Israel's Role In My Life

Today, Aaron asked the class what role Israel will play in our lives after we go back home to America. My first thought was that Israel will always play a huge part in my life because it is my home. It is where I was born and I feel the most connected to the culture and more importantly I feel like I can be myself. 

When I come home, Israeli culture will still play a huge part in my life because that is how I grew up. My house is full of Israeli culture, but at the same time, my family has integrated into the American society to a certain extent. I would love to live in Israel and for the culture to play a part in my life all the time. I have learned to love everything about Israel and nothing about America feels special enough to me that I feel like I have a duty to it. Israel is a whole different story. I have felt for a long time that it is my responsibility to go to the Israeli army and fight for the country's right to exist. I feel a strong personal tie to the country because it is my home.

One of 66 Israeli Women You Should Know

Women in the Israeli army generally don't get positions that require them to fight on the front line. This summer, Oshrat Bachar will become the first woman to lead an Israeli Defense Force combat battalion. She has been put in charge of the Field Intelligence Battalion 727, or Eitam. She will lead this battalion to the border of Israel and Egypt to protect against terrorist activity that began two years ago when the battalion was founded. 
This is a great thing to hear about considering that women are not able to fight on the battle fronts. Not only is a woman on the front line, but she is the leader of the battalion. This is a huge achievement and can possibly lead to many more women being accepted to fight for Israel. 

Patriotism

Israel. I have never seen a more patriotic country. This week we celebrated two very important holidays, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut. Yom Hazikaron is the Israeli memorial day for all the fallen soldiers. This includes every soldier that ever died, no matter whether it was during a war or not. There is a huge difference between Memorial Day in America and in Israel. In Israel everyone goes to the army so every single person in Israel knows someone who died in the army or at least someone who knows someone who died. On this day, we are all brought together as one to remember our friends and family that died fighting for this country.
On the night ending Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha'atzmaut or Independence Day begins. The atmosphere turns from the saddest day of the year to the happiest day of the year in an instant. Everything becomes a party. Everyone is out on the streets partying, hitting each other with inflatable hammers, and spraying foam and silly string all over each other. 
It was amazing to experience the fact that one day we were very sad and remembering all those that died to protect the people and the land of Israel, but immediately after we celebrate their accomplishments and how they were successful in their mission to protect Israel's right to be an independent Jewish state. 

Israeli Humor

Wednesday night, all of EIE went to a Cobi Oz concert in Jerusalem. He is a famous Israeli singer that sing a variety of songs ranging from classic Ashkenazi style music to classic Mizrachi style music. In between each song, he would provide some explanation as to what he was about to sing and what the significance of the song was to him. He liked to make these explanations humorous, but one time stood out above the rest. Cobi made a joke referencing the Holocaust. All of the new American arrivals were so taken aback by this, while all the EIE students who had been in Israel for months were rolling on the floor laughing. 
Until then I had forgotten that Israeli humor is so different from American Jewish humor. In Israel it is part of the culture to make jokes about the Holocaust, but to Americans who take the Holocaust very seriously, this can be a very hard thing to get used to. 
I was amazed at how only a few months can make such a difference in a person's culture. It may not affect the person's values that come from their original culture, but it certainly affects how they interact with people. 
Now that I think about it, this part of Israeli culture began to affect the students of EIE even before now. When we were in Poland, everyone was making jokes about the Holocaust at the sites of the mass murder of the Jews. Even while we were at Auschwitz, you could always hear a joke being made. Despite the darkness in Israeli humor, it is always coming from a place of happiness and relief.

Yom HaShoah

Yom HaShoah is the Israeli national Holocaust remembrance day. Like all Jewish holidays, it begins at sundown on the night before. On the day of, there is a siren that goes off at 10 a.m. to remember all the lives lost during the Holocaust. The siren lasts for 2 minutes and throughout the day, there is a somber atmosphere. Radio stations play only sad songs, documentaries and ceremonies are the only things found on television, and there is virtually no laughter heard all day.
One thing that I really find fascinating is the fact that when the siren goes off, no matter where you are, everyone stops and stands. Even cars stop in the middle of the highway and stand. I have always wanted to witness being on a highway during the siren. Today, we were able to see it from far away on Highway 1, but it wasn't the same as what it would have been if I were standing on the Ayalon Highway, the fastest highway in Israel. 
I found it very interesting that many of the cars didn't even bother to stop. I only saw two cars that stopped within the small area that we could see. It was a little disappointing to see that even though the siren went off and Yom HaShoah is a national holiday, people didn't care to pay their respects to the millions of Jews that lost their lives during the Holocaust. 
Today we also learned about some of the general views of Palestinians and Arabs about the Holocaust and its effects. According to our teacher, many Arabs refuse to acknowledge that the Holocaust even happened. I assumed that the drivers that didn't stop were Palestinians that just didn't recognize the significance of the Holocaust, but it still bothered me a little that they couldn't even stop for a moment to even think if they knew anyone who had any relationship with someone who lived during the Holocaust. 

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Yom Ha'atzmaut is Israel's independence day. Israel became an independent state on May 14, 1948 and has been thriving ever since. As Yom Ha'atzmaut nears, Israeli culture is at its peak. Songs about Israel are released, decorations are hung, children in schools prepare for ceremonies with songs and dancing, and Rikudei Am or Cultural Dances are seen all over the cities.
I personally love to listen to the radio on Yom Ha'atzmaut because not only are the songs all about Israel, but they are all happy and praising. Although some of them have a slow beat, the message is positive. One song that I really like that makes me think of Israel's culture is Zikukim by Moshe Perez. This song talks about a girl who has had troubles in the past but wants something to make her happy in the present even though there is possibly a risk. 
The lyrics can be directly related to Israel. She has had some troubles in the past, but in the future she just wants to be happy and thrive despite the dangers. It is very interesting to me how Israel is personified. It makes the culture and personality of the people of Israel be more emphasized. Songs are a great way to express not only the history of the land of Israel, but also Israeli culture.

Yam 'L Yam

This past week, during Pesach, I participated in a 5 day hike from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean. We woke up at the crack of dawn to begin each day with the start of that day's hike. We would stop to have breakfast along the trail and around noon we would stop to cook ourselves some lunch. Lunch was so much fun to cook. We got to experiment with what they gave us and we were able to make some delicious dishes. Then we would hike some more and the guide would give us a map so we could navigate ourselves through the trails to a checkpoint. Despite getting lost a couple times, we were eventually able to find the checkpoints. We would continue hiking and eventually reach our campsite for the night where we would pitch our tent, have dinner, go on a small night hike, and sleep. 
Before Yam 'L Yam, I was excited, but I was also a little worried. I had never been backpacking or anything close to it where I was hiking for 5 days straight and I had also never been camping. I was worried that I would have a hard time walking up huge hills and adjusting to whatever nature had to throw at me. 
After Yam 'L Yam, I was very proud of myself. It made me realize that no matter what task I am set up to face, I am able to make it through. It was difficult, but not as bad as I thought because I was always having fun. There was always something to look at, whether it was the view or a lizard crossing the path. 
Yam 'L Yam is an experience that each person who wants to get to know the land of Israel should do. Throughout the week we walked through water, forests, plains, fields of goats, and rocky terrain. Thinking back to how Israel looked prior to 1948 (swamps) and how Israel looks now (agriculturally rich) is mind blowing. The early pioneers must have had to work from dawn until dusk and possibly more to change the landscape to make it suitable for living and farming. It is a really amazing thing to think about.

Pesach Presents

Pesach is the Jewish holiday when we remember being slaves in Egypt and celebrating how Moses led us out of slavery to freedom. It is a custom to give and receive gifts on Pesach. Growing up in an Israeli family, I had always received gifts on Pesach. In class, each person talked about how their Seder went and many of the students were surprised that they received gifts. It took me a while to understand that it is not a usual thing to receive gifts on Pesach in America. 

After hearing this it made me really realize how American Judaism and Israeli Judaism is different. American Reform Judaism is very influenced by outside religions and cultures. For example, receiving presents on Hanukkah in Israel is not a thing. It started in America as a way to "compete" with Christmas. In fact, in Israel Hanukkah is a fairly insignificant holiday and was only glorified by the American Reform Jewish community. 

Anyway, it really made me realize how Judaism has developed in many places all around the world. There are different traditions for everything no matter where you are in the world. It its not only a comparison between America and Israel. I am sure this happens everywhere else that there are Jews in the world. No matter what the traditions are, the most important thing is to remember what the holiday stands for and what is meant to be done.

Pesach Prep

Pesach, or Passover, is a major Jewish holiday. The beginning of the Jewish calendar was originally on Pesach. When this holiday comes around, people empty their houses of all the bread and exchange it with Matza, unleavened bread. The Matza represents how little time the Jews had to leave Egypt. They had so little time that they couldn't even afford to let their bread rise before they baked it. 
Growing up in America, many of the Jews I know are very liberal. Many of them don't even take all the bread out and just buy Matza. In Israel however, I was amazed to see how big of a deal Pesach is. I know it is a high holiday, but I had never experienced a spring cleaning quite like this one. Before Pesach comes, not only do people burn their bread and replace it with Matza, but they also have to clean every single dish that had ever touched bread. Some families have completely separate dishes and silverware just for Pesach along with the milk and meat ones they have for any other day of the year. Each house is intensely cleaned and not a spec of dirt is left anywhere. I had never experienced anything like this before in my life. In my house, we clean and get rid of all the bread, but it is not even close to being at the same level as people in Israel because it is only my family that does it. In America it is not a community type thing so nobody really cares. It was a very different experience for me that I will never forget.

Poland In A Nutshell

The journey to Poland is a very important and emotional one. Even for someone who doesn't have any connection to anyone who was personally affected by World War II, it is still a very hard and emotional experience. 
For someone like me who's family was in the Middle East at the time of the Holocaust, I thought it would just be a trip to remember. It would be nothing more than an educational experience because I don't have family (or friends that have family) who died in the Holocaust. In preparation for Poland, we watched many movies on the Holocaust, learned about how the war progressed, and talked about what we think we will experience when we get to Poland. We also went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, a couple days before we left. I felt very prepared until we watched The Pianist. I felt my legs shaking throughout the whole movie and I couldn't keep myself together. I was worried that if I felt like this during a movie, then how would I react to seeing the things in real life.
When we got to Poland we immediately started with all the death and depressing stuff. I was surprised to know that I wasn't really emotionally effected by all of it. I felt perfectly fine. I understood that all the things that happened during the Holocaust were terrible for the Jewish people, but there is no reason crying about things that are in the past. We need to focus on the present and how we prevent these things from happening in the future. While also grieving for the people who died, we should take the Holocaust as a learning experience to prevent anything like this from happening again. 

Poland

The Jewish people have lived lives that can be described as a roller coaster. There is always a period of prosperity followed by a period of great depression and hard times. This cycle has been going on since the beginning of our existence. Before World War II, the Jews of eastern Europe lived very prosperous lives. They lived peacefully within the community. Slowly, as Hitler rose to power, antisemitism played a bigger role in society and eventually even the most assimilated Jews were persecuted. The Holocaust is a big representation of death to a huge amount of people, however even with the amount of death that occurred during the Holocaust, there is always something positive to take out of it. There was always some fascinating form of life to talk about.

Before the Holocaust, the Jewish people lived either in big cities or schtettels. The Jews in the cities were assimilated to modern culture and civilization while the ones that lived in small villages in the country were less assimilated. We visited a town called Tikocin located between the cities of Warsaw and Lublin. This town was a mostly Jewish populated schtettel before WWII. The town is located near a river, giving the people not only water, but also access to trade. There was a huge synagogue located in the center of town where all the people could easily come to pray. There was also a cemetery located on the outskirts of the schtettel. It was well preserved before the Holocaust, yet after there was nobody who's job it was to maintain it. Throughout the schtettel there was significant evidence that there was once a thriving Jewish community there. 

Despite all of this joy and prosperity in the little towns of Poland, when WWII broke out, things began to go downhill fast for the Jews. When the Germans attacked the USSR (Operation Barbarossa), they gained all the territory in Poland that the USSR had owned. This included the town of Tikocin including all the forest areas that surrounded it. In these forests we heard the stories of the survivors of the Tikocin mass murder. The people of Tikocin were forced to leave their homes (either on Nazi trucks or running behind the trucks) until they reached a forest where they were forced to undress and wait for their turn to come where they were going to be shot to death. A mother holding her three children had to watch her father, mother, husband, and all three of her children die before her eyes before she was shot. She happened to be the only survivor of Tikocin because her will to get out of the pit of dead bodies was tremendous. She struggled through pain and through guilt and managed to get herself out of the pit of bodies. Through all of her struggles we see that even in a time of great despair and tragedy there is always something to be happy about. 

Although the forests of Tikocin represent death to the people of Tikocin, they can also represent life. People hid in these forests to avoid being captured by the Nazis. On the bus we watched a movie called Defiance. In this movie, some Jews of Belarus hid in the forests for years planning a revolt against the Nazis while staying hidden and keeping themselves safe. They were able to feed hundreds of people at a time by finding people that would help them in the nearby towns and splitting all portions equally. Sitting in the forest for years, getting information from Belarus citizens on what is rumoured the Nazis are doing helped the people plan an organized attack that helped stop the Nazis from stepping any further in Belarus and conquering more land.

No matter how much death and tragedy comes along with talking about the Holocaust, there is always some life and rebellion that comes with it. A famous saying is that the Jewish people went to their deaths like "sheep to the slaughter". From an uneducated perspective of the Holocaust I would agree, but after visiting Poland I came back with a different opinion. All Jews fought during the Holocaust. Fighting for what you believe in doesn't necessarily have to be with weapons and violence. The people who walked to their deaths fought the Nazis by showing that no matter what the Nazis threatened them with, they couldn't break their spirits and make them forget about their religious values. They walked to their deaths with pride in what they believed in and for those that fought physically, that was just a bonus.

'The Story of the Jews'

Simon Schama wrote a series of books about the Jewish people. He began in 1000BCE and went through 1492CE in the first volume and continued it from 1492 until the present day in the second volume. A main reason he wrote these books was to be informative and historical documentation, but the books go deeper than the facts. Schama's whole purpose of writing this series was to capture the feeling of hatred, resentment, and discrimination that was put on the Jewish people. 
On Sunday morning, I am going to Poland for a week. I am going to visit concentration camps, ghettos, museums and Jewish towns of the Holocaust. Schama's books really relate to what I am going through this week because in preparation for Poland, we have been learning about the Holocaust and how it affected the Jewish people then and also how it affects us today. The Jewish people have been resented for thousands of years and I still don't really understand why.
Today in Jewish History we learned that Christians accused Jews of using the blood of Christian children in their Passover Matzos. This made me very confused as to why on earth anyone would ever think that. We read a couple articles about recent occurrences of modern people still having this mindset and accusing Jews of these terrible things. I think it was the governor of New York in 1928 that accused Jews of kidnapping and killing a girl for sacrifice. The illogical thing about it was that this occurred towards the end of the year, nowhere near Passover.
Jews have been criticized for being smart, successful, Jesus killers, and many more. No matter how many reasons people give me to try to explain why anyone would ever think such horrible things about people, I don't understand. 

Purim

Purim is the happiest Jewish holiday of the year. During this holiday, people of all ages dress up in costumes and parade throughout the country. Although it is officially celebrated on two days (one for Jerusalem and one for everyone else), the celebrations and happiness lasts for the entire week and even month of Adar. 
Coming from America, it is a huge culture shock to see everyone in costumes having a major party in the streets. I guess in San Francisco it isn't that uncommon, but the reason for celebration and the atmosphere is completely different. In San Francisco people dress up and have major parties in the street during the Bay to Breakers Marathon. During Purim, people actually have purpose to their weirdness and happiness and it is not just to fill a day of the year. There are certain customs that come with celebrating a national holiday such as reading the Megillah, sending Mishloah Manot, and eating Hamentashen. This holiday is so special, there are no words to describe the happiness and joy. It is simply a holiday to experience for yourselves.

Can a Sukkah Be Made From an Elephant?

The Talmud is a written series of books that elaborate on Jewish law and describe what is allowed and what is not. In modern times, a question has come up. Is it allowed to have an elephant as a sukkah wall? Although it is unlikely that anyone would actually do this, it begins a new cycle of debates among rabbis. In the Gemara, it is written that if the elephant is tied down so that it is impossible for it to escape, then the sukkah would be kosher and it wouldn't be a problem. 

This opens up a whole new world for sukkah creativity. Tarp sukkahs with palm tree leaves are not the only thing that would count as kosher for a sukkah. As long as it fits the dimesions of a kosher sukkah and can be tied down so it won't fly away or move, the possibilities are endless. People can be free to customize their sukkot and make them their own with their own personalities.

Beit Alpha

We went on a full day tiyul today to the north. We started our day in Beit She'arim and later went to Beit Alpha. Beit Alpha is a kibbutz in northern Israel that has an ancient temple that has a beautiful mosaic that holds details to how the Jewish people represented themselves back then. 
When we got to Beit Alpha, we began talking about the Oral Law and how it draws a red line for when people can consider themselves Jewish. We tried to develop a line that would apply to modern day times. Many people said that if someone goes to church and wears a cross or believes in Jesus, but considers themselves Jewish is a Jew. Judaism is not just a religion, it is a lifestyle.
As soon as I heard this I was a little bit confused. It didn't make a lot of sense to me that someone would consider themselves Jewish, but do so many things that are against their religion. Judaism is not like most other religions, such as Christianity, where if you consider yourself Christian then you are Christian. There are certain requirements that are needed to be met in order to be Jewish. One major thing is to follow Hallacha, or Jewish law. It is not enough to just consider yourself Jewish because it is very hard to be accepted within the Jewish community that way. Not only that, but it is also a little bit like cheating.
Another thing that should be a very important thing for Jews is to observe the high holidays. Going to services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at least is a great way to get closer to the Jewish community. 

BACK TO THE TIYUL

When we went into the ancient synagogue, there was a beautiful mosaic on the floor. The only problem was that it had the face of the Greek sun god, Helios, on it. This shocked me a little bit. I understand that the Jewish culture was influenced by Hellenism back then, but the scholars of Beit Alpha should have known better not to bring that influence to a Jewish place of worship. 

Being influenced by outside cultures is not a bad thing. There are many good things that come with it like technology and logic. Despite these great advancements, there are also many huge disadvantages. Much of the class believed it was fine to have a Greek god in the synagogue if it wasn't going to be used for and idolized purpose. 

I don't care whether it was idolized or not, if it was put in a place of worship it automatically makes the place unholy to Jews. One of the first commandments is no idolatry. Hellenism could influence Judaism to the extent that it would not effect the way Jews praise HaShem. Places of worship are sacred places that should not be tainted by the influence of foreign cultures and religions.  

My 10 Day Trip

Masada:

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 Camel Riding:

 

Gadna:



Eilat:



What I Be: Jews of New York

Californian photographer, Steve Rosenfield, created an exhibit called What I Be: Jews of New York. In this exhibit, Rosenfield relives his past insecurities as a child, being bullied by his classmates for his flaws. He is very passionate about expression and not being held back by the things you don't like about yourself. The students at Yeshiva University were supposed to be represented by the exhibit, but it was a big controversy with the orthodox community.
Freedom of speech and expression is a very important thing in the American community. I respect that the orthodox community is very reserved and resistant to change, but they should feel free to express their deepest thoughts and insecurities. Rosenfield's idea is great. It allows Jews to overpower the depressing feeling after being made fun of for their beliefs. Despite orthodox resistance, people should be able to express their deepest thoughts for all to see.

Gadna

This week, the EIE students spent a week at Sde Boker, an army base in southern Israel. There, we were placed in a program that shows teenagers what it would be like to join the IDF. Growing up surrounded by a polite American culture, this was a major culture shock to most of us.
Many of the teenagers at Gadna are troubled Israeli teenagers who's family does not have a history of being in the IDF. In other words they are Aarsim, or Israeli Guidos. To be in the same environment was very annoying and scary at some points. Not only did they never sleep and scream until the break of dawn, some of the guys also creeped on the girls in the middle of the night.
Being immersed in this vast culture with very little heirarchy can be very problematic and scary for Americans. While it is nice to be on a nickname basis with everyone, it can also cause teenagers especially to behave with disrespect and lack of control. To American raised teenagers, this is a whole new experience that can be very overwhelming. Understanding about these issues in Israel, it made me laugh when my friends came up to me and told me about a fight between to Aarsim.
Along with the Gadna program at Sde Boker, there is also a Marvah program that allows international teenagers to go through basic training for two months and get a better feel of what it means to be in the IDF. To see all the people in the program come together as one was amazing because all of them are from different corners of the world. There were people from the UK, Germany, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Canada, Sweeden and many more. To see them all together not just as soldiers, but as really good friends was amazing. One day I want to be in the army and become friends with people from all over the world that have come to the IDF with the same goals that I have.

 Me in my uniform.

 Team 11 for the win!

Squeegee for days.

Jerusalem: The Old City

On today's tiyul, we went to the Old City of Jerusalem. The old city is probably the most culturally diverse place I have ever been. Not only is it a city of many religions, but there are different sects to each religion, each having a different culture. As Americans, this is a huge culture shock, but once you learn to get past this, the beauty of it all starts to come together.
During the day, we danced with Israeli middle schoolers, sang with people on the street, watched the tourists go by, and learn about the history of this magnificent city. There really is no other city like it anywhere in the world.

Jenna and Shoshana joining the Israeli middle school dancers.



Jews and Sports

Athletics have been a body cleansing activity since the ancient Romans and Greeks. Both of these empires oppressed the Jews during biblical times. For this reason, many Jews believe that participating in athletics should be discouraged.
The ancient Roman athletes would compete in competitions that were cruel and dangerous. Many events would include wrestling with beasts and some even required the athletes to kill each other. The Greek culture, Hellenism, glorified the beauty of the human body. Therefore their athletic events were less dangerous and played in the nude. Jew athletes were discriminated against because Greeks believed that circumcision destroyed part of the body's beauty and purity.
Modesty is a moral that Jews value greatly. Many Hasidic Jews believe that athletics are unnecessary. It takes time away from caring for the family and studying in the yeshiva.
I disagree that athletics are a waste of time. They not only improve the body's health and fitness, but they can also help calm down the mind. When someone does any kind of work out, the mind becomes attentive and focused for long periods of time. Although athletics were once not modest, modern day athletics is not done in the nude. It is not a problem to work out while wearing modest clothing. Also, the time that is taken away from studying in the yeshiva can be made up with the attentive state that the mind is in.

Is the Exodus from Egypt Factual?

The Exodus from Egypt is one of the most important stories in the entire Tanakh. It tells the story of how the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years and how Moses led them out. Although there are no reliable records that allow us to ensure that we were really enslaved in Egypt, I believe that we were. The Tanakh wouldn't go through twelve chapters of constantly explaining how miserable we were and how much we suffered to tell us that it was just a story. Although there is no factual evidence, there are theories that are backed with evidence about many of the other teachings of the Tanakh. If some of it is proved to be true then it is very likely that the rest of it is as well.

Jerusalem: The City of David

Today, as a Jewish History tiyul, we went to the City of David just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. This city was where King David built his palace and it was also the location of his capital city. David decided on that Jerusalem would be on the border of Judah territory and Benjamin territory (territory belonging to each of the tribes of Jacob/Israel). David is of Judean decent. He decided to place Jerusalem where it is not only for the four major reasons that any major city is built (water, trade, food, and defense), he was also influenced by two other reasons. These reasons were divine and DC. Divine, meaning that this is the site that Abraham "sacrificed" Isaac to God, and DC, meaning that it was on the border of two opposing brotherly tribes.
Jerusalem's hilly landscape makes it difficult to collect water. Jerusalem has no real significant natural water source except springs. The fact that David would establish a major city at a place with no natural water source, but real religious value. This really got me thinking about what was more important to people back then. Was it water or religious value? I came to a decision that the most important thing is unity between the Israelites. Until the time of the kings, the Israelites had constant unity and disunity. The most important thing was to unite everyone and keep them united for even during times where there was much prosperity. This was the Israelites weakness and it was greatly improved during the times of the kings.

Scarlett Johansson-SodaStream

SodaStream is an Israeli company, whose spokeswoman is Scarlett Johansson, a famous Hollywood actress. The SodaStream factory is located in a Jerusalem suburb on the West Bank. This creates controversy and is a problem as to whether it is illegal for Israelis to operate a factory on Palestinian territory.
I believe it is not illegal for Israel to continue operating their factory. The West Bank is not officially owned by anyone, therefore there is no real reason that it should be illegal. It provides multiple jobs for Arabs in the area. The factory was also established before the boundaries of the West Bank were officially determined. A good reason to have a factory in vacant territory is that you don't have to pay taxes to that country. Israel has a right as an independent country to continue operating their factories in the West Bank as long as they don't pollute the environment and create unsafe living conditions for the Palestinian settlers in the area.

Abraham and God's Teachings

In Jewish History, we discussed Abraham's relationship with God and why it is significant. In the Tanakh, or Old Testimate, Abraham is tested by God to see if he is truly faithful to him. One of the tests Abraham is given is to sacrifice his favorite son Isaac.
It was really interesting to hear everyone's interpretations, but I was really curious to know if God had given Abraham the test to see if he was different that all the other Canaanite civilizations. In Canaanite cities, children were sacrificed to the Gods to please them. I believe God wanted to see if Abraham would really kill his son and become one of the ordinary polytheistic people living in Canaan at the time.
Furthermore, Abraham failed the test because he would have killed his son to please his God, yet it is written that he had passed a test and God saw that he is truly faithful to him. It is possible that there were multiple parts to the test in which he failed and passed some.

Jerusalem: The Kotel

On Saturday evening, the students of EIE went to the Kotel, or Western Wall, in Jerusalem. I have been to the wall many times before so I was not expecting to feel anything different than what I had already felt towards it. Once we got there and actually caught a glimpse of the wall, I realized that I had been wrong.
I had never felt a more powerful feeling in my life. I don't even know what words can be used to describe this feeling. I walked closer and closer to the wall until I was finally close enough to touch it. It was like something came rushing through me and I knew that this was special. It is almost as if there are ancient souls hidden beneath the wall and they just want to reach out to you and congratulate you for making it to the Kotel, a holy place where prayers to God will be heard.
I think reacted so emotionally towards the Kotel because the first time I was there I placed a note, but I was little so I didn't know any better. The next couple times I felt like a tourist and I went just for the fun of it, but this time was different. I was by myself. It felt like it was just me and God. I was able to say what I felt and feel like someone was on the other side listening and telling me what to do.
The fact that I have no words to describe what I felt reminds me of God's name. Although there is a distinct spelling and everyone knows what it is, there is no perticular way to say it. When going to the Kotel I felt that many people experinced the same feeling that I had, but none of them had any idea how to describe it. It was just special.

Archeological Dig

The first tiyul of the semester was a trip to Qiryat Ba for an archeological dig. This ancient city was built during the time of the second temple and was destroyed by the Roman during the Bar Kochva rebellion. In order to protect themselves, they would dig underground tunnels and hide during the day. At night they would come out to fight using guerrilla war tactics. 
During the tiyul, I felt especially connected to my Jewish roots. Sitting in the dark of the tunnels really helped me understand what our ancestors went through. The ancient Jews sat in the darkness for three years. I had a hard time sitting there for three minutes. 

On our way to the archeological dig.

Crawling through the tunnels built by the settlers to hide from the Romans.

 

Last sight of daylight for about 5 minutes.

Standing in the remains of the ancient Christian graves.

Receiving The Schedule

On the evening of January 28, all the EIE students received their class schedules. Mine included five classes not including Jewish History and Hebrew. Many of the other students had much less with many more free periods giving them a lot of time to do other activities. I on the other hand only had one free period not including lunch.
At first I was very confident in my classes. I was ready to take on the challenges that awaited, but then I realized that my schedule meant that on some days I would finish my day at 7:15PM. It also meant that I would be having lunch at the time I usually got home from school. This was a big challenge for me to accept because I love to eat and have time to rest before I actually start my homework. It is just one of those things I will have to get used to.