to understanding where I am right now, and what I am doing.
I got out of bed at 3:15 last Wednesday afternoon; my Mother and I drove and picked up Rabbi Eli at his house, and the three of us drove together to the Syracuse airport. We easily made our 6:00 flight to JFK, and I slept for the whole hour we were in the sky. We had several hours before our flight for Israel left, and Rabbi Eli wanted to daven Shacharit, so we took a taxi to the closest Chabad House, which happened to be the Ohel. We fulfilled our obligation, I read a little bit of the book that Rav Ami and Eliana had recommended to me, and we met a couple of Israelis who were also driving to JFK, and so they drove us.
Back in JFK, we met up with Adam (the only other student whom I already knew), and passed through the tightest security I have ever encountered, for El-Al airlines. Because I can't speak Hebrew, the guards didn't trust me, and asked me a series of questions that only a Jewish person would know, such as "what was the most recent holiday, and how did you celebrate it?" and "what is your Hebrew name?" At least half of the other passengers were Charedi. On the plane flight, I met Ben (another Cornell student) and Alex (an Ithaca College graduate), finished Josephus's Jewish War (which I had begun on Birthright), read most of The Thirteen-Petaled Rose, and slept about an hour or two. We touched down at what must have been four or five o'clock in the morning, local time, in Tel-Aviv. We stumbled outside, and all of us hopped into the car of the elderly Chabad driver, Eli, from Tzfat, who tells me that he lived for a couple of years in Monsey, New York. He played a CD of Chabad tunes very loudly on our three-hour journey to Tzfat. I read as much as I could without
On the way, we decided to make a detour to Tiberias, to Rambam's gravesite. You can't miss the curving metal monument from the road, and Avishai had pointed it out to us when my Birthright trip drove through Tiberias. There were groups of people standing around and reciting the book of psalms around his grave, and around other nearby stone tombs, which bore the names of other famous Jewish sages, including some Tannaim, such as Yochanan ben Zakai. Rabbi Eli was kind (and passionate enough) to translate some of the signboards describing Rambam's life and works. (Today's quote is in his honor.) Still awake, we arrived at Tzfat before noon, and met the Rabbis at the Tzemach Tzedek Yeshiva where we'll be staying. I began to meet the other students, and we luckily had arrived in time to attend the last couple of classes for the day, Rabbi Pasternack and Rabbi Gorenstein both teaching classes, and Rabbi Eli sitting down with me, and trying to prompt my Hebrew, which is quite feeble. I'm sorry to say that I began to fall asleep in front of Rabbi Gorenstein, but previous conversations with him make me think that he didn't take it to hard. I refused to take a nap all day long, and eventually went to bed at 9:30 at night, local time. I was very happy when I finally got into bed!
OK, more adventures next time. You are all great people! Also, please e-mail me or send me private message on FB for details, questions, or anything else.
~JD
"[Jewish men] are commanded to acquire a wife before marrying her: either by giving her something [of sufficient value]; by giving her a document [of marriage]; or by having marital relations... only marriage by means of relations has the validity of a Torah commandment" (Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 213).
I got out of bed at 3:15 last Wednesday afternoon; my Mother and I drove and picked up Rabbi Eli at his house, and the three of us drove together to the Syracuse airport. We easily made our 6:00 flight to JFK, and I slept for the whole hour we were in the sky. We had several hours before our flight for Israel left, and Rabbi Eli wanted to daven Shacharit, so we took a taxi to the closest Chabad House, which happened to be the Ohel. We fulfilled our obligation, I read a little bit of the book that Rav Ami and Eliana had recommended to me, and we met a couple of Israelis who were also driving to JFK, and so they drove us.
Back in JFK, we met up with Adam (the only other student whom I already knew), and passed through the tightest security I have ever encountered, for El-Al airlines. Because I can't speak Hebrew, the guards didn't trust me, and asked me a series of questions that only a Jewish person would know, such as "what was the most recent holiday, and how did you celebrate it?" and "what is your Hebrew name?" At least half of the other passengers were Charedi. On the plane flight, I met Ben (another Cornell student) and Alex (an Ithaca College graduate), finished Josephus's Jewish War (which I had begun on Birthright), read most of The Thirteen-Petaled Rose, and slept about an hour or two. We touched down at what must have been four or five o'clock in the morning, local time, in Tel-Aviv. We stumbled outside, and all of us hopped into the car of the elderly Chabad driver, Eli, from Tzfat, who tells me that he lived for a couple of years in Monsey, New York. He played a CD of Chabad tunes very loudly on our three-hour journey to Tzfat. I read as much as I could without
On the way, we decided to make a detour to Tiberias, to Rambam's gravesite. You can't miss the curving metal monument from the road, and Avishai had pointed it out to us when my Birthright trip drove through Tiberias. There were groups of people standing around and reciting the book of psalms around his grave, and around other nearby stone tombs, which bore the names of other famous Jewish sages, including some Tannaim, such as Yochanan ben Zakai. Rabbi Eli was kind (and passionate enough) to translate some of the signboards describing Rambam's life and works. (Today's quote is in his honor.) Still awake, we arrived at Tzfat before noon, and met the Rabbis at the Tzemach Tzedek Yeshiva where we'll be staying. I began to meet the other students, and we luckily had arrived in time to attend the last couple of classes for the day, Rabbi Pasternack and Rabbi Gorenstein both teaching classes, and Rabbi Eli sitting down with me, and trying to prompt my Hebrew, which is quite feeble. I'm sorry to say that I began to fall asleep in front of Rabbi Gorenstein, but previous conversations with him make me think that he didn't take it to hard. I refused to take a nap all day long, and eventually went to bed at 9:30 at night, local time. I was very happy when I finally got into bed!
OK, more adventures next time. You are all great people! Also, please e-mail me or send me private message on FB for details, questions, or anything else.
~JD
"[Jewish men] are commanded to acquire a wife before marrying her: either by giving her something [of sufficient value]; by giving her a document [of marriage]; or by having marital relations... only marriage by means of relations has the validity of a Torah commandment" (Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Commandment 213).
Monday, June 4, 2012
Beit-El & Shiloh
I'd like to preface my adventures in Tzfat with Rav Ami's prediction that I'd be "running around Israel like a drunken gazelle." Although I haven't achieved this kind of euphoria yet, I am doing my best to enjoy myself.
We made our first archaeological outing on Sunday! We got up early (well, not quite as early as we were supposed to), and drove to pick up Professor Chaggai Ben Artzi. Just so everyone knows, "we" is five other students (Adam, Ben, Shmuel, Jordan, and Pinchas), Rabbi Eli, the driver (also named Eli), and I. Professor Ben Artzi is an Israeli archaeologist, and happens to be Benjamin Netanyahu's brother-in-law.
Our first stop was Beit-El, located in the West Bank. The interest in this site arises from the belief that it was here that Jacob had his famous nighttime vision of angels ascending and descending, and God's promise of the land to his offspring, whom He will not abandon. The narrative concludes with the statement that "Jacob arose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had placed at his head, and he set it up as a monument, and he poured oil on top of it. And he named the place Beth El, but Luz was originally the name of the city" (Genesis 28:18-19).
There is a funny-shaped rocky outcropping in the shape of a bed (for an eight-foot-tall person), which has a long oral tradition among local Arabs as being the rock on which Jacob slept, and even the name of the site, in Arabic, sounds like a corruption of "Beit-El." There seems to have been a history of Abrahamic religions treating this as a holy site: there is an incredibly old mosque on the site (7th- or 8th-century), as well as a Christian church. For several hundred years, people have considered this as a holy site.
More interesting than the rock itself (in my opinion) is the nearby ruin of a temple-like structure, several thousand years old. The dimensions match those of the Tabernacle described in the book of Exodus, and there is an altar with the bones of kosher animals (archaeologists can often find evidence for Jewish presence in the absence of pig bones). This is especially interesting, because the Tanakh mentions the erection of a Temple in Beit-El, following the division of David's kingdom of Israel into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah: "the king [of Israel, Yirovam] took counsel and made two golden calves, and he said to them, saying, 'It is far for you to go up to Jerusalem; here are your gods, O Israel, that have brought you up from the land of Egypt.' And he placed one in Beth El and the other he placed in Dan" (Kings I 12:28-29). (I visited the ruins of the temple in Dan on Birthright: it is located in one of the most beautiful places in Israel.) The ruin dates from the correct period, and, rather than pointing towards Jerusalem, it is oriented to the nearby tomb, as one might expect a sanctuary to point towards a holy place. Nearby are the ruins of a factory for the production of olive oil, presumably made for the lighting of the menorah in Yirovam's temple. Furthermore, there are Jewish burial caves dating from the Second Temple era, another sign that the site might have been considered to be holy.
In other words, the tradition of Beit-El as being the site of Jacob's dream may go back as far as the era of the divided kingdoms in Israel. However, one could easily say, for instance, that upon entering the land, the Israelites happened across a bed-shaped rock, and guessed that it was in that place where their ancestor had had his dream. However, the evidence for the presence of the temple, in my opinion, is much firmer.
Back in our car, we drove off to Shiloh, not far from Beit-El. Whereas there was nothing more relevant to tourism in Beit-El than a simple sign, there was a gift-shop and some basic facilities at Shiloh, the city where the the Tabernacle first rested. It was here that the prophet Samuel worked for the high priest Eli, and where Saul, before he became king, brought news of a Philistine victory. There are ruins old houses, and ruins of a temple, again with the dimensions of the Tabernacle found in the book of Exodus. Professor Ben Artzi, pointing to the black tarpaulin that covered part of the site, stated that he believed that it was there that Hannah stood and prayed for a child, and where Eli rebuked her. The conception and birth of the prophet are one of my favorite parts of the entire Tanakh, but for better or worse, I could not be so certain of the exact place.
Our last Biblical site of the day was to Mount Kabir, site of one of Abram's altars to God (Genesis 12:6). There is a 4000-year-old oak tree, Elon Moreh (אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה in Hebrew, meaning something like "oak guide," "elon" meaning "oak," and the Guide for the Perplexed translated into Hebrew as Moreh Nevukim) still standing there. For millennia, the tree has stood as landmark to orient travelers in the region. From it, one can see numerous sites of biblical significance: the two mountains and the valley in which the series of curses were recited in the book of Joshua (as commanded in Deuteronomy), a proposed burial site of Joshua, and even a stream-bed associated proverbially with beauty in the Song of Songs. There was an excellent view from all directions, and one could even see across the Jordan River. The guide also mentioned that the hidden grave of Moses was somewhere on the horizon, which very much excited Rabbi Eli.
The last stop for the day was at a goat farm where some of the other students had visited the last time they were in Israel. It sells organic local goat yogurt and ice-cream; the proprietor is a fervent Zionist. I didn't buy anything (so much for stimulating the Israeli economy), but it was good to stay in the shade.
Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so I can't take any pictures. You're going to need to rely on my blog then: I'll try to write more vividly in the future. Right now, it's 2:30 in the morning, and I need to go to bed. Coming soon: details of my daily life in Tzfat. And also something about one of my friend's blogs.
I love you all and miss you all; really, I do! But a special shout-out to Rav Ami, Eliana, and Noveya! Thank you so much for encouraging me to visit Israel again!
~JD
"Personal prayers are not supposed to be spontaneous outbursts of emotion, and indeed there is no place for such outbursts" (Adin Steinsaltz, The Thirteen-Petaled Rose p. 158).
We made our first archaeological outing on Sunday! We got up early (well, not quite as early as we were supposed to), and drove to pick up Professor Chaggai Ben Artzi. Just so everyone knows, "we" is five other students (Adam, Ben, Shmuel, Jordan, and Pinchas), Rabbi Eli, the driver (also named Eli), and I. Professor Ben Artzi is an Israeli archaeologist, and happens to be Benjamin Netanyahu's brother-in-law.
Our first stop was Beit-El, located in the West Bank. The interest in this site arises from the belief that it was here that Jacob had his famous nighttime vision of angels ascending and descending, and God's promise of the land to his offspring, whom He will not abandon. The narrative concludes with the statement that "Jacob arose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had placed at his head, and he set it up as a monument, and he poured oil on top of it. And he named the place Beth El, but Luz was originally the name of the city" (Genesis 28:18-19).
There is a funny-shaped rocky outcropping in the shape of a bed (for an eight-foot-tall person), which has a long oral tradition among local Arabs as being the rock on which Jacob slept, and even the name of the site, in Arabic, sounds like a corruption of "Beit-El." There seems to have been a history of Abrahamic religions treating this as a holy site: there is an incredibly old mosque on the site (7th- or 8th-century), as well as a Christian church. For several hundred years, people have considered this as a holy site.
More interesting than the rock itself (in my opinion) is the nearby ruin of a temple-like structure, several thousand years old. The dimensions match those of the Tabernacle described in the book of Exodus, and there is an altar with the bones of kosher animals (archaeologists can often find evidence for Jewish presence in the absence of pig bones). This is especially interesting, because the Tanakh mentions the erection of a Temple in Beit-El, following the division of David's kingdom of Israel into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah: "the king [of Israel, Yirovam] took counsel and made two golden calves, and he said to them, saying, 'It is far for you to go up to Jerusalem; here are your gods, O Israel, that have brought you up from the land of Egypt.' And he placed one in Beth El and the other he placed in Dan" (Kings I 12:28-29). (I visited the ruins of the temple in Dan on Birthright: it is located in one of the most beautiful places in Israel.) The ruin dates from the correct period, and, rather than pointing towards Jerusalem, it is oriented to the nearby tomb, as one might expect a sanctuary to point towards a holy place. Nearby are the ruins of a factory for the production of olive oil, presumably made for the lighting of the menorah in Yirovam's temple. Furthermore, there are Jewish burial caves dating from the Second Temple era, another sign that the site might have been considered to be holy.
In other words, the tradition of Beit-El as being the site of Jacob's dream may go back as far as the era of the divided kingdoms in Israel. However, one could easily say, for instance, that upon entering the land, the Israelites happened across a bed-shaped rock, and guessed that it was in that place where their ancestor had had his dream. However, the evidence for the presence of the temple, in my opinion, is much firmer.
Back in our car, we drove off to Shiloh, not far from Beit-El. Whereas there was nothing more relevant to tourism in Beit-El than a simple sign, there was a gift-shop and some basic facilities at Shiloh, the city where the the Tabernacle first rested. It was here that the prophet Samuel worked for the high priest Eli, and where Saul, before he became king, brought news of a Philistine victory. There are ruins old houses, and ruins of a temple, again with the dimensions of the Tabernacle found in the book of Exodus. Professor Ben Artzi, pointing to the black tarpaulin that covered part of the site, stated that he believed that it was there that Hannah stood and prayed for a child, and where Eli rebuked her. The conception and birth of the prophet are one of my favorite parts of the entire Tanakh, but for better or worse, I could not be so certain of the exact place.
Our last Biblical site of the day was to Mount Kabir, site of one of Abram's altars to God (Genesis 12:6). There is a 4000-year-old oak tree, Elon Moreh (אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה in Hebrew, meaning something like "oak guide," "elon" meaning "oak," and the Guide for the Perplexed translated into Hebrew as Moreh Nevukim) still standing there. For millennia, the tree has stood as landmark to orient travelers in the region. From it, one can see numerous sites of biblical significance: the two mountains and the valley in which the series of curses were recited in the book of Joshua (as commanded in Deuteronomy), a proposed burial site of Joshua, and even a stream-bed associated proverbially with beauty in the Song of Songs. There was an excellent view from all directions, and one could even see across the Jordan River. The guide also mentioned that the hidden grave of Moses was somewhere on the horizon, which very much excited Rabbi Eli.
The last stop for the day was at a goat farm where some of the other students had visited the last time they were in Israel. It sells organic local goat yogurt and ice-cream; the proprietor is a fervent Zionist. I didn't buy anything (so much for stimulating the Israeli economy), but it was good to stay in the shade.
Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so I can't take any pictures. You're going to need to rely on my blog then: I'll try to write more vividly in the future. Right now, it's 2:30 in the morning, and I need to go to bed. Coming soon: details of my daily life in Tzfat. And also something about one of my friend's blogs.
I love you all and miss you all; really, I do! But a special shout-out to Rav Ami, Eliana, and Noveya! Thank you so much for encouraging me to visit Israel again!
~JD
"Personal prayers are not supposed to be spontaneous outbursts of emotion, and indeed there is no place for such outbursts" (Adin Steinsaltz, The Thirteen-Petaled Rose p. 158).
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Birthright Journal II
Tonight's post is a continuation of the previous one. The following is an edited transcription of the remainder of my journal entries from my time on Birthright Israel.
Saturday 1/14/2012
Up before 7:00, dressed and down for hotel breakfast with Sam Feldman and Bryce, the only 3 awake (Avery joined us soon after). We had a really good discussion of Shomer Shabbat, and Torah, etc. I chilled in their room a bit, borrowed Hunger Games from Sam, and practiced for services. 11:00, accompanied by neither roommate, I arrived at the quintuple Bat Mitzvah: Margo, Jess, Liz, Jon, and Pricilla. I sang my Conservative melodies, and listened to the speeches of the B’nai Mitzvot -- Jess’s even got me to tear up, and was perhaps my first spiritual experience in Israel. Her joining in Hillel for Yom Kippur, made her part of a community (later, I let her know of my appreciation). Chilled for a while, read Hunger Games and talked to Shereen in the lobby (she asked me if I was Conservative recognizing the tunes which I used t lead), then lunch (roommates were up) - good talk with Margo & Bryce. Presentation by Masa, who want us to return to Israel, then swimming in the pool until 4:30, just as the other were leaving. When done, couldn’t find the entrance, and was running the circumference of the building with nothing but a small towel around my lower body (kept on thinking of “girding up my loins”), but made it back, and on time: on the bus, down to the Hebrew Union College for a guitar0accompanied Havdallah, with Shereen’s friend Yosi (after putting b’nai mitzvot on the chair for Hava Negillah). Then, night out in Jerusalem: at first, with Sam Moss, Margo, and Bryce -- mediocre Italian restaurant (after some searching) followed by Judaica shopping (Bryce & I just watched). After that, to the club -- new group, morphed into Bryce, Sarah, Adar, Margo, Avery, Will ♥ Michel, Jake, Chloe, and Clarissa. I danced - 1st time - but alone, albeit with great energy. We went next to a bar, in which I was totally overwhelmed by a single Tubar beer, of which Clarissa ended up drinking ⅓ or so. Played “Never Have I Ever,” in which I revealed my lack of romantic attachments. Avri was wasted, Will & Michel were cute together, and Sara & Adar were least friendly (Margo, too). Having a wonderful time, we wandered a bit, made it back to the club, danced more. We all headed back to the bus at 11:30, and I was slightly drunk (<1 beer), and skipping (which Corryn thought was adorable). Back to room, to sleep past midnight.
Sunday 1/15/2012
Up, again for 7:00 breakfast club, and packed up to leave the hotel. Drove to the capital in Jerusalem, and Avishai explained to us about the Knesset, its history, its problems. We walked on to the beautiful High Supreme Court building, a fantastic piece of architecture: arches, pillars, past & present, width & narrowness, squares and circles. Saw the Court’s library, and a room where court holds session. From there, we drove to the Herzl National Cemetery, visiting the graves of the leaders, as well as of the IDF. Among others, saw the graves of and discussed the significance of Herzl, Yitzchak Rabbin, Eli Cahan, Michael Levine, etc. Really a very sobering experience, and I hope that none of our Israelis end up in that cemetery. We returned to the market of last week for lunch -- I got in a very intense argument with Sam Moss, Matt, and Bryce in defense of vegetarianism. We went on to take a very long drive north, during which everyone around me was sleeping -- the landscape was impressive, and would be more so on Monday. We got to the hostel past 7:00, ate lousy cafeteria food, and moved into a surprisingly nice room, with its own bathroom (Sam Moss & Matt again). Found the party room (Red Rover), then 9:00 meeting -- worst charades game I’ve ever played. I had “Starbucks,” and other groups had “Amsterdam,” “Camouflage,” etc. Afterwards, party started on the balcony/lawn. Played Truth or Dare, then “Never Have I Ever,” when some people from the other Birthright trip showed up. I like Group 357 overall. I was with Margo, Will, Michel, Jake, Avery, Sarah, Tehila, and, of course, Adar, whom we all love (koala slippers). Back to the room, hit the sack past midnight.
Monday 1/16/2012
7:00 breakfast club again: sat with Sam, Will, Bryce, Avery, Jake (crowd unsurprising). On bus for our most beautiful ride yet, up to the Golan Heights. On the way, we passed through Tiberias, with Rambam’s tomb, and also by Lake Kineret, on which Jesus walked. Also passed the loaves and fishes place, and a significant mountain). So green and plentiful, and gushing with water. We made it to the hike at Tel Dan - very muddy, but possibly my favorite destination yet on our trip. Wonderful because of the natural beauty and clear water (and the fact that I was speaking to Jess, whom I like very much), but also because of the ruins. First and foremost, the altar, c. 900 B.C.E., established by Yarav'am. Setup like that of the Temple in Jerusalem, no pig bones, and even iron barbeque tools. Looked out on the Syrian and Lebanese borders simultaneously, including the remains of the Syrian canal the Israelis had bombed. Saw the ruins of a 2800-year-old city gate, where judges held trials, and the 4000-year-old 1st arch in human history, through which Avraham may have walked. Gave me a very strong sense of historical connection. Lunch at a rest stop -- ate sandwich from hostel, and talked to Sam Feldman and Hannah, among others). We drove on to drop off the Israelis -- hope I get to see them again (gave warm-and-fuzzy notes, to Or, Adar, and Yanai), and some people cried. I made the joke about Brits leaving without saying goodbye, and Jews saying goodbye without leaving. Drove on to a volcano, which gave us a breathtaking view of the now-fertile former swampland. Chilly up top, even saw snow, and Avishai took us into a bunker, and gave us another military lowdown, focusing on the defense of Golan in the Yom Kippur War. We stopped in the café at the mountaintop, and some people got hot chocolate, then drove to Capernaum Vista olive press, where we got a unique politics-loaded pot-stirring talk from the press owner. He was a good salesman, and got us to try his olive oil (orange really good) and skin care products (I bought nothing). He also created, instantly, a debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: on the bus back, Jess, Matt, Bryce, Margo, and I had an excellent conversation. Back at hostel, another subpar diner, and somehow Sam Moss and I reminisced about CJL people we know and love. Bryce and Sam Feldman were in our room for this, and Bryce requested to see FB photos of the people we were discussing, and we used the lobby terminal: a photo of Rachel, Jacob, Peninah, and Marissa made me instantly realize how much I miss them all. Acutely, painfully aware. 9:00 game, series of questions for whole group, Yes, No, or Maybe. Will you keep abreast of current events in Israel (Y)? Are you planning on engaging in Jewish activities on your return (Y)? Would you marry a non-Jew (N)? Would you raise your children Jewish (Y)? Afterwards, had a nice heart-to-hear talk with Margo about Aliyah, orthodox conversion, ended up sucking Shereen into our conversation. Shereen had shared her story of rock-bottom, pulled-out-of-the-gutter-by-the-Jewish-community story. Bed past midnight.
Tuesday 1/17/2012
Up at 6:50, shower, breakfast (almost alone), journal, then packed up the bus, and drove to Tzfat, passing Hattin (as in, the Horns of Hattin) on the way. Sat with Bryce, who’s still sick with a cold (note: a stomach bug has been going around the group), and arrived, in the rain, at Tzfat, the city of wind. We visited the house of Yosef Caro, the synagogue of Yitzchak Luria, and a candle factory. I dropped ₪5 for the Caro house upkeep, as tzedakah. Bryce and I walked through a few of the art galleries together, and Matt and I watched a Chabad woman making wax carvings of Jacob’s Hands. We drove on, in the continuously beautiful landscape, to the Roman ruins at Tzippori, where we hiked around, visiting a mosaic shop, the roads, and various reconstructed mosaics. I was quite pleased and impressed, and Avishai discussed with us the significance of the Mishnah, and the 2000-year-old problem of adaptation. There was what might have been a synagogue floor, with Hebrew writing and pagan imagery (Zodiac). What does that mean? Finally dry, long bus ride to Tel Aviv, and Bryce and I continued our very intellectual conversation: poetry, Chinese classics, Kabbalah, martial arts, “superstition,” biology, religious tolerance, intermarriage, etc. Eventually, made it to hotel in Tel-Aviv. Sam Moss, Matt, and I removed in our smallish room. I finished some writing, then 6:30 dinner -- more table talk with Bryce, and back to room until 9:00 p.m. departure time for night out in Tel Aviv. The night started kind of slowly - went to a café, but Bryce and I sat outside with Avri, where the two of them talked punk music and horror films. I was unable to contribute, but listened respectively. Next up, a bar, where I was in the corner. Sam Feldman bought me a beer, and not much happened, until I was asked to film karaoke (I was with Matt, Bryce, Sam Feldman, Avri, Sarah, Will, Michel, Margo, Adar [yay!], Chloe, and Clarissa). We followed Adar, whom we had met after the café, to another place, where the dance floor was the bar itself. Again, cameraman, then danced a little with the girls, and Will insisted I take my 1st shot: an ultimate vodka; it took a little while for the alcohol to take full effect, but finishing Avri’s beer helped too, as we exited. By this time, we had well under an hour left: Chloe apparently had gotten sick, so I carried her piggy-back: Will was telling her to kiss me, but I told her she didn’t need to, if she didn’t want to -- so she didn’t, but she laughed about my statements about street-crossing safety. So we walked the streets, and some headed back to the rendezvous point, while Sam, Bryce, Margo, and I stepped into a bar for a quiet moment, and spoke until we all met back up again. Hannah was feeling frigid, so I gave her my hoodie to wear. We bussed back to the hotel, and after talking to Sam Moss a bit, went to bed past 2:00.
Wednesday 1/18/2012
Up without the slightest hangover, with energy, ready for the last day of Taglit, in Tel-Aviv. We drove downtown, seeing the fashionable socialist-designed World Heritage site, and some people took a 10-minute coffee break, and we went on to see some orientalizing ‘20s luxury multi-million homes, before stopping by Independence Hall, where we saw a presentation on Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, by a really excellent guide, who went on to play the audio recording of the event for us. Then we stopped by Jaffa, where Avishai lives, and he showed us around, including the shores of the Mediterranean, where I got just a little wet. We had free time to eat and shop, after discussing Tel-Aviv-Jaffa’s role as a border in the Israeli-Palestinian open conflict, ending in military conflict. Sam Feldman and I wandered around -- he walked into a restaurant, and asked for a pepperoni pizza, ended up getting a margarita, a whole pie, while I ate my soy-hotdog sandwich left over from the day before, and we looked at the cheap fleamarket goods. On the bus ride to Jerusalem, I spoke more to Sam Feldman, and filled out an evaluation form. On the bus, on the way to the Education Fair, where I saw a few uninteresting booths, but also a program for teaching English and learning Hebrew in Israel, no experience required, and a stipend provided. Bus ride, filling out yet another evaluation form, arrived at a greenhouse/bikeshop, where we sat in a circle and shared our favorite experience -- most people very honest, and many said Matzada or the Bedouin tent (I said Golan, and Jess’s Bat Mitzvah speech, and she was very touched). We had an OK-dinner: I wound up sitting with Grant, Jon, Hon, Aaron, Perry, and some others. Then drove to David Ben-Gurion airport. We received our shirts and mezuzot, and waited a really long time, but made it (talked with Madison, Lexi, and Bryce, whose olive oil I’ll be bringing back for him). Boarded the 11:30 flight, after goodbyes to Shereen, Jess, and Adina (unintentionally missed Avishai), and after shuffling seats to convenience Kyle and Rachel, wound up between a Jewish woman from Brooklyn, and an Israeli woman and her cute 15-month-old.
Thursday 1/19/2012
Finished my flight back to the United States, helping the woman and her baby through customs. There were some quality hugs as many of us parted ways, and I finally made it to the right gate, where I chilled with Sarah, Trevor, Liz, and Andrew. Main topics -- people we didn’t like, and hookups. Andrew and I flew the two flights to Dulles, then Syracuse, and I met my Mom at the airport: I was and am so happy. Chattered to her all the way back, read some, and befriended Shereen on Facebook, unpacked, ate dinner, bed around 9:00!
~JD
"The we/they divide within this society shifted from one that emphasized social identities based on either one's association with autochthonous gods or immigrant gods, to a definition that focused on the origins of one's ancestors and time of arrival" (Sandra Greene, Gender, Ethnicity and Social Change on the Upper Slave Coast: A History of the Anlo-Ewe, p. 108).
Monday, March 19, 2012
Birthright Journal I
I've decided to publish a slightly-edited and highly-expurgated version of my journal from the days I spent in Israel, on the Birthright program. I realize that they are quite banal, but I still hope that they are at least somewhat enjoyable. These first entries last from the day we flew to Israel, until Erev Shabbat.
Sunday 1/8/2012-Monday 1/9/2012
I was out of bed around 8:00 on Sunday, breakfast with parents, read took a 1-hr. run in the snow. Shower, then, 25 min. later, had a good ride to Philly airport with my parents. Found Sam Moss in airport. Hugged & kissed goodbye, then -- off. Security etc., bought a new pair of shades. Slice of pizza with Sam, discussed France and Washington, respectively. Read a lot of Josephus, not much water, on the plane ride (10 hours) to Tel-Aviv. Surprisingly good vegetarian food. Tel-Aviv passport and customs took around 90 minutes of waiting (well into bk. 2 of Josephus). Very thirsty, but got water and cell phone as we left. Drove to hotel with guide Avishai, and we had about an hour to move in. Rooming, coincidentally, with 2 Cornellians, Aaron & Andrew. Mediocre dinner, with people I haven't yet gotten to know. After dinner, much better. Played Spoons and B.S. (I did quite well). New friends: Becka (CU), Chloe, Jake, Will, Alex, Clarissa, and Jess, among others. Had to leave around 10:30, tired. “Florus acted herein as if he had been hired, and blew up the war into a flame, and sent some to take seventeen talents out of the sacred treasure, and pretended Caesar wanted them” (Josephus, The Jewish War, 2.14.6).
Tuesday 1/10/2012
Today’s theme: Temple. Up at 4:30 a.m., read for about 2 hours in the hotel lobby, Josephus, because I couldn’t sleep. Surprisingly good continental breakfast, talked with Sam (not Moss), Margo, Matt, and others. Bus to the Hasse Promenade, a beautiful overlook of the city. Saw a lot of foliage I didn’t recognize: I wish Dad were here to identify it all. The city has 3 divisions: East, Old, and West. We bussed to the Jewish Quarter in Old Jerusalem, within the 16th-century Ottoman fortifications. Visited the archaeological site of the Southwest corner of the Temple’s retaining wall. Herod built so much, even sewers! Said Kiddush on the steps ascending to the Temple (and hamotzi), saw an old mikvah, and an old בית for a trumpeter. 570-ton blocks! Incredible! Walked over to the Wall. I cried, but not as much as I thought I would. Put my little note in the crack, near the left. A Chabad guy got me to put on tefillin, and I touched the Wall while reciting the Shema and following 2 paragraphs in Hebrew, wearing tefillin. We had more time than I needed (2 hr.s) for eating & shopping -- I didn't spend any money. But I had another good conversation with Margo, who has just converted. Eventually, we walked to David’s Tomb, just above the “Room of the Last Supper.” Both, obviously, apocryphal and spurious. Throughout, Avishai offered numerous helpful comments on current religio-political events, and how they related to what we were seeing and experiencing. Back in hotel, just a few pages of Josephus (into Bk. 3 now), then yoga stretching in a group, and discussion of visit to Holocaust Memorial tomorrow. Yom HaShoah is on the day of the Great Warsaw uprising, apparently. Dinner, and game of Bananagrams, then workshop with artist Tamar. Crafting Mezuzot with clay from Israel. I made a little Sefer Torah for mine. Feeling really tired, I helped to carry out everything. Bed around 11:30.
Wednesday 1/11/2012
Today’s Taglit theme: Holocaust. Up ~ 6:50, down for breakfast. In the hotel, talked with Bryce, Jon, Sam & Sam, etc. Very chilly: rode off to Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. We met our guide Elizabeth, and she took us to the Children’s Memorial, a circular black hallway of mirrors and candles. We entered the Museum, which, with the tour guide, was one of the best history museums I have visited in a while. Pre-Holocaust Europe, eras of anti-Semitism, photos of bodies prepared for immolation (and what was in their pockets), the rise of Hitler and the growth of anti-Semitism in Germany, the Nuremberg Laws, the racism, the shopsigns & yellow stars, the ghettos, the blitz, the piles of Judaica for a future museum, Operation Barbarossa, the defense of Poland, Poland and Hungary, shoes, cast-off clothing, mass graves, “extermination tourism,” the gas chambers, Father Dubois, sinister used clothing, old photos, malnutrition in post-liberation (50k didn’t make it), renewal of life and Aliyah, the 2 million unknown names. Afterwards, documentary on Ovadiah ____, “Let my memory be love,” on the survival of a Saloniki survivor of Auschwitz and his wife Aliza. At ~12:10, I became super-grumpy/miserable, and remained so for most of day. To market for an hour (too stingy to buy lunch) walked around with Sam, Andrew, Becka, Karyn, Karen. Saw a dreidel with a פ. Jewish eco-seminar, mediocre. Cold and wet, but seeing the cornucopia of Israeli goods quite fun: sights and smells! Also, free ruggeleh. 10-min. walk back to the hotel, 1-hr. nap, dinner. Heard Margo’s description of her direction of “The Dybuk,” almost painful. Also talked with Jake, and heard Avery talk about DMT. Shabbos prep. In lobby (4 B’nai Mitzvot); looks like Friday, I’ll be leading Shalom Aleichem, Kaddish, Mi Kamocha, Aleinu, and, on Saturday, Ashrei, Kaddish, Mi Kamocha, and Aleinu. Afterwards, “Crazy Moses” -- received 2 leis, in order to “get laid.” Great. Then, eco-game about consumption of resources. Shower, wrote this, bed before 11:15.
Thursday 1/12/2012
Up at 6:45 in Jerusalem Gold Hotel, finished packing, breakfast with some of my favorite Birthright people, then everyone on the bus, headed South, for the Negev. We discussed the politics of Israel and its surrounding states, and the wars of 1967 and 1973, and the events of the ‘90s, 2000, 2005, and 2009. We picked up 7 Israeli students & soldiers at an ארומה: Adar, Or, Gal, Tanai, Nimrod, Yonatan. Adar and Or are both a lot of fun. We drove, and continued the discussion of war and politics. We also stopped for lunch, where I sat and ate with Margo, Bryce, and Sam not-Moss (I had a sandwich I had made at the breakfast buffet). We stopped also at a ridge overlooking the Gaza Strip, and, later, at Sderot. Sderot is a border town, where the police station had rusted rockets (€500 to manufacture), sirens, reinforced playground structures and bus stations, IronShield protection, etc. We continued to the Bedouin campsite for camel/donkey riding Pushier people got their rides first, the rest of us walked. Sam not-Moss and I walked out together, along with 4 other guys, and Jess. Way back, Bryce and I rode a camel (I was in front). Bryce & I had a great time on camelback, and I didn’t fall off. We had some time to chill around the camp, and attended a “lecture” of sorts, on Bedouin hospitality: tea & coffee, the Ur, and explanation of the ways things have changed. Synergy yoga in a circle. Sam not-M and I were partners. I fell backwards on him, and he dumped me on my head. We could laugh about it, though (accidents both, but funny). We went to our dinners, sitting around common dishes of pilaf. The only Bedouin tent in the world with soy meatballs! I had the veggie meal with 4 girls. Bonfire! S’mores! Bed late! Tent well-heated.
Friday 1/13/2012
Up at 4:35 a.m. in the Bedouin tent. Bussed to Matzada, which we hiked. Sat with Margo and Sam-not-M, very cold, at the top, waiting for what was the most beautiful sunrise I have seen, ever. The clouds brilliantly changed color, from red to orange to golden. I really, really wanted to kiss a girl at the exact moment of sunrise, but clearly don't have anyone. Avishai led us on an excellent tour of the palaces, cistern, swimming pool, (breached) fortifications, and synagogue, where the suicidal choice was made. Avishai really did an excellent job: then the freezing group descended the snake path. Descending wasn’t bad for me, but it really hurt some people’s legs. Step by step, the air became warmer, and I was feeling quite ready for swimming by the end. We ate breakfast in the Matzada tourism center, then hopped back on the bus, pressing some truly incredible landscapes on the way to the Dead Sea. (We visited this stupid Dead Sea store beforehand, which sold cosmetics products.) When we arrived, it was chilly again, and the Sea was too choppy for swimming; we were, however, allowed to enter the hot springs, which we did. Super-sulfurous, so all of my hand chappings inflamed. Suddenly, Shereen announced that flash floods were coming, so we needed to hit the road before it closed. We all scurried out of the springs, and got off in a timely manner, in the rain. Small floods cropped up. We arrived at the hotel: I was with Matt and Sam M. They slept, and I excused them at services that night, of which I led about half. Oh, and I led OK, too. Shabbat dinner at 7:00. Hey, I had a good time, though (can’t remember quite with whom -- Jess, maybe). Afterwards, stayed up until midnight or so in the lobby with most of the Taglit kids in my group. Beat Grand and Or in chess, played kings, and spoke with Priscilla. Went to bed super-happy.
There will be more soon, I promise.
~JD
"On vit Quasimodo debout sur le parapet de la galerie, qui d’une seule main tenait l’écolier par les pieds, en le faisant tourner sur l’abîme comme une fronde. Puis on entendit un bruit comme celui d’une boîte osseuse qui éclate contre un mur, et l’on vit tomber quelque chose qui s’arrêta au tiers de la chute à une saillie de l’architecture. C’était un corps mort qui resta accroché là, plié en deux, les reins brisés, le crâne vide" [They saw Quasimodo standing on the parapet of the gallery, holding the schoolboy by the feet with a single hand, and swinging him over the abyss like a sling. Then, they heard a sound like that of a bony box shattering against a wall, and they saw something fall, which stopped a third of the way down on a projection from the facade. It was a dead body which had caught there, bent in two, its kidneys shattered, its skull empty] (Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris).
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