Hello from Israel. I hope everyone is well and able to enjoy a little R&R during these summer months.
I am writing from Israel where I am attending a 10 day study seminar at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Close to 200 rabbis from North America and Israel, are exploring the topic of Jewish identity. We are blessed to learn from a wide array of great scholars. I am looking forward to sharing my learning with all of you.
My first trip to Israel was with my family in 1978. I was ten years old. My father was a volunteer dentist on Kibbutz Nachshonim for two months. It was an incredible summer. Coming from life in suburbia, I tasted my first layer of independence. I was sleeping in the "10 yr old house", taking buses into the city of Petach Tikveh with my friends (and without any adults) and speaking Hebrew. It was heaven. I have returned over 25 times and am grateful for all of the incredible opportunities I have experienced.
I have often said that my soul was born in Israel and my body in America. I love America and I love living in New York (Go Harlem!). But, there is a part of me that feels I breathe more fully when I am here. How can it be that the place I love so deeply can also break my heart?
This past week I learned about the extensive work of "Leket Israel", Israel's largest food bank providing surplus food to hundreds of thousands of people and visited Palestinian villages in the southernmost West Bank, where most residents are poor, living in temporary structures and subsisting on farming and grazing of flocks.
To say Israel is a complex country is insufficient and simplistic. Israel experiences tremendous successes and challenges, overcomes many hardships and makes decisions that do not always demonstrate respect for all people. Successes include the invention of INTEL, Natafim - drip irrigation enabling millions to have food through developing a way to have agriculture in desert areas, and the PillCam (aka capsule endoscopy). The religious, economic and political challenges are vast and permeate all facets of society. There are many who wonder if they can ever be resolved.
My hope is that we will each find ways to be engaged and involved in Israel. My prayer is that Israel will be a place where equality and justice are available to everyone. Our commitment to be involved plays a critical role in bringing the prayer to fruition. I look forward to exploring possibilities together..
Shabbat Shalom,
Laurie
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