Hi everyone, this is probably one of my last blog posts, and I thought this pretty much sums up my experience for people at home. It's an article that I wrote for my school newspaper so unfortunately its a bit short to be able to describe how amazing EIE has been. As this semester is coming to a close, I thought it was important to gather my thoughts together, so I hope everyone enjoys this!

Studying Abroad...In High School?

As many of you know, for the past four months I have spent the spring semester of my junior year in Israel. Over the course of the semester, I learned more Jewish History and Hebrew than I thought was possible. I had Jewish History every day for  three hours and Hebrew for two hours every day. I took  my “general studies”, otherwise known as the classes that I took at HPHS, which met four times each week. Even though I had a very rigorous academic schedule, that went from 8:15 A.M. to 7:15 P.M., the things I learned the most about myself were learned outside of the school day. This experience felt similar to what a college experience might be, and I feel more prepared for the next chapter in my life because of it.

For the past four months, my parents have not been telling me when to go to sleep, what to eat, or making me do my homework. I became really independent on this trip. At first, I thought it was awesome because I thought that it meant that I could eat ice cream whenever I wanted and buy whatever food I wanted, but then I had to realize that it was not in my best interests to do that. Having an eleven hour school day requires good time management and organization. Writing my required blog consistently took a lot of discipline as well. I had to learn how to make my own decisions about many things.

One of the things a lot of H.P. friends probably identify me with is sports. One of the main reasons I did not want to go to Israel for four months was because I knew I would be missing a large part of the basketball season, along with all of the track  and spring soccer. Despite this, I decided that it was important to come anyway. For four months I played virtually no sports (sorry to all my coaches). Nevertheless, I think that not playing sports and not being identified as the athlete was really beneficial to me. There was no pressure of whether I wanted to exercise or not, and in all honesty, I went on one run my entire trip. (Don’t worry Ruck, I still play soccer sometimes) It was really nice for me to get out of a competitive environment. My teammates may be laughing, because it would not have even seemed possible to me a few months ago. I found a way to be competitive with myself in other areas, such as being the best student and friend that I could be. I really liked being identified as something other than “the athlete.” Instead of going on a run on a Saturday afternoon, I would go on picnics with friends. While I am a big believer that sports bring people together, I was so happy to get to know people in other ways.

EIE has helped me become a better student. My general studies classes ranged from five people to just me. This intimate learning environment helped me get involved and ask questions. It made my classes more interactive and beneficial for obtaining more information. I developed personal relationships not only with my peers and counselors, but also with my teachers. We call all of our teachers by their first names and overall, there is a more relaxed vibe.

Israeli Culture/Society:

When going out into Israeli society and past just the tourist spots, there are stark differences between Israel and America. At first, it was beyond weird for me to see armed soldiers walking around the markets with their M16s. It made me really uncomfortable, and over time I grew accustomed to it. After spending a week in the Israeli Military simulation, Gadna, and learning how to shoot an M16, I felt so much more comfortable and safe around soldiers. I learned the values of the Israwli Defense Force, which gave me so much respect for them. In Israel, there is much less pressure to decide what profession you want to be at the age of eighteen like we do in the U.S.. In Israel, mandatory military service or national service is required for all citizens. Usually before service, Israelis will do a year of community service, and after, they will go on a trip to another country. I think this helps expose Israelis to different options and it does not set an educational or career path set in stone for them. Israelis tend to be very direct in expressing their opinions which is a change from what I have seen in the U.S..

How I’ve Changed:

It’s hard to tell what’s changed about me, but I am aware of some things.As I mentioned earlier, my traditional competitiveness took a back seat. One morning, we woke up at four to climb Masada, a very important mountain in Israel. In any other setting, I would probably try to get there as fast as I could to prove to others that I was athletic. This time though, I stayed back so I could walk with a friend. I realized at that moment that it wasn’t about who could walk faster, but it was about the relationships that people formed with each other. Another example of how I have changed is how I feel about germs (I hate them). You may be surprised to hear that I went without a shower or bathroom for five days while on a hike. Even though I brought a liter of hand sanitizer with me, I have gotten much better about germs in general, and sometimes I let people drink out of my water bottle! I think the way that I have changed most however, is that I am really interested in current events and politics now (at least Israeli politics). For an hour every morning, my Jewish class covered current events going on in Israel and we learned a lot about the complex Israeli government. Along with this, I feel like I have a well-rounded understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other issues that are frequently discussed amongst Israelis. I love reading articles about what is happening around the world, whether it be political, social, or economic issues. I have become more in touch with my religious identity. We have services twice a week, and I have learned a lot about the meaning behind prayer. I have also been exposed to differences in how other Jews practice their Judaism.

I could go on and on about everything I have gained, but overall this experience has benefited me in ways that I could not have imagined. I hope to bring the essence of this experience  and enhance the rest of my time at Highland Park High School.

What does it mean to be a part of Am Israel

Being part of Am Israel means more than buying a shirt with a camel on it or one that says coca cola. Being part of Am Yisrael is about the cultures and the traditions that we have carried on for generations. It never mattered if we had the land of Eretz Yisrael or not, because the people of Israel have made any place where they are special, as seen with the Kehillah Kedoshas in Poland. Being a part of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael has its own significance. Being in Israel makes me feel more “Jewish” and it makes it easier to be Jewish. I don’t have to worry about keeping kosher or not taking advantage of Shabbat as a day of rest. There is a different feel to being Jewish on Shabbat, or going to the Shuk. There is nothing that you can compare being in a state that has a majority of Jewish people. 

  Every time I hear about Israel helping a country in need or a Jewish person doing something good for the world, I get a sense of pride. Israel, especially Jerusalem has the feel a small, tight-knight, community. When we go to the Shuk, Ben Yehudah, or any other public place, it is so comforting to see see how nice people are to me and each other. Am Yisrael means having a loving community and a safe home.Being the part of Am Yisrael means having discussions about politics at dinner and whenever you can find the chance. It means having chutzpa and not being passive aggressive, because there is no passive aggressive in Israel. Its a place where any Jew can go and believe in the continuation of the Jewish people. 

Tikun Olam vs. Tzadaka

Today I did a Ted Talk presentation for my English. My Ted Talk was about the importance of volunteering and I thought it would be important to mention our Jewish connection to giving back to others. Something that has been passed down for generations in family and also something that i learned in religious school is that to make the world better, we have to help people that are less fortunate than ourselves. I sometimes mix up the terms tikun olam and tzedka. Tikun olam being repairing the world, and tzedaka literally translating to justice , but more broadly translated to charity or giving back. I think that the terms sort of merge because for me, it is an obligation of us as jew to repair the world and we do that by helping others. When we are doing justice, we are repairing the world. I think that the values that we learn in the Tanakh teach us how to give back to others and appreciate what we have. 

This is the script I used for my Ted Talk which was about the Importance of Volunteering:

From a young age, my family has stressed the importance of volunteering. My dad sits on the boards of 8 non-profit organizations and my mom is also very involved in various non-profits. And even when I talk to him about volunteering, he still thinks he hasn’t done enough. Their ideas of giving back to the community have stuck with me from a young age. There was never really a choice of whether we wanted to help or not, or and I wouldn't have it any other way. From the time that I was 10 years old, I had been introduced to people with disabilities whether it be mental or physical, (whether they be)3 years or 65 years old. By working with people with disabilities I began to understood what it was like for people not as privileged as I am. My parents never were into giving gifts to us and for my Bat Mitzvah project and my both my brothers bar mitzvah projects, we asked for donations to start a program that teaches sports to special needs. We were able to raise a combined $38,000 that would go towards all of the costs that it takes to run the program for the next 20 or so years. Something that has been passed down for generations in family and also something that i learned in religious school is that to make the world better, we have to help people that are less fortunate than ourselves.

I sometimes mix up the terms tikun olam and tzedka. Tikun olam being repairing the world, and tzedaka literally translating to justice , but more broadly translated to charity or giving back. I think that the terms sort of merge because for me, it is an obligation of us as jew to repair the world and we do that by helping others. 

something amazing about Israeli society is that it is normal for Israelis to do a year of community service before entering the army. This helps expose Israelis to other people that may not be as fortunate as them and it also makes them more empathetic. If I could make it mandatory for all students to do some type of service before they graduate I would. Buddy Ball is a program that I run in my town that teaches sports to special needs children.I partially accomplished my goal by convincing the coaches of my high schools’ football team, both the girls and boys soccer team, tenis team, and the cross country team to make buddy ball a mandatory part of their Saturday mornings. All of these teams have changed their practice schedule to make sure that their athletes are attending buddy ball before practicing or going to a game. Because of this, the majority of the best athletes in my school participate in teaching sports to children with special needs. For the children with special needs, they feel really cool when they get to work with these big shot, football players or goalies. Then, when the “Buddies” go to a sports game and see their “Pal” playing they get really excited. For me personally, it is incredible to see these top athletes who can be vicious in a competitive sports setting can turn into gentile and compassionate role models when they work with the children with special needs.  It helps them realize that they are not these mighty, varsity athletes but that they really work on the same things that these children do, which humbles them. Watching the teenage volunteers, or "pals" grow is also incredible. It so satisfying to watch the teenagers in my school grow more accepting of the buddies. We have seen this in so many aspects. We recently had a group of buddies come to our high school and they were openly welcomed by the “popular” athletes who would sit and eat lunch with these children to help include them.

Something that we make sure to address at the beginning of every season is that Buddy Ball is not something for everyone. It requires patience and kindness above all. For me, what is evident is how much my volunteering has effected the people I am helping, but I don’t think that these people especially the children realize how much they are helping me. Buddy ball has made me more compassionate and understanding, and I have definitely developed a sense of patience. When I came on EIE, leaving my program behind was one of the hardest things because I knew I would miss seeing the bright faces and obviously I wanted to make sure that everything would be run perfectly. 

Volunteering isn’t about the recognition you could get. You shouldn’t care that anyone sees but its about how it makes you and the other person feels you don’t need recognition you know you’re helping, the person you’re helping

One of the criticisms of volunteering is that people can use it for alternative motives. It is said that many people volunteer because it makes the volunteer feel good about themselves, not because the work that they are doing is helping others. At times, I agree with this statement. The time that volunteers put into Buddy Ball count towards community service hours This past year, we saw that many people tried to exaggerated the number of hours that they said they did just to get into the national honors society, and then stopped showing up. If I was home right now, I can assure you all that they would be participating every weekend. At the same time, this issue makes me feel conflicted because I only want the people that want to be there participating, but  I want people to get to know the children with disabilities. A lot of the times what will also happen is that people will not always start off participating with the best intentions, but then over time they will grow to love the program and be active participants.

 Sometimes, the way that volunteering makes you feel helps spread it to others. One of my favorite memories from Buddy Ball was watching my "buddy" make his first basket. I had been working with this four year old for about a year and a half, and he was always too short and not strong enough to even hit the rim of the basket. Finally out of nowhere one day, he made it. We both started jumping up and down, screaming, and high fiving. I remember seeing this huge smile spread across his face and I just remember feeling so accomplished. For me, seeing the expressions on the faces of the "buddies" when they succeed is one of the most rewarding feelings in the world, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. 

I want to tell you guys about a very special boy for a few minutes. His name is Marc Anthony and he is fourteen years old. I first met Marc Anthony five years ago on the first day ever of buddy ball. The moment he walked into the gym, he started sobbing and screaming that he didn’t want to be there. Eventually, everyone was able to calm Marc Anthony down and since then, he has barley missed any buddy ball sessions in five years. When Marc Anthony spends an hour and a half with us every Saturday morning, thats one more hour that his mom can spend working at rite aid to support their family. Lizbeth is Marc Anthony’s mother and she works two jobs so she can support her severely autistic son and very sick mother. Her husband was shot and died, so the only income coming in for Liz, Mark Anthony, and “Grandma” as I call her is what Liz makes between her two jobs. The state denied her application for social security many times. I know that when Marc Anthony comes to Buddy Ball every weekend that its making her life easier because he is happier. 

When I was writing my ted talk, it was so hard to choose from all of these amazing stories about all of the children with disabilities that I know. All of the mountains that they climb every day astonishes me, but the true stars of Buddy Ball are the volunteers who wake up at 9 AM every Saturday to work with children, who refer to some of them as their best friends. Even though the work that the volunteers are doing might not sound that big, in the case of many children like Marc Anthony, even the little things count. Volunteering is important no matter what the scale is and everyone should know that even the smallest acts can make a difference in at least one person’s life.

Ethiopian Jews

I know it sounds incredibly naive, but prior to coming to Israel, I had not heard of the majority of the internal affairs in Israel that do not have to do with religious matters. I always thought that Israel was a place where any Jew could go and take refuge. It turns out, I was wrong. In the face of persecution in Ethiopia, Ethiopian Jews feed to Israel for freedom. Instead, they were not greeted as kindly. As I saw in South Tel Aviv, there are many communities that are solely immigrants. A similar thing happened in the US in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Different ethnicities moved to the same places and because of that, they were often persecuted. Because of this, the cultures of these different groups of people were limited. What is the difference between the Ethiopians in Israel and the European or Asian immigrants in the US? The difference is that the Ethiopians and the Israelis are all Jewish. Especially if we all have the same customs and beliefs, we should all be treated equally. It should not matter if one Jew is black, one is white, or anything else. The fact that Ethiopian Jews are being discriminated against is horrible. 

How then can we integrate them into society? I think that there need to be more programs that teach Jews from abroad Hebrew. More than just Ulpan though, I think it should also be teaching about the Israeli culture and helping immigrant jews adapt to a very different society. I think a program that could be helpful would be a program that is inclusive to all Israeli immigrants. They could all have programs together that help them understand Israeli culture and are helped integrate by other Israelis. By being introduced to Israeli society together, all of the immigrants are introduced to each other and create an understanding of the culture in other places around the world and each other. It would be a great way to learn other languages and cultures.

TYG Board

Tonight, I am running to be the president of my temple youth group board, at 1 am.  All of my high school career, I have been on my temple youth group board. However, in my speech that I will post the link to, I mention that I did not join my youth group board by choice. To be clear, I hated everything about temple, until I was forced into being on the board. Once I joined the board, I started really enjoying going to the events and hanging out with the people. I don't know what made me give in to the pressure and join the board, but I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I have made. In my speech I talked about how my temple youth group taught me how to love and appreciate being Jewish. By going on EIE, that has only enhanced my connection to Judaism more. I feel like now that I have learned the history of the people, that I can properly advocate for a Jewish state and for the Jewish people. Hopefully the internet is working at Tzuba tonight, but if not, here's a link to my speech that I'll be making tonight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw_j1Q5E8BI

ARZA

Over the past few years, my temple has been raising awareness about an organization called the Association of Reform Zionists of America. ARZA is a group that was formed to have a Reform view in the Wold Zionist Organization. They believe in making Israel sacred for Reform Jews. My Rabbi, Bennett Miller, is the chair of this organization. For the past few years, I have heard him talk about registering to vote, but only now do I truly understand the meaning behind it. The goals that ARZA has are very similar to many of the topics that we discuss in class. One of the issues that we talk about a lot in our class specifically is the marriage equality law. Only 20% of the Jews in Israel are Orthodox, however marriages in Israel are only legal if they are to Orthodox standards. Another issue is that the Israeli Government pays salaries for Rabbis in Israel, but only a very small percentage of them are Reform. After my experience at the Kotel last week, I believe more than ever that women should have more space to pray. By voting to make ARZA a part of the World Zionist Organization, Reform Jews can get more of a say in gaining equality in Israel.

Am I even Jewish?

As my time here continues, I question my Jewish identity more and more. Do I consider myself Jewish?- Absolutely. But unfortunately, not all Jews  think I’m Jewish. On this Reform Jewish program, the vast majority of people think that I am Jewish, but still, it’s unsettling to have others tell me that I’m not Jewish during a lunch conversation. In my opinion, I would not be here if I were not Jewish. My parents made the choice to raise me Jewish and I feel like even though my mom is not Jewish that I have not been brought up any differently because of that. 

Of course, I would love to be accepted by the Jewish community as a whole. It makes me feel so bad about myself whenever people tell me that I’m not Jewish. In a way, it reminds me of transgender people. In no way whatsoever am I an expert on transgender people, but I think that I can draw a few similarities between myself and them. Transgender is defined as “denoting or relating to a person whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender.” People that are transgender are the gender that they believe they are, but in the eyes of less liberal people, they are not always seen in the same way. In the case of transgender people, they are always referred to with the pronouns and by the name that they choose. I don’t see why it can’t be the same for Judaism. If I see myself as a practicing Jew, why can’t religious people also acknowledge that I’m Jewish. 

Etgar Keret the Huge Wierdo

Initially when reading Etgar Keret stories, we talk about how weird he was. The story that has stuck with me over the past week was "Shooting Tuvia". This story was about a dog that a boy got that was very nice to the boy, but other family members did not receive the same kind of warmth from the dog. After the dog has a bad experience with a family member, the dad takes the dog away. A few hours later, the dog came back to the boy. The same thing happened a few times, except every time the dad tried to get rid of the dog in a more extreme way. The finial time the dad tries to get rid of the dog, he shoots it, but the dog still returns to the boy. 

As weird as this story is, I think it can be related to the Jewish people. Jews are kicked out of places all the time because we have been hated. I think that the dog is a symbol of the Jewish people because as we saw the dog coming back to the person he loved, we see the Jewish people returning to the land we love. The dog also fought hard to get back to what he wanted, just like the Jewish people fought hard to get the land of Israel. The dog was hated by the majority of the people, which is unfortunately similar to the Jewish people. Even though most of Etgar Keret’s stories are unusual, they do have a lot of deeper meanings. 

Women of the Wall Making History

I’m not going to lie, when our Madrachiem told us that we were waking up this morning at 5:40, I wasn’t excited. I was thinking about how it would be just another service with The Women of the Wall, meaningful, but also less relatable because it would all be in Hebrew. But I was so wrong, today was an incredible day in the history of Jewish Women. This morning, The Women of the Wall successfully smuggled a Sefer Torah into the women’s section of the Kotel. This is not a legal act and the women could have gotten in a lot of trouble for doing this. The women could not have done this without the help of the men who opened the gate and handed the women the Torah. There was a bit of violence and there is some uncertainty if a man is being charged for helping the women. Clearly before doing this all of the men knew that there could be very severe consequences and they were still willing to risk it to help the women. It was also amazing to see the courage displayed by these women and to see their goal finally being partially achieved after 25 years. 

Even though some of the Haradi were yelling at us and becoming violent, the women still won in the end. We were even able to complete the Torah service and got to celebrate having the Torah. It was amazing to go from being so happy and excited to suddenly being so scared when the Haradi burst on to the women's side and tried to take back the Torah. We couldn't help make a wall to protect it, but I think our presence alone helped. There are no words I can use to describe how amazing that was. I hope that one day we will have the rights to bring in the Torah ourselves. I still get the chills thinking about what happened today and how awesome it was to be a part of it and see how meaningful it was not only to me, but to all of the women who have been trying to get more equality for so long.

South Tel Aviv

On Fridy, we had the very unique opportunity to go to “The other side of the side of the tracks” in Southern Tel Aviv. This was an eye opening experience for me. I am used to helping homeless people in New York, but for some unknown reason, I always had this idea that Israel was perfect. It was really interesting to see that Israel didn’t have an answer to do with all of the refugees. One of the most shocking things was that there was a street and its name was just numbers. This was because no one wanted to have their name on one of the worst streets in Israel. Another memorable moment for me was when we were standing in the old train station that has become a “home" for addicts and prostitutes and at the same time we could see the most expensive apartment in Israel. It was so sad to me that instead of helping support people living in Israel, that these people pay so much to live in a fancy apartment. 

While we were walking I didn’t feel like I was in Israel and I didn’t feel safe at all times. Clearly some people do care about this issue, but a lot of people also don’t. It was really nice to see that they had set up a library and that Israelis come to help teach these people Hebrew once a week. I want to think of ways that EIE can help these people and its really hard to think of ways that we can help. I think that’s a problem that a lot of people face. They see that there is a problem, but they either don’t know how they can help, or make it so it’s not relevant to them. I think it’s important that we think of ways that we can help so we are not just pushing aside what so many other people have. I know that we’re not living in Israel for much longer, but I believe that while we are still here that it is our duty to help make the country better in whatever way we can even if that sounds really cliche. 

Finding Myself

Today in class, we struggled with the difficult question of what passion we have in our life that we would do anything for. Right now, I don't think there is anything I care about so deeply that I would be willing to risk everything for, but there are many issues that I care deeply about. One of the things I know I would love to do is help integrate people with disabilities (specifically adults) into society. For me it is important that they are treated with the same amount of respect and have the same job opportunities as everyone else. I work with people that have disabilities from the ages of three to over sixty years old. I mainly work with kids and teach them how to play sports. I see how they grow and develop, and I want to make sure that when they are adults, that they will have the same opportunities as I will regardless of the situation.


This issue is something that I feel very passionate about, but at the same time it scares me to have to pick something to choose to do for the rest of my life. When I think about what I want to do with my life, I think about branching off from the rest of my family and making a name for myself. My family is very involved in helping members of the disabled community, and I learned everything about helping different people of all types from them. I want to make sure that I'm not a carbon copy of my family members and that I'm able to make a name for myself. Sometimes I think that I only want to work with people with disabilities because it is inside my comfort zone. It is something that I have always been comfortable doing and I would love to do it, but I also want to push myself to see if there is anything else I am passionate about. I think that I'm afraid of the future and that I'm leaning against this as a safety net so I don't have to really think about doing anything different. I hope that I will continue to push myself to think of other things that I want to do in the future. 

Spring Break Part 3?

This past week we had our third and final big trip. It started on Friday when we left Tzuba for Pesach with various host families all over Israel. I went to my friend Careen's house with her Israeli family that is from Iraq. This type of Judaism is referred to as Mizraki Judaism and it was interesting to see their different cultures mixed in with the secular Israeli culture. The first thing that was slightly uncomfortable for me was that they eat rice and beans over Pesach, unlike the Ashkenazi traditions that I uphold. I wanted to be able to still celebrate what I consider a traditional Pesach, but instead I decided to do Pesach how the Mizraki Jews and certain secular Israelis celebrate. Part of me did this because I didn't want to be rude, but another part of me wanted to experience Pesach the way that they do. The seder itself was also very interesting. Pesach is by far my favorite Jewish holiday. My seder at home is so much fun because my whole family is together and we have a great time. This seder was very different. We started our seder at 8:30 which is around four hours after we start our seder at home. The seder itself lasted less than 45 minutes and contained a lot of rapid fire Hebrew because they were all done with the prayer part and wanted to eat. It was interesting to hear the different tunes that the Mizraki Jews sang, but it was also hard to follow what was happening because everything was in Hebrew. There was no socializing for the most part because they were trying to get through everything. In my seder, even though it has gotten shorter over the years, we are always having discussions and focusing on the family aspect of the seder. My favorite part of the seder was the amazing food. The matzah that Careen's grandma made was amazing along with all of the other traditional Iraqi dishes. I was also really surprised that Careen's extended family, whom I had never met, got me presents, and I felt like that was particularly nice. I also had a good laugh when I was offered bread the morning after the seder.

On Sunday, we left from our host families, to our Yam el Yam trip. This trip was amazing. I really enjoyed cooking for myself again and how close we became as a group. We were able to navigate by ourselves at times which was also really fun because I felt like I was getting to know my way around Israel instead of having someone else show me. I was also proud of myself for not showering for five days, even though I didn't have any other options. This trip definitely made me appreciate nature more and my resources. I know that when we are on Tiyul again, I won't hesitate to nature pee. I realized that before the trip, I used to kill ants or bugs that were on me, and by the end of the trip, I was only brushing them off me. I wish that I had accepted being dirty a little more and not bathed myself in hand sanitizer every night, but I think this means that I will just have to have another hiking trip when I get home!

Poland Reaction

While learning about the destruction of the Jews, it is also important to focus on why Poland was specifically targeted as a center of the massacres of the Shoah. The Jews strived in Poland for hundreds of years leading up to the Shoah. Understanding the foundation of Jewish life helps exemplify why the decimation of Poland was so vital. The first place that we visited in Poland was the Warsaw Cemetery. In this location, scholars, rabbis, and even my Great-Great Grandparents were buried. Cemeteries are typically associated to death and with the feeling of tragedy. On the contrary, this cemetery  was a place where lives were celebrated. Judaism does not mourn over deaths for too long, instead we celebrate the lives of their loved ones. So many people that contributed to the Jewish society were buried there. L.L. Zamenhof tried to create the language Esperanto which means “hope”. Its beautiful that prior to the Shoah there was such a desire to keep making the culture better. After studying Jewish history even on a surface level, it can be concluded that Jewish life thrives and declines throughout history. In the case of Poland, there is clear evidence of a vibrant Jewish life prior to the Shoah comparatively to the destruction of Jewish life after the Shoah.

Life in Poland for the Jews  around the time of the Shoah was horrible. Conditions during the Holocaust were some of the worst that mankind has ever faced, especially at the hands of other human beings. It shows how cruel and ruthless people are and have the ability to be to each other. In Poland today, it is evident that the Jewish population has been almost entirely annihilated. One of the shocking things to see was the continuation of life near the places where such horrific events occurred. At Majdanek, virtually nothing was destroyed. The gas chambers, bunkers,crematorium, and even the pile of human ash were left untouched because the Natzis did not have enough time to destroy the camp before the Russians came. For me, one of the hardest things was to see how the Poles continued on with their lives around these terrible places. When at Majdanek, it was deeply disturbing to see apartment buildings, houses, and a major road right next to the death camp. I cannot imagine what it must be like for these people to have a concentration camp in their backyards, but I know that I would not be able to live with knowing what happened so close to where I life. Of course it is important that the Poles figure out how to build a future, but I think there should be more respect for the Holocaust and remembering what happened.

During a time of horror, it was admirable to see groups banning together to resist against oppression. During the times of the ghettos especially, Jews had a little more leeway to be able to resist. The conditions were still awful, but people were able to rebel more easily. People had to make very tough decisions for themselves and for the community as a whole. Specifically, a man named Adam Czerniakow was put in charge of deciding who got to stay in the ghetto to work, and who had to leave the ghetto forever. He knew at the time that it would be a situation of life or death for whoever stayed and whoever left. The pressure of the decision of who got to live, and the struggle to decide made this man kill himself. In a way, this can be thought of as an act of resistance because he knew he could not make the decision for the rest of his community. One of the most well known uprisings was The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising led by Mordecai Anielewicz. These people decided that they wanted to go down on their own terms. This revolting group was able to force the Natzis out of the ghettos twice and they showed hope in a time of tragedy. At Auschwitz-Birkenau, a group called the Zunder-Commando banned together to show defiance as well. They were the Jews in charge of putting bodies into the crematoriums. They were able to blow up a few crematoriums which potentially saved thousands of lives. I find it incredibly admirable that these people had the guts to show resistance, I do not know if I would be able to have the courage to risk more than I had to live for.

In order to win the fight against Anti-Semitism, Jews globally need to come to an understanding of our past and to then build a stronger future for Am Yisrael.One of the main ways this can be done is to have Jews be educated on our history. Jews need to go to Poland and learn about the Shoah to prevent another one from happening. We also need to build up the strong community values that the Am Yisrael of Poland had. We cannot let stronger powers belittle the strength of our people. Finally, we need to know when the appropriate time to put our foot down is. We always talk about when we would consider the pressure of the enemy to be “enough” and when we would have rebelled. The more we talk about this, like any issue, the more complicated it appears. Knowing when we have had enough as a whole and when we come together as one people of Israel will be the only way to prevent another Holocaust from happening again.

The historical  and modern presence of Jews in Poland and all over Europe has created a culture of Anti-Semitism over the years that may never be fixed entirely. Some people flat out deny that the Shoah ever happened. Even after the destruction of Am Yisrael, we still see ourselves getting bullied. This leads to the greater question of how Israel should open its doors to Jews. I think it is important that in the event of another Holocaust, there is a safe place for Jews to come. Even today in Europe, the security of Jews is a hot topic. It is necessary that all Jews have a place to go if they ever need safety. The aspects of life and death that are portrayed in Poland help give a clear understanding of why it was such a lively place for Jewish life but also how it could be such an easy target for enemies. How Am Yisrael responded to the Shoah with actions of rebellion displayed that even in the toughest of times, there can still be a positive source of hope.

G-D

I personally do believe in G-D. Whenever I pray I pray to G-D and I have personal conversations. A lot of people in the town I live in think that I’m crazy and some people have gone so far to try and explain to me why I shouldn’t believe that there is a G-D. I think the main reason why I believe in G-D is because I haven’t known anything else for the rest of my life. There is definitely a sense of comfort in praying to G-D and having someone to talk to in a sense. I’m not sure as of now what G-D’s role in our lives is. If G-D has a part in why bad things happen to good people or why there are Holocausts. It could be that there is a G-D out there listening, but G-D does not have the power to make miracles, or it could be that G-D is seeing how we deal with difficult situations. 

While studying the Tanakh in Jewish History, we learned that there were times were G-D was not always there for Am Yisrael and even tried to teach them a lesson at one point. There was a time in the Tanakh when we saw all of G-Ds great miracles and then the transition to G-D becoming a quiet presence. We see G-D going through different phases of power and its really important to question the role G-D plays in our lives in a personal matter. Especially during the Holocaust, it was hard for people to continue believing in G-D. Many Jews at the time were wondering how G-D could let such a terrible thing happen to the Jewish people, and thus stopped believing in one altogether. I think that our upcoming trip to Poland may have an interesting turn on my relationship with G-D. I think it is important to not stray from my beliefs too much because I will be so immersed in what I am learning, but it is also important to keep on questioning my beliefs. If I came back from Israel with the exact same beliefs that I came with, I do not think that it would be a successful trip. 

Talmud

What seemed like an ages ago, I took a class at my Religious School regarding the Talmud and how it can be applied both when it was written and today. Today in Jewish History, we learned about the Talmud. The Mishna is the written version of the Oral law that Yehuddah HaNasi wrote down in 200 CE, and the Gemara is the first set of commentary done on the Mishna. Together, the Mishna and the Gemara make the Talmud. As we said today, all of the different Rabbis who commented on the Mishna have different interpretations of the oral law. In my class at my synagogue, it was really hard to connect with the examples that were given to reflect an issue revenant at the time the Talmud was first written down. When the examples were things such as, what do you do if your neighbors sheep dies or is injured when you’re borrowing it, it’s hard for us to decide because we have not been placed in similar situations. However, we then applied that same situation in a more modern form. The most equivalent version of this in modern times is to consider what should be done if you borrow a friends phone, and you break it while using it or return it a worse condition than you received it. Questions similar to these are made for us to question, and most of our answers were based off of the morals that we were raised on. Very often, we found out that all of our morals seemed to be related to Judaism in some way, but we also thought that many of the Rabbis interpretation seemed crazy, even for an ancient civilization. The main point of the eight week class, was to see how we interpreted Jewish laws and how relevant they still are to our everyday lives. 

Why Obama is the only problem in the Obama-Netanyahu conflict.

The beginning of this article really pin pointed how much pressure is placed on politicians globally. During Obama's first speech to Cairo during his first year of his presidency, he  briefly touched on Israel. While doing this, he happened to make the mistake of saying that the reason for the Mass Aliyah was because of the Holocaust, not because of the historical connection to the land. I interpreted this as Obama trying to appeal to a different country, because at the time, compared to the other countries in the Middle East, Israel was doing fairly well. I also accredit this to Obama also being human. Although he has many people helping him write his speeches, he is still a human that makes mistakes and can accidentally offend groups of people just like everyone else. As an American reading this article, I felt slightly offended. While I do not agree with all of Obama's policies, this article is extremely one sided and felt uncomfortable that this article was specifically targeting Obama. 
To state that this article was an understanding of the deep seeded conflict that lies between Netanyahu and Obama is a misconception. This article barley touched on Netanyahu's flaws, particularly, the most recent controversy of Netanyahu's address to congress. In the article that I read earlier in the week interviewing Yair Lapid, he stated that while Netanyahu's speech was very good, the timing of it ruined the whole thing. Because the speech occurred two weeks before the Israeli elections, it seemed as if Netanyahu's intentions were mainly driven by political reasons. While the speech was extremely effective, the way he went about doing it was very wrong and took away from the speech itself. Had Netanyahu waited a few weeks after the elections and asked Obama instead of going behind his back, he would have probably earned a lot more respect and understanding of why this issue is so important not just on a political level but because it potentially threatens the lives of many people. In the coming week, we will see how effective Netanyahu's speech was as it could easily be reflected similarly in the polls. Netanyahu can either be seen as the hero rebel who went against the US president to speak about an issue extremely important to him, or the jerk who does whatever he wants. 

What Did Jesus Do?

A few weeks ago in Jewish history class, we were talking about interfaith marriages and how they play a role in our society. My mom is Christian and my dad is Jewish, so if we are going by technicalities, no orthodox person would consider me Jewish. To me, this is so frustrating. I don't think that just because my mom isn't Jewish, that it means that I am not. I was raised Jewish and I am extreermely active in the Jewish community.  While my mom never converted to Judaism, she attends services with us all the time and is very active in our Jewish lives. She knows all of the prayers in Hebrew and even made it a point to learn how to read Hebrew a few years ago. This is relevant to what we are doing now because we have just started our unit on Christianity and I realized that I really don't know anything about that religion that my mom was raised by. I think that this in a way is unfair of me, that I never really asked her that much or took the time to learn what moral values she was raised on. Instead, she adopted our culture. I really like that EIE is exposing us to the other religions as well and teaching us their involvement and attachment to Israel.

Massada

Michael Oren

I think that there is something about Michael Oren that I can connect with personally and on the level of the Jewish people as a whole. For starters, he grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, which is about thirty minutes from where I live, and I have been there quite a few times for soccer games.I think that the decision he made to make Alyiah was also a very difficult decision that in some ways can be connected to what we are doing. Oren decided that he no longer wanted to be a U.S. citizen and that he wanted to move to Israel without knowing anyone here. He left his whole life behind to come to a land of freedom from the bullying he faced in his youth. I think that this is really admirable and I know that after EIE there will be more than a few people that will seriously consider making Aliyah. It is very impressive that Oren is running to be a member of the Kinesset and if he makes it into a coalition which is a likely situation, he will be one of only a few other people to be an American-born member of the Kinesset.

Massada

Waking up at 4am to climb Masada was an amazing experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I have always been considered a very competitive person in various aspects of life. For me and my competitive nature, getting to the top of Masada before everyone else would have been something that I would have done a few months ago. Over the past month of being here, I have realized that making friendships is more important than being the first to get to the top. Instead of going as fast as I could, I waited and instead hiked a bit slower than I usually would to be with a friend. I know this might not sound like a huge change, but to me, I considered this a huge step.

 

Along with the personal significance that just the climbing of Masada meant to me, learning the history behind the mountain was very important to me as well.  I think that the choice that the Zealots made to kill themselves instead of have the Romans kill them or be enslaved by them shows an enormous amount of bravery. I know that I would never have the courage to be the one that had to kill everyone else. I think that by leaving their food behind to show to the Romans that they were able to sustain a life without them showed some of the Hutspa (guts and sass) that the Jewish people have. While what happened at Masada was up there with some of the most tragic events in Jewish History, the courage displayed by the Jewish people was in a twisted way, amicable.

Hellenistic Vs. Today

In our Jewish History class, we are discussing the Hellenistic period when the Greeks ruled over the Israelites. A major issue that the Jews had during this time was deciding between weather to embrace their Israeli culture or the new Greek culture that was so dominant over them. For me, I’ve always felt like I’m at a bit of an awkward position regarding how others view how religious I am personally. To me, I consider myself very Jewish; I go to temple multiple times a week and am involved in many extra curricular activities there. But according to most Jews, I’m not actually Jewish, because my mom is Christian, and my dad is Jewish, and your religion is based on your mother’s religion. Its happened more than a few times that people have told me that I’m not actually Jewish and there is nothing more frustrating than that. I think this is most likely how most of the Jews saw themselves. A large part of them probably wanted to think of themselves as Jewish, but couldn’t ignore the fact that they were assimilating to the Hellenistic culture and values. While being surrounded by a predominately Christian culture, we are exposed to a variety of beliefs that differ greatly from ours.

Avraham, Avraham!

One of my favorite parts of Jewish History right now is actually reading the stories from the תנייך. Of course I have already heard the majority of the stories but I almost never actually read into the meaning of the words. During my Jewish History exam the other day, I was writing an essay and somehow connected it to the story of Va-Yera, when Abraham was about to sacrifice Issac. While my eyes glossed over the page I notice in English that it said, "Abraham, Abraham" and I thought for a second how strangely familiar it sounded. Of course it rang a bell in my head, because that was the Torah portion that I read at this years High Holy Day service on יום קיפור. I remember two or three years ago when my brother had that same portion and I always thought, "why is it repeating Abraham twice?" I had my own guess that it was the end of one sentence and the beginning of another, but clearly I was wrong. I never took the time out of my day to connect that what I was reading was G-D saying to Abraham, "no no, stop Abraham., don’t sacrifice your son." After I finished my test I went back to my room and chanted the portion in Hebrew and read the English. I was amazed to find out the real meaning of the words that I sang so many times. In the parsha it says that Abraham has bound Isaac to the alter and has picked up his knife. I think my favorite part of the story is when G-D tells Abraham to stop and not sacrifice his son.

While we were at Tel Gezer, we talked about how the Cannonites preformed human sacrifices. One of the things that differentiated Judaism from these other religions of the time were that along with being monotheistic, they also did not preform human sacrifices. Wether we know or not if these stories are true, we can take away morals from this story about respecting other people above all. One of the major themes throughout the Tanakh is respecting others and in a way, that has to do with not sacrificing your children.

IDF

The cultural differences between Israel and the United States that I have seen thus far have not been too major, however, one thing that I found particularly alarming was that in every crowded public area we went to, I saw many soldiers carrying guns. For the people that have lived in Israel, I am sure that they are used to this being a part of their everyday lives, however for me, it was quite alarming and made me tense up frequently. The first place where I noticed this was on Friday, when we went to the Shuk in Jerusalem and I continued to see them at the various places we visited this weekend. Are the soldiers there for the safety of others, or do they happen to be going around a market in Jerusalem with guns because they are still required to wear their uniform as part of the IDF service? 

On every Tiyul that we go on, we are required to have guards. I like all of the precautions taken by EIE to ensure our safety, however, I wish that Israelis were safe enough to not have to go to those extremes. In two weeks, I will be at the mock Israeli military base, Gadna, where I will train like a member of the IDF. Even though for Israelis it is normal to do military service after they turn eighteen, I think that everyone should be given the opportunity to choose for themselves weather they want to serve or not. Israel is such a small country, with many security concerns, so an army is necessary. I know that there is most likely no better system to ensure the safety of Israelis and maintain control over the Jewish state, however it would be ideal to have the option to choose, like most people enlisting in armies have the ability to do. 

Obsessive, Compulsive, and Orthodox Response

I read the very interesting article about a Jewish woman that has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and how it affects nearly every aspect of her life. As an Orthodox Jew,  it must be very difficult to have your prayer disrupted by compulsive thoughts or actions. The significance that the disturbing images played in this woman's mind was so interesting to read about. She truly felt that because she had images of Jesus flash in her mind during prayer, she was no longer Jewish. Another thing that struck me was how self conscious she became around others, even her own husband, about the images she saw while praying. For an Orthodox Jew, prayer is one of the holiest things there is. To them, not being focused in prayer is a terrible crime. For me while praying, I think less about the Hebrew part of the prayer that we are all saying together, but more about my individual prayers.  The English meaning of our prayers, and the extra passages we have on the side also play a huge role in the way I pray.  For me, its important to let my mind wander for a bit while in prayer because I need to not only be connected with the rest of my culture, but with myself as well, and there is no better time then when praying. I think the passages on the side are also extremely relevant. When we are told to pray silently during the Tifilah service, instead of reading the Hebrew, which I would not understand, I read the English sections that are often about helping others and the importance of community.
While I am not aware of how difficult it must be to pray with an obsessive compulsion, I do know what its like to live many days with certain uncontrollable behaviors that could potentially limit my every day behaviors. I do not have OCD, but I do display similar qualities that people with OCD display. I wash my hands quite frequently, to similar measures as the woman in the article. Similarly, I get very worried about possessions and that everything has a specific place. I know that my forms of controlling the things around me have the ability to impact others, but I hope that on this trip, I will be able to let go of some of those fears. I hope that I will not feel the need to always be so clean, or have everything so organized. I can already tell that living with others that may not be the neatest has bothered me a bit, but I hope that it will help me loosen up and stop being as neat myself. Overall, I think this article gave me a lot of insight on how prayer is meaningful for everyone in very different ways.

http://tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/188464/obsessive-compulsive-orthodox

The Tanakh and Tradition

The other day in my Jewish History class (which meets for three hours every day) we learned about the Tanakh, which is a Jewish combination of the Torah (Five Books of Moses), the Nevi'im (The Prophets), and the Kethuvim (The Writings). The Tanakh is the basis for how to live a "Jewish" life according to tradition. The combination of the three writings has created this large, basically history of the Jewish people. A major issue in reformed Judaism is weather or not the Tanakh can be credible and if we should believe everything that is written in it. Some of the key flaws in Reformed Judaism is that we are given the option to choose what we want to believe in and how religious we want to be. As a child, I loved hearing the stories of the Torah and having them gave me a sense of connection to my ancestors. I believe in the stories that are written in the Torah and Tanakh, but I think that some of them are exaggerated a bit, and the truth is stretched. However, the main premises for the Tanakh is what moral lessons we learn from reading it. I think that for the most part, a lot of cultures have ethical views that can be displayed in special books of that religion, and for the most part, they all have good insight on ethical values that can be passed down for generations. What makes us all different is how we interpret our stories to make our lives more meaningful. Over the course of this semester, I hope to wrestle with this question more, and the broader question of what it means to be Jewish.

I bet the snowstorm is really nice in NJ 1/27/15

Kibbutz Tzuba is stunning! I loose my breath every time I look at my amazing view of the Judean Hills. Even though I spend eleven hours in a class room every day, when I go to my room for 10 minute breaks between all my classes I look out at the view and it reminds me of how lucky I am for this opportunity. The weather in Israel is not hot yet, as you might expect in a desert, but it is also not in the middle of a massive snow storm. Today it was around 61 degrees which was nice at first but it got cold really fast at night.
 Along with the change in temperature and school day hours, the meals that I eat are also very different from what I'm used to at home. I eat Kosher meals every day which means that I can't mix meat and dairy. In Israel the main meal is lunch, so we always have meat for lunch and dairy for the other two meals. Another strange thing about the food in Israel is that we are offered salad and hummus at every meal, so yes, I have hummus for breakfast. I'm not sure how my mom will take it when I ask for her to get me hummus for breakfast but we'll deal with that in four months.

Departure Day 1/25

This still doesn’t feel real to me. I’m sitting on the plane on my way to Israel and it has’t sunk in that I’ll be away from my friends and family for four months while studying in Israel. This is never something that I thought I would participate in. I always thought the idea of a study abroad program was great, but it never seemed to be right for me because of my busy sports schedule and social life. However, at the same time, I never saw myself becoming a member of AETY (my temple youth group), let alone being on its board. I am so grateful for the opportunities that I have and I am so excited to see what comes of these next four months. I’ll try to keep everyone updated as often as possible, but I can see myself getting carried away with my crazy schedule and life so we’ll see how this goes. Please contact me while I’m here, I want to be updated on all of the things I’ll be missing out on at home! Well nearly seven hours until I land, lets hope this starts to sink in sometime soon and I get some sleep!