Gezer -- Not Just a Carrot & Jerusalem -- of course
It is warm and wonderfully gratifying that so many of you are checking in on the blog. It makes me feel connected to you all.
Yesterday morning we boarded the bus and said shalom to Haifa. Interesting weather: it was raining on the left side of the bus and dry on the other side. Seriously. But then again, the weather has been portentous and a harbinger of good things from the start of the trip.
We motored in the rain towards Jerusalem to a most interesting spot which I'd never visited before. Kibbutz Gezer, a cool place founded largely by Anglo immigrants, helps sponsor a Jewish Roots Foundation dedicated to exploring how Israel plays a critical, deep and foundational role in how we define ourselves as Jews. So this means that for Jews from abroad, the Gezer site puts Israel back into the Jews and for Israeli visitors, it puts the Judaism back in the Israeli.
The director of the program is a funky American named David Leichman, a New York borne, Berkeley educated, funky kind of guy. He is a master teacher in the truest sense and had all of us really turned on to our connections to Israel and our Jewishness all together. In other words, he helped us truly integrate the experience of visiting Israel with the deepest aspects of our self identity as Jews. He was that good.
The food wasn't bad either. In fact, as a general rule, the food's been great!
From Gezer we made our ascent to Jerusalem. What a stirring trip. In a bus filled with modern day pilgrims making our way to the holiest city in the world. I was struck once again with the sheer joy of being part of this great crew so many of whom are here for the first time. As we approached our first stop in J-lem, I was filled with so many poignant thoughts, and how this visit to Israel in a sense draws a kind of completing circle around each of us, a kind of fulfillment of a personal and transcendently national dream.
We got off at a scenic overlook in the city with a majestic view of the Old City and the new western J-lem. I think we were all a bit overwhelmed. We were also a bit cold: it was a chilly 39-41 degrees. But undaunted we gathered, heard a psalm reminding us that the love we bring in our hearts for Israel showers love on all its inhabitants. We drank a l'hayim and then holding hands we sang shehechiyanu together. It was a truly singular moment. As I told the group, from now on, whenever you say a shehechiyanu, this one will be there, always returning as one of the benchmarks of the prayer. We turned and there, over the Judean Hills, a rainbow! Another rainbow. Now that is what I call the divine AMEN!!!
After spending an hour at our hotel, we boarded our bus to the Reform synagogue Kol Haneshamah in J-lem led by Rabbi Levi Kelman. He's a cool rabbi. He dresses in an open collared white shirt and white chinos and sandals. He looks like a camp director. He's a very smart and talented guy who is helping move Reform in Israel closer to the center of the Jewish world.
The music? Essentially 80% of the music is exactly what we do! So go figure how one part of the movement touches another. It underscores the dimensions of Reform and that the whole world of Reform grows collectively as well as individually. We had a lovely time at the synagogue, I must say.
We had a great Shabbat dinner at the hotel, then all of us went back tour rooms to pass out. Shabbat morning is wide open, some of us sleeping late, some going out to daven, all having a fab time.
So from all of us, shabbat shalom!
Yesterday morning we boarded the bus and said shalom to Haifa. Interesting weather: it was raining on the left side of the bus and dry on the other side. Seriously. But then again, the weather has been portentous and a harbinger of good things from the start of the trip.
We motored in the rain towards Jerusalem to a most interesting spot which I'd never visited before. Kibbutz Gezer, a cool place founded largely by Anglo immigrants, helps sponsor a Jewish Roots Foundation dedicated to exploring how Israel plays a critical, deep and foundational role in how we define ourselves as Jews. So this means that for Jews from abroad, the Gezer site puts Israel back into the Jews and for Israeli visitors, it puts the Judaism back in the Israeli.
The director of the program is a funky American named David Leichman, a New York borne, Berkeley educated, funky kind of guy. He is a master teacher in the truest sense and had all of us really turned on to our connections to Israel and our Jewishness all together. In other words, he helped us truly integrate the experience of visiting Israel with the deepest aspects of our self identity as Jews. He was that good.
The food wasn't bad either. In fact, as a general rule, the food's been great!
From Gezer we made our ascent to Jerusalem. What a stirring trip. In a bus filled with modern day pilgrims making our way to the holiest city in the world. I was struck once again with the sheer joy of being part of this great crew so many of whom are here for the first time. As we approached our first stop in J-lem, I was filled with so many poignant thoughts, and how this visit to Israel in a sense draws a kind of completing circle around each of us, a kind of fulfillment of a personal and transcendently national dream.
We got off at a scenic overlook in the city with a majestic view of the Old City and the new western J-lem. I think we were all a bit overwhelmed. We were also a bit cold: it was a chilly 39-41 degrees. But undaunted we gathered, heard a psalm reminding us that the love we bring in our hearts for Israel showers love on all its inhabitants. We drank a l'hayim and then holding hands we sang shehechiyanu together. It was a truly singular moment. As I told the group, from now on, whenever you say a shehechiyanu, this one will be there, always returning as one of the benchmarks of the prayer. We turned and there, over the Judean Hills, a rainbow! Another rainbow. Now that is what I call the divine AMEN!!!
After spending an hour at our hotel, we boarded our bus to the Reform synagogue Kol Haneshamah in J-lem led by Rabbi Levi Kelman. He's a cool rabbi. He dresses in an open collared white shirt and white chinos and sandals. He looks like a camp director. He's a very smart and talented guy who is helping move Reform in Israel closer to the center of the Jewish world.
The music? Essentially 80% of the music is exactly what we do! So go figure how one part of the movement touches another. It underscores the dimensions of Reform and that the whole world of Reform grows collectively as well as individually. We had a lovely time at the synagogue, I must say.
We had a great Shabbat dinner at the hotel, then all of us went back tour rooms to pass out. Shabbat morning is wide open, some of us sleeping late, some going out to daven, all having a fab time.
So from all of us, shabbat shalom!
posted by rebhayim at 7:38 AM
1 Comments:
What a moving description of your Shabbat in Jerusalem! It all sounds wonderful! Ira described your live chat at services last night and we were all thinking about all of you. Enjoy!
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