Hi Everyone
This will be my last blog entry. It covers from Friday through the weekend. I am writing this from home, having arrived back in Rochester this afternoon. I started this entry Friday late afternoon.
My apologies for missing you all last night. I was totally wiped out by the time we got home….went straight to bed. We boarded our tour bus once again yesterday and headed south to the Dead Sea. From Modiin, we drove toward Jerusalem before turning right toward the Dead Sea area. You really get a sense of Jerusalem being “The City on a Hill.” Jerusalem is over 700 meters above sea level. The Dead Sea is over 400 meters below sea level…the lowest point on earth. The change in topography from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea is amazing….and takes place in only about 40 minutes by car. The second you turn at Jerusalem, you are literally driving downhill the entire way to the sea. Jerusalem is lush and green; trees, bushes and grass cover the majority of the city. It is truly a beautiful place! As you head south to the Dead Sea, the scenery changes dramatically and quickly. In no time at all you are in an arid desert.
Before I tell you about our day in the Dead Sea area, I want to show you some pictures of what you see as you drive on Route 443, the direct road between Modiin and Jerusalem. I shared earlier that this route moves in and out of the Green Line, the temporary boundaries separating Israel from Palestinian occupied territory. At several places along 443 the security fence is quite evident. If you were to speak with Israeli citizens, there are many opinions about the security fence. At the end of the day, it is a powerful symbol for how much work needs to be done between the Israeli’s and the Palestinians.
On our trip to the south, our first stop was at the Ein Gedi Park. This is a beautiful nature and historical preserve right on the Dead Sea. We walked to a stunning water fall called Nachal David. As I walked along the path, up stone steps, looking up at the rock walls that surrounded us, it was easy to get a sense of what it must have been like when people walked through this area thousands of years ago. We made our way to the falls, taking a short rest there just to enjoy the scenery. A few of us even took a dip in the water hole!
Our Delegation at the Nachal David Waterfall
Looking east from Ein Gedi Park toward the Dead Sea
We then boarded our bus again and drove to the Dead Sea Spa. We had over two hours to enjoy the rejuvenating wonders of this area. I treated myself to a mud bath and then floated in the Dead Sea. It is a very strange sensation to be able to lie back on the water and feel as though you have a raft underneath you. Being in the sea definitely alerts you to any cuts on your body….sting city!!!!!!!! I then decided to treat myself to a 30 minute message. My masseuse was an older gentleman named Emanuel. He was born in France but has lived in Israel since we was a teenager. He was a delightful man…warm…personable….knowledgeable. We spoke about a variety of topics including Israeli politics and culture and the dangers of nuclear power. When our conversation turned to the Jewish religion, both in Israel and in the states, Emanuel enthusiastically informed me that Reform Judaism “believes in nothing…it is not a type of Judaism.” I made a quick decision to not debate Emanuel on this topic as he had my body in a precarious and vulnerable position. Emanuel and his opinion represent another challenge in the country where its own people cannot reach a consensus on “what is a Jew.”
Looking across the Dead Sea toward Jordan
Continuing on this topic of “what is a Jew” in Israel, I attended Shabbat services at the only reform congregation in Israel that is headed by a woman Rabbi. This congregation counts Temple Sinai, my congregation in Rochester, among its most ardent supporters. It was a wonderful service….warm…inviting….relaxing. While the entire service is conducted in Hebrew, I did recognize most of the songs and was able to participate in that aspect of the service. A relaxing and highly spiritual way to end a very busy and exciting week!
My evening came to a conclusion as Noa and her family along with me was invited to Shabbat dinner at another host family’s home. Liat and Nati and their children have been hosting one of our other delegates, Kevin. A delicious dinner was served, augmented with rousing conversation about everything from our week’s adventures to that familiar topic of “what is a Jew” (I told my Emanuel the masseuse story). Here I was able to voice my frustration, and even a sense of anger, that anyone would have the chutzpah to question my Jewishness based on a difference of opinion about issues such as ritual practice. It was interesting that Nati, who like many Israeli’s was raised Orthodox, had his own bias against the Reform movement. We enjoyed some rousing dinner conversation on this issue, and in the end, I invited Nati to come to Rochester and join me at Temple Sinai for a Shabbat service J. I know that what I am about to state is a very simplistic perspective, but sometimes simple is OK. How will we, the Jewish People, ever address our differences with other cultures and religions that inhabit this land if we can’t even get our own “you know what” together about who we are. Kevin and I were reminded by our hosts of the old saying that “if you put two Jews in a room, there will be three opinions!”
Our last day in Israel, today, was spent on a return trip to Jerusalem. We walked through the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim quarter, visited the Church of the Hold Sepulchre, and paid a last visit to the Western Wall. This is an amazing city, an amalgamation of history, religion, culture and conflict. The size of the old city is only 1 square kilometer, and yet I challenge you to find too many other places this size anywhere in the world that contain a similar amount and depth of history.
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the tomb that Jesus is believed to have been buried in.
At the Western Wall in Jerusalem
Nati, who traveled with us today is a career army officer, specifically in the Military Police, The husband of one the other host families who was with us today is an Israeli Police Officer. Between the two of them we were able to drive right into the police compound in Jerusalem. Talk about a sense of safety!!!! We were also able to get into a relatively new high tech program that helps to keep the peace in the Old City. We were escorted into a control room filled with walled monitors. Over the past years, the Police have been placing cameras at strategic areas all over the Old City. We were able to see how the Police monitor this potentially explosive area 24/7. Pretty cool stuff!!!!! Here in Israel they talk about people having Vitamin P…….influence, connections, knowing people in the right places. We were definitely hanging out this week with a few people that have a high level of Vitamin P!!!!!!
It is 8 PM here in Modiin. I leave for the airport in about an hour. I am looking so forward to coming home and seeing Carol and the kids. I miss them terribly. I can’t wait to share with all of you my thoughts and experiences from this week. And yet, I am struggling with a profound sense of sadness as I type this. I carry this perspective that our entire lives are spent searching for homes. Our homes can be a building, a place, a person, a relationship, a career, a hobby, a connection, a sense of purpose. We have these homes, not just to collect them, but to bring us joy, pleasure, meaning, fulfillment as we go through our lives.
Over the course of this past week, I have found some new homes. I have found a family in Noa and Ronin and their children who I know will now be lifelong friends. It is no small task to open your home to someone for 10 days. Noa and Ronin made me feel that I was a very special part of their family.
I have found a home in both the Rochester and Israeli delegations who have become colleagues, and much more importantly, friends. I will continue my conversation with all of them as we further the connection between Modiin and Rochester and identify ways to connect our schools and students. My delegation friends took very good care of me. I struggled most of the week with a stomach problem. My friends were constantly checking in with me. This was extremely comforting. I worried some through the week that members of my delegation might have experienced me as somewhat distant. There were many moments that I was completely lost in my own thoughts, feelings and reactions. A major component of what made this trip so special was the people I was traveling with, and the people who hosted me. Thank you to all of you!
And I have found a home in the State of Israel. For just about 52 years, Israel has been this concept that was very far away, incredibly confusing and complex, and quite honestly, a place that at different times in my life I distanced myself form. I leave this evening having experienced a powerful connection with this land and with its people. This is not a connection that is about complete idealism. I see the warts, the difficulties, the challenges. No different than any other country. But my history is here…my heritage….
As I return to Rochester, I will need some time to completely digest my experience this week. I am coming back with a renewed energy to expose my students to the world…..to help them see beyond Webster…… to help them create connections with similar teens from across the ocean. I will also highly recommend this program to my colleagues. I am committed to creating a connection between my school and Ironi Aleph here in Modiin.
But maybe the most important and significant home I have found is a new place in my heart for myself as a Jew. I have fought with this piece for too long. There has been a letting go of the battle this week. Those of you who know me would probably describe me (among other thingsJ) as pretty confident and down to earth. I think those are valid descriptors of me. My sense of being a Jew has been an aspect of my life where I have always felt anything but confident and down to earth. I have never shared with anyone the depth of my internal struggle about who I am as Jew…about what this truly means to me…about how it fits or doesn’t fit in my life. There have been times in my life that I did not want to be Jewish….I did not want to deal with the complexities of Israel. It was easier to just distance myself. These reactions on my part have been a source of shame for me. I am leaving this evening confident that I have made a huge dent in this. I am so proud of this country…so in awe of its people…. so at rest with my connection to it. ……..and so eager to return home and continue to practice and celebrate my Judaism in a manner that is spiritually meaningful to me.
I will return to this wondrous land……Noa and Ronin have already invited us to return in two years for the Bar Mitzvah of their sons.
When I return this time, I will have Carol, Joshua and Rachel with me.
This has been the trip of a lifetime!
Thank you for taking the time to exerience Israel with me.
I love you all.
Keith
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