מוזיקה

My teacher has decided that we can start writing about things in Israeli culture. I absolutely love this because I listen to a good amount of Israeli songs. One of the songs I like to listen to is מדברים על שלום by  מוקי. Its title literally translates to Talking About Peace. Basically the song talks about how we are stuck in the world and it isn't going to get better without justice. The chorus says "Everyone talks about peace, but no one talks about justice. To one it's paradise, and to other, hell. How many fingers are on the trigger?"  I think it is a very valid opinion about the so called "Peace Talks". I do not think they can actually work until people can put aside their egos and go strictly by justice and not what is everything they want. If people want to actually have peace they need to stop hating the other side. People cannot just say they want peace; they have to mean it and actually give things up for it. That's why I do not believe the Peace talks will help anything. They might work for a little while, but they won't last because both parties won't give up their egos. For example if the Palestinians won't recognize Israel as the Jewish state or having the right to be here, Peace Talks will ultimately fail. I am not saying that I am not a victim to my own accusations though. I believe that Israel should stay Israel and the Palestinians are just Arabs. Palestine was never a country, just a British Territory. Palestinians should also not have the Right of return. Refugees do not usually go back to their home after a war, so why are the "Palestinians" so special? Also their children shouldn't get refugee status. Other refugees' children do not get refugee status and again why are they so special that they get special privileges.  That is how I fall victim to my own previous statement. However,  I do love that song and I believe that it is very true. The last verse of the song is, "Everyone has the same dream, on a mountain, in a valley. We continue to talk and speak about peace, but peace is impossible without justice". I completely agree with that statement. Hopefully one day there will be justice so we can have peace.

בשנה הבאה בירושלים בנויה

This year for פסח I was finally in Israel (Big surprise, since I've been blogging from here for 3 months now ). Anyway, I went to my friend's house. She is a Reform Jew living in Israel, but because of her I actually more Reform traditions. We had a סדר that was gorgeous and amazing and had great food. She and I helped prepare for the סדר so we got the job of making all the salads and vegetables. The food was amazing if I do say so myself. I also learned a lot from it, including some traditions like having an orange in the middle of the סדר plate in order to show women's rights. What I think I liked most about פסח though is that I was able to see Jerusalem from a local perspective. My friend took me all over Jerusalem and I got to see what the city is like to like there and not just the touristy side, like בן יהודה street.

I personally think that when I make Aliyah, I will not live in Jerusalem but I am happy that I got to see it like my friends who live here see it. I am also so grateful that I got to observe the חג in a new way. I still find it so fascinating and interesting that EVERYONE around you here is Jewish. I absolutely love it. I thought it was really cool how just walking around I saw a bunch of mini bon fires, but because I am in Israel I knew they were all just people burning חמץ. I love seeing everyone around me being religious in their own way and I completely respect that. All in all I am so glad I got to observe one of the funnest holidays from a local perspective.

!בשנה הבאה בירושלים בנויה

חיים ומוות

While I was in Poland, my trip had the whole spectrum of חיים and מוות. Two places really stood out to me. The Synagogue in Oswiecim really stood out for me in the hopes of life or חיים and Mydonic was a place that really got to me and symbolized death.

One place that I went in Poland that really represented death for me was Mydonic Concentration Camp. It was the first concentration camp I have ever been to. When I got there we started out on a huge hill overlooking the whole thing. It was huge. I have no other words to describe it, but huge. It seemed to stretch on forever and when my teacher said that we were going all the way to the other side I didn't think we would be able to make it in time. Seeing a concentration camp for the first time kind of takes your breath away. It also did not help that the whole camp is in great shape and the whole thing is STILL standing. As we walked up the hill to start class, I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest it was beating so hard and fast. I went through the barracks and the whole camp. I believe that the thing that got to me the most was when I went into the gas chambers. This part was the hardest to sink in and I think it is the place that really showed me death the most. As soon as I came to the realization that I was standing in the same place, living, where so many people were gassed to death, I broke down. I am so happy I had such good friends with me, that I know care about me. One of my friends in particular helped me through the rest of the camp. I am not a "touchy feely" person and he understood that. Through the rest of the camp he just held my hand and that is all that I needed. We got to the end of the camp where there was a huge monument. This too also is another huge reason why I chose to write about Mydonic as a place that really stood out to me that represented death. I walked up the stair of the monument not knowing what to expect to see in the saucer shaped monument, and when I did it hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked inside and there were the ashes of the people who died there. While looking in I could still see the little tip of a bone that hadn't completely turned to ash in the crematorium. It was hard to look at, but it is one of those things that you can't stop looking at. It was huge and filled. It was such a visual representation of all of the death that had happened only at that camp, it turned the numbers very real for me and a lot of my class mates. So you have it; the place that in my mind represented death very clearly in my trip to Poland.

A place in the trip that really stood out to me for life was the Oswiecim Synagogue. Going to the synagogue in Oswiecim was very special for me. I had a very hard time at Auschwitz-Birkenau. After going through the place and seeing everything, I just felt like I needed a sign of hope. All of EIE davening מנחה together, with my teacher leading the service and us all FINALLY using traditional tunes that I knew really helped. The synagogue in Oswiecim was not big or fancy, but my generation(and friends) were able to put prayer back meaning back into it. It was hard to think that there were Jews living in the same town that Auschwitz is in and how fast they were probably sent there. I refuse to have that synagogue mean death to me though. Davening for me is so important especially after you have seen so much evil. I am so proud of my peers that we were able to daven and really put רוח back into a synagogue that probably had some of the first Jews that went to Auschwitz as members. It showed life in so many ways. Praying in it, singing ניגונים, singing Jewish songs in it like עם ישראל חי restored my happiness. It reminded me that, yes bad things happened there, but it is important to remember that we survived.

The 614th Mitzvah?

"Jews are forbidden to hand Hitler posthumous victories, they are commanded to survive as Jews, lest the Jewish People perish." This is the so called "614th mitzvah" that is written by Rabbi Emil Fackenheim. I believe that he is saying that, after being through the Holocaust, we the Jewish people beat Hitler because we survived and we cannot hand him any victories after he is dead. We are still here and Hitler is not. This "new mitzvah" is here for us to remember that we survived and now we need to thrive.

The first way that we should remember to not only survive but thrive is, we need to remember who we are, where we came from, and what our people went through by sharing stories. Every year I go to services for יום השואה. After services I believe we truly follow this 614th mitzvah. There are many Holocaust survivors that come and after services they tell all of the kids, and the parents who want to hear, their stories. I know that I will also tell my stories from being in Poland and seeing places first hand. We say never forget and by having services for יום השואה, telling stories that you experienced, and hearing survivors stories so we can pass them on first hand is how we strive to fulfill the 614th mitzvah.

I believe that another part of fulfilling this mitzvah is By educating and teaching the future generations. We do this is by sending kids to Hebrew/Sunday School. Personally, I went to Sunday School starting in Kindergarden through first grade. They teach us the basics of the תנ''ך, Israel History, holidays, and Hebrew. Then, starting in second grade it becomes Hebrew School. I started to go three times a week and everything was taught more in depth. I went up until seventh grade. Then eighth grade I started Hebrew High and being a teachers assistant. Teaching the new generations about everything Jewish is a very prevalent part of this "614th mitzvah".

The third and final part of this mitzvah is, I believe all of the Jewish people need to go to both Poland and Israel (and maybe even make aliyah). Jews need to go to Poland, even if they had no family in the שואה. They need to know how important it is to stay Jewish and survive as a Jew. Poland is a tool to educate the Jewish people on why we need to stay Jewish. People have had so much hate for us and we cannot afford to loose anyone. I also believe it is SO important to go to Israel. Israel, I believe, is one of the biggest (excuse my French) "fuck you"s to Hitler the Jewish people could do. The whole fact that we have a Jewish state is amazing. Hitler wanted to completely wipe out all of the Jews and have little museums commemorating the race he wiped out. Instead he is dead and the Jewish people decided not to only survive, but thrive. We created a WHOLE COUNTRY for Jewish people. That is what I call thriving. I believe that every Jew needs to go to Israel at least once in their lifetime. It supports a Jewish economy and I also think it is important to see where our ancestors came from. Also, I believe the Jewish people need to make aliyah. It is important to live in the Jewish country. It supports everything that Hitler was fighting to destroy. Making these special trips to important places in our history is imperative for executing the 614th mitzvah

Tznius in Furs: What Judaism Has to Say About My Mink Coat

Tznius in Furs: What Judaism Has to Say About by Marjorie Ignall for tabletmagazine.com  http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/164717/fur-coats/2

This week for class I was assigned to read a few blogs, one of them is Tznius in Furs: What Judaism Has to Say About by Marjorie Ignall for tabletmagazine.com. It is the authors perspective on Jewish women wearing fur coats. She believes that it is okay that she wears a fur coat, because it was handed down to her by a family member. She also talks about how fur coats used to be the "Ferraris" for women. She goes on to talk about how wearing fur coats goes against הלכה in many ways and she does not believe that Orthodox Jewish women should be wearing any kind of furs.

I agree with the author, that it does go against הלכה. It goes against צינות (modesty) because furs are a symbol of status. Most women while wearing furs are basically flaunting how much money they have. They also go against  the laws of tza'ar baalei chaim (animal suffering). You are supposed to feed your animals first and when you do kill them for food you kill them in the most humane way possible. I think that killing animals for their skin and fur is selfish and definitely does not respect the animals like we are taught to do.

Queen Esther: Patron Saint of Crypto-Jews

"Queen Esther: Patron Saint of Crypto-Jews" by Ronit Treatman for timesofisrael.com
 http://www.timesofisrael.com/queen-esther-patron-saint-of-crypto-jews/

For class this week I had to read a few articles. This one was written by Ronit Treatman from timesofisrael.com; it's called Queen Esther: Patron Saint of Crypto-Jews. It is about how during the Inquisition conversos (Jews who outwardly converted to Catholicism, but inwardly and in their homes still practiced Judaism) turned Esther and the story of Purim into a Saint and a "Catholic" holiday so they could still celebrate it and not be persecuted.

I think it is a really cool idea that people disguised a Jewish holiday into a Christian one so they could stay Jewish. However, I do not like how after the Inquisition and when people had religious freedom that the conversos (closet Jews) did not go back to Judaism. I think that the conversos went through so much to keep as much Judaism as possible, they should have gone back to Judaism as soon as it was safe. It is interesting to hear that there are still some today, but it is almost a little disappointing that people didn't go back to Judaism.

Women of the Wall

Last week I went on a טיול to the Kotel. It was ראש חודש and we went to daven שחרת with Women of the Wall. I understand that they want women's equality at the Kotel and I believe that if women want to or feel the need to wear כיפות, טליתות, ותפילין they should be able to. If it is at the Kotel it is still okay and I do not think people should be arrested or have dirty diapers thrown at them for doing that. Everyone has the right to do what they need to do in order to feel closer to 'ה. Although, I do not believe that the "women's side" on the Kotel should be any bigger and I also do not think that women and men should pray together there. I think the טיול was interesting to watch because the Women of the Wall conducted a full service very loudly and they even read תורה there. I did not like being there and being forced to stay in that group though. I am not comfortable with being in that service. I know what the Women of the Wall are doing is very important to people, but I just wish I was able to go off on my own and watch what was going on. I did not appreciate being called a prostitute or hearing that I was disgracing my family when I did not personally want to participate. Usually when I go to the Kotel I stand next to the מחיצה and listen to the men's services and follow along with them silently. It was sad that this past time I was not able to do that.

Give me a Chance

I have been to many places all over Israel and I speak Hebrew as much as possible and wherever it is possible. I have noticed that when I am with Americans and I start speaking Hebrew to a shop owner or a waiter, they do not even give me a chance and just start speaking to me in English. Sometimes it feels like some Israelis do not even give you a chance to speak in their language, no madder how good or bad(fluent) you are at Hebrew.

I also noticed that if you are in a small group or even just a pair of people it is much easier. I was with my Grandma at Shook Carmel. I realized that when I bargained and the shop owners heard my Grandma speaking English to me, they would make their prices very high and they would just speak to me in English. I then tried having her just point to something that she liked and I would talk to the booth owners and they would automatically give me lower prices and it was easier to bargain with them. I do not understand why it has to be so hard.

Israel is a land of immigrants and I believe that locals need to give people a chance so they can actually learn the language and become a part of society. A great example of this is I was in עין כרם after a צדקה project and went to go get ice cream. Everyone in my group went to this one really good store, but it was really crowded so one of my friends and I went to a frozen yogurt shop that was a few stores down and when we got there, one of the guys who is on EIE too was there. He is making aliyah and wants to learn as much hebrew as possible this semester. We started to order and while I was waiting for my frozen yogurt, the guy from my trip ordered. He tried to do it in Hebrew (I had started out the program helping him every night to teach him as much Hebrew as possible.). Seeing him being able to order in what I like to call "Hinglish" aka a mix of half Hebrew half English was great. The person who took his order helped him with the words he did not know. I think this is a great example of give new עולים a chance. I would like to think the whole country could try to make עולים as comfortable בארץ as that frozen yogurt person did.

The "Temple Synagogue"

While I was in Poland we went to a synagogue called the "Temple Synagogue". It was an old pre-Shoah synagogue that was part of Liberal Judaism. My class had a very interesting discussion about the name. In my class I do not like talking about my opinion that much because I have a more traditional view than everyone else. This time I thought it would be a good time to try and share the non-liberal side of the discussion.

We talked about if it is ok to call synagogues "temple". Almost everyone in my class calls their synagogue at home "temple". The people who started out talking in the discussion were confused why this was even brought up as a topic of conversation because it is just part of their normal day life. I decided to share my opinion. I believe that you should not call a synagogue "temple". The only Temple is בית המיקדש and there is not one standing right now. I think that calling an everyday synagogue takes away from בית המקדש and its importance. Also when there is a third temple people would not know how to discriminate from that and their own "temple".  My classmates made the point that it doesn't madder if you say "temple" because it is two different words in Hebrew, בית קנשת and בית מיקדש. The problem with that logic is they are not actually speaking Hebrew when they refer to it as "temple".

I personally do not like to say "temple" when I refer to synagogues/ shuls/ בתי קנשת, but I do not try to change how other people say things. I believe that when I stated my opinion I was reasonable and respectful. I know my teacher likes when I explain to the class my more traditional opinions. After I was done talking, I heard one of the girls who was sitting behind me say how rude I was. It makes it hard to share my opinion when my peers do not like what I have to say and think of it as rude, even though I try to say things as polite as possible.

Liberman: American Jews Face 'Demographic Catastrophe'

Liberman: American Jews Face 'Demographic Catastrophe' by Raphael Ahren for The Times of Israel. http://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-jewish-continuity-not-iran-our-greatest-concern/

This week in class I was assigned to read this article "Liberman: American Jews Face 'Demographic Catastrophe'. It talks about how Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has decided that the American jews need to have better and easily accessible Jewish learning facilities, such as private Jewish schools. He talks about how people do not go to them, because there are not a lot and when there are some they are over priced. He also talks about how the Israeli government should pay and then the American community match the amount of money given, so the education is easier accessed.

This article really hits home for me for a few reasons. First of all, I have one friend who never had a lot of money, but wanted a Jewish education. We went to hebrew school together at our synagogue for many years, but that was only three times a week. She eventually ended up not being able to go to Jewish day school because there was just simply no money for it. When we hit high school, she had made up her mind that she was going to Jewish school for the rest of her education. She went through and did many applications and filled out so many forms. All of her hard work payed off and she ended up getting a scholarship to the Jewish high school in our neighborhood. I agree with Liberman that we need Jewish schools to be more accessible. If a student truly wants to have a Jewish education , they should not have to go through a HUGE hassle in order to try and get it. It needs to be more available.

Another reason why this article hits home for me is because my best friend is transferring to the Jewish high school of our area. She is more fortunate and can easily make the change to the school financial wise. After being here in Israel and knowing and seeing what it is like to go to school and have Jewish classes, I decided that I really like it. I would love to go to the Jewish high school of my area, but I know that there just is not enough money for me to do so. I hope Liberman can find a way to make Jewish education more accessible for everyone so that people like me and my friend can get the education that helps them and the kind that they want.

גדודי נוער

This past week I went to גדנ"ע‎, which is an abbreviation for גדודי נוער or in loose translation youth battalions. At first I was so scared because I didn't think I could make it in an army setting. I was also appointed to be a translator for my team. I understand when people are talking, but I really cannot translate it back into English. My מפקדת or commander was so sweet she saw how uncomfortable I was with translating. She started out trying to translate as much as she could and then have me translate the rest. We worked from there and by the end I believe I feel way more comfortable translating out loud now than I ever have. I appreciate my מפקדת so much, I hope she knows that. Her name was Lior and she was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She talked to my team not only about our opinions on things, but she was able to open up to us about her views too. I really felt a connection with her and I think she did too. We are now friends on Facebook and I hope that we will keep in touch. Overall I thought my גדנ"ע experience was going to be horrible, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and it'll turn out alright.

Next Generation

Today during class we talked about having to make choices between doing something secular and something religious. As I listened to my class mates, I noticed  most of them chose the secular thing over the religious. My whole life I really never thought of even having a choice to do secular things over religious. Every week on Friday I would get home from school early and I would make Challah with my אבא and we would clean the house for שבת. My mother would get home and as the sun went down she would light the candles and my אבא would do the special שבת קדוש and I would get to do the מוצי. Every Saturday morning I would go to Synagogue and after I could go to friend's houses. I have also never missed High Holiday services.

It was a surprise to me that my classmates could even have the choice to do secular thing, let alone actually do them. For example one person skipped יום כפור services to go to a concert. I think I would be too scared to skip services. These decisions that my generation makes are the future of the Jewish people. I hope that when we are adults, we can do the same as our parents and have our children go to services and make a priority of our religion. In order to continue the Jewish people we (as a generation) need to take initiative and start doing the religious things so we can teach the generations after us.

Chocolate Shawarma, 'Nuff Said

"Israel's Newest Delicacy? Chocolate Shawarma" by Dana Kessler for tabletmag.com  http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/161950/israels-newest-delicacy-chocolate-shawarma

For class this week, I had to read a new article written by Dana Kessler from tabletmag.com; it's called Israel's Newest Delicacy? Chocolate Shawarma. It basically talks about how this one guy went to Italy and saw chocolate being served and made the same way as shawarma. He decided to make it a big thing in the Middle East he would reference it to shawarma, which is a very well known dish there. Chocolate shawarma is basically shaved chocolate in something that is a little thicker than a crepe and it has many very sweet toppings. The next time I go out I think I will go to one of those restaurants to try one for myself.

It Was Fate

This week we went to the shook. I have been there many times, but this time was special. I was finally there with friends and it was also on a Friday morning; aka the time people last minute shop for everything they need on Shabbat. It's a completely different atmosphere. Usually it isn't that crowded and you can go along the shook and go in and look for what ever you see. This time if you were shopping, you have to shop for a purpose. The walkways are so crowded and you are bumping into everything and everyone. I was with two of my really good friends from the trip and we first made a list of everything we wanted and when we finished we took off. We practically flew threw all of the people dodging guys bringing more strawberries to their stands and women barreling down the sidewalk with their kids in their strollers trying to get olives for Shabbat dinner. There was a stand of Orthodox men trying to sell tefillin and showing men how to wrap them. There was also one man, with his black silk robe and black velvet kippah with a top hat on top with his payis hanging down, who was standing in the middle of all of the chaos just playing Jewish songs. Those are the moments when I am so proud to be in this country; it's when I feel the most at home.

My friends and I got strawberries, olives, elephant pants, a cute sweatshirt, AMAZING FOOD (they literally only serve carbs on the kibbutz), and I got Naot (really comfortable sandals). I will tell you the story of how my Naot picked me. When I walked into the shoe store, all I saw was three huge walls filled from floor to ceiling with shoes and a little old man standing in the middle of everything. I was just looking at all of the shoes when my friend called me over to one pair. She told me I had to get them even before I saw them. I walked over to what she was pointing at and I saw them. There data pair of Naot in the style I wanted and they had my name written on the box.,"S. Barbara" , and they were in my size too. I had to get them. Since I am in the holy land I took the sandals as a sign. Maybe they will bring me good luck or something. I bought the shoes from the little old man. He gave them to me for 130 shekels cheaper than my friends got them for when we were at a mall the week before. As I paid him all the little old man could say was, God bless you and may you have great health. I am so grateful I could make some one that happy and I even got myself a pair of shoes out of it.

What Drives Success

"What Drives Success?" by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld for The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/opinion/sunday/what-drives-success.html?emc=eta1&_r=1

This week in class we were assigned to read the article "What Drives Success?" by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld of the New York Times. This article talks about how most of the economically achieving races in America are achieving by three main reasons. These reasons area superiority complex, being insecure/ driven for their future, and last but not least impulse control. One of the populations that this article talks about is the Jewish people. I believe that Jews possess these traits because when we came to this country, we came from either nothing or very small towns in the countryside where their villages would get burned to the ground just for being Jewish. Therefore their parents taught them how they had to be proud of who they are; hence the superiority complex. They also taught their children that everything they do counts towards their future and from personal experience, I know that parents have very high expectations for their children. That explains why Jews posses the drive for a good future. Finally Impulse control is taught from a young age in the Jewish religion. When I was little I was taught you always have to say the motzi and the blessing over all the food and drink before you can eat. I think it is very interesting to look at all of the things that are the reasons why Jews are successful are also the lessons that are taught to us as a whole people for life lessons and not for the one reason to be the most successful. 

It's the Kotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

This past weekend I went to the Kotel with my program. I think every time I go there, its just like going for the first time. I just feel this deep pull to Jerusalem and especially the Kotel; when I go there it feels like I belong. We went to the Kotel right before havdalah while the men were doing Mariv. I had been so home sick to hear a familiar tune for davening because NFTY-EIE is a reform program and does reform services and tunes.(I am not reform and the services are very uncomfortable for me to sit through, especially considering that they use instruments on Shabbat)  As I stood at the wall, I think I had the most meaningful experience I have ever had there. I stood there and did a personal prayer and after that I listened to the men daven Mariv. Just hearing the familiar tunes and service made me feel at home once again.

However I believe some people just do not appreciate the holiness and just how much the wall and Shabbat means to some people. While I was standing at the wall listening to the men do Mariv, I saw a flash come from behind me. I turned around and the were a few NFTY-EIE girls taking pictures with flash!!! I was so offended and I'm sure the orthodox women were too. I don't understand how people can be so selfish and ignorant that they would take out electronics and use them at the Kotel on Shabbat after all of the staff from our trip had told them that is the one thing that they cannot do. Those are the times where I hate being even affiliated with the reform movement on this trip and it almost makes me loose faith in the secular people of Judiasm.

To say the least I had mixed feelings at this trip to the Kotel, but I believe all of the familiarity and happiness that happend at the wall completely overpowered the bad experiences that happened that one time.

Historicity

Today was the first real day of classes. I cannot believe that I am actually in Israel; it really hasn't sunk in.

In my Jewish History class we are doing historicity. (I know it doesn't sound like a real word) Well anyway, historicity is basically using external sources to prove or disprove the תנ"ך. We read the story of Noah and my teacher Aaron about us about the documentary hypothesis. I find it to be an interesting idea, but I do not agree. I may not necessarily believe that god wrote the whole Torah, but I feel weird challenging what I have been taught my whole life. I don't think there were a bunch of different writers of the Torah and that all of the writings were put together and making the Torah by Ezra. I believe that in the story there are two different tones and in other places of the torah there are, but there are reasonable explanations for that. Like in the story of Noah,I believe there is a lot of repetitiveness because G-d wanted to emphasize those certain parts. It is weird to be conservative and go to a very reform school, but I kind of like hearing the other side of the argument. All in all, I think this class will be an interesting challenge.