In any case, I found it troubling that tourists were allowed to come in, make noise and discuss mundane concerns while there were services taking place both at the church and the Western Wall.  (Interesting, tourists are asked to leave during prayer hours at the Temple Mount.)  This might work as a solution to the other sites, but it might become complicated for multiple groups who wish to use the wall/Church at the same time.

While it is difficult to understand why tourists were allowed to interrupt or observe services, it was interesting to see.  Each holy site had a unique beauty that not only resided within the building materials themselves but also the love that many of the worshipers brought to their prayer experiences.  There were people in tears at the Western Wall as well as those who had a holy aura about there faces.  There was some intense praying going down (or up depending upon your orientation.)

Now for something completely different…

I had my first week of ulpan classes.  We are studying modern hebrew from 8:30 – 1:00 each day.  (Tuesdays we have tefillah in the morning, and we have had some extra sessions here and there about biblical Israel.)  The administration created 4 Hebrew levels (alef, bet, gimel and dalet)  All of our classes will be based on these levels.  I was placed in level gimel.  So far there is a ton of new vocabulary… but I have not really learned any new grammar.  :(  (although we have touched on some simple grammar… good review)

Level gimel has two teachers who switch off each day so homework is assigned and collected by the same teacher.  Thus we get our assignments a day ahead of time. I am finding it difficult to learn to speak and understand spoken Hebrew though, because it is not enough immersion.   I am thinking about ordering TV so that I can watch children’s shows in Hebrew.  We will see how that goes.  I have also heard that people learn Hebrew well when watching soap operas in Hebrew.  As the dean mentioned then I’ll know how to say catchy phrases such as, “I am your long lost sister from Argentina,”  or “I am carrying your baby.”

Other than that, all is well.  Chad is getting ready to go to  Croatia with his brother Scott, and we are planning to go to see Batman tomorrow night.  We miss everyone, and hope that you are well!!

We hope to hear from y’all soon!

Chad here to add some thoughts in regards to the Holy Sites. I’ve always found different religions fascinating, so getting to see the different sites was a great experience. First, one of the things that amazes me about religion is the importance that is put on ritual objects. Upon entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, people were praying in front of a large stone that had oil on it. Looking up from the stone, there was a huge mosaic that was depicted Jesus’ anointment before his burial. People were putting objects onto the stone to bless them. Objects included items brought from home and also cheap postcards bought down the street. So that’s fascinating to believe that Jesus’ dead body was on this stone before his burial, until you find out that the stone is only about 200 years old and just commemorates his annointment. Hmmm….. The list goes on of Christian sites and objects throughout Jerusalem. The reason that they are holy is that one or more of the churches decided that they were holy. Very fascinating.

Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock was also a great experience. We get there by pure chance as we were actually trying to meet up with some friends and got into the wrong line. We thought we were in the security line for the Western Wall. Instead, we were in the security line for Temple Mount. We called our friends, and they came to meet us. So a slight historical account of Temple Mount. The top of Temple Mount is where they believe Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac. It is also where they believe Mohammed ascended to Heaven. It was also the location of the first and second Temples 2500 years ago. So needless to say, it has history. It’s also controversial.

So it was quite cool to be up there. The top is a huge place. Someone said it was 37 acres…or something like 15 football fields. During the Muslim holy days, they can fit over a million people on the top. A sight that I’d love to see, but will never be able to. The Dome of the Rock is closed to tourists, so I can’t tell you what it looks like. I respect the reasons they close it, but am still disappointed that I couldn’t go in.

So that is it for now. I will leave you with some pictures from Temple Mount and the walk that we took around the Ramparts of the Old City.

These strategies contrast with the Washington DC museum greatly.  In Washington DC there is a greater focus on the atrocities themselves… the goal is seemingly to hit participants over the head with the horrors that permeated the Holocaust (some examples include: a piles of shoes, hair or glasses.)   

With this in mind I entered Yad Vashem not knowing what to expect as it had been renovated sense my last visit.  

From the outside, the museum looked like a gigantic triangular cylinder stabbed into a mountain.  The tip of the triangle was made of glass. 

When we entered, we quickly became silent… as if all of our conversation seemed insignificant.  The first movie clips were about the rich and cultured life of the Jews in Germany and the surrounding areas.  After viewing this introduction, we wove our way through various exhibits filled with factual information, recordings of personal testimonies alongside photos and objects.  The museum was set up chronologically, and told the story from the point of view of the Jewish people’s struggles. The end of the museum opened up to a view of Jerusalem and pathways to the more subtle memorials.  

We spent at least 4 and 1/2 hours pouring over the information, listening to peoples’ stories and visiting the more symbolic “memorial sites.”  By the end we all felt hungry, tired and sore… but also guilty for letting these trivial pains trouble us in the face of what we were visiting.  

A few exhibits were particularly memorable:throughout the entrance and exit courtyards there were trees planted for each of the righteous gentiles, the memorial for the children consisted of candles in a dark room with several mirrors (in the background, childrens’ names and ages were read out loud) and the story of a survivor meeting a soldier seeing what was really taking place for the first time as he stared in horror at the site of his starving body.  

I also found that the nations’ failure to destroy the concentration camps after learning about what was taking place was completely unacceptable and troubling.  Yes there is a war and resources need to be devoted to ending it as soon as possible, but there were many occasions in which war targets were close to concentration camps, there was no excuse not to bomb them.  

In 1942 one world leader wrote, “I don’t know what a Jew is, we only know what human being are.”

I still cling to a certain amount of optimism and hope for the future, but I know that it is going to take a lot of work.  

I think that this was the only piece missing, the next steps… how do we prevent future horrors?  how can we bring people together to move beyond their hatred and fear of each other?  How can we truly reach people?  

Any ideas?  What kind of exhibit would you build to address these concerns?  What would it look like?  What would you hope for it to achieve?  

I’ll be interested to read your thoughts and comments.

l’hit, 

Jessica

On a completely unrelated note, yesterday we visited our first tourist site.  As we have been busy acclimating to life here, we have mainly spent time locating grocery stores, places to purchase school supplies and registering for class.  It felt nice to take a break from the logistics.  We chose to see the kotel and walk around the old city.

 The first time I visited the wall, I was in high school (summer of 1991?)   I remember it having a great impact on me this first trip.  I felt an instant connection with my past present and future Jewish self.  I remember touching it and feeling connected.  I knew that it was only a wall, but there was something magical about the experience.  

The second visit I came with Jewish Family Educators (2003).  I remember being accosted and asked for money by the crowd.  I remember taking pictures of the wall and I remember looking up at it again… as if waiting for the special connection that I had felt the first time.  It didn’t come.  I simply felt like I was visiting a monument, and I was ready to move on to the next site.

I went to the wall this time not expecting anything.  Chad and I went with a couple of people that we have met here through HUC.  We all wore our long skirts (except for Chad…) and ventured slowly toward the wall.  This time I had a task, delivering a few 2nd grade notes to the wall.  I found it difficult to locate the perfect slots for the notes, there were already so many pieces of paper sticking out of every nook and cranny.  There were also several notes on the ground that must have fallen out.  I wondered who cleaned up the notes and what they did with them.  Did those who clean up the area read the carefully written prayers and wishes?  Or did they simply discard them them in a trash receptacle?  Did the people who wrote the notes feel that they had to stay in the wall for a certain length of time??  How did this custom emerge?  

I wonder how I will view the wall as I begin to study the context of the time and customs that have surrounded it over time.  I am also curious to hear other peoples’ experiences at the kotel.  Have you written notes to be placed in the wall?  How did it feel to visit it?  What questions did you leave with?  When you were there was it separated?  Have wall visit experiences evolved?  If so in what way?  

Hope that everyone is well!

My first feelings, while clouded by exhaustion and jet lag, were filled with a bit of apprehension and an odd juxtaposition of coming and leaving home at the same time.  

How is Israel like home?

There is something innately familiar about Israel.  Perhaps it is the countless hours that I have spent as a Jewish educator looking to connect students to Israel the land, people and culture. Maybe it is the natural connection with the images that we constantly poor over when studying Israel.  or perhaps it is some ineffable feeling that links me to our past… or maybe not.  - Whatever it is, it is very present… I am here not as a tourist this time, but a temporary resident.  

How is Israel not like home?

Israel is missing all of you!   Other than that it is the little things… the sub par orange juice, the lack of skim milk, the language barriers (hopefully this will get better as I learn more Hebrew), the hustle of the city (honking horns, and aggressive pedestrians).  The other differences are more tied to American comforts… which I can say I miss less most of the time.  This stems from the fact that Americans tend to be a little more “privileged” than most people in the world.  

I will stop here for now, only adding that  I am curious to find out more about many things…

Israeli clothing styles (what are they)? why do Israelis have better rugalech than americans? Why coke is so expensive? How do Israelis celebrate Shabbat in Jerusalem compared to other Israeli cities?  Where are the interesting places to explore off the beaten track?  What Israeli Television is like?  Why Israelis will throw their cigarettes onto the ground without putting them out first?  How does HUC and the reform movement interact with Jerusalem and Israeli culture in Jerusalem?  Where can I find AC?  and what really started the whole fries or “chips” with felafel?

Tune in next time to find out my somewhat biased opinions about these and more topics!

Shabbat Shalom,

Jessica

I suppose that I do not feel like I am leaving yet because Cleveland has been my home for nine years now.  Aside from Nashville, where I grew up, this is the longest time I have spent in one place.  I have made many of my closest friends here, been part of an exceptional Jewish education community and I even met Chad in Cleveland Heights.  

In short, I haven’t had enough time to become truly nervous or excited about this new chapter in my life.  This is something that time will most definitely cure.  

L’hitratot