Haredi, Set, Go!

What can you count on if it's Shabbat in Jerusalem? Is it Haredim at the Wall? Nah, it's a trip to the Israel Museum!

After a visit to the Shrine of the Book and seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls, we split into groups and  competed in another amazing Stav Scavenger Hunt. Genesis ran away with her Calgary buddies and I went with the boys. We creatively hunted down the artefacts and stopped to take in some of the majesty along the way. 

I was sure to point out the sand on the floor of the reconstructed Suriname synagogue and, while I stopped to take a photo, the boys had moved into the adjoining room filled with Megilot from Europe. Noam came up running: "Moreh Ari, we found scrolls! They're really cool!" Well, now, isn't that just the whole point of the museum... Even cuter, though, was that I then found them huddled over the 400 year old Book of Esther singing chapter 1 to the tune of All Around the Mulberry Bush just as Robin taught them in grade 1. And isn't that just the whole point of the trip...

We actually spent about two hours at the museum and I was really impressed with the way we all had lots of fun and also clearly appreciated the improbable context of the exhibits.

After a stop in the shade, we were back at the hotel for supper and Havdallah before heading out to Ben Yehuda Street for the first non-matza meal. In the morning it was off to Caesaria where the penpals awaited!

Caesaria and Acre present some essential points in the struggle to understand the predicaments of being a modern Jew. As a Jew in Herod's time, when everyone else was praying to the Roman gods before watching a play at the theater, should you enjoy the play or boycott and ostracize yourself? Should you cheer as the Jewish slaves are slain in the gladiator pits? How far do we go these days? Good thing we kind of touched on that stuff in class, because the Israelis showed up and there was no learning goin on after that!! If you want to know about Acre you'll have to check another blog.

The reunion was everything you would expect, it doubled the size of the group, and it quadrupled the noise level on the bus! Next we got to the Druze village for a solid lunch and they were loud there. If they like the sound of their voices, why are they trying to make each other deaf? But they were very nice listening to the Druze man explain his village and culture. He himself was a soldier and gave a well spoken presentation. Our kids asked questions and it was a little break from the noise. We dropped everyone off and sent them to be noisy at the homes of their host families. I expect calls from the Kibbutz guards tomorrow, but I can't help it if Canadians and Israelis just can't contain their excitement.

I'm very excited to see the mifgash starting off so energetically. I'm really happy to be reacquainting myself with chametz, and I'm grateful we had such a meaningful and fun time in the Jerusalem phase of the program.

Shavua tov!

"Nine scoop day, no problem with that!" - Tomer

Actually, Tomer, Danny, and Cale had already had two bowls of ice cream at the old train station when Cale said "maybe I'll get more" and Tomer said "nine scoop day, no problem with that!" In the end, they decided against the third bowl to my relief.

It was the last day of Pesach and our itinerary gave participants a chance to spend the holiday with their families. Noam's safta took him away to one function, Adriel's uncle to another, and Tomer's grandparents grabbed him and the other two boys. Genesis may not have noticed as she seemed wrapped up in talking to her Calgary buddies, but it was just the two of us for the morning.

It started out with a portion of services at the Great Synagogue and the end of services at the Moreshet Yisrael Conservative Synagogue. We actually had quite an extensive conversation back in class a few weeks ago about being a Conservative or Reform Jew in Israel. While the progressive movements make up a majority of Jews in North America, they are a miniscule minority in Israel.

Their congregations and buildings have no state funding and their religious authority is not recognized. A Conservative/Reform rabbi cannot preside over a wedding, nor can he/she oversee conversions. The fact that Moreshet Yisrael sits kitty-corner from the Great Synagogue symbolizes all of this. It is physically dwarfed by the Temple replica and the modest number of seats inside reflects the lack of prominence. And then there's the Western Wall. We touched on these issues when we were at the Progressive Kotel platform, and, as I said, covered it extensively in class. It's one of those sites that we talked about it in class and then came to feel what it is in actuality. That was applied later during Kabbalat Shabbat.

During our synagogue visits, Cale, Danny, and Tomer were out on a tour of Jerusalem. Tomer's saba and safta took them over to Montefiore's windmill, up the YaMCA tower, and over to the train station for some ice cream. Noam went for services and to a family lunch.

After lunch, Noam, Danny, Cale, and Tomer rejoined us and we took about an hour at the park next door to play some football. After a quick rinse, we set out for our own tour of the windmill, the YMCA and King David hotels, and the train station for ice cream. So that's how Danny, Tomer, and Cale ended up having six scoops of ice cream in the day. And I'm glad that, despite Tomer's approval, the 7th, 8th, and 9th scoops never came!

Adriel reunited the group after that, and all 22 of us headed to the Kotel for a special Kabbalat Shabbat. As the sun set, the Muazzin called out for the Muslims, thousands sang in front of us at the Wall, and we sang nearby to welcome Shabbat. Some birdies were circling the Temple Mount which is always heartwarming knowing that they don't see any conflict in the songs and maybe one day we can all be like them.

And so came the last chance to touch the Wall. We had to fight a big crowd, and I do mean fight, elbows out. So the question was: why? Like, academically, they knew why. But in their hearts, the other day, it didn't resonate, to which I can relate. To be honest, when I was in grade 9, I also went to the Wall, put in a note asking for the Leafs to win the Stanley Cup, and stepped away. My friends were disappointed in me for my insignificant request. So I started to understand and went back at the end of the trip to put in something deeper, in writing and in heart.

Which is quite what these guys seemed to be going through. They said that the other day it was hot and crowded and they put in their notes and wanted to get away quickly. So we came up with the fact that we're here, after many many years of wandering the desert of Diaspora and war over the Land, on Pesach, as Bnei Yisrael got there after a long ordeal in Egypt and through many wars. What does that stir up? What are we most thankful for? What are we most hopeful for? What does it mean to be so physically close to this spiritual center of our history and culture? And we did fight the crowd, and hopefully it was everything they wanted...

After dinner was a really fun game and bed time. Now I'm getting ready for breakfast and the final day in Jerusalem. I'm hoping to get the kids onto the blog, but for now enjoy the photos and Shabbat Shalom.

Dear Group

After two grueling days, without much of an opportunity to breathe or decompress, we sat down after evening naps yesterday to organize our thoughts about what we have embarked upon.

Usually, the "hopes and expectations" activity would take place on the first night of the trip before much has happened. As we were just arriving, just meeting one another, just ready to sleep on that night, we put it off until the third night, and what transpired was a powerful re-introduction to the trip which left us all looking forward to the potential for a truly incredible experience.

It started with "Israel Madness" in which the students were split into pairs, each team advocating in a bracket tournament for their assigned site as the "best and most important on the trip." It included classic matchups such as Jeep Ride vs. Camel Ride in the quarter final, Israeli Food vs. Har Herzl in the semis, and ultimately Har Herzl vs. Masada in the finals, with Masada coming away with the championship under the argument "if it weren't for Masada, there wouldn't be Har Herzl!"

Another highlight came in the Har Herzl vs. The Beach quarters, in which Har Herzl advanced on the argument that "the beach is too dangerous. There are jellyfish, paddle ballers, and the fish that ate Jonah." It was an extremely entertaining way to look ahead at what we can expect over the next couple weeks. It was also a hint that the Edmontonians and Calgarians were eager to work together and be a united group.

The tournament took longer than expected and we reconvened after dinner for the more serious hopes exercise. In this program, students wrote letters to themselves about what they hope to get out of the trip which they will read on the final night. The other part was to write a letter to the group outlining their hopes for us a mishpacha. These were read aloud about 10 minutes later.

The "Dear Group" exercise was taken quite seriously with just enough comic relief to keep it refreshing. They talked about bonding as Albertans, being excited to touch the material they'd been learning about for years, and having a lot of fun. It is understood that we only have one chance to get this right, and that the simple way to make it happen is to do what Stav says.

The day's activities certainly influenced the evening's meaning.

The program at Yad Vashem began at 9:00. I call it "the program" as opposed to "the tour" (and ya, I guess today I'm big into quotation marks?) pretty intentionally. Our Yad Vashem leader Sergei asked lots of questions, allowed our students to ask in return, and left everyone wanting to learn more.

So here is some more. I was telling the students that they have to come back one day. I told them honestly that I've been to that museum 10 times and each program was almost completely different. Each leader brings their own agenda and has a fascinating way of getting it across. There was the one a few years ago who zoomed in on specific artifacts to drive home the point that there are 6,000,000 fascinating and tragic stories. There was the one who pointed out a very feminine understanding of the experience - for instance pointing out a thimble of blush recovered from Auschwitz where a lady would have to put enough on to appear healthy but not so much as to look attractive to the guards. There was the guide who stirred up anger towards the perpetrators, and the guide who focused on the way that each stage affected people at each stage of life.

Sergei focused on the dilemmas. How could Jews sew the stars on their clothes? How far would they go to save their own lives? To have even the potential to save a family member? To fight or obey? Are Schindler's List and Sophie's Choice more shock value or educational value? Some food for thought, but we needed food for our bellies.

Before we knew it, it was noon and we moved on. We will revisit the learning from Yad Vashem on Yom Hashoah next week.

After lunch at the (only thing open) Kosher for Pesach McDonald's, we were back to the Mount of Memory for a look at the other side: Har Herzl.

Har Herzl is agonizing in a different way. With three former soldiers accompanying us, we are hearing about the events of this generation and the evidence. I shared with them the story of Michael Levin and how eerily similar his life was to the way ours is. He was from Philadelphia, grew up in shul two times a year, went to Jewish day school and summer camp, and went to Israel as a teenager. He enlisted at the time of the 2006 Lebanon War and has since been at Har Herzl. I told them how when I first hear his story I was about his age (22), and it really hit home at that moment that over the last decade, my life has gone on while his never will. I think it resonated, along with the stories that Stav, Tom, and Zvia shared, and led to the meaningful discussions of last night.

So we had a very long day of learning and walking, a long day of emoting, and now we have two long days where there ain't a ton going on. Today is the 7th day of Pesach so it will be some leisurely strolls and a lot of nonsense in the hotel, and that'll be pretty much the same tomorrow. A highlight in between will be Shabbat at the Kotel which I'm looking forward to reporting on.

Dear group of parents, I hope you are excited and happy for your kids as they are really on a life-changing experience disguised as a really fun trip.

Love, Ari.