11/7/2016 0 Comments Settling InAfter weeks of ever-changing schedules, I am finally settled in Jerusalem, taking classes with a regular schedule. On Monday thru Wednesday, we have classes in the morning and afternoon. In the morning, we have three periods, where we take Arabic and Hebrew and have a free. Usually during my free, which goes right into lunch, I go to the Y, which is less than a 5 minute walk away. It's been really cool to learn a new language, but it is definitely going to be challenging to learn all the letters and subtleties of the language. I also haven't taken a daily Hebrew class in years, and I have loved relearning the language and using it in daily life. These language classes are pretty small, with around 10-15 people per class. In the afternoons, we have two types of classes that are with the whole group called Jews in History and Land, People, Ideas. JIH is about the Jews of the countries we visit and their history, how they lived, who they were, etc. We have specialists for every country, so we never have a consistent teacher for this class. LPI is about the history of Zionism and is taught by a consistent teacher. LPI is closer to a class than a lecture, with discussion and a response paper due before every trip, while JIH is mostly lectures. There are usually three periods in the afternoon, so we often double up on one of these classes. Every now and then, a singer named Hadas comes in and teaches us songs about the cultures we will be visiting on our upcoming trip. Then we usually have a two hour break from 530-730, including dinner, which Kivunim either provides for us at Beit Shmuel or gives us money to go out to the amazing restaurants near us so we can explore the Jerusalem cuisine. So far, I've had amazing Hummus, falafel, Shwarma, Iraqi food, a middle eastern dish called Malawach, and so much more. There are a surprising amount of amazing burger places nearby, and even a Chipotle-esque Mexican restaurant. After dinner, a few times a week we have another lecturer at night. These lecturers range from professors at American colleges who Skype in to a former assistant to a recent Prime Minister of Israel to an author of a renowned book on coexistence between the Arabs and Jews in Israel. On Thursdays, I volunteer at a school for refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Philippines. There is one group of 4 from Kivunim that goes to this organization in the morning, and another group of 5 that volunteers in the morning, and you switch off every week. In the mornings, I volunteer from 9-12 and work with mostly babies. Last week I basically held and played with a baby for at least an hour, then switched over to toddlers who are just learning to walk. With these toddlers, we went on a little trip/walk to the grocery store to buy jelly and other fillings for the crepes that the kids were going to make after we left. When I am there in the afternoon from 230-530, the older kids come. With the 9-10 years old, we all play basketball and other sports, we help them do homework, and we make sure they are eating their snacks. Besides for volunteering on Thursdays, the rest of our day is pretty much free! Fridays and Saturdays are usually left pretty much empty, as they are the weekend in Israel, instead of Saturday and Sunday (Sunday is a workday and a school day in Israel). This past Friday was different, though, because an artist from New York named Tobi Kahn came to Israel for literally the weekend just to teach us about visual art. Because of this, we woke up at 4:45 a.m. and left Beit Shmuel by 5:15 to walk to the shuk (market) called Machane Yehuda, which a huge outdoor market with a wide range of food and other stuff. Usually on Friday morning, the shuk is packed as everyone gets ready for Shabbat, but because we got there so early, there was only a few merchants setting up their vegetables and no customers yet. Tobi pointed out to us the different colors of the sky due to the different variations of light in different places; some lights, or lack thereof, made the sky a darker or lighter hue of blue. We then saw the shuk begin to come alive as we left to go to a Jewish village right next to Machane Yehuda. After getting yelled at a few times by the people who lived there for waking them up, we got the most amazing pastries from a pastry shop called Marzipan, which just opened as we were leaving. This meant we got some of the freshest, warmest pastries we could get there. They were delicious! After a quick nap, we went to the Israel Museum with Tobi, who taught us about a lot of the art there, which gave me a greater appreciation for art than I have previously had. It also made me realize that I really don't get modern art at all. There was a piece of artwork that was an upside down urinal, which I found pretty hard to appreciate! But besides a lecture Saturday night, we had the rest of Friday and Saturday free. A few of us even went to the Kotel (the Western Wall) Friday night, which is always quite the scene. We played ultimate frisbee for hours on Saturday in what seemed like it was a horse park, as we saw three separate horses accompanied by their trainers/owners. One of the horses ended up running through our game a little bit as its trainer tried to corral it. This was definitely something I was not used to. Sundays are usually jam-packed days, as we travel around Israel doing whatever makes sense to do that week. One week we went on a hike and saw monestaries, one of which was located on the Jordan River at what is believed to be the spot where Jesus was baptized. This past Sunday, with Tobi, we met with various Israeli artists and saw their studios. One renowned artist is very good at wheel throwing, and she gave us all a quick lesson in how to do it and even let us try it out! In general, there has been about one time a week where I wake up early in the morning to go or watch something. We watched game 7 of the World Series at the director of the Israel program's house at 3 in the morning and woke up to watch the election at 5 in the morning. Overall, sleep isn't really a thing here and that's okay! This week I started going to a running group called Runners Without Borders, which is coexistence running group that both Arabs and Jews participate in. It was awesome to get to practice my Arabic with the Arabs and meet the amazing people that live in Israel. I am also going to start being in a flag football league this Friday with a lot of gap year kids – should be a lot of fun! We are now getting ready to go to Greece, Bulgaria, and Azerbaijan on Sunday until December 9. Somehow I'm going to try to pack for 19 days without laundry, but I am so pumped to finally go on our first international trip. It's going to be an incredible 3 weeks with incredible food, people and cultures. Check back soon to see what it's like!
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11/3/2016 3 Comments The Wailing WallSome say the biggest existential threat facing Israel right now is not Iran, not terrorism, or anything of the like, but Jew on Jew hatred and violence. When we, as Jews, are not unified, our enemies will destroy us. On Wednesday morning, 30 of us from Kivunim went with the Women of the Wall to the Kotel (the Western Wall) at 6:30 in the morning with several Torahs. This marked the first time in history that multiple Torahs were brought to the Kotel, to the women's side to be read. As we walked through security behind the Torahs, the 200-some people sang their hearts out, singing ya'aseh shalom, He will make peace, and other songs of strength. Led by both American and Israeli leading non-orthodox Rabbis, the crowd burst past security to be met by Haredi (ultra orthodox) Jews, who tried to grab the Torahs from those holding the holy scrolls. One burly supporter of the Women of the Wall movement literally stood in front of some of the Torahs and acted as an offensive linemen, moving the Haredis as nonviolently as possible who were yelling and grabbing the Torahs. The Haredis were saying that these weren't real Torahs because of what they were being used for, which in their eyes was a giant middle finger to their religion. Once the Torahs made it into the women's section, constant Haredi whistling and yelling tried to drown out the women's prayer and torah reading. What was perhaps the most frightening part of the whole experience was that the loudest, angriest Haredis weren't old Rabbis, but young kids, sometimes younger than 10, who were yelling and screaming as loud as they could. They had no idea, it seemed to me, what exactly they were doing, but it was clear they were told what to do by their elders. In particular, one 20-something Haredi man would pull kids aside and point them where to go and what to scream, whether it meant going in the middle of the prayer circle or sliding between the police trying to block them off. The kids just yelled and whistled as loud as they could, running around with stickers; they looked like they were having a blast. When one little kid was asked why he wasn't at school, he said that his Rabbis and teachers told him to come here and protest what was going on. I would call that brainwashing young children. From the men's section, many Kivunim kids looked over the barrier to try and witness history. One friend, Matt, asked a girl on the Women's side to pass him a siddur because he didn't have one. One of the so called security guards, who could be seen in videos doing much of the shoving that occurred, quickly snapped, "assoor (forbidden)." When Matt asked why not, why he couldn't practice his Judaism, the security man quipped, "You are not Jewish." When we fight internally as a religion, when we call each other names and say this is the only way to truly be Jewish, we cannot do much of anything, let alone successfully run our own state. We must be accepting of each others' differences. My way is not the only, correct way of practicing Judaism. Just because you are secular does not mean you are not Jewish. Many of the Kivunim girls got a chance to hold the Torah during the service, some even carrying it out of the women's section into the main area of the Kotel. During the Egalitarian service, the police had to form a wall so that the kids and other Haredis wouldn't disrupt the service. When that same 20-something Haredi man showed the kids how to slip through the cracks of the police's wall, the little kids were met with a giant arm and shove from one of the police officers. The kids quickly toppled over each other and broke a chair, yet another example of Jew on Jew violence that should never occur. Of course, all of the blame does not fall on the Haredis, as the Women of the Wall knew this would provoke them, and the police also participated in Jew on Jew violence. We shouldn't have to be fighting amongst each other trying to fight for rights. Dialogue and conversation in theory should be enough; we should be standing side-by-side with our fellow Jews. After finishing the Egal service, the final step of the experience was to get the Torahs back out of the Kotel. As we walked out, each person carrying a Torah had what was more or less a body guard to protect their Torah from the Haredis. Ironically, the Haredis live every day of their life swearing by the Torah, yet there they were, trying to tear apart the very same words they hold so dear. One man carrying one of the Torahs didn't have anyone standing next to him to protect him, and the kids quickly took notice. After no one came to help, I quickly took action, walking next to the Torah and acting as its body guard and offensive linemen. It was a crazy rush of emotions as I was doing this: fear for my safety, pride in my protection of my fellow Jew, and most of all frustration that I had to protect a fellow Jew from another Jew. It's 2016. The Jewish nation has had its own democratic state for just under 70 years. Throughout its history, Israel has experienced hatred from all over the world, yet it has survived and even thrived. It has found a way to keep going, to modernize while keeping close ties to its incredible history. We cannot continue with the status quo, with fighting one another. Not now. We are at a tipping point right now in Israel, in America, and in the world. It's time to make friends and throwaway all the politics and media publicity. As the Torah says, it's time to love your neighbor as yourself. |
AuthorDan Rosenzweig-Ziff Archives
June 2017
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