Conglomeration: thoughts, messages, lessons

Orientation was a combination of mixers and introductions to the coming year. We had the necessary Hebrew placement test (sandwiched between a wonderful breakfast with Rabbi David Ellenson and I can't even remember what happened in the afternoon due to my brain being fried), as well as introductions about our phones and health care and the like.

Thoughts: Where do you fit in?

We can always find another way, if we just look

One of the most interesting programs was מי אני, literally "Who am I?" The purpose was to meet each other in a little more structured manner, especially for those more reticent in large group settings. One session had us share one of our most powerful/life shaping Jewish experiences. I talked about going to Poland and picking up the bone shards from Birkenau, while on EIE, and then bringing them back to the Jerusalem. Out of that grew my desire to continue being involved in prayer. Instead of praying when I didn't necessarily feel connected, I would pray for those who no longer could. By coming to that realization, I was able to continue exploring prayer and really my personal practices fit into Reform Judaism, spirituality, and my life. As a result, NO path is/was closed to me.

The next group discussed what three people, alive or dead, we would invited to our Shabbat table (depending on who we brought, we told an interesting back story about how we feel about celebrating Shabbat and what that meant in terms of our greater observational experience, if we looked into it). The question at first included anyone, fictional or real, but was soon curtailed to only include those who once actually walked this earth. Therefore, Albus Dumbledore was precluded from my table. However, I had a rather interesting mix.

• Adolf Hitler, to ask questions and honestly see what perspective he came from. Although he was behind the Holocaust, there has to be more to the man than that.
• Avraham Mapu: I am related to him, although I know very little about him. Learning from him, about his time in what was then Palestine and seeing what his experiences lead to/sprang from would weave a fascinating tapestry to life, lifestyle, and religious experience.
• Lastly, since Dumbledore wasn't allowed, I choose Leonardo daVinci. His work with science, art and philosophy come together in such a beautiful conglomeration that I would love to see what would come of a conversation with him and the other too. Plus, his brain worked in miraculous ways!

The next session asked random questions, starting with: "Your classes are cancelled one day. What is your perfect day?" I would take a bike ride in the early morning, eat some breakfast, pack a lunch, put on my hiking shoes, take a shairut up North, get out by the Galille and hike. Hopefully I would go with a friend or too, take time to photograph, take pictures, swim, and enjoy. In the evening, we would somehow have dinner on top of a large hill, watching the sun set near us. We would have an incredible song session and conclude with a night of singing and star gazing!
What talent do I wish I had: Singing/playing guitar incredibly well/being able to song lead
What profession would I be if I weren't a Rabbi: A therapist working with autism, eating disorders, abuse, medical issues. Or a social worker.
If I could have any super power, what would it be? I would be able to apparate. But specifically to help people close to me if they are hurting.

The Western Wall, Friday 6.7.2012

Messages: Some important quotes/questions from the week:
"Make space for each others differences"
"Seek out the unknown. You never know what it may hold"
"You need to have enough self-confidence to not be confident, or at least say you don't know something"
"Can I get over myself enough to learn all that I can?"
"Do you articulate Judaism in a way that makes others want to be Jewish?"
"What do I need to make the informed choices necessary to lead Jewish lives and Jewish choices, especially if I want to be a Jewish leader?"
"How do we integrate critical thinking and a personal search for meaning?"
"How can we be a part of an interpretive tradition that strives for community yet maintain our spiritual and personal autonomy?"
"We are being given the tools to create a מסרת, but we don't know what the word means. Therefore, we have to do all this deep, headier thinking and learning."
"Small selfless actions are just as important as large, visible ones. Shephard leadership is one of service, of leading from behind!


Lesson 145: Pay attention to your surroundings; interact with them
We also did an experiment with experiencing Israel as tourists/citizens. We went to different places throughout the city (my group walked up ha neviim) and were supposed to see what we could see, what was there, how people interacted and what the community was like. The street was fascinating. At first, I asked two different people the name of the street, getting two different answers, both in Arabic. We figured it was right, so headed down. The beginning of the street was very much like Machane Yehudah in that there were dry goods, produce, chicken/meat, and everything stores. The women were doing all the shopping, while the men sat around in stores smoking, playing cards, and just talking. Not what you typically see in the states, but also not a culture that exists as much in the states.

People engaged in a counter protest at Kikar Parez

One of us got falafel, which was a fascinating cross-section of Israel. Everyone pushing and shoving, trying to be the next one served. Arabic was the language of the day. The man serving us (after I finally pushed my way in) spoke Hebrew, but not so much. When I asked (in Hebrew) if he spoke Arabic at home, he didn't seem to know the word. Not something I was expecting.
We continued down the street, actually missing the turn to stay on it and ended up on an industrial road. Detouring down a side road, we arrived back in the more comfortable world of Hebrew. The houses were again made of nicely structured Jerusalem stone, evenly spread out and with space to live. At the end of the street, we happened upon Mea She'arim. The striking difference between the two neighborhoods/streets was vast. One was crowded, with apartments right on top of one another, dirty streets and people everywhere. The other was quiet, relatively clean, with space to move and live. Continuing back to ha neviim, we happened upon the office of education in a huge courtyard, which was followed by the old Ethiopian embassy. Now, it is just an Ethiopian apartment building, replete with signs in Amharic and smells of Ethiopian food! I ditched my group to keep exploring and found the Palmach museum, yad l'kashish, the municipality, and a great way to find all these places. Although we didn't talk to many people, we experienced much about the city and learned an incredible amount about the culture and how people live.
The point was to experience and understand the discomfort zone, something I felt at the beginning, but was unaware of by the end.