Rabbi Lutz's Blog

Angels and Messengers: All Around Us is Shechinah

2011-12-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Angels and Messengers: All Around Us is Shechinah

You have often heard me refer to Torah as a mirror. A kind of magic mirror, that would easily fit into one of Harry Potter’s adventures, for Torah has the power to reveal to us much that is hidden away in our own lives. Nowhere is that power more evident than in the stories of Jacob’s dreams, one of which we read last week and the other that we will read this Shabbat.

Last week we encountered an adolescent Jacob fleeing his home. Having just stolen his brother’s birthright and having deceived his father he has, at his mother Rebecca’s encouragement, run away to live with his Uncle Laban. For the very first time, this homebody is completely on his own, out in the wilderness. Imagine how he must feel: certainly scared, likely quite guilty, very likely feeling he is in imminent danger. Understandably these feelings completely consume him. He is filled to the brim with worry and anxiety about what is happening in his life.

Exhausted at the end of a long day he places his head on a rock, falls into a restless sleep and dreams of a ladder reaching into the heavens. Upon it are angels ascending and descending. Waking up he makes one of the most wonderful declarations in the entire Torah: “acheyn yesh Adonai, bemakom hazeh v’anochi lo yadati …” “Surely God was in this place and I didn’t know!” Unable in his conscious state to let go of everything that was consuming him, there was no room to let God in. But in sleep, as his body and mind relaxed and he momentarily could let go, he was vulnerable for a moment. And, in that moment Jacob experienced something quite profound. He had his first “God” experience. He had a sense of God’s presence surrounding him and understood through that strange dream that he was not alone, that God’s comforting and reassuring presence was with him there … and surely as it was in his mother’s tent. So strengthened he could journey on.

We encounter Jacob this week, 21 years later, now a grown man. Perhaps that first experience has become a cherished but distant memory of the salve that healed the psychic wound he carried as he left home and allowed him to become the successful man he, indeed, has become. He has healed, grown and quite successfully moved on.

So it is that he feels he is ready to return home. After all, he is now a different man. Or is he? Each step towards home, also brings him closer to all he had thought he had overcome, all he thought had healed, all he thought he had overcome. With each step the wound begins to reopen. All those feelings, so carefully packed into a distant corner of his mind begin to reemerge. And when he learns that his brother is coming to meet him with 400 men the teenage boy fleeing from danger has fully reemerged. Imagine the flood of emotion in that moment, all the guilt, all the uncertainty, all the pain, all the danger … All the careful defenses built up in a life time of creating the man he thought he was … all of it flooding back in an emotionally and spiritually shattering instant.

Feeling just as alone as he had on that first night so long ago, perhaps Jacob looked back at the reassurance of God's protecting presence in that distant dream and wondered, “Where are you now?” And the wrestling match began. With who? With Esau? There is certainly literary reference in the story itself that could lead one to believe that he wrestled through the night with him. Or was it God? Or one of God’s angels? Or was it with himself that he wrestled? Or, perhaps, most likely, did he, in someway wrestle with them all?

The assurance that adolescent Jacob had received in that first dream allowed him to ignore wounds long unhealed. But, they did not go away. They continued to fester in some dark and untouched place. Now in the presence of his brother he must wrestle with that from which he tried to run, with that he thought he had overcome. To be sure it is true of Jacob as it is true of us: “You, can run, but you cannot hide!”

And so he wrestles with it all and in the painful, difficult process is transformed. He discovers something new about himself, a new identity as a wrestler …Yisrael, “one who has wrestled with God and human beings, and prevailed.”

Of course, as we know, Jacob does not come away unscathed. A wound has been inflicted in the process. One he will carry with him for the rest of his life. In truth, the wound was always there, just carefully hidden away. Through his wrestling, Jacob has come to understand that he is wounded, that he must recognize and accept this wound, rather to try and deny it. In doing so, the wound transforms Jacob, and for the first time it begins to heal.

Transformed in his awareness and acceptance of his wound Jacob is able to approach his brother Esau in deference and humility, ready to accept whatever may come to pass.

I believe that Jacob also comes to recognize the truth of that first dream in a different way. Angels serve many functions in our lives; they bring us comfort and protection, to be sure. But angels can also challenge us, push us, urge us to change and challenge us to recognize and wrestle with that which we would rather hide away. So that we might grow towards our fully Divinely inspired potential.

I must take brief note of poor Esau, who gets such a bad name from our tradition. For he too has grown and healed. How does he greet Jacob? With a kiss. With forgiveness. Jacob, reliving old wounds may well have imagined his brother stuck in the same place. How often do we do the same. But he is not stuck in the past. Esau has grown, he has become successful in his own right. And he is able to forgive.

Perhaps he is able to do so because Esau recognizes the transformation that has taken place in his brother. In either case, these are two very different men from the teens who so angrily parted ways all those years ago. There is healing and forgiveness.

Now, the great power of the Torah, of course, is that it is not a book of fairy tales. We can relate to its very real emotions because it is a very human book. Jacob’s wrestling will continue. Anyone who know Jacob's story knows this as well. His journey, as Joseph’s and Moses’ and Miriam’s and all who follow is a cyclical story of wounding and reconciliation and wrestling and healing.

And certainly we all recognize that the power of this story is that it is not just Jacob's story. We are all Yisrael. We are all wrestlers. We are all wounded, and healed and wounded and healed again. And through it all we hopefully grow stronger, wiser, more humble and better able to serve, support, challenge, and comfort those who like us, are also wrestling.

Because, you see, not only are we wrestlers, we are angels as well. The Hebrew word we translate as angel “malach” does not translate as angels as we’ve come to understand them. Actually the word means “messenger, God's messengers.” And isn’t that us? Our job is to bring God's message to others. We are to be the challenging messengers when that is the message that needs to be carried, as well as messengers of hope, of comfort, of strength and healing and blessing.

Take a moment and look around this sanctuary. It is filled with God's messengers. At our highest that is what we are each meant to be, each of us created in God’s Divine image. When we lift ourselves up on our toes with the recitation of “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh,” It is, for me a symbolic reminder that we must raise ourselves up to a higher Divine purpose to serve as angels for others as they wrestle to do the same.

All around us are angels. We are reminded of this each evening as we say the bed time shema that is accompanied by a prayer asking that we be surrounded by God's ministering angels. By Mi-chael: by those who in their very being shine with God's Divine presence. By Gavriel: by those who bring us strength and support in our moments of weakness. By Uriel: those whose light brightly guides our way when we find ourselves in dark places. And by R'faeil: those who bring healing to us in our moments of pain when we feel most wounded and vulnerable.

Surrounded by such angels, we cannot help but feel enveloped by God's sheltering presence: the shechinah. Perhaps it was a sense of that Divine presence that gave Jacob the strength to overcome that which had wounded him and the humility to reconcile with his brother Esau.

So it is for us not just a bed time prayer, but also a prayer for when we gather here: that all around us we may feel the presence of shechinah, that we may, in each other find our healers, our strength, and our light, that in each other we might see angels who simply carry God for us when we seem unable to do so ourselves.

So as we consider Jacob's wrestling and our own let’s join together now in Debbie Friedman's beautiful words about the shechinah. That through it all we find blessing. That through it all we ultimately find, all around us, shechinah.

“May our right hand bring us closer to our Godliness.
May our left hand give us strength to face each day.
And before us may our vision light our paths ahead.
And behind us may well-being heal our way.

All around us is Shechinah

Miy'mini Mi-chael, umismoli Gavriel,
Umil'fanai Uri'eil, umei'achorai R'faeil,
V'al roshi Sh'china

May Michael be at my right hand, Gabriel at my left,
Before me Uriel, behind me Raphael,
And above my head the Divine Presence.”

Rabbi Barry M. Lutz, R.J.E.

Senior Rabbi of Temple Ahavat Shalom

Northridge, CA 91326

Day 15: Epilogue

2011-07-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Day 15: epilogue

What have we learned?

We learned a great deal about European 'facilities'. We can tell you in detail about the porcelain of Europe as bathrooms were the second most important stop on every day of touring.

We have learned a great deal about each other. This small group of travelers from TAS became a family over the course of our two weeks together. how will we eat alone?

We have all grown a great deal ... Both in pant size and in knowledge. No matter the level of expertise about the Holocaust we all learned a great deal about the topography of this most nightmarish piece of our history.

We learned that America stands outside the arc of Jewish history. The freedom and acceptance we have been graced with in this country is truly exceptional. I think we all understand sa great deal better now how important it it to protect and defend that liberty that was never granted us very long in anyplace in the two millennia history of our people.

We all understand much more profoundly the importance of Israel. How different might the world be today, if our families and communities would have had a place to which they could go when every other door was barred and every window closed?

We learned to laugh, to appreciate each other and the moment. There were some incredibly difficult moments, but together we pushed through them ... And always, always returned to the celebration life.

Day 14: Potsdam and the Wansee conference

2011-07-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Day 14: Potsdam and Wansee

Our final day in Berlin we made our way to Wansee, where, at a beautiful, idyllic setting the Nazi high command decided on the 'final solution to the Jewish problem'.

Our first stop was a beautiful upper class neighborhood in a western Berlin suburb call Grunewald. Here the upper crust lived including a healthy number of the social elite. The quiet neighborhood, with it's train station became one of the primary deportation points for the Jews of Berlin.

We were joined for the day by Johannes, a PhD candidate in Jewish/German studies who provided wonderful insight and information throughout the day.

He gave us his theory that the German's picked this quiet, out of the way suburb on purpose in order to not cause too much commotion around the 'relocation'. We walked up to 'platform 17' which was the place where Jews were loaded onto trains. Along both sides of the platform was inscribed in iron plaques the chronology of the transports.

Especially moving was the discovery of one transport of 953 Berliners to Minsk. A day earlier Karen had shared with us the story of her father's family, who had been deported to Minsk and presumably died there. Here, on this railroad platform, Karen stood, where, most likely her relatives had stood on the journey that ultimately ended their lives.

From there we traveled to Wansee, a very large and beautiful lake, set in the forests west of Berlin that is clearly a favorite vacation and recreational spot for Berliners. Here in January 1942 the final solution was established. In realty, the mechanisms for the extermination of the Jewish people were already in place and in operation. But this meeting was really to get everyone on the same page. All documentation of the conversations at the meeting were supposed to have been destroyed. But, one copy of the transcript was found in the Office of Foreign affairs after the war.

We toured the rooms where the Wansee conference took place, going from room to room through an excellent exhibit documenting all that had led to the war and finally to this 'solution'. As if one needed a reminder, it is made strikingly clear that Hitler did not spring out of the blue. Virulent anti-Semitism had existed for years in Germany. The religious anti-Semitism of old was supplanted by a race based anti-Semitism that deemed, from as early as the end of the 19th century that the Jews we a threat to the German race. Indeed, it was the 'evil' doings of the Jews and their false alliances and allegiances that was ultimately seen by many as the cause for the German loss in WWI.

We then stopped for a lakeside lunch where a number of us ordered 'quiche's' that turned out to be rather large pizzas instead. I settled for a 'salmon' salad that turned out to be a lox salad. And, given that my lunch arrived 15 minutes after everyone else's, it must have been freshly smoked!

Following lunch we set off for a tour of Sans Souci, Frederick the II's summer residence ... And

On the way we walked across the bridge where, during the cold war spies and prisoners were exchanged from one side to the other. It was famously here that Natan Sharansky came to the west.
It is important to remember that there was not only a wall that split the city in two, but the was also a wall surrounding West Berlin, which was an island of Democracy in the middle of the GDR (German Democratic (ha) Republic).

Then it was on to Sans Souci which was, dare I say, truly a pleasure palace. 'Sans souci' means without sadness, and indeed it seems that Fred did all that he could to make that so. Statues of Bacchus the wine god fill the palace. He had a taste for good food, good wine and French philosophy. And women were not allowed in this ornately decorated place. Fred, it seems, was not so fond of women. While he was married even his wife was not allowed in this place. But Voltaire was allowed ... And while the other guest rooms were rather plain, his was beautifully decorated. Perhaps Frederick II had a taste not only for French philosophy, but for French philosophers as well?

Then it was back to Berlin for our last memorial visit: the former head quarters of the Gestapo which is now called 'The Topography of Terror". This museum is bordered on one side by the remains of the Berlin wall. Ironically enough, this concrete wall whose purpose was to separate now must itself be separated, fenced off from souvenir seekers who might otherwise help themselves to a bit of history.

In Germany and throughout our journeys we have heard continually things categorized as 'before 89' and 'after 89'. It to conceive of, but the Shoah is almost ancient history. Howard noted that when we were growing up in the 60's and speaking about the 1890's it was prehistoric for us. So too, for the children of Germany, indeed for all our children. 1941 / 42, when the final solution was agreed to, was 70 years ago.

The museum itself is situated on the grounds of Gestapo headquarters which was demolished in allied bombing during the war; and is dedicated outside to the torture and death of prisoners. Inside is a chronological look at how this cam about. What is clear is that there was a great deal of popular support for the Nazis. First, they fed on the already established, racially based anti-Semitism and suspicion of all this different. Second, they relied a great deal on intimidation, scaring people into submission and participation ... In that way keeping the citizenry in line. Although, to be clear they had a great deal of support, much based upon their ability to better living conditions in severely economically depressed Germany. (much of this growth can be attributed to the building of a war machine).

Like all exhibits, it is well constructed and executed ... And once again points to the German silliness to own up and take responsibility for the horror and death that they caused.

Following a brief break we met up with our tour guide Mona, who asked if she could join us for our final dinner. She did. More than that, guiding us through subway stations to probably the best meal we had in Germany, at an outstanding Turkish restaurant. With good food and gear company we soon lost track of time. Before we knew it 11p.m. Had arrived. We journeyed the subways in reverse where we all headed to our rooms to finish packing and prepare for an early morning journey to the airport and home.

Tomorrow: epilogue ... Some final thoughts as we return home.

Day 13: West Berlin

2011-07-09T09:01:00.001-07:00

Day 13: West Berlin

Today's adventure began with a tour of a few sites we had missed in East Berlin: the Bebelplatz, site of the book burning in 1933, when the Nazi's burned thousands of books they considered to be in opposition to their philosophy. This happened in the square surround by the University and the Berlin opera ... in other words in the center of intellect and culture. And what more is there that you need to know? The suppression of ideas and the terrorizing of those that espouse and support those ideas says all you need to know about any oppressive regime.

As it is Fashion Week in Berlin, we also viewed a small square with a memorial to the Jewish contribution to the fashion industry. In fact, the steps of the subway entrance in that square list the names of those prominent members of the fashion community, (many of whom were Jewish) that were lost in the Holocaust.

And here is the interesting thing I have discovered in Germany: it is almost as if every neighborhood, every industry, every particular interest want to make sure to remember 'their' Jews. Unlike Poland, or Hungary ... and perhaps to a lesser extent the Czech Republic, where there are memorials to the 'victims' (most of whom, if not all, were Jewish), here there is a deliberate consciousness to recognize the Jewish community that was lost and the most major contributions to Berlin and to German.

Nothing speaks to this more than the magnificent Jewish Museum of Berlin. The brilliant architect of this building, Leibnitz, takes you physically through the journey of German Jewry, as through museum artifacts and artwork you learn the story of the almost 2000 years of Jewish life in Germany. The journey begins and ends with the Shoah, as the most distinct and terrible marker in the history of German Jewry. But then you wind your way through a most interesting building, encountering not only fascinating exhibits that tell a most important story, but also 'void' spaces, interruptions in the story that serve as a constant reminder of the moments of terror and death that continually interrupted the continuity of Jewish life in Germany. And yet, as you learn from even the staircase you ascend to the top of the exhibition whose steps extend beyond the exhibition, there remains a future, the story is not complete. We may not know where our steps will lead us, but certainly even this museum can not tell the entire story, which has yet to be written.

This museum, is, in and of itself, worth the trip to Berlin. One can not be in the vicinity of Berlin and miss this very, very impressive and important testament to the Jewish community of Berlin, Germany and, by extension, Europe.

Of course, there was a brief moment for shopping as well as we ventured ever so briefly to KaDeWe, the famous, Jewishly built and once again Jewishly owned department story in West Berlin. This huge department store has a little bit of everything ... but we, in particular made our way to the 4th floor where the souvenirs could be found ... or to the 6th floor with its most impressive display of all sort of delectable treats. We bought and we ate and we saved some for later.

Returning to the bus, our tour guide Mona had waiting for us 'Berliners', these are the original soufganiyot ... or jelly donuts that we eat on Hanukkah. And this led to the continuation of a debate we have been having for two days about J.F.K's famous words in 1961 following the building of the Berlin wall. In order to express solidarity with the now surrounded West Berliners and imprisoned East Berliners he famously stood on the balcony of a West Berlin civic building and declared "Ich bin ein Berliner" (my apologies if i have not quite gotten the spelling of the German) I am a Berliner ... or, as has been noted, "I am a jelly donut!", as Berliner is also the name of these tasty treats. The truth is both are correct. And further, the people of Berlin clearly knew what Kennedy was saying , even though they do not express themselves this way. So that they are not confused with jelly donuts, they tend to say, Ich bin aus Berlin, I am from Berlin. So take your pick, JFK could have been expressing his solidarity, or the fact that he was hungry ... or maybe both all wrapped up quite efficiently in one German sentence.

Following the museum, we returned home to prepare for an evening out, which began with havdallah in a nearby park,
where we joined together for a final time to reflect on this amazing journey. It is hard to believe we are almost at the end. Tomorrow will be our final day as we travel to Potsdam, the site of the Wansee conference that decided upon the final solution.

And tomorrow will also be my final entry in this blog. See you

Day 12: East Berlin

2011-07-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

Day 12: East Berlin

We spent the day exploring what was the Jewish community of east Berlin. Like in so much of Europe, I felt as if we were pursuing ghosts. 'This used to be here." "He lived here" "They worshiped here"

Between the Nazi terror, the allied bombing and the communist disinterest, little is left of what used to be. That is not to say that there is not a lot there. East Berlin is bustling! Filled with life and people. New businesses, new restaurants, new buildings ... some built to look new, some built to resemble what had been ... but all new, just the same.

We visited the home that Abraham Geiger, one of the founders of Wissenschaft des Judentums, (the scientific study of Judaism), which became so central to the developing Reform movement, used to live in, situated in what is now a lovely East Berlin chain of courtyards. We visited the cemetery where he is buried (it was closed early for Shabbat). There is nothing there as the cemetery was completely destroyed after the German defeat at Stalingrad in 1943. Only Geiger's tombstone has been recreated.

We stood in front of the cemetery where a Jewish old age home used to stand. It was the gathering place for Jews being shipped out of Berlin to Auschwitz and other extermination camps.

Interestingly enough, next door is a Jewish school. It was a Jewish school before the war and continues to be a Jewish school today. 25% of its students are not Jewish, but they learn Hebrew, study Jewish customs, etc. Above the entrance way is a sign declaring that it is a Jewish school. According to our tour guide, it is the only sign with the word Jew on it in Berlin that predates the war.

There are memorials everywhere you look, reminders of what used to be. Brass plaques in the street proclaiming the name of the Jewish family that used to live in this place ... and where they died. There is a memorial to the children sent out of Germany on the kindertransport in 1938, memorials to those deported from Berlin, etc. We have seen memorial after memorial in our journey from Warsaw to Berlin. But, today we encountered on of the most impressive.

It is a memorial made of 2711 (?) individual blocks of concrete like material. Why 2711? No reason. Each block made of a different size, some come up to your knee some tower over you. They are laid out across a plaza, next to the Brandenburg Gate in columns and rows that undulate up and down, that are laid out at angles so that you are never standing quite on flat ground. As you walk into the memorial you start to lose your sense of balance, when you turn a corner you have no idea who will be there, you start to feel unbalanced, even dizzy and certainly disoriented. And that is exactly the point of this brilliant piece ... to make you feel exactly that, uncomfortable, unbalanced, disoriented, ... It is one of the most interactive pieces of interactive art that I have ever seen. It is not to be missed if one is in Berlin.

It was pointed out to us that the shopping center across the street from the memorial sits atop what was the bunker in which Hitler took his life. No one knows exactly where that bunker was anymore. The German government wanted to make sure it did not become a place of memorial for anyone, at anytime in the future.

Shabbat evening started the "New Synagogue" (new in the late 1800's). It was a huge, Moorish style synagogue that served the Jewish community of Berlin until 1941. During Kristalnacht it was saved from destruction by a non-Jewish German policeman, who considered it a treasure of Berlin and not to be destroyed. He held up a piece of blank paper in front of those set on destroying the synagogue and said he had an order that it was to be spared. And so it was ... at least until the Allied bombing of Berlin when all but the facade was destroyed. Since 1989 it has been partially restored and now serves both as a museum and as a working Conservative (Masorati) congregation.

The service, held in a smaller chapel was jam packed, mostly with visitors but with a sizable congregation as well. We heard a d'var Torah from the president of the Mesorati (conservative) movement in Israel, an American born rabbi, who spoke about some of the challenges facing us as liberal Jews in responding to the "zealous" orthodox establishment.

I think we all sat there thinking the same thing, "Here we are in Berlin, sharing Shabbat services in a vital, living congregation ... in Berlin!" It brought a smile to all our faces.

Following a light dinner, some of us headed off for a bit more to eat. We were directed by our guide to a more local area where we joined in conversation and much laughter at a local Brazilian style restaurant. At midnight we found ourselves walking home from across a still very much alive and vibrant city.

Tomorrow: West Berlin

Day 11: Prague to Berlin

2011-07-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

Day 11: Prague to Berlin

We bid a fond farewell to Prague and started our journey to our final destination: Berlin. Our tour guide Kamila noted that Vienna is like a princess, regal and aloof, Budapest like a gypsy, enticing and mysterious and Prague was like a lovely maiden touching the spirit and the soul. As we left the city this morning she told us once one has visited one never says goodbye, but is always anticipating and planning ones return. One cannot leave for long.

We all certainly understood as we left this charming and beautiful city.

We drove north through the city and through the countryside as we made our way to the German border and on to Dresden.

Dresden, of course, was destroyed by allied incendiary bombing in one night 12 weeks before the end of the war. 35,000 lost their lives and 85% of the city was destroyed. The bombing was clearly retribution for the bombing of London as Dresden had no military significance. But it sent a message to the Germans that clearly helped bring about the end of the war.

But that is not the end of the story as the Russians who controlled Dresden aft the was, saw it's destruction as an opportunity to rebuild the city according to it's ideology. It was only with a good deal of persuasion and deception that the people of Dresden were able to keep the remains of their historical sites in place ... That they might eventually be rebuilt.

That rebuilding did not begin until after 1989 ... Which makes the current condition of. Dresden that much more remarkable. The town center has been carefully rebuilt to resemble the pre-war times. It is reconstruction that, understandably, continues today. One thing that was not rebuilt was the original synagogue. That is a completely new structure. This brand new modern structure was a conscious decision of the Dresden community, we were told, to make the statement that they are not looking backward to what was but forward to a new and better relationship with the Jewish community. Our non-Jewish guide noted more than once the responsibility that the Germans have taken for what happened.

We took a quick tour of the royal palace replete with unbelievable treasures: ornate gold coffee sets, intricately carved glass crystal and ivory. Following lunch we quickly toured the Hall of the Masters where our guide showed us just three of the hundreds and hundreds of amazing works of art to be found there ... All also part of the royal collection. Luckily the foresight of the director of the museum saved these treasures by Rembrandt, Vermeer and so many more, when in 1939, anticipating what was to be he had the entire collection carefully stored in a nearby mine for the duration of the war.

By late afternoon we were back on the bus for the two hour drive to Berlin, where we sadly bid a fond farewell to our wonderful Czech guide Kamila. We checked into our final hotel and were off for a free evening to explore Berlin

10: Terezin

2011-07-06T09:08:00.001-07:00

Day 10: Terezin

Our last day in Prague consisted of a visit to Terezin, (Teresenstadt in German) the 'model' camp to which the Jews of Kolin were transported ... The first stop on the journey to their deaths in places like Auchwitz and Maidanek. But, to be sure, for many this was the place where their life ended. While often not thought of as a place of death, many, many thousands of Jews died of starvation, disease and were murdered in Terezin as well.

We visited Terezin, with Irene, born in Kolin, deported to Terezin in June of 1942 with the rest of the community and survived the ghetto which was liberated in May of 1945.

Kolin, she told us, was the second largest Jewish community in the Czech republic. They were very secular Jews. Irene told me that the rabbi of the town, Rabbi Feder, may his memory be a blessing, had a difficult time even getting a minyan. Like most of the Czech Jewish community, they considered themselves Czechs first and often barely knew they were Jewish. But, everyone who has spoken of Rabbi Feder has only spoken in glowing, even heroic terms about this man. And all have noted how much better off the Czech Jewish community would be today if only it had a rabbi like him.

On the way she oriented us for our visit at Terzin. Terezin was a garrison town built by the emperor Joseph in honor of his mother Theresa. It was a military garrison and a surrounding town that supported the military. (not unlike the original Auschwitz which was also a Polish military barracks). Terezin is on the northern Czech border close to Germany, positioned there strategically to repel the Germans who were continually invading the country. It was built to house 7,000 but housed upwards of 50,000 during the war.

We toured exhibits which spoke about life in the ghetto: horrific overcrowding, constant threat of disease (in fact the ghetto was quarantined for two months following it's liberation because of an outbreak of typhoid), and the terrible SS torture at the 'small fortress' that took the lives of upwards of 25,000.

With it's beautiful courtyards and seemingly 'nice' living conditions it is hard to imagine how terrible life was in this place. Transports were continually bringing new Jews into the ghetto and others taking them away ... Mostly to Birkenau.

But Terezin is also a symbol of resistance. While there was no chance of armed resistance there was resistance through secretive poetry and art work through which they memorialized the truth of this place. A truth hidden from the world under a false facade that was forwarded by the Red Cross who were completely deceived into believing the German picture of the good life they were providing for the Jews. The reality of the Red Cross visit can only be understood, at best, as complete indifference. For as elaborate as the preparations were, the Red Cross made no real effort to dig below the surface. If they had the reality was right around the corner waiting to be seen.

Indeed, Terezin was a place of spiritual and mental resistance. The poetry, music, the drama and even the secretive decorated prayer room of the ghetto stand as everlasting witness to the fact that you might beat, torture, starve and even murder the body but you can not touch the mind and soul of ones who refuse.

This leads, however, to an interesting cognitive dissonance for those who visit Terezin in order to try and understand the terror of the Holocaust, for there they find today exhibits of paintings and poetry. There is even a room that discussed the theater of the ghetto. It is easy to walk away thinking 'it was bad ... Really bad, but not the full and horrific evil of which we often speak.

Of course, delving just a bit deeper one comes to understand the horror of this place as well ... And then you really come to understand the unbelievable courage and heroism of these artists who knowingly defied the Nazis.

We listened to many stories from Irene who told us much about life in the Ghetto ... As well as life before and after the war. She is, indeed, an amazing woman of incredible strength and spirit ... Very much like our own Sonia Liberman.

We concluded our visit to Terezin with a tour of the crematorium and a visit to the memorial to all those lost in this place. We stood below the large remains of a tree that was planted by the children of Terezin on Tu B'shevat. After the war it was transplanted in the memorial garden. But, then the Prague flood of 2002 killed the tree. It has now, appropriately enough, been turned into a memorial. In our visits to Jewish cemeteries across eastern and central Europe we often found the head stones of children decorated with the stump of a tree as a symbol of those whose too short life had been cut off. Standing at this tree we, one last time, joined together in memorial prayers for all those so tragically lost.

Returning to Prague we joined together for one last dinner as a traveling community. 12 of us continue on to Berlin tomorrow, but for Sharon and Shelly this journey has come to a conclusion. So, we bid them a fond farewell and safe travels as they return to the states.

Tomorrow we are on to Berlin.

Day 9: Kolin

2011-07-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

Day 9: Kolin

Finally, we arrive at our destination. Kolin is a small town with a population of about 30,000, approximately 60 km east of Prague. It was at one time a center of commerce in east Bohemia. The earliest gravestones in Kolin predate those in Prague by a few years and certainly Jews lived in this area continually for six or seven hundred years before being uprooted during the Shoah.

After an hour drive and a short walk we entered what was the Jewish ghetto. While much has been renovated, there were signs of what the ghetto must have looked like, dingy, dirty and grey. We walked along the main road through the ghetto to the main square - which has clearly gone through some fixing up of its own in in recent years.

After orienting ourselves we entered a building which led, through the back, to the synagogue. Here we were! This is the place where our Torah resided for, perhaps, 250 years! What an amazing feeling to be standing in that place. Our host, a young non-Jewish man, who is in charge of tourism in the city ... and therefore, over the synagogue as well, told us all about the synagogue in Czech while our guide translated. He is clearly very proud of the synagogue and even locked his office for 'lunch' so he could spend as much time with us as we wanted. Our tour guide Kamila was very impressed with the restoration work that has been done since her last visit here 7 years ago.

We then joined together in a memorial / dedication service. At the encouragement of all, I stood where centuries of rabbis had stood, where very few rabbis have stood since 1942. After a few readings I asked everyone to join me on the bima in front of the open ark as we placed there a beautiful book containing pictures and descriptions from our Torah renewal project this year. (Thank you Rabbi Shawna and Isaac!)

What an incredibly powerful moment, to be standing in front of a now empty ark, where our precious little Torah lived for so many years ... and to place there a remembrance of our being there and of our community's sacred work over this past year to make that Torah once again a living, vital part of a Jewish community.

Following tears, pictures and a shehechayanu, we moved upstairs to the ladies gallery to view an excellent exhibit about the history of Jewish Kolin and environs.

While we were there, the sun broke through for the first time during our stay. It was as if the community we were coming to honor and remember wanted to make sure we were appropriately welcomed.

All in all we spent a great deal of time in the sanctuary and it was only with some reluctance that we left this place we had been looking forward to seeing for so long. The good news is that the Synagogue has been restored, it is a center for concerts and communal events ... and next year, in early June will host a memorial to the 70th anniversary of the deportations. So, there is still a chance that you might also visit!

We walked back to the square where we were guided by the young man from the tourist office to 3 locations on the town square where brass plaques in the sidewalk mark the location where Jewish families lived prior to their deportation. One thing is quite clear from the location of these three families, directly on the town square. Jews were a very prominent and important part of the community prior to World War II. This important project is one in which I hope we will participate, helping to memorialize the Jewish history of this town and remind all who come of those who were brutally taken and lost from the community.

Following a picture on the town square most of us made our way to a newly opened Pizzeria in a corner of the town square ... to relax for a bit, take advantage of free wifi, and enjoy some very good pizza.

Then it was off to the new Jewish cemetery. Here members of the Jewish community began to bury their dead following their exit from the ghetto. In other words, in this part of the world, anything existing only since the American Revolution is 'new'. We visited a memorial build and dedicated in the early sixties to the lost members of the community. Here we each found the names of those we had been carrying with us over the course of our journey. We joined together once again in a brief memorial, each reciting the names of those we had carried before joining together in kaddish.

The 'new' cemetery has quite a bit of open space remaining ... but no Jews left to be buried in this sacred space. I couldn't help but think that these names, all listed together on one memorial, should rightfully, each eventually, had their own plot in this land that will remain unused.

After some quiet viewing of the cemetery, we boarded the bus and bid farewell to Kolin. After so much planning and so much anticipation, it is hard to believe that this moment we had all looked forward to for so long had now passed. Of course there is still more to come ... but this was the impetus and now our task has been completed. We went, we prayed, we remembered. We will carry the memory and the names with us forever.

zichronam livrachah ... may the memories of these precious souls remain a source of inspiration and blessing for all time.

Tomorrow: Terezin and a visit with Irene -- a survivor from Kolin.

Day 8: Prague

2011-07-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Day 8: Prague

Today we toured the Jewish quarter of Prague.

We spent the morning learning about the ups and downs of the Jewish community of this beautiful city. Like all such communities, with apologies to Dickens, there were the best of times and the worst of times.

The earliest grave markers in the cemetery are from the early 15th century, but clearly the Jewish community was here earlier ... perhaps as early as the 10th century. Like all communities in Europe the Jews came to Prague at the bidding of the local rulers, who hired them to be their money lenders and tax collectors. (Something, of course, which which greatly endeared them to the local population ... who already considered them the murderers of their Lord)

Prague is probably best known as the home of the Maharal, Rabbi Judah Loew, a rabbi of great intellect and erudition. He was a great Judaic scholar and a master of mystic texts ... and the creator of the Golem. The legend is that the Maharal created the Golem, with God's help and instructions to protect the Jewish community in times it was under attack from the surrounding community.

We toured 4 synagogues, two of which remain working synagogues and two which now simply serve as museums. In each of the synagogues are displayed articles of the precious legacy. Prague was the collection point, of course, for the Judaica from around the Czech Republic ... to store it and protect it during the Nazi occupation. This is the story of our precious Torah although the synagogue in which the scrolls were stored is not in the city center, so we did not visit that location. But we saw beautiful Judaica that, ironically, as perhaps was evilly intended, now is displayed as a legacy of a community that used to be.

Tags can be found on much of the Judaica, identifying the individual family, or community from which it came ... and remaining sadly for people or communities that no longer exist to return and claim them.

The "Pinchas" synagogue has been turned into a memorial to all Jewish/Czech victims of the Shoah. Along its walls are painted the names of each victim, listed first by city or town and then alphabetically within each town. We found the city of Kolin and witnessed the names of all those lost from the town of our precious little Torah. On the second floor of the synagogue is a moving exhibition of the artwork of the children of Terezin. An art therapist, imprisoned in Terezin worked with the children to help them to deal with their horrific life experiences. The artwork survives as testimony to the horrors of Terezin (contrary to the Red Cross report of the time) and to the children, deported to Auschwitz only months after the Red Cross reported on the exemplary living conditions of the Jewish community imprisoned at Terezin. (In fact, the Germans did such a great job of deceiving the Red Cross, that they found no reason to move on to the next camp they were to visit ... as they were told they would find a Auschwitz the same exemplary living conditions!)

Along the way we learned a bit about the Czech psyche. Unlike Poland and Hungary, the Czech people are not very religious. They are first and foremost Czech and atheist. Most houses of worship are fairly empty as Czech's are just not interested. Add in the destructive results of 40 years of oppressive communism and most people just want to live their own life. Their is a strong unwillingness to get involved as it has been drummed into them the dangers of involvement. One of the things that is clear is that communist rule hammered into peoples heads a great suspicion of each other. With freedom that suspicion may have changed somewhat ... but only into a distinct indifference about others. As our tour guide told us, it may take two or more generations to grow up in freedom to overcome the psychic damage incurred by 70 years of Nazi and them communist oppression.

Following lunch we walked to the Charles Bridge, the only bridge that connected the "lesser" city of Prague from the Castle district for hundreds of years. In the middle of the bridge is a 16th century statue of Jesus on the crucifix surrounded by the words "kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Adonai tz'vaot" (Holy, holy, holy is the God of hosts). It was quite striking and a little disturbing to see the words of the "kedushah", the climax of our prayer service, surrounding the crucifix. We were told by our tour guide that this is because this is one of the only places in the Jewish bible that seems to explicitly refer to the trinity (kadosh, kadosh, kadosh).

The bridge is for pedestrian traffic only and the bridge is filled vendors and musicians and hundreds and hundreds of tourists. It was another "Disneyland but for real" moment.

Some of us continued across the bridge to the Castle district side and did a bit of shopping, tasted some local treats and visited a graffiti wall dedicated to John Lennon (on which, at the very top of the wall I discovered LUTZ tagged onto the wall ... (I didn't do it, really).

In the evening we joined together for dinner in restaurant underneath the main music house, which is now having its annual music festival currently celebrating the music of Mozart and Dvorak. We had a tasty traditional Czech meal ... and then headed back to the Hotel to rest and relax for our next day journey to Kolin.

Tomorrow: our journey to our Torah's home, Kolin.

Day 7: Prague

2011-07-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Day 7: Prague

5a.m. Seriously!? Yes, we were up, packed and out of the hotel by 6a.m. making our way to the Budapest airport where we caught a Malev Airline flight to Prague.

We were greeted in Prague by Kamila, our tour guide for the next few days ... a woman who, like Anni in Prague had many surprises of her own. But, before going there, I might also mention that, while Northridge was suffering through 100+ temperatures, we encountered temperatures in the high 40s and rain for our first day walking tour of the Castle district of Prague.

We boarded the bus for a brief ride to the Castle district where neither wind nor rain stopped us from our appointed tour! Clearly dragging, Kamila guided us to a most welcome site: a cafe where we could grab some coffee and tasty treats.

Re-energized we headed to a small shopping area which contained a house in which Franz Kafka once lived. There, while making our way through this quaint little shopping area, we ran into TAS teacher Jackie Kovar and family who are making their own pilgrimage to Slovakia, where Jackie's father was hidden and survived the Holocaust. It is an amazing story that he has shared with many of our students. What an amazing thing to return to visit the home where he was hidden and meet the daughter of the woman who hid him and saved his life all those years ago. And how wonderful and unexpected to run into her and her family here in Prague.

Finally, through more wind and even heavier rain we made the 40 minute trek across Old Prague to our hotel for some much needed rest as we have a busy few days ahead of us as we culminate our trip with a visit to Kolin in just two days.

The evening started with wonderful dinner with some great Czech beer thanks to our night life specialist Samantha who guided a few of us after dinner to an even great jazz club. Unbeknownst to me, Prague is known for it's jazz clubs. In fact Bill Clinton played his sax once at the club we visited. (no jokes please!). Finally after roaming lost around the city we finally made it back to our hotel to rest up for the Fourth of July.

Tomorrow the Jewish quarter of Prague.

Day 6: budapest

2011-07-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Budapest and Szentendre

Waking bleary eyed after a few hours of sleep, we headed off for a tour of the Hungarian parliament. It is an amazingly ornate and impressive building. A tour guide led us up a long flight of stairs to the center of the building where we visited the "Crown Jewels" guarded at all times by Hungarian guards. We then walked down the hallway to the parliament, which seats 368 (I believe). It is a right wing government that rules with a large majority, joined by two even more extreme right wing groups ... including a fascist group that holds 13% of the vote.

Each step of the way we were followed by plain clothed security that made sure we stayed together ... commanding us to keep up with the group, should we stop to take a picture.

While truly impressive there was also something strangely ominous about all of this. I had an uncomfortable feeling that it was not easy to shake. Perhaps it is the grandiosity of the building itself? Perhaps the plain clothed security following us around? Perhaps the right wing government that, as our tour guide Anni would tell us later, was already invoking measures and making speeches that reminded her parents of 1938.

Anti-semitism, it seems, is never far from the surface ... even here, in the country in which the Jews were probably the safest. Of course, following the viscous anti-semitism of Nazi Germany, there was the more tolerant, but also oppressive anti-semitism of the communist era. And now, there is anti-semitism arising from blame being placed on the Jews for the 40 years of communist rule! (Believe it or not ... after all, Karl Marx was a Jew ...)

Of course, when we returned to the bus and to Anni we learned what had not been mentioned by our Parliament guide, that the buildings architect was Jewish. The hidden, unrecognized contributions of Jews to Budapest is truly amazing. And what would become clear later, is just how frustrating this is to Anni ... not only that it goes unrecognized, but that the Jewish community is unwilling to stand up and ask for that official recognition.

Well, following our tour of Parliament we took off for the Castle District, for a quick tour of the Buda hilltop where this city began ... as a castle, cathedral and fortress.

After a brief visit we headed off towards the small artist colony of Szentendre. But on the way, we stopped for a brief visit to the Raoul Wallenberg memorial, located in a lovely park in the "Rose Hill" area of Buda, which was ... and still is today ... the traditional Jewish neighborhood of Budapest.

Today, about 80,000 Jews live in Budapest, the third largest Jewish city in Europe following London and Paris. On the way to lunch and the artist colony of Szentendre I had the opportunity to discuss the demographics of the Jewish community with Anni. She noted that it is hard to tell just who is who and who belongs to what. No one, she said, would 'join' a synagogue. After all, that is how the Jews were rounded up by the Nazis ... by reviewing synagogue lists. So, people anonymously support causes and Jewish programs of interest, but often, making sure that their names are not published, recorded, etc. There is also little trust in the Jewish Federation of the community, which is still seen as a corrupt institution from the communist era, that can not be trusted to appropriately handle the funds contributed to it. Rather, the respected organization in the community is the Joint Distribution Committee, run, Anni pointed out, by Americans and Israelis.

Arriving at Szentendre we made our way through winding narrow streets and alleys to the most marvelous of restaurants, "The Golden Dragon". Now in America such a place would automatically mean, "Chinese". But don't be fooled this was exquisitely prepared Hungarian cuisine in what is billed as the first privately owned restaurant in Hungary. (Opening in 1977)

This "light" lunch, as Anni called it, consisted of a starter salad with mozzarella and assorted salamis, a beef broth soup with noodles, beef, vegetables and a quail egg. This was followed by a goose breast prepared in a sweet au jus with sesame seeds, delicious mashed potatoes and sweet red cabbage. Finally dessert, which I can only describe as a warm "matzah ball" of sweet cheese smothered in an amazing strawberry sauce. Then to top it off ... espresso. All I can say is 'wow'.

We rolled out of the restaurant and made our way to the 'smallest synagogue' in the world. Indeed the 14 of us plus Anni barely fit into the place. It is impossible to relate the entire story here, but, Anni began to weave a most emotional story about the difficulties of the final months of world war two, the loss of the members of this small Jewish community and the building of this little synagogue as a memorial to them. Only at the end of the story did we come to learn that this was not just any story, this was our tour guide Anni's story ... and this synagogue was her synagogue built by her and other family members in memory of her family and the other lost members of this community. (Which, by the way, included a great uncle who founded Herend ... the well known Hungarian porcelain manufacturer.)

We then wandered the streets finding all sorts of treasures to bring home and boarded a boat to cruise back up to our Hotel on the 'blue Danube", which Anni noted, she has never seen blue!

Another lengthy day ended with a memorial service and reflection at 'The Line of Shoes". On a high levee on the banks of the Danube, just a block from the Parliament is a memorial created by a non-Jew to the Jewish victims who were murdered by the Arrow Cross, a Hungarian pro-Nazi group in the final days of the war. 30 pairs of shoes, old, tattered and worn stand in silent testimony to what happened in this place in the winter of 44-45. Here, Jews from the ghetto, randomly selected were brought. They were ordered to remove their shoes and then a line of 10 or 15 was bound together with rope or wire. As bullets were becoming scarce at the end of the war this war their evilly genius solution ... all bound together, one Jew would be shot. As he fell off the levee 15 or 20 feet into the freezing cold water of the Danube, the rest of the group, would be pulled in with him. Many died instantly from the shock of the icy water, or succumbed to hypothermia as they floated as a group down the river.

Thankfully, down the river, there were those who would attempt to pull them out. In this way, a few were saved from this evil scheme, including the elderly woman from whom we had bought beautiful Judaic treasures the day before.

For the third time we joined together in memorial and recited kaddish for our precious people. Here, Anni noted, quite emotionally was an example of the problem that pained her so .... the memorial plaque at this place speaks of the murdered victims. Conspicuously missing is the word "Jew". When she asked the artist why this was the case he responded, "The Jewish community didn't want it there." The Jews of Budapest, she noted are afraid to speak up ... and the official Hungarian community is unwilling to acknowledge that this was, in particular, a Jewish tragedy. She noted the lack of official Hungarian participation in the memorial plaques at Dachau, where every other European country is listed. Why? and what will happen when there are none left to explain that ALL the victims remembered in the Line of Shoes Memorial were Jews? Not just generic Budapest citizens.

We then spent a few moments in reflection about this first week ... all that we had encountered and all that we had experienced.

What an incredibly packed couple of days! We headed back for dinner and to pack and prepare for a 5a.m. wake up call to catch a flight out of Budapest and on to Prague.

Day 5: Budapest

2011-07-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Budapest

Day 5 began as we woke up in the very nice Sofitel Hotel in the Pest bank of the Danube. Our Budapest guide Anni took us first to the top of a Buda hill for the best overview of the city.

From there it was on to visit the Dohany Synagogue. Why Dohany? Because that is the street that it is on ... according to Anni the convention for most congregations in Budapest. It is an absolutely magnificent structure that defies description here ... beautifully and ornately decorated AND the second largest synagogue in the world. (Second to only Temple Emanuel in NY I believe).

There Anni told us the very sad story of Hungarian Jewry ... who remained mostly untouched until the last months of the war. Because the Hungarians were German allies until the end of the war they were left alone (mostly because the Hungarian military was off fighting on the Russian front), and (for the most part) they left their Jews alone as well.

Even as the allies were occupying other parts of Hungary a ghetto was formed around the Dohany Synagogue and the Jewish of the city were rounded up and placed there. In the meantime, Jews of the country side still under Hungarian/German control were also rounded off, placed in cattle cars and sent off to Auschwitz. In fact, the last transports to Auschwitz were the Jews of Hungary and as we learned, any pictures you have seen of the Jewish victims in Auschwitz are of these Hungarian Jews. For some unknown reason, even as the Germans were losing the war and even as the SS was dismantling other camps and beginning to destroy evidence of what they had done, they allowed the documentation of these last transports to the death camp.

The Jewish community of the Hungarian countryside was virtually wiped out. Thankfully, even though conditions in the Budapest ghetto were horrific and there were many, many brutal incidences and too many deaths and murder, the people of the ghetto were saved from final demise as the German's simply ran out of time and possibility to deport the residents of the ghetto.

As I said, this did not mean that there were not terrible times. The courtyard of the sanctuary became a mass grave as there was no cemetery in the ghetto It is now a memorial to all those who died in the ghetto.

In a courtyard behind the Synagogue is another beautiful memorial to the Hungarian victims. It is a silver tree that actually is an upside down menorah. The branches of the tree hold the names of the thousands of Hungarian victims. The tree itself was funded by Tony Curtis (a Hungarian Jew) and by those who have bought leaves on the tree.

A good amount of time was spent browsing and purchasing lovely handmade Judaica, created by a (now) elderly woman, who as a youth had incredibly managed to survive a murder attempt by the Arrow Cross ... A Hungarian band of Nazi sympathizers who terrorized the city in the final months of the war. (more on that below)

Leaving the synagogue we traveled to Andrassy Street. Today, having achieved freedom this beautiful street has begun to regain some of it's pre-war and pre-communist era magnificence. This street, in great measure, is why Budapest was considered the "Paris of the east".

Originally the street was built as an avenue leading from the Buda side of the city to the millennium exhibition, which was held in 1896 to celebrate the millennial birthday of the country.

Lined by upscale stores the upper floors were often the apartments of the store owners. And here's the little secret you won't learn on a normal tour of the city, most of the architects and residents of these apartments were Jewish! Anni (her University studies in art and architecture) guided us through the buildings, noting the plaques in front of each building noting the date of construction and the (Jewish) architect and (Jewish) residents.

The buildings are slowly being restored to their original beauty. Having survived the war, these buildings did not survive communism. As a symbol of the equality of all, the communist government painted the buildings, inside and out a dismal grey. Moreover, glamorous apartments that had once been the residences of one family, were subdivided between several families. Buildings that had once been the homes of 4 or 5 families became small apartments of 20-25.

Anni herself experienced this, watching the government order her family to share their apartment with 2 other families moved in from the countryside. There was always the possibility that a member of one of these families might have been working for the secret police, and so, certain thongs were never discussed ... And in this way Anni's own Jewish identity was hidden from her, until in a burst of great pride following the 1967 war, her parents took her to the Dohany synagogue and revealed to her who she truly was.

Following our walk up and down the boulevard we returned to our lovely hotel to prepare for Shabbat.

We were welcomed for Shabbat by Congregation Sim Shalom, a small Reform congregation. The services were led by the Cantor as the rabbi was away with the youth group visiting London. Following services we were joined for a "traditional Hungarian Jewish meal" at Rosenstein's restaurant by the Cantor, the Rabbis husband and two other members of the congregation. The dinner was filled with lot's of calories and fascinating conversation with the members of Sim Shalom. The Cantor, for instance is a charming young man who converted to Judaism. He is now studying to be a Cantor with the "neolog" seminary in Budapest. (Neolog is best described as Orthodox lite). The rabbi's husband is an American physicist who was teaching at a university in Kentucky, when, on sabbatical he met his future wife when he attended services at Sim Shalom. Another member of the congregation is a retired journalist. It was fascinating to discuss with him what it was like to be a journalist behind the Iron Curtain. We were joined by another young woman who also had a fascinating story I am told ... but I didn't hear it so can't report it here.

So, you think this blog is long? You should have experienced the day!

Totally exhausted from a looooooong day, we headed back to the hotel and to bed to catch a few hours of sleep before an early rise and visit of some more fascinating sites on Saturday.

A beautiful view of Buda from Pest

2011-07-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

The ladies in old town Warsaw

2011-06-30T11:52:00.001-07:00

Day 4: Krakow to Budapest

2011-06-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Day 4: the road to Budapest

We were up very early today for a long day's drive from Krakow to Budapest.

But, before hitting the road we stopped for a fascinating visit at one of Krakow's most famous sites: the salt mine. It is very hard to describe but we spent over 2 hours touring the first three levels of the mine, moving from chamber to chamber filled with amazing sculptures created by the miners ... And even an enormous Catholic cathedral ... Located several hundred feet underground. This underground church was the work of 3 miners, working consecutively over the course of 67 years. The huge chamber is replete with iconic Catholic religious sculptures and 'paintings' all sculpted from the mine's salt. Today it is a working church, holding a mass each Sunday and is available to be rented for weddings. Truly, it is a remarkable place. Thanks to Ron Friedman who made sure that this site made the itinerary.

We left Poland and entered Slovakia ... We traveled from north to south across the country as we made our way to Hungary.

We stopped for a great lunch in Donovaly a little ski resort area in the middle of our route through Slovakia. As Debbie said, "it's just like Disneyland but real!"

Finally we arrived about 8p in Budapest where we bid a fond and grateful farewell to our wonderful guide Waclaw (pronounce Vatzlav), who guided us so brilliantly through Poland and said hello to Annie who will be our guide for our weekend stay in Hungary,

Tomorrow ... A tour of Jewish Budapest and Shabbat at Sim Shalom, the progressive synagogue of Budapest.

Day 3: Auschwitz and Krakow

2011-06-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

Day 3: Auschwitz/Birkenau and Krakow

Beautiful green fields of death. The cognitive dissonance between the beautiful, green rolling fields of southern Poland and the nightmare that happened there during the Shoah is simply impossible to put in words.

For the better part of 4 hours we walked in silence around the smaller Auschwitz camp and the massive Birkenau death camp (Auschwitz II). We started our tour in the first Auschwitz camp. This camp originally served the Polish military. We were surprised both by the relatively small size of the camp as well as the brick barracks. To be sure life in Auschwitz was horrific and brutal. Pictures lined the wall of men and women who had been brought into the camp. Under each picture was the date of entry and their date of death. Most died within months of their entry. At most someone might live for a year.

As horrific as Auschwitz was ... And as unbelievable as it sounds existence at Auschwitz II (Birkenau) was significantly worse. We moved down the road from Auschwitz to Birkenau with it's nightmarish brick entry under which cattle cars filled Jews from all over Europe would enter. Within hours 75 percent were dead. For those "lucky enough" to be selected to live, they faced existence so cruel and so inhumane that it is beyond comprehension and would seem to be beyond the human imagination. For most, selection to live was only a delayed death sentence as harsh work, lack of food and disease killed most within weeks of their arrival at Birkenau.

Silently we walked the wooden, ramshackle barracks, (whose original purpose was as horse stables) viewed the wood plank 'beds' layered with a sparse amount of straw on which 5 men slept on each level, 400 men to a barrack.

With tear filled eyes we walked around the ruined death factories, destroyed by the SS in the final days of the camp in a vain attempt to hide the evidence of the camp. Fortunately the Soviet Army arrived sooner than expected and they had to abandon their attempt to hide their evil. Several other camps, their task complete, were completely dismantled and trees planted to cover up these killing fields.

We stood and stared down incredulously at the 'undressing chamber' where a thousand at a time were instructed to undress before moving into the 'shower room' from which, of course, they would not leave alive.

And finally, at the far end of the camp, standing in front of the memorial to all who had died we cried as we joined together in a memorial service and laid a wreath in remembrance of the 1.3 million Jewish men, women and children who lost their lives in this terrible place.

It is ironic that on the morning of our visit I received an e-letter from the Middle East Media Research Institute containing a translation of a Saudi News article quoting a 'professor' from that country who claimed that the number of victims of the Holocaust was an gross exaggeration; and a second article by the president of Iran (one who shall not be named) claiming again that the entire thing is a hoax and Jewish conspiracy.

It was a reminder to me of just how important this journey is, just how important it is that we stand strong as witnesses and against all who would seek to deny, or even worse to reenact the horrors that we inflicted on our people.

We were blessed to be led on our tour by a young Polish man whose father, unbelievably survived Auschwitz from it's beginning to end. Arrested as a Part of the Polish resistance he 'served' as a translator and recorder in the camp, surviving death many times by strokes of good fortune. Destined to be murdered at the end of the war as a 'piece of evidence' that had to be eliminated, he was saved when the orders for his death were interrupted by the invading Soviet Army. Since that time this man and now his son have made it their task to teach about the horrific inhumanity of this place.

Our guide mentioned at the end of our stay that he would be coming to Los Angeles in November on vacation. It is our hope that we can prevail upon him to spend an evening with our community. In return we promised to give him a great tour of Los Angeles!

After this emotionally exhausting visit we returned to Krakow for a brief visit to the old Jewish quarter of the city. Here is where Spielberg filmed Schindler's list. Actually the old Jewish quarter was not the Jewish ghetto of Krakow during WW II, but it was much closer to the reality than what now exists in what was the real ghetto.

We visited the small, cramped Orthodox synagogue of Rabbi Moses Isserles who wrote the Ashkenazic gloss to Joseph Caro's shulchan aruch, the 'how to' guide to Jewish life that is an essential resource in every Jewish home.

We also visited the much larger and most beautiful 'progressive' synagogue where we listened to a great klezmer band rehearse for their evening concert as part of the Krakow Jewish Festival. Started in 1988 by a non-Jew, this festival has grown in numbers and popularity every year. It is amazing to think that now, in a city with a Jewish population of about 200 (the pre-war population was about 65,000),that the is this great celebration of Jewish life and culture.

We finished the evening with dinner at the hotel and a brief meeting with Aga, a young, Polish, non-Jewish PhD candidate in Holocaust studies at the local University (the oldest University in Poland). It was fascinating and gratifying to hear from a young Polish, Christian, woman who felt so passionately about remembering, preserving and promoting the teaching of the Holocaust in Poland.

Perhaps, as she said, the Jewish people will someday return to Poland, and see it as something other than a cemetery.

2011-06-29T14:24:00.001-07:00

Auschwitz

2011-06-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

Day 2. Warsaw to Krakow

2011-06-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Warsaw to Krakow

Following dinner last night we returned to the hotel where we found the lobby buzzing with ... Israelis! A large group of Israeli youth as swell as a large group of Israeli soldiers (in uniform). Many Israeli students and many Israeli soldiers visit this country in order to better understand the imperative of a Jewish homeland. (it doesn't take being here long to gain that understanding!)

Our morning began with. A visit to the Nozyk synagogue, the only remaining synagogue from pre war Warsaw. Built in 1902 the Synagogue survived for two reasons: it was part of the 'small' ghetto from which the Jews were deported and then this part of the ghetto was closed off and secondly because it was used by the Germans as a stable. One of the only 'survivors' of the war it was like all survivors the beneficiary of circumstance and a great deal of Lucks. Today the Nozyk synagogue is an active Orthodox shul for the small Warsaw Jewish community.

We then visited the "new" Jewish cemetery dating to the early 1800s after Jews gained the right to officially live inside the Warsaw city limits and to have their own cemetery there. Approximately 200,000 are buried there, 100,000 from before the war and another 100,000 from the ghetto ... Most of whom are buried in a large mass grave. We also visited the graves of some prominent Jewish and Polish individuals such as the great Hebrew and Yiddish author Y.L Peretz.

We then went to pick up lunch at a beautiful and very modern mall across the street from the cemetery. I couldn't help but think about the fact that this brand new mall was located in what was 70 years ago the ghetto. Such a strange juxtaposition ... As there is all over this city and country. It is impossible for me not to feel it ... To look at the elderly and wonder who they were during the war, too look at apartment buildings that stood inside the ghetto walls, now inhabited by Warsaw citizens and wonder if they know of the tremendous suffering that took place in their building, in their apartment ... Even in their bedroom?

We ate lunch on the bus while traveling to the town of Gur. In the mid-19th century this little town became the capital of one of the most prominent Hasidic movements, the Ger Hasidim. Founded by the great Hasidic master Yitzhak Meir Alterand followed by his equally prominent grandson Yehudah Leib Alter (the Sefat Emet) this is the largest Hasidic group in Israel today. Only two Jews remain in the town ... One of which we met, hearing his amazing story of resistance and survival in the Warsaw ghetto. Today the 'synagogue' has been 'restored' (really just a large empty room). But it remains a place of pilgrimage for the followers of the Ger rebbes.

After visiting their graves in what remains of a cemetery decimated by the Germans in their search for stones with which to build roads and buildings, we headed off for one more Jewish shtetl, the town of Kuzmir.

Kuzmir is a beautiful little village on the Vistula River a few hours south of Warsaw. Today it is a popular Polish summer vacation spot. In the early 1800s Rebbe Yehezkel ben Tzvi Hirsch Taub founded the Kuzmir-Modzitz Chasidic dynasty. They we're especially known for their musical talents ... And are widely recognized for the beautiful niggunim they composed. Chasidic legend has it that it was members of this group, deported by the Nazis and sent to Treblinka that composed the melody to Maimonides article of faith "ani ma'amin" .

On the long drive from Kuzmir to Krakow we experienced the first of what would be many personal connections when we stopped in the town of Kielce for dinner. This, as it turns out, was the ancestral home of Irv's mother's family.

As we left Kuzmir to begin the 5hour drive to Krakow, we all had a similar sentiment: this would be a beautiful country if it weren't Poland. While much better over the last 20 years, especially with the growing of Democracy, this is still a country steeped in anti-semitism ... Where soccer fans disparage the opposing team by calling them "Jews", where the Nuremberg laws remind in force until 1961, where we could find in a Kuzmirs gift shop little "rabbi statuettes" each prominently holding a bag of coins. Oy. I guess it's not easy to overcome 8 centuries of anti-semitism.

And tomorrow, Auschwitz.

Day 1: Warsaw

2011-06-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Warsaw

After a lengthy plane ride from LAX to Frankfurt and then on to Warsaw, we finally arrived at our hotel, where 6 had arrived a day earlier and 2 more arrived about an hour after us. Finally all together, the trip we have all been thinking about for this entire year has finally commenced.

We met our tour guide Waclaw (Vatzlav) ... (oy the Polish, Czech, Hungairan and German spellings are going to kill me!) who will be with us throughout our journey in Poland.

Although half of us were fighting to stay awake, we spent the afternoon touring the remnants of the Warsaw ghetto. We started at the south end of the ghetto where we saw remnants of the wall, there we were met by a 90 year old Polish man who had been part of the Polish resistance during the war.

We then made our way to the north side of the ghetto to see the famous memorial to the Ghetto fighters which stands across from what will in a year or so be a beautiful and impressive new museum dedicated to the history of Jewish life in Poland.

We stood somberly atop Mila 18, the bunker that was the center of resistance. It was difficult to imagine that 100 or so resistance fighters were entombed beneath our feet.

We then made our way to the Umshlagplatz ... the loading area where, every day 58 cattle cars would transport up to 7000 Jews to their death. All told 300,000 Jews crossed that plaza on the way to their death. We held our first of several memorial services, each of us picking a name from the many on the memorial wall, as together we recited kaddish.

It is a strange thing, indeed, to be in this city, to be in this country and to know its history. from the very beginning, almost 800 years ago, Jews were never welcome here ... why did they stay? What benefit was to be gained?

And it was sad to hear our tour guide say that for most Poles there is no real interest in this history. According to him, this is 'our' history not 'theirs'. How is that possible? How can they not see what happened here as part of their history as well?

I guess that those are questions that remain to be answered.

For now, exhausted from a long flight, we will head off to a welcome dinner in Old Town Warsaw before heading off to bed and (hopefully) a good nights sleep. Tomorrow promises to be a fascinating day as we make our way from Warsaw to Krakow ... and along the way, explore the birthplace of some of the most well known and prominent Chasidic movement.

Bring this flyer to Menchie's on June 8

2011-06-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

How has TAS strengthened you?

2011-05-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today we close the chapter on another year in our congregational journey and look forward to the year ahead, in a wonderful coincidence, we find the Israelites similarly positioned in our annual cycle of Torah reading. Yesterday we read the final chapters of the book of Leviticus, which closes the book as well on the Israelites stay at Mt. Sinai. This coming week’s parashah begins a new chapter in the story of the Israelites as the Book of Numbers opens with the Israelites moving way from Sinai and towards the Promised Land.

This journey, from Sinai to the Promised Land,is not just the mythical journey of our ancestors, but, of course, our own perpetual journey as well. We seem to be continually moving from Sinai to the Promised Land. Of course, there are those rare Sinai moments -- times of revelation when it all seems to come together, when we seem to have it all figured out, those rare moments of true clarity when we truly feel enlightened. And there are also those wonderful moments of accomplishment that sprinkle our journey as well, when we feel as if we have reached the promised land, special life moments that often come after much work and struggle and wandering, soments when we feel as if we have crossed the river and entered a new land filled with potential and promise. Such moment, equally, rare and treasured,fill us with pride and warmth and exhiliration.

But we can't stay long in either place. Most of our lives are spent somewhere in between the heights of the mountain and the milk and honey of the promised land, involved in the journey,wandering the wilderness. It’s not a bad place to be, by the way,because the journey is where we learn about ourselves,the journey is the place of growth and connection. And, most importantly, the journey is where we encounter each other because we do not journey alone. We have all kinds of traveling partners, our family, our friends, our community each making their own journey as well and all of us finding the blessings of support and comfort and love in each other’s presence as we move forward together -- as we move forward towards an envisioned promised land.

If we were to open a Torah, there between the end of Leviticus and the beginning of Numbers we would find a large blank space. This is the space of our journey. And it is into this space, into the wilderness, as it were, that we insert a blessing. chazak chazak v'nitchazeyk be strong, be strong and we shall be strengthened.

As I recite these words, before me appears an image of the Israelites, pulling up camp,turning their back on Sinai and facing the wilderness before them. “How are we going to do this?” one must have anxiously wondered. “How do we make this journey?” asked another. And perhaps a wise one among them addressed their concerns with a simple word, “Together” chazak chazak v'nitchazeyk You be strong and you be strong and together, we shall all be strengthened.

That, my friends, is the power of community That is the power of this sacred place. In joining our hands and hearts in walking together, in combining our strength we are all stronger, better equipped, better able to make the journey together.

We come quickly to the close of our 45th year of journeying together. Like all other years there were moments of heartache and struggle but there were revelatory Sinai moments as well and even some sweet promises fulfilled. Let me conclude by noting the sense of thanksgiving I feel as I look back and the hope and promise that fills me as I look forward all embodied in those words that have come to mark moments of transition moments like this one,when we come once more round the circle,to its ending and its beginning as we continue our journey together.

chazak chazak v'nitchazeyk be strong, be strong and we shall be strengthened.

Question: How has the TAS community strengthened you?

TAS at the Jewish World Watch Walk to End Genocide

2011-04-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

This morning over 40 members of TAS joined in the Jewish World Watch Walk to End Genocide. Our team raised about $2,000 for Jewish World Watch and the work they do to end genocide and to bring freedom to people suffering in Africa. In addition to the 5K walk the festival at Warner Center Park included demonstrations of some of the projects JWW works with, including the solar cookers that have helped countless women remain safe in their villages.

Our TAS Team captain, Jill Cullen worked hard to recruit team members and to collect donations for the silent auction. Jill shares her passion for tikkun olam, repairing the world, with everyone - dedicating time not just to the TAS team but to Jewish World Watch throughout the year.

I was proud to join with so many other people from my synagogue and to see so many other friends from other synagogues as we walked through the blocked off streets. Check out these photos from the walk this morning:

You Are What You Eat: chewing on some ideas about the meaning of food.

2011-03-31T19:24:00.001-07:00

I grew up in a steak house. It started as a drive-in called “Richard’s” built by my grandfather. He and my father, the Richard, then built a restaurant next door: Lutz’s Restaurant and Lounge. I never understood why they hadn’t named it Barry’s. I guess that was the start of my troubles. But that is a story for another Shabbat. I spent many hours of my childhood at the end of the bar eating maraschino cherries and olives while my dad tended bar and waitresses hurried in and out the kitchen bringing all manner of steaks and hamburgers and prime rib to the customers coming in for lunch from the Samsonite factory up the street or for dinner with their families.

In his office at the back of the kitchen my dad had a picture of a bull of some sort that he and my grandfather had purchased at one of the National Western Stock shows that takes place each January. There are my dad and my grandpa standing proudly next to some large piece of livestock wearing some sort of a blanket that says, “Lutz’s restaurant and lounge.” After looking at that picture for quite some time I finally got curious. “Dad,” I asked as I bit into my hamburger, “whatever happened to that bull?” He just looked back knowingly at my hamburger. “Oh,” I said. After pondering this fact for sometime, curiosity got the best of me once again. “Can I see how it all happens?” I asked my dad one day. “Barry,” he replied, “If I ever took you to a slaughterhouse you would become an instant vegetarian.” Well, vegetarianism was not so de rigueur in the mid-sixties and besides, I wasn’t about to give up on a nice, medium rare New York strip … and so I took him at his word.

As you all know, I didn’t follow in the family business. Instead I went in an unimaginable direction. And so now, instead of buying cattle at the National Western stock show to be served up to hungry customers, I read each year the book of Leviticus – with it’s most graphic description of the slaughtering of animals at that most ancient of slaughter/steakhouses, the great Temples in Jerusalem. It’s almost enough to make me a vegetarian … almost … but I get over it pretty quick. We read of descriptions of the sweet smell of the sacrifice and while we might crinkle our nose and scrunch our shoulder at such a notion, who are we kidding? There’s nothing like a warm summer night, sitting in the back yard and catching a whiff of whatever is cooking on the barbecue.

Nonetheless, let’s be clear what almost all of this sacrifice was about: it was a great bit barbecue. To be sure pieces of the choice animals brought to the Temple were offered to God. But most sacrifices became groceries for the Levitical priests and the Cohanim who served in the Temple. After all they had to eat but they had no land. So the community had to bring them food. The great genius of our tradition is that in the manner in which food was provided to the Temple’s priests, the process of eating was elevated from the purely physical to a spiritual act that reflected the deep seated morals and values of the community.

When I read of these rituals in the book of Leviticus and of the close connection of ritual sacrifice and eating, I am reminded of that most often joked about relationship between Jews and food. We laugh about how we sit at one meal and discuss what we will eat at the next. Food is even a part of our description of the course of Jewish history: they tried to destroy us, we won, let’s eat!

But food has a much more serious side … Abraham, still healing from a very late in life circumcision, rushes to cook a choice meal for the three strangers who show up at his tent. Esau gives up his birthright for a bowl of lentil soup. (What a soup that must have been!) The Israelites in the wilderness yearn for the vegetables of Egypt and are given manna whose flavor delights them and sustains them through the course of their 40 year journey. Our own Jewish journeys are also defined by food. From apples and honey to latkes and hamantaschen. And now, we find ourselves at that Shabbat which follows the celebration of Purim, called Shabbat Parah, which marks the beginning of our preparations for Passover – a holiday inextricably tied to the foods we ingest and the symbolism contained within those foods. You can smell Passover can’t you? You can almost taste it:That mixture of hard boiled eggs, gefilte fish, horseradish and haroset not only excite our tummies – but also stirs our souls. It is once again time to relive the story of our freedom, once again time to remember those still enslaved and our obligation to bring freedom to all those suffering the pangs of slavery. We don’t just read these ideas, we ingest them. We taste the bitterness and swallow the tears. In the crunch of the simple, plain matzah we are called back to basics, urged to move past the fluff and yeasty impertinence of our daily lives and focus instead on that which is essential, that which is as basic and central to our souls as flour and water is to our bodies.

Mindfulness about what we eat is not, of course, built just into our holiday celebrations. It is built into the day to day, meal to meal life of the Jew. There is motzi . Rather than simply stuffing food unthinkingly in our mouths, this simple act forces us to stop and thankfully recognize the grace through which we have this food to eat in the first place. We are after all, in the very small minority of humanity that benefits from such a bountiful harvest. We should have the humility to recognize that whenever we are about to eat. And there is birkhat hamazon a much lengthier prayer at the end of the meal, once we are full and feeling especially grateful in which we express our thankfulness for all sorts of blessings that grace our lives daily.

And then there is kashrut , that oft maligned, oft misunderstood practice of separating that which can from that which we cannot put into our bodies. In this week’s Torah portion, 47 verses are spent distinguishing that which we can from that which we can not eat. A great deal of the meaning behind many of these ancient dietary laws has been lost in the mists of time. But still, we can understand the great compassion and sensitivity inherent in the Torah’s instruction that we should not boil a kid in its mother’s milk – the basis for the prohibition against mixing milk and meat. That being said, I can also empathize with my son who protests to this day, “Dad, I know that the cheese on my chicken sandwich did NOT come from this chicken!”And while, I might not understand the ancient logic behind the prohibition against pork, I can appreciate those who refuse to eat that ‘other white meat’ out of a bond across history with those scores of Jews who were murdered because their own feigned Christianity was revealed in their refusal to eat pig.

Even in this week’s menu list of edibles and non-edibles it is possible to discern a hidden logic. As Rabbi Joe Rapport recently noted about this list, each of the allowed items on the list are fit to be offered as sacrifice on the Temple altar. The simple message is that our bodies are a Temple. What you put in it is a reflection of the holiness you hope to achieve. This Torah portion Rabbi Rapport writes, as all Torah portions asks the larger existential question, “Who are you?”but it also asks the more specific question, “What does a person like you eat?”

As Reform Jews, it is not enough to simply dismiss kashrut as irrelevant and archaic. We are called to consider the meaning underlying these dietary laws, that we might discover a way to make eating more than just a mindless physical act, but rather to imbue the act of eating with a spirituality and mindfulness that was part of the ancient right of sacrifice; a contemporary spirituality and mindfulness that recognizes where our food comes from, the fullness of the process from farm to our table, and those that made it possible, and finally our gratitude for those who share this meal with us. This is, in part, what sacrifice was all about … transforming a purely physical act into a spiritual one, making God a partner in the act of eating.
In this context how we eat is just as important as what we eat. Just as there is power and meaning in the food we eat, there is power and meaning in how we eat. We should not eat alone! Meals are meant to bring community together. Meals are a celebration of our connections, our relationships … they are a place for conversation and sharing, for storytelling and teaching. Sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem were shared. Kayla’s bat mitzvah tomorrow will be followed by a seudat mitzvah a celebratory meal that keeps the community together as Kayla is welcomed into her new role in the community. A bris, a wedding, a meal of consolation – food provides the context for community. As we break bread together we share in each other’s lives. Even tonight, we won’t rush out the door … we will extend the celebration of Shabbat by joining together for an oneg, literally a celebration, delighting in each other’s company, catching up after a long week over a cookie or brownie and a cup of coffee or punch.

And I think it crucial that we find a way to imbue our own meals with the meaning inherent in our ancient rituals. Last year at the national biennial of the Reform movement, our movement’s president Rabbi Eric Yoffie challenged us to consider our relationship to food, to create a new kind of kashrut. He asked,” What does it mean to eat Jewishly? What does it mean to hallow our eating by inviting God in?” He challenged us to create a way of eating based upon being “ethically aware, ecologically responsible, and sensitive to matters of physical and spiritual health.”
Such eating may involve conscious decisions about what we eat recognizing not only the physical implications (sadly) of eating too much red meat, but also the environmental impact as well. Likewise considering the environmental impact of the food we buy, making a conscious decision to buy locally whenever possible, supporting our local economy and reducing our own carbon footprint.

Rabbi Yoffie continued, “we need an approach of our own—our own definition of what is proper and fit to eat. Because our ethical commitments remain firm, and we understand – as we did not a century ago – that Jewish eating has a profoundly ethical dimension. We now know … that eating can be an entrance to holiness. We now see that when we eat with mindfulness, even the humblest meal can become a sacred act.”For me, for my family, we have found our own kind of mindfulness through a modified kashrut that we keep in our own home. Although I rail against it at times, when I really want to make meat lasagna, or have a cheese omelet with my turkey bacon … at my better moments I understand that keeping kosher has helped to make our home into a sacred space. It is just one important element that helps to provide a context that, in the mindfulness it demands, reminds each of us of the specialness of that space – of the sacred nature of our home and of the people within it.

When I reflect back now to my early days as a kid sitting at the end of the bar in my family’s restaurant, I think this was the joy of the restaurant business for my grandfather and father.(It certainly wasn’t the hours … or the loads of money they raked in …)In their own way, with quality food served in wonderful surroundings they created a context for community. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that my grandfather’s name was Aaron? Like his high priest namesake he created a place where, like in the Temple of old, people could get together and, over a meal, share their lives. Something that I think it is incumbent upon all of us to do, making our home tables into just such a sacred place of offering,you know, a place where everybody knows your name …

Cheers!

and Shabbat Shalom.

Kashrut … what we ingest and what it says about us … connection to holiness? Conscious decisions, conscious acts.
Our keeping kosher – I answer with hesitancy … yes, of a sort.
We keep a kind of kosher in our home, why?
Adam – conversation about going to Temple with Israeli roommates eating Pepperoni pizza.
Joe Rooks Rapport
: Leviticus would simply answer the question with a question. What fits and what is unfit? The category of animals identified here as fit for the Children of Israel to eat corresponds directly to the category of animals that are fit to be offered as sacrifices on the altar in the Tabernacle of Israel’s God. In other words, your body is a temple. What you put into it is a reflection of the holiness you hope to achieve.
Here is the lesson of this week’s Torah portion; holiness is the commitment to reach for a higher standard in life, not for real or perceived gains, but for the opportunity for holiness and nothing more.
“For I the Eternal am the One who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God: you shall be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45).
How we might interpret these words for our own age may differ, but the value of the principle remains the same, “You are what you eat.” So let me ask you—yes, you who are reading these words: “Who are you?” And having asked that somewhat existential question, let me ask you an even more personal question: “What should a person like you choose to eat?”

Aish: In this week's Torah portion, Shmini, the delineation is made between kosher and non-kosher animals. The Torah states that for an animal to be kosher it must chew its cud and have split hooves. Chewing the cud ("rumination") involves the regurgitation and then redigestion of food. Jewish tradition sees this as an allusion for the need to review and reexamine one's actions, a procedure that is at the very heart of righteousness. The split hoof, coming as it does at the foot, emphasizes the need for a person to be complete from head to toe.

Aish: By juxtaposing the food laws with the priestly laws, the Torah makes a parallel between food and holy service. In other words, it's what you have on the inside that makes you holy.
Food touches on one our strongest drives. Diet books are a billion-dollar industry because human beings find it difficult to control the desire to eat and drink.
When you think about it simply, the whole diet industry is silly. If you want to lose weight, all you need to do is eat a balanced diet and eat less food then your body uses. You don't even need to exercise more than normal activity. If you want, walk a half-mile or so. To figure out how much food your body needs, don't snack, and stop eating before you feel full. Easiest diet in the world!
But my diet won't sell because it doesn't deal with human nature. We all have food desires that are difficult to control.

Aleph Bet Retreat

2011-03-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

The Aleph and Bet Classes are having their retreat this weekend, planed by Ilysa Cooperman the Youth Director and Retreat Co-ordinator.
Here are a few photos of our Shabbat Dinner and services.

God is not in the earthquake

2011-03-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

The earthquake in Japan yesterday and the tsunami that followed it were devastating. Here in California we are not strangers to the destruction caused by earthquakes — though our thoughts are with the people of Japan, for many of us the destruction was a reminder that what we were watching on our TVs and on the web could also happen here.

The world can be a scary place. As much as we understand about earthquakes, we are far from being able to predict them. So what do we do? We prepare our emergency kits and try not to let our fear paralyze us.

For many of us, there are questions. “Where is God in all this?” “How can God allow such destruction?” Unlike the man-made tragedies in Africa — tragedies that organizations like Jewish World Watch are able to address and fight — there is nothing we can do to stop earthquakes or tsunamis.

As always, we seek answers in our tradition and in our holy writing. In the Book of Kings we read about Elijah. He is standing on the mountain before God:

And Adonai passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of Adonai; but Adonai was not in the wind. After the wind — an earthquake; but Adonai was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake — fire; but Adonai was not in the fire. And after the fire — a still, small voice. (I Kings 19:11-12)

God is not in the earthquake or the tsunami; God is the still, small voice that compels us to reach out and help others, that offers comfort in our darkest hours.

The Talmud teaches that there is a blessing to say after an earthquake or tsunami, acknowledging the continuing and awesome power of creation, even in the wake of tragedy:

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam osei ma’asei vereisheet.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Creator of the universe, who reenacts the works of creation.
Earthquakes and tsunamis are just part of the way the world works. We acknowledge God as the creator of the forces of nature that are at times awe inspiring and at times destructive.

The Jewish Federation is absorbing all administrative costs when you donate to help support relief efforts in Japan - click here for more information on how to donate.

Artists at TAS

2011-02-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik, local artist and my husband (in case the last name did not tip you off) taught a papercutting class to adults at TAS. The class was two Sunday mornings and Isaac handed each participant a razor blade almost right away. I was amazed to see how beautiful the work of these first time papercut artists turned out. Check out these photos:

Talmud with Training Wheels Resources

2011-01-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the resources I have mentioned in class.
Talmud With Training Wheels is Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. through February 2 - no Hebrew is required, drop ins are always welcome.

Click here to buy the book.

For an online interactive look at a Talmud page, check out this website.

More on Isaiah from Tuesday Torah Study

2011-01-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for more information about the prophet Isaiah, check out this article by Michael Fishbane on MyJewishLearning.com

Posted by: Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik

Gay Pride Parade with Avodah Campers

2010-07-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

At Camp Newman the entering 11^th graders are in a program called Avodah. They stay at camp the whole summer and their program is a mix of regular camp programming and service to the camp and the community. In addition to swimming and climbing and theme nights, the Avodah campers are building the camp kibbutz, preppig the dining hall before each meal, and sorting all the mail. One of their big projects for the summer is raising money for and participating in the AIDS Walk in San Francisco.

Last week I went with the Avodah campers to the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. The campers prepared for the parade by talking about the things that make them proud to be themselves. Camp is a place where teenagers feel free to express themselves without fear of judgment, and I was moved by how much of themselves the campers were willing to share with each other. At the Gay Pride Parade our group carried banners that said “Proud To Be Me” and a rainbow chuppah. Whenever we stopped along the parade route, campers posing as same-sex couples exchanged rings under the chuppah and broke a plastic cup to shouts of “mazel tov!” The crowd greeted us with cheering, and the campers kept up their energy and enthusiasm despite the uncharacteristic heat in San Francisco.

It was an amazing day and I was proud to be walking with the Avodah campers. While waiting for our turn to walk in the parade I met several Christian clergy members, both gay and straight, who were also walking in support of gay pride. We talked about the need for people of faith to support gay rights and not to allow a narrow vision of God to be used to justify hatred. The Torah teaches us that each one of us is created b’tzelem elohim, in God’s image, and that every one of us has a spark of the divine within us; we are at our best when we remember that in our dealings with others.

follow us in Israel here ...

2010-06-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

I've created our own separate blog spot for our Israel 2010 trip. You can follow us here, add your own comments and enjoy ... tasisrael2010.blogspot.com

Shalom from Camp Newman

2010-06-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

Shalom from Camp Newman.

When campers arrive at Camp Newman they are greeted with songs and cheering.

As soon as they come through the gates they know that they are welcome here. The entire staff at camp greet each car and bus and, throughout the afternoon, show as much excitement for the last campers to arrive as they did for the first ones. Coming to camp, whether you are a first time or returning camper, is like greeting an old friend—even before you do anything, everyone is happy just to see you. Campers are applauded like rock stars and their faces light up when they realize all the excitement is for them.

Two of our TAS students— Evan and Jake—are in the Avodah track this summer at Newman, and they worked tirelessly on opening day: cheering, directing parents where to go, unloading luggage, and singing “Heivenu Shalom” all afternoon. TAS alumnus Robert accompanied campers on their bus ride from the airport, singing songs and talking about all the fun to be had this summer. Emily kept campers entertained and happy, introducing them to new friends while they waited for everyone to arrive.

It is a wonderful feeling to arrive somewhere and know it is exactly where you are supposed to be—to be welcomed just for being you. Jewish tradition values hospitality and welcoming guests. Abraham welcomes strangers to his tent, washes their feet, and provides a meal. In midrash, the rabbis elaborated on Abraham’s hospitality, explaining that Abraham rushed to provide for his guests and that he prepared the meal himself. Our tradition recognizes this important part of relationships—how it feels to be welcomed, and how it feels to welcome others. For Abraham, that moment of welcome becomes a holy moment, and he learns that he will have a child. At Camp Newman, that moment of welcome becomes a holy moment, when the pure joy of being in this place together is shared.

Dvar Torah for Hukat by Rabbi Shawna

2010-06-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

24 years ago I read from Hukat at my Bat Mitzvah; I revisited it this week while writing the Dvar Torah for the L.A. Board of Rabbis.

You can read it here.

Shabbat Shalom.

Skirball Cultural Center - Exhibition | Making Faces: Playful Portraits of People You Know by Hanoch Piven

2010-06-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Torah Study is taking a field trip to the Skirball.

I saw this exhibit a few weeks ago at the Skirball:

Skirball Cultural Center - Exhibition | Making Faces: Playful Portraits of People You Know by Hanoch Piven

If you want to see it in person, along with Jews on Vinyl, join the TAS Tuesday Torah Study group this Tuesday, June 15.

Meet in the TAS parking lot at 10:50 a.m. to carpool, enjoy a lunch out at Zoe's Cafe and then tour the museum, return to TAS around 2 p.m.

Is Confirmation the Answer?

2010-05-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

I just read an article in Time about college students being more likely to care about global issues than to empathize with other human beings.

While reading it I thought about this year's Confirmation class, the soon-to-be college students that I know, and how they do not fit the description in Time magazine. This year's confirmands were caring and connected, and went out of their way to try to understand each other.

It made me wonder if Judaism and Confirmation can be an antidote to the lack of empathy that characterizes college students today. Judaism commands us to have empathy; we are obligated to remember how our ancestors were treated in Egypt, and that should shape how we treat other people. If the real problem is lack of personal connection in the age of texting and video games, as the article suggests, then a strong connection to the Jewish community can create the social bonds that help us understand others.

Read the article in Time: College Students Short on Empathy

Then check out the Confirmation 2010 Speeches

[Posted by Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik]

Jewish American Heritage Month

2010-05-17T21:24:00.001-07:00

Did you know that May is Jewish American Heritage Month? Check out the official website for more information and biographies of influential Jewish Americans.

I've got a feeling- Shabbat version

2010-03-05T07:40:00.001-08:00

Temple Ahavat Shalom did this last week at Purim for Havdalah, check out this Shabbat version of the Black Eyed Peas song "Iv'e got a feeling".

Purim at Temple Ahavat Shalom -with MacGruber?

2010-02-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

Join us for Purim (and Havdalah!) this Saturday, February 27, from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. MacGruber may not be there... but we promise some very special guests!

Stay for a 21 and over Purim Celebration at 8:15 p.m.; $12 per person at the door (designated drivers are free). Free childcare available!

Win free tickets to the TAS Purim Carnival -- follow us on Twitter and retweet our message to be entered into a random drawing! A new winner every day, through Friday!

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Israeli Army saving lives in Haiti

2010-01-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

I have been watching the videos of the Israeli Army field hospital in Haiti; I am so impressed with what the Israeli Defense Force has been able to do so quickly and so well.

CNN has been covering the Israeli response:

This report shows how advanced the IDF field hospital is:

I have also been following the IDF on Twitter; it is incredible what they are able to do, and the lives they are able to save, in the aftermath of the earthquake. There are also some amazing videos direct from the IDF on You Tube.

Posted by:

Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Does the ECEC predict future TAS involvement?

2010-01-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

The videos of the "So You Think You Can Shpiel?" talent show are up on the TAS YouTube channel; you can find links to all of the contestants here.

The acts were all great and you can enjoy them again or watch them for the first time and vote for your favorites. When you look at the list of acts you might notice the number of kids performing in the show. During the live performance Debi Chesler, talent show host and ECEC director, pointed out how many of those kids are ECEC alumni. It became a running joke: "yet another talented kid who went to the TAS ECEC; they must have learned it at the ECEC."

While I can not say for sure what the cause and effects are between ECEC graduates and temple involvement, there are several possible conclusions about involvement in Jewish life:

1. Families that send their children to the TAS ECEC are more likely to stay involved with TAS as their children grow up.

2. Children who grow up at TAS get involved in temple activities.

3. Children who grow up at TAS are comfortable enough in temple and in our community to get up on stage and perform for our community.

What do you think?

Posted by: Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Homeless for the Holidays

2009-12-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

At the end of this post I’m going to ask you to do something -- but first let me tell you about one of the things I did last Shabbat.

On Saturday afternoon two of my daughters and I, along with 20 other TAS members, visited the homeless shelter run by LA Family Housing in North Hollywood. We went on a tour of the facility, and I was surprised to learn that it is one of only two shelters in Los Angeles that allow families to stay together. In most other facilities the men and women are separated. Boys as young as 12 years old are sent to the men’s section, away from their mothers, even if they have no father to go with them. It is heartbreaking to think of how those families, who are already suffering, are separated. The LA Family Housing facility, because it has private bathrooms in each room, is able to keep families together.

After the tour, our group stayed in the “Teen Room” to work on some crafts with the children living there. We made Christmas decorations and ornaments for the community Christmas tree in the hall. The children from TAS and the children from LAFH quickly made friends working on crafts together. When we finished the crafts we headed to the library to read stories. One of my daughters had made a friend during the glitter and glue portion of our visit, and the two of them squished into a chair to read together. While the library was well-stocked with children’s books, the little girl was thrilled to get to keep for her own some of the books that were donated by TAS families.

On Christmas day, the LAFH food service staff gets the day off to spend with their own families, so we have an opportunity to perform an important mitzvah. Temple Ahavat Shalom and other local synagogues are providing the food service on Christmas and volunteers are still needed. If you are interested, contact LAFH or the Social Action Committee at TAS.

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Fringed Garment

2009-11-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

This morning Isaac and I were surprised that we both voted for the same piece of art in a contest by The Jewish Museum in New York. The contest is to promote an exhibit called "Reinventing Ritual: Contemporary Art and Design for Jewish Life"; you can find it here.

The piece we both loved is called "Fringed Garment" by Rachel Kanter. I was drawn to it not just for the beautiful design, but for the statement it makes about women's roles in Judaism. Traditionally women are not required to wear tzitzit or to follow any positive time-bound commandments; over time this has come to be interpreted by some that women are not only not required to observe such commandments, but forbidden to do so. The apologetic argument has always been that women are more spiritual or naturally closer to God and therefore do not need to follow certain ritual mitzvot, and further, women's role in the home is just as important as the man's.

Rachel Kanter's apron with tzitzit attached challenges that notion. If those apologists really believe that women are just as important than of course it would make sense for women to have fringes on their aprons, the symbol of a housewife. I love the contrast -- elevating domestic chores to ritual status, elevating women's domestic roles to religious status.

What makes it even better is the connection to the Talmud. In the discussion about tzitzit and when they should be worn, Rabbi Judah does not consider the wearing of tzitzit to be time-bound, and attaches fringes to the aprons of the women in his house. It is within Judaism, within the Talmud, for women to participate in rituals that are considered traditionally forbidden.

Reform Judaism is not new in allowing women to wear fringes; we are continuing a 1800 year-old discussion about women and mitzvot. What do you do to reinvent tradition to keep it relevant?

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik: More Than the Eye Can See

2009-10-20T22:49:00.001-07:00

This fall my family took a trip to Sequoia National Park, where we hiked through Crystal Cave, one of the marble caves found in the park. The cave is about a million years old, and filled with beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations. On our hike we learned about a new cave recently discovered in the park; it is called Ursa Minor, named for an ancient bear skeleton that was found inside. It?s likely that the new cave will never be open to the public -- too precious for the constant wear-and-tear of human visitors.
What struck me was that these caves have been forming for tens of thousands of years, silently growing underground undisturbed by human beings. These amazing works of natural beauty are just there, whether we discover them or not.
The Torah tells us God gives human beings dominion over the earth. Some have interpreted this to mean that the earth is ours to use as we see fit; others understand this to mean that we have a responsibility to care for the earth. The unexplored cave system in the Sequoias is a part of creation that most human beings will never see; the cave our guide told us about has only been viewed by about 20 people so far, and the park is committed to protecting it from the public, going so far as keeping the exact location a secret. And Ursa Minor is surely not the last such cave system in the world; no doubt more lie underneath the surface of our planet, never to be seen by people.
In a world that we have explored from the tops of mountains to the bottom of the ocean, it is amazing to me that there remain such undiscovered places. As stewards of creation, sometimes the best thing we can do is act like the world was not created solely for our enjoyment.

[Posted by Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik]

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:Elul and Rock and Roll Etiquette

2009-08-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw Ben Lee in concert he did something that I had never seen before. Ben Lee is one of my favorite singer/songwriters, and this concert was mostly him and his guitar on a stage decorated with flowers.

Throughout the show he offered the audience tips on “Rock and Roll Concert Etiquette” (you could almost hear him saying it with capital letters), and at the end of the show he told us that it was customary at the end of a Rock and Roll Show for the band to leave the stage and for the audience to clap and yell and demand an encore. However, he added, the audience knows that the band is coming back, and the band knows they are coming back -- but they miss all the accolades while they’re milling around backstage waiting to come back.

Ben Lee said he wanted to enjoy our cheering, so instead of going backstage he would stay on stage and just turn around to face away from the audience; that way we could enjoy the praise while waiting the appropriate interval before an encore.

He said all this very tongue-in-cheek, but that’s exactly what he did -- he turned around, and we clapped and cheered and yelled for one more song. I was in the front row, and I could see his smile when he turned back around, thanked the crowd, and started playing again.

This week the month of Elul begins. In “Jewish time” this is the last month of the year -- the time to get ready for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We spend this month reflecting on the past year. Our liturgy focuses on slichot –- asking for forgiveness -- and on recognizing our mistakes and trying to do better in the year to come. We do a heshbon nefesh, an accounting of the soul. we take stock of who we are and how we are living up to our values. This process can be somewhat self-critical; the focus tends to be recognizing where we have missed the mark and asking for forgiveness -– from others, from God, and from ourselves. Elul is the time to start saying “I’m sorry”.

Can we also prepare our souls by saying “thank you”? How often do we let the people in our lives know that we appreciate them?

The Ben Lee concert reminded me that it is just as important to listen to praise and thanks, to accept it graciously, and to allow ourselves to enjoy our accomplishments. How often do we blow off a heartfelt “thank you” from a friend or colleague by responding, “it was nothing”? We do a disservice to ourselves when we diminish our actions and a disservice to others when we say that their acknowledgement is unimportant. What are we saying to the person offering us a compliment if we brush it off like their words do not matter to us?

We have a month to prepare for the Days of Awe, a month of self-reflection to prepare for the year ahead. Use this month not only to say “I’m sorry,” but also “thank you.” As you reflect on the things you want to change in the coming year, take some time to reflect on the things that worked in the past year -– the positive changes from previous years and the best parts of yourself that you want to nurture. Take the time to acknowledge thanks and compliments, as well as offering them freely.

[Posted by Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik]

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:What do you remember?

2009-08-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago I had just moved back to California. I was a new mom, and we three were living with my parents while we looked for a house. I was sitting in my parents’ bedroom, playing with my infant daughter and watching television when the news broke in to regular programming. There was a shooting at the JCC, I heard; someone was targeting Jews. I was stunned and horrified.

My first thoughts were, admittedly, self-centered; I was worried about myself and my family.

The JCC was supposed to be a safe place. I went to preschool there as a child, and I was a camp counselor there in college. If the JCC was not safe, I thought, what was?

I was still at that new-parent stage of checking my daughter every ten minutes while she slept to make sure she was still breathing; I could barely begin to imagine how terrified the parents of those children at the JCC were. I was years away from sending a child to preschool, but as I watched news footage of the line of children being led out of the JCC I wondered if I could ever feel safe sending my daughter to a Jewish school.

I was a rabbinic student at the time, and spent most of my time in buildings easily identifiable as Jewish -- the very thing that drew the gunman to the JCC; I wondered if I would ever feel safe at school again. I was scared to go to temple for fear of copycats, and I was not sure I would have the courage to walk into any Jewish building again.

This was not the world I was used to; violent anti-semitism was something I read about in history books not something that happened in Northridge. It was two years before the events of September 11, and it was the first time I felt really, personally, threatened.

Shabbat services on August 7 will commemorate the tenth anniversary of the shootings at the JCC in Granada Hills. Ten years ago, we all gathered as a community -- stunned by a tragedy that affected our temple members and friends. This Shabbat our service will be filled with hope for the future; please join us.

What do you remember about that day?

Guest Blogger, Rabbi Brynjegard-Bialik:God Does Not Exist(as a Gender-Neutral Entity)

2009-07-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

How would you describe God? Powerful and all-mighty? Or perhaps loving and supportive?

Newsweek’s science column this week was about how language shapes the way people think, based on the work of Dr. Lera Boroditsky, a researcher in cognitive linguistics. The main point was that grammatical gender in language has a big impact on the way we see the world. Recent studies demonstrate that in languages which assign gender to their nouns, the way people describe the world around them is affected by gender. The Spanish word for “bridge” is male, and native Spanish speakers defined “bridge” with stereotypically male terms, such as sturdy, strong, and towering. Native German speakers, whose word for bridge is female, used more feminine words such as beautiful, elegant, and slender. The testing was done in English, and yet these native speakers of gendered languages continued to use masculine or feminine descriptions based on the gender of the noun in their native language.

This led me to think about Hebrew, and our language for God. Hebrew is a gendered language, our the words of our Torah portray God as decidedly male. Yes, there are feminine names for aspects of God, like Shechina, but the overwhelming majority of Jewish language about God for worship and study is masculine. In most prayers and in the Torah, God takes masculine adjectives and verb forms -- so even when the name of God seems gender-neutral, the rest of the sentence about God is overtly masculine.

Consider the Shema. Even if we say that the words used for God -- Adonai and Eloheinu -- are gender-neutral, the word “one,” echad, is masculine. There is no gender-neutral word for “one” in Hebrew -- it is either masculine (echad) or feminine (achat). And as in most prayers, the gender is the masculine.

In recent years Reform Judaism has been careful to use gender-neutral God language. Where words like Adonai used to be translated as “Lord” or “King,” remain untranslated or a gender neutral term is used such as “Sovereign.”

But does that solve the problem (assuming there is one)? Is gender already built into our prayers because it is built into Hebrew? When we talk about God, even in English, “He” is considered neutral, whereas referring to God as “She” still has an element of surprise to it. And “It” is just too impersonal for a people that have such a personal relationship with God.

We can resort to metaphors. In the Reconstructionist prayer book, instead of using “Lord” or even “Adonai,” each prayer has a context-sensitive metaphor to refer to God. (For example, “Blessed are You, the Awakener, who removes slumber from my eyelids.”) But even the most creative English translations can not escape the masculine Hebrew.

We have over 3000 years of masculine God language that shapes our understanding of God and of Judaism. Can we change the way we think about God and prayer? Should we even try?

[Posted by Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik]

The 11th Commandment

2009-05-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books asks children to list their 11th commandment! We all know the first 10 (or we think we do ...) but what just missed out in making the top ten? Add your reply and join in the conversation. Let's have some fun ...

The Gaza Conflict '09

2009-01-29T14:08:00.000-08:00

The current conflict has been described as “One big, gigantic, humungous conundrum.” Read my comments @ http://www.tasnorthridge.org/sermons/thegazaconflict09.pdf and then share your thoughts here.

TAiSrael 2008 Travel Blog

2008-06-30T12:23:00.008-07:00

Writing this blog is tiring work!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Our final day has arrived.

An early start so that we could make an 8:30a.m. appointment in order to tour the Supreme Court. It is a beautiful and striking building that plays such an important role in Israeli society.

It is a short walk from there to the K’nesset where we took a group picture at the large and well known menorah that sits outside its gates.

After a brief return to the hotel in order to work on packing, many of us took off once again for a VIP tour of the Hadassah hospital and the Chagall windows. No picture can do justice to these beautiful works of art. They are truly striking in person.

Looking up at he mother and children's wing at Hadassah hospital.

Then, with a little more shopping it was back to the hotel to prepare our luggage and head off for our final dinner together before returning to the airport.

This will be my last blog of this adventure. Once again, it has been a most sacred privilege to lead this journey. Now the greater challenge is how we take this life changing journey home. How will what we have learned about the importance of this place and our connection to it change our connections to our own community? How we will strengthen our bonds to both our people Israel and our State of Israel?

We have learned a great deal. Now in the greatest of Jewish traditions, we must turn our learning into action bringing healing, repair and blessing to our world.

I hope you all have enjoyed traveling with us as I bid you shalom v’lhitra’ot!

Shabbat, July 12, 2008

Ah, the day of rest. It was certainly needed by all. Many took advantage of the day of rest to … rest! Sleeping in, hanging out at the pool. A few of us attended a wonderful service at the Hebrew Union College – the headquarters for world Jewry. We were treated to a wonderful d’var Torah by Rabbi Michael Marmur, dean of the Jerusalem campus. Some others attended services at the Great Synagogue – where they experienced a very traditional Shabbat morning service.

Following lunch it was time for a stroll with Hillel around the old city. I use the word ‘stroll’ loosely. A month ago our tour guide Hillel was visiting Turkey where, in jumping down from a jeep (or something) he hurt both his knees. He was delighted to report that he discovered during our little stroll that the accident had now slowed him down. Indeed he proved this by losing for a few moments a few members of our group as he sped away from the old city and back to the hotel!

Shabbat ended with a beautiful havdalah service in Gan Hapa’amon (Liberty Bell Park). Each shared some of the blessings they had gathered along the way. There were many tears as this havdalah separated not only Shabbat from the new week, but our sacred journey from our return home.

Dinner following havdalah Saturday eve.

Friday, July 11, 2008

A very difficult and emotional today as we visited Yad v’Shem, the Holocaust memorial. No matter how many times one visits this site – it is always an emotional and draining visit. No matter how many times I visit, it is hard to grasp what happened in those horrific years. How did the world stand by and let this happen? Today’s visit was just one more affirmation, among many we have had, as to why this nation must exist. It is just one more affirmation of the words we read each Passover of our obligation to do all we can to make sure no one ever suffer the indignities and horrors that we have experienced throughout our history. As one confronts room after room of German documents and victim testimony it is beyond belief that there are those who adamantly insist this event never happened. And one must ask, “What would our community look like today had these 6 million survived?” “What would our world look like?” What innovations? What advancements?

Our visit began with a memorial service at the location of the name of the town of Kolin, the Czech city that was the home for almost two centuries for the small blue Torah that now rests in our ark. We recalled our connection to that town through our Torah … and the obligation we each take on to honor our family from that once thriving – now extinct – Jewish community.

lighting memorial candles at the "Kolin" site in the Valley of Communities

Yad v’Shem was followed by a brief visit to Har Herzl: Israel’s Arlington Cemetary. Here lie those who have given their lives in defense of the state of Israel. Here, also is buried Theodore Herzl and every prime minister of the State of Israel except David b. Gurion, who asked to be buried at his kibbutz, Sde Boker, in the Negev and Menachem Begin.

For lunch we traveled to the always bustling Machaneh Yehudah, the main outdoor market of Jerusalem where Friday afternoons are always a frenzy as Jerusalemites make final preparations for Shabbat. We walked up and down the aisles of vegetables, breads, candies and more – being jostled almost every step by individuals whose sense of personal space is very different from our own.

It was then back to the hotel to rest up for Shabbat.

A short bus ride took us back to the Western Wall where we experienced the arrival of Shabbat in a way that can only happen in Jerusalem. We watched Chasidic Jews from many different sects descend upon the wall as the sound and energy of prayers rose from the wall.

We then gathered together to join in our own welcoming of Shabbat with the singing of Shalom Aleichem, Lecha Dodi and other Shabbat melodies. Our informal gathering naturally formed into a circle of community at the back of the Wall plaza. While we thought we were far enough removed to avoid offending any religious Jews, our celebration was interrupted by the ‘Wall Police’ who told us that it was forbidden for men and women to ‘dance together at the wall.’

Yep, we were busted at the wall!

So, we left to return to the hotel and continue our Shabbat celebration with a lovely Shabbat dinner. We joined with a tour from Connecticut led by Rabbi Craig Marantz, a colleague and classmate of Rabbi Lutz. Another in a series of serendipitous meetings in our journeys through the Promised Land.

Dinner was followed by a spirited song session and then the chance to hang out a bit and just enjoy each other’s company as our trip quickly approaches its conclusion.

Tomorrow we get to enjoy Shabbat in Jerusalem.
Thursday, July 10, 2008

Another early start to an eventful day. By 7:15a.m. we were on the bus and heading towards the old city where we explored the fascinating archaeological dig going on underneath the Arab Quarter. Here, workers are uncovering the ancient Jewish past of this city … revealing the long hidden secrets of Herodian Jerusalem, and even earlier. It is remarkable to walk the length of the wall and witness the massive stones that created the retaining wall on which stood the ancient Temple … and upon which today rests the Dome of the Rock and the El Aqsa Mosque.

The tour of the wall brings you out onto the Via Dela Rosa, directly in front of the ‘new’ church (only 100 years old!) built at the 1st station of the cross. Then we walked the streets of the old city, buying various ‘tzatkes’ along the way as we made our way to the ‘small kotel’ – the only place where, prior to 1967 Jews could approach the Western Wall. Located next to the Muslim entrance to the Temple mount this very small space, capable of holding maybe 200, was where Jews were allowed to pray. It was, in a sense, a place of some humiliation. Located next to the Muslim entrance this restricted space sent a message: your site is now ours, you have been relegated to this small piece of wall and are forbidden from even approaching the holy mount that once was yours.

Politics and religion are always messy stuff in this place.

our kids with some Israeli 'kids'!

Walking back to today’s Kotel we marveled at the dozens of b’nai mitzvah celebrations going on today. (Thursday is, of course, a Torah reading day). The wall was literally jammed with young boys surrounded by a community of men as they celebrated becoming b’nai mitzvah. Likewise, people were scurrying all over the plaza with all sorts of baked goods and sweets as celebrations seemed to spring from every corner of the Kotel plaza.

We made our way to the Davidson Center where we would celebrate our own, more egalitarian, b’nai mitzvah. The Davidson center is located on the southwest corner of the old city wall. Here all of the non-orthodox community gathers to celebrate. Indeed the area was packed with communities from across the world who were gathering to celebrate their own b’nai mitzvah. We took our own sunny place next to a conservative congregation from Rockville, Maryland. Voices of song and prayer intermixed with the sounds of shofars as all made their way heavenward. It was a very emotional experience to stand in that place where pilgrims used to first enter the city. Here they would bathe themselves in mikvaot before making their way up the massive steps to the Temple mount. We stood in that place as a TAS congregation, joining together in morning prayers. More that a few tears were shed as we sang the Shema in that very sacred place. Jessica and Amanda led us in the v’ahavta, Tori carried the Torah for us. Jeremy and Allison removed the ornaments and then we listened as Daniel and Noah each beautifully read a section of Parashat Balak.
Most fittingly they read a story which speaks so eloquently of this land. The story of King Balak, most worried about the Israelite nation who, making their way to the promised land, had camped on his doorstep. King Balak called on the magician Balaam to utter words of curse – chasing them from his kingdom. How many King Balak’s have there been in our long and difficult history? But, instead, each time he opened his mouth, the magician Balaam could utter only words of blessing, some of which we had sung to begin our service. “Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov, mishkenotecha Yisrael.” How lovely are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel.

This dwelling place of ours, here in this promised land, is indeed most lovely, most precious and most important in a world where there continue to be too many King Balaks.

Our service concluded with Harvey lifting the Torah and Benjamin and Jonathan redressing the Torah for us.

There was the compulsory showering of sweets, shehecheyanu and many private words of blessing and congratulations. It was, all and all a wonderful event.

After some touring and learning more the history of this city, it was off to lunch and a little shopping.

Finally, a tour of David’s citadel completed an overview of the history of Jerusalem and a walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel. This ancient waterway was constructed as a way to bring water into the old city without having to go outside the city gates.

Tonight is a free night to enjoy the many great restaurants of Jerusalem and, what else (?!) … do a little shopping.

Tomorrow: Yad v’Shem, a memorial service for the city of Kolin, a visit to the open air market of Machaneh Yehudah and Shabbat. Oh my, gosh, this is all coming to an end much too quickly!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

On to Jerusalem … but first a hot and busy, busy day on the way north.

Our day began bright and early with a 5:30a.m. wake up call. By 7:15 we were on our way.

sunrise at Eilat

40 kilometers later we arrived at our first stop: Yotvata! Where else? You can not drive by this most delicious place in all of Israel without stopping in for some ice cream and goodies … even at 8a.m.! Thanks to Don’s initiative we taught the workers at Yotvata about a new drink: Ice blended cappuccino. Only one problem: ice is a rare commodity in this country. So, when the woman making my drink ran to another part of the store to get some ice, she came back with exactly 3 ice cubes! Not quite enough … but it was still quite good.

A three hour drive followed as we made our way north to Masada. On the way I read part of my blog and most of your comments.

We arrived at Masada mid-morning. Not quite in the heat of the day, but close enough. The site was quite crowded with Birthright travelers and youth missions of all kinds. It is so wonderful to see you many young people enjoying this country and learning about their heritage.

What is there to say about Masada? It is as impressive every time you see it. How did King Herod build it in the first place? What must it have been like to look down the steep cliffs that surround the plateau and watch, for three years, while the surrounding Roman army made steady progress towards your capture? How to imagine the decision not to stone the Hebrew slaves building the ramp that will bring you the same ultimate fate? And how to make peace with the fact that not killing the Jewish slaves would bring, ultimately, death to you and your family? What an amazing story of strength, courage and ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

After a lunch of (what else?) hummus, falafel and drink … we continued north: first to the Ahava Factory and then the Dead Sea for Mud Baths. Covered in black mud we floated in the Dead Sea enjoying extra sun protection at 1400 feet below sea level.

Stopping briefly for an overview of Qumran and the Dead Sea scrolls, we watched a brief presentation and gazed up the hill where two young Arab shepherds found scrolls written by the Essene community almost two millennia earlier.

Unfortunately there was not time to stop at the springs of Ein Gedi as camels urgently awaited our arrival on the ascent to Jerusalem. Stopping, literally, for 20 minutes many enjoyed a very brief camel experience before reaching our final destination of Jerusalem.

What is there to say about this magical city? It is a thrill to enter it every time. Our arrival from the west brought us to Har Hatzofim: the Hebrew University campus for an overview of the city. We shared in blessing our arrival with Kiddush, shehecheyanu, an Amichai poem and singing “Sisu Et Yerushalayim”.

After a brief stop to change and shower, we were off again to Anna Ticcho’s for a wonderful dinner. Here we shared in a uniquely Jerusalem experience. While enjoying wonderful salads and pastas in a beautiful outdoor garden, we shared in a Chasidic wedding taking place at the adjoining tables. We clapped and cheered for the bride and groom, singing ‘siman tov u’mazal tov’ as the glass was broken.

By now it was 10p.m. We had been on the move for over 14 hours. Exhausted we made our way back to our hotel for a short night’s sleep. For tomorrow is a 5:45 wake up call for a 7:40a.m. visit exploring the foundations of the western wall under the arab quarter, a visit to the Davidson Center where we will celebrate the b’nai mitzvah of Daniel and Noah … then our first chance to explore the Old City.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Barry and Debbie enjoying Eilat.

While most of our group headed off for a day of adventure and exploration at the ancient ruins of Petra in Jordan, nine of us stayed behind for a little rest and relaxation on the beaches of Eilat. We visited the underwater aquarium and Jordan, Debra, Debbie and Barry swam with the dolphins. This was an especially delightful experience. Swimming in the Red Sea among the dolphins in their natural habitat was an great experience and a refreshing relief from the heat of the desert.

In this enclosed space Debra, Jordan, Debbie and Barry enjoyed the company of Israeli dolphins and the cool temperature of the Red Sea.

A report from Petra will be added to this space upon the return of our other 35.

Tomorrow it is off to the north. We leave Eilat at 7a.m for the 3 hour drive to Masada. Then the Dead Sea works with cosmetic shopping and enjoying the black mud of the Dead Sea Works private beach. A tour of Ein Gedi and a camel ride follow before climbing the mountains to Jerusalem, our final stop on this great journey.

Monday, July 7, 2008

It is hard to believe we are now beginning our second week! The days are flying by! I hope that you are all enjoying our trip!

The day began for some, with an early swim around the coral reef or a visit to the underwater acquarium.

Then we journeyed to the ancient (and modern) copper mines of Timna. Just north of Eilat, this area served as a copper resource for the Egyptian over 4,000 years ago … and continues to serve in that capacity today. We climbed among impressive rock formations and learned the story of the valley.

The TAS gang in Timna Valley.

"The Carols", Cheri and Jann keeping the canyon from fallen down on us.

Don showing that all that hard work at the gym is worthwhile!

Jordan creating sand art at Timna.

Believe it or not, there is water in the Arava desert. This natural lake in the dry Timna Valley has an underground spring as its source.

This was followed by a trip highlight: a visit to the store of Kibbutz Yotvata. This Kibbutz, one of the wealthiest in Israel, is renowned for its dairy products: great cheeses, better ice cream and the best chocolate milk and milk shakes on the planet. We all enjoyed a very nice lunch – which was simply an excuse to treat ourselves to ice cream.

Then it was on the Kibbutz Keturah. This very interesting Kibbutz was founded by a group of idealistic Americans following the 6 Day War in 1967. Clinging to the Zionist communal idealism which was the foundation of the Kibbutz movement in its early days, the Kibbutz is supported today by a variety of both traditional and modern industries. There is the large date palm plantation and the ‘refet’ (dairy farm, whose milk is sold to Kibbutz Yotvata for the creation of their yummy dairy products). There is also an algae farm, creating red algae from which is harvested for important health byproducts for vitamins and food supplements. We had a wonderful tour led by David and Bill, two American ex-patriots who were most articulate and entertaining.

If you look carefully you can see nine small 'notches' on the top of this hill. During each night of Hanukkah children climb up this hill right outside the Kibbutz and light this cannisters. They create a chanukkiah that can be seen almost all the way to Eilat!

We also learned of our own TAS connection to Kibbutz Keturah. You see, our own TAS member Marc Herman is the 1st cousin of former Kibbutz Keturah member Alon Tal. Alon founded the Arava Institute, an ecological research and education foundation on the kibbutz. Alon is one of the leading environmentalists in the country and is one of the founders of the newly formed Green Party here in Israel. Our tour guide Bill, is one of Alon’s closest friends. More than that, Marc and Alon’s grandfather, Isaac (Yitzchak) Kohler posthumously donated his entire library to the Kibbutz. On the night it was dedicated at the Kibbutz, we dedicated our own plaque on the Wall of Memory in the Temple’s sanctuary. This is a wonderful connection that gave special meaning to our visit and will, hopefully, lead to future connections between Kibbutz Keturah and TAS.

The day ended with some visiting the Eilat stone factory to seek out more jewelry – especially that highlighting this stone unique to this part of the country.

After another night of leisure, most of the group is off very early tomorrow to Jordan to experience the fascinating archaeological site of Petra.

Returning to the Hotel.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Before departing Tel Aviv, we visited the Ayalon Institute where we learned how a group of young pioneers, under the watchful eyes of the British – and unbeknownst to many of their kibbutz compatriots, produced bullets for the Hagganah’s struggle to defend the “Yishuv” (Jewish settlement) and battle for the independence of the State of Israel.

The ingenuity that was involved in creating this factory, located under the kibbutz laundry and bakery is truly amazing. They had to think about how to get the materials for the bullets (they used brass brought to the yishuv for the producing of lipstick), how to make themselves look like kibbutzniks who were working in the fields -- as they supposedly were (they had perhaps the worlds first tanning salon). And much more. The only thing more impressive is the courage of these young people, who knew, if caught they would certainly have been hung by the British. One can not be left but with great admiration and awe for the commitment, courage and determination of those who defied every possible obstacle, defeating the British, overcoming local Arab militias and surrounding Arab nations in order to create a homeland in this very tiny and insignificant plot of land.

After a quick drive through the Weitzman Institute (Israel’s MIT – and one of the leading scientific research institutes in the world), we made our way to Dov airport for the 45 minute flight to Eilat.

“Welcome to Palm Springs” our tour guide declared as we loaded on the bus for the two minute drive to the hotel. Indeed, the relatively cool 98 degree temperatures did feel a bit like a nice summer day in Palm Springs.

A leisurely evening to ourselves ended the day.

Shabbat, July 5, 2008

Friday night began with a circle of blessings as each of us shared some of the blessings we had gathered during our first week here.

Then it was off to an overwhelming Shabbat buffet served up by the chefs of the Dan Panorama.

Enjoying our Shabbat Meal

For some dinner was followed by (more) shopping or a stroll down the ‘tayelet’ the board walk along Tel Aviv’s coast line.

Saturday a few of us ventured to Beit Daniel to experience a Bar Mitzvah at a Reform Synagogue. Yes, the service was all in Hebrew! We were warmly welcomed by the rabbi and the congregation, whom we joined for Kiddush.

Then it was back to the hotel were many had already settled down on the beach, or around the pool for a day of enjoying the beautiful sun, sand and sights of Tel Aviv.

And then an evening out to enjoy the great restaurants of Tel Aviv ...

Tomorrow, after concluding the story of the fight for independence with a tour of the bullet factory at the Ayalon Institute, we leave the heat and humidity of Tel Aviv for MORE heat – but a lot less humidity – in the Arava desert and Eilat.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Independence Day! We celebrated Independence day by learning of the struggle of this tiny place to become a nation.

Our day began at the Palmach museum where through (another) multi-media experience we learned of the role of the Palmach in the establishment of the State of Israel. There were several military groups in the pre-state period. The Irgun, the Hagganah, Lechi to name a few. The Palmach was one of the major military groups, formed initially to fight with the British against the Nazis in World War II. The men and women of this force took the brunt of the losses in the war for Independence as they were regularly placed on the front lines in this 18 month battle.

Natan Alterman wrote a beautiful tribute to the young soldiers who gave their lives for this land:

The Earth grows still.The lurid sky slowly palesOver smoking borders.Heartsick, but still living, a people stand byTo greet the uniquenessof the miracle.

Readied, they wait beneath the moon,Wrapped in awesome joy, before the light.-- Then, soon,A girl and boy step forward,And slowly walk before the waiting nation;

In work garb and heavy-shod They climbIn stillness.Wearing yet the dress of battle, the grimeOf aching day and fire-filled night

Unwashed, weary unto death, not knowing rest,But wearing youth like dewdrops in their hair.-- Silently the two approachAnd stand.Are they of the quick or of the dead?

Through wondering tears, the people stare."Who are you, the silent two?"And they reply: "We are the silver platterUpon which the Jewish State was served to you."

And speaking, fall in shadow at the nation's feet.Let the rest in Israel's chronicles be told.

After a great shwarma lunch we then moved on to Independence Hall. This very non-descript building in the middle of Tel Aviv was first the home of Mayor Dizengof – one of the founders of this city that will celebrate its centennial anniversary next April. This sprawling, busy metropolis belies its simple beginnings on two sand dunes outside of the port of Jaffa.

It was here that David Ben Gurion called 350 people together by private and ‘secret’ invitation to announce the establishment of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. Why here? Simply because it had a bomb shelter large enough to hold all those that had been invited. The entire ceremony took 32 minutes – from 4p. to 4:32 p.m. on that Friday afternoon.

Were relived that moment through the eloquent and emotional presentation of our guide, through the actual broadcast of Ben Gurion’s proclamation, the blessing of Shehecheyanu by the chief rabbi and the playing of HaTikvah by the Israeli Philharmonic.

As we joined together in singing HaTikvah at the end of a very emotional day, tears began to fill many eyes. As our guide told us, it is hard for anyone who has come to know the story to understand how the Israelis survived. No one expected the State of Israel to exist more than a few days. Or, as someone in our group said, “We celebrate that a light lasted for eight days. This was a much bigger miracle.” In the experiences of this very powerful day everyone on the trip had come to understand the importance of this place for the Jewish people.

After such an emotional journey what else was there to do but support the Israeli economy with a bit of …shopping. So we headed off to the open air market of Nachalat Benyamin where many artisans sell their wares. Among the ‘tzatkes’ there are some rare finds, some beautiful Judaica and wonderful art work. We walked through the fair and made our way to the hotel to rest up and prepare for Shabbat.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Note: Be sure to scroll down as new pictures are added from time to time.

Today we left Haifa heading south for a three night stay in Tel Aviv.

Our first stop was the Druze village of Osifiyah on the Carmel. There we met with a representative of the community who had just recently returned to Israel after living for 2.5 decades in Florida. The Druze are a fascinating and very handsome people: Arab by descent but non-Muslim. Their religion remains a bit of a mystery for outsiders, but it is a monotheistic religion that is based on the idea that everything is done by, for and eventually returns to God. The Druze are strong supporters of the State of Israel and have fought side by side for with Jews since the inception of the State. They can be found in all levels and ranks of the Israeli army as well as in every aspect of Israeli society. After some questions we were treated to some delicious breads and sweet tea.

We then returned to the bus and took a trip back in time to the period of the Roman conquest. Our journey began with a walk through the aqueduct built to bring water to the Roman capital of Caesarea. The aqueduct is truly an amazing feat of engineering. Built over 2000 years ago, this water system, consisting of tunnels and an above ground channel brought water from the hills to the Mediterranean shore over 28 kilometers away. Using slave and military labor the entire system was built in 6 months. We traveled through one of the water tunnels for about 300 yards … sloshing through ankle, knee and sometimes waist high water.

Following the general path of the aqueduct we then made our way to the ancient port of Caesarea. Here we participated in a multimedia presentation that explored the history of this port – the largest and busiest port on the eastern shore of the Roman empire. It is truly a beautiful place, and is, today, home to the most expensive real estate in the country (and the only golf course.)

I had one of those Israel ‘a ha’ moments as I sat waiting for the group to complete their tour. Looking at the ‘bench’ that had provided me a resting place, I realized that I was sitting upon a column, originally carved and prepared for some building in this ancient port over 2000 years ago! The cave we had walked through earlier in the day, likewise, had been created over 2000 years ago. It is hard to comprehend the span of time that one casually encounters here.

My favorite Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai once wrote of this place:

“…the numbers are not of bus routes
but: 70 after, 1917, 500
B.C., Forty-eight. These are the lines
you really travel on.

We have arrived tonight in Tel Aviv. It is a festive evening called the “White Night.” Can’t say that I know for sure what this is all about, but tonight this city that never sleeps truly will not sleep. There are free concerts up and down the beach. (Some have already left for a free David Broza concert that is sure to draw hundreds if not thousands …) The museums are open all night as is the artists colony in Jaffa.

So, we are not expecting to get a whole lot of sleep this evening! But, there will be a whole lot of fun to be had. So, time to head out to the board walk and check out the scene … more tomorrow.

The old city of Jaffa at dusk.

Tel Aviv at night

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Hi Everyone, it is great to see so many comments! Keep on writing ...

Tzefat … finally, after two years of waiting we finally made it to the mystical town of Tzefat. There we visited the Caro Synagogue, reputed to have been the place where Rabbi Joseph Caro, author of the Shulchan Aruch and great mystic as well, studied, taught and prayed. After spending some time learning from Hillel about Jewish mysticism and Rabbi Caro it was off to shop. We wandered to old city quarter, finding wonderful artwork. After purchases of jewelry, hand made tallitot and beautiful micography our wallets were and little lighter and I am pretty sure that we gave the Israel economy a good boost today.

After a wonderful lunch we watched in amazement as our bus driver (“Bambi” – hey would I make that up?) maneuvered our huge bus through narrow streets and around cars. He gets our bus in and out of places that I would be nervous to try in a smart car. He is truly amazing.

From Tzefat we travelled to the Golan. Along the way we heard about the history of the Golan and its strategic importance to the state of Israel. I know that there are noises made that Israel must give up the Golan, but having visited there several times it is hard to imagine how this would happen. We watched a wonderful media presentation on the history and natural wonders of the Golan. Followed by … more shopping: olive oils, wines, jams, honey, soaps, beer and more … all manufactured in the Golan.

Then the real fun began as we ventured down to the headwaters of the Jordan river for some ‘river rafting’ – it was pretty gentle stuff really, but, the water felt great and the scenery was beautiful. If not for the rowdy splashing, shouting and silliness of about 80 ‘yeshiva buchers’ and other Israeli youth who, at times, made the gentle float more like a wet trip down the 405 at rush hour, it would have been a most relaxing and calming time. But, instead it turned into rowdy, wet and silly fun!
Les, Mel and Paula brave the Jordan rapids!

Dinner was served at “Decks” in Tiberias on the shores of Lake Kinneret. Without a doubt one of our favorite places on both Israel trips. The food is bountiful and delicious. The hospitality was amazing. Our b’nai mitzvah kids were all congratulated and recognized with specially made t-shirts and hats. The meal concluded with a relaxing boat ride around the kinneret. As night settled in we could see the lights of the distant cities and villages of the Golan – and I wondered once again … how could Israel ever secede such an economically beneficial and militarily strategic piece of land.

It was a quiet and sleepy bus ride back to Haifa for late night packing. We leave early tomorrow to meet with the Druze, walk an ancient Roman Aqueduct and visit the Roman city of Caesarea.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Wow! An incredibly full first day in Israel.

But before describing the day I must start with Israel connections. Here there are the most amazing chance encounters. All you have to do is get on the plane. Sitting in front of me on our flight to Israel was our beloved former assistant rabbi Ron Stern! He has come to Israel to study and then, later in the month, to lead his own congregation’s (S. S. Wise) tour. And sitting in front of him two former TAS students, Rebecca Washton and Ashley Feinstein who were on their way to participate in a Jewish Federation Young Leadership mission.

Today, Sherry Lucks went into a little shop to buy ice cream and ran into a former student from VBS. Tonight, walking into the hotel, I was approached by an former HUC classmate who is in Haifa for a meeting of the Wexner foundation.

Finally, there was the program we participated in this evening at Congregation Or Hadash, a wonderful Reform congregation here in Haifa, where we were treated to a concert by two Cantors from Massachusetts, one of whom attended the University of Miami with Cantor Linsky. After the program I had the pleasure of meeting Pesach Shapiro who sends his regards to the Cantor as well.

Now for the day’s activities of which the theme was: a group of committed volunteers can make anything happen:

The day started out in an exciting way as we strolled to the Baha'i Gardens, overlooking the harbor of Haifa. As our tour guide Hillel explained some of the history of the city, there was a loud explosion followed by a cloud of smoke in the distance. Images of standing in this very spot in July, 2006 and hearing that same sound came to mind. Luckily it was just a planned test of some munitions at the large weapons making factory here in Haifa! Oy!

We had the very special and unique treat of touring the gardens of the Baha’i Temple here in Haifa. This is such a rare experience that our tour guide, Hillel, who has been a guide in Israel for over 40 years, had never been in the gardens. We started at the top …and in very hot and humid weather walked through nine terraces and over 700 steps to the middle level of the grounds. They are truly spectacular! And, they are tended completely by volunteers who come from all over the world to spend anywhere from a month to a year volunteering to upkeep the Temple’s garden and grounds.

Baha’i itself is quite an interesting religion only about 150 years old … but that is a subject for another time.

Following our visit to the Baha’i gardens we trekked to the Lebanese border where we explored the amazing grottos of Rosh HaNikra. Here the soft limestone rock has been worn away by the constant crashing of waves to create beautiful grottos.

Then it was off to the crusader capital of Acco. Here we toured the ancient fortress and were entertained with a multimedia experience of an old Turkish bath house. In the years of the British Mandate, the fortress was a notorious prison, where members of the Jewish underground were held, and 8 were hung. We saw where Menachem Begin and members of the Irgun exploded a carful of dynamite in order to free many of the prisoners. (All of this can be seen in dramatized form in the movie Exodus …)

And then, finally, an hour and a half late, we arrived at congregation Or Hadash, where we were welcomed by their most amazing rabbi, Edgar Nof. We were treated to a brief tour of their bomb shelter (which was in full use, unfortunately, on the day we were to visit the congregation in 2006). They have done miraculous things to create, if you can imagine, a warm, welcoming, calming and safe environment … that became their school and sanctuary for many months during the war in 2006. Among all the other challenges of running a congregation (that conducts over 200 b’nai mitzvah a year, by the way) imagine having to worry about bomb shelters and air filtration systems and the like. All I can say is amazing …

After a quick dinner we then delighted in a beautiful presentation by the children of Or Hadash, which concluded with a concert given by the two cantors mentioned above. In between we were introduced to the first president of the FIRST sisterhood in Israel. This group, soon to become official members of the WRJ are truly pioneers. Our own sisterhood ladies quickly connected and I think you can expect to see some future programs bringing the two groups together.

Rabbi Nof and his congregation are involved in some amazing social action projects in the community. (24 to be exact) Rabbi Nof’s vision of a congregation doing all they can to bring repair to individual’s lives and to the community is truly inspiring! My hope is that our community will strengthen the bonds with congregation Or Hadash in the coming months and years.

Finally, we returned to the hotel where, after a brief outing for ice cream and coffee (they DO have the best coffee and ice cream here …) it is off to bed. It was an exceptionally busy day for a group still recovering from jet lag. And all were troopers to the extreme.

And so, my friends another busy day … and an early one tomorrow … off to Tzfat, the Golan, rafting on the Jordan and dinner on the shore of the Kinerret. I’m sure that there will be much more to write about tomorrow.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Shalom from Israel. Exhausted but exhilarated, ready for the big adventure, we have arrived. It is now fully 27 hours since our travel day began back at TAS.

It was a long day’s journey into night and back into the day as we lost a full day on our travels here. Our plane left at 1:45p Sunday, escorted down the runway with a police escort (because we are SO loved in the world!) … and we landed 2p, Monday, at Ben Gurion International airport. There we were joined by families who had made their own travel arrangements, including Jeff and Carol Hirsch who arrived without luggage! (Oops on American Airlines)

El Al is definitely the way to fly to Israel, offering service that hearkens back to the days when flying used to be fun!

We were greeted at the airport by tour guide extraordinaire Hillel who took us to the top of the Carmel where we joined together in a blessing for our adventure as we looked out over the Jezreel Valley. It is here, on the top of this mountain that Elijah is said to have challenged 450 priests of Ba’al to a duel of gods. When Adonai won out and the 450 had been killed, Elijah found himself in a heap o’ trouble. He fled the Carmel for the south, eventually making his way to a cave on Mt. Sinai were he hid out. There he encountered the ‘still, small voice’ of God calling out to him. My prayer is that somewhere along the way, in our travels of this miraculous land, we will all encounter that voice.

Well, it is hard to keep my eyelids open, even though it is only lunch time back on the Pacific Coast. Here in Haifa on the Mediterannean coast it is 10p and time for bed.

Tomorrow we tour the Bahai Gardens, travel to Akko and Rosh Hanikra on the Lebanese border. More about that to come.

Please spread the word about our blog … send us your questions and we’ll try to answer them.

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A Sacred Journey

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Together we share a sacred journey. This community, our Tent of Meeting, provides the place where in joining hands and hearts and souls we not only meet each other, but make God a very real presence in our lives. I invite you to share the special moments of your journey as a member of this community. Why did you join TAS? What are the occasions, events, friendships that have brought connection and added meaning? What do you look forward to as our journey together continues?

Click on comment. You will be taken to a separate screen where you can add your comments.

Imagine the possibilities

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Imagine a place that truly brings spiritual meaning and enrichment to your life.
Imagine a place that inspires you.
Imagine a place that excites you and ignites your passions.
Imagine a place that you can't imagine being without.

Now imagine Ahavat Shalom as that place ... and take a journey.

Arriving at the entrance to TAS, what do you see? How do you feel?
You walk through the doors ... what greets you there?
Walk into the sanctuary. How does it look? What do you hear? How do you feel?
Walk into the office. What happens there?
Journey to the school ...
Stroll the grounds ...

Close your eyes and truly take this journey.

Now extract the essence of your experience.
What made this such a powerful experience for you?
What is it about this place you imagined that makes it so powerful for you?

Thank you for sharing your ideas here and helping us all to imagine our promised land.

Directions:
1. Read Rabbi Lutz's posting below: "Imagine the Possibilities"
2. Close your eyes and take your own journey.
3. Click on "comments" at the bottom of this post.
4. You will be directed to a place to add your own dreams and visions of our TAS promised land.

Imagine Shabbat

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At our recent Union of Reform Judaism biennial, URJ president Rabbi Eric Yoffie challenged the Reform movement to take seriously Shabbat as a 24 hour opportunity for rest, reflection and renewal. He suggested that we must go beyond Friday night, to make Shabbat the full day experience that it was meant to be. Below, is a portion of his remarks. You can find the entirety of his statement @ http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=17448 Read on and then let me know what you think!

In our 24/7 culture, the boundary between work time and leisure time has been swept away, and the results are devastating. Do we really want to live in a world where we make love in half the time and cook every meal in the microwave? When work expands to fill all our evenings and weekends, everything suffers, including our health. But families take the worst hit. The average parent spends twice as long dealing with email as playing with his children.

For our stressed-out, sleep-deprived families, the Torah’s mandate to rest looks relevant and sensible. Our tradition does not instruct us to stop working altogether on Shabbat; after all, it takes a certain amount of effort to study, pray and go to synagogue. But we are asked to abstain from the work that we do to earn a living, and instead to reflect, to enjoy and to take a stroll through the neighborhood. We are asked to put aside those Blackberries and stop gathering information, just as the ancient Israelites stopped gathering wood. We are asked to stop running around long enough to see what God is doing.

And this most of all: In synagogue and at home, we are asked to give our kids, our spouse and our friends the undivided attention that they did not get from us the rest of the week. On Shabbat we speak to our children of their hopes and dreams. We show them that we value them for who they are and not for the grades they get or the prizes they win. During the week we pursue our goals; on Shabbat we learn simply to be.