Friday, 1/20/2012

By Sam Margo

Family and friends-

Sorry it has been so long since our last post; we've been extremely busy! Since our last post we've spent time in the great cities of Tel Aviv and Jersualem and had a unique night in a Bedouin tent comunity. Tel Aviv is a relatively new city compared to others in Israel. We got the chance to walk along the waterfront in the cool winter weather and experience the nightlife of the city. During the day we visited the room where the state of Israel was founded in 1948 and learned a ton of history about the founding of both Tel Aviv and Israel.

Then it was on to Jerusalem where we prepared for our visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and memorial, talking in the group about our personal experiences and familial relationships with the Holocaust. Yad Vashem was a spectacularly moving and emotional experience for all of us. We learned the history of the Holocaust through first hand accounts, individual stories and lots of artifacts and historical objects. For me, one of the most interesting exhibits showcased modern Israeli students' artwork capturing the emotional scar of the Holocaust on Jewish and Israeli identity and on the world at large. 

Next we journeyed into the desert for our Bedouin experience. We ate a Bedouin style feast and learned from a Bedouin community member about life in the desert. All 40 of us slept on the ground (with mats) in one large tent. Most people stayed up late by the campfire talking and playing games, but I fell fast asleep right after dinner. In the morning we rode camels which was both exhilarating and relaxing at the same time. 

As an added bonus to our trip, our tour guide took us to the area of Israel near Gaza. We also went to Sderot where we walked around and saw the city that has been and continues to be hit worst by Palestinian rockets launched from Gaza. Every building, public place and bus stop has concrete shelters in case of a "tzeva adom" or "code red." Our tour guide told us about life there how nobody listens to music in the car so they can hear sirens and how over 80% of citizens have post traumatic stress disorder. We saw the police station where they have the empty shells of many rockets to recently hit the city, a truly eerie sight. During worse times, the city faced hundreds or thousands of rockets a month, but now they only get a few.

In all, this trip has been an amazing experience and something that I would reccomend to everyone in the United States no matter how religious or secular they are.

I hope everyone in the US is great (shout out to Mom, Dad, Grandma and Sari!) and we will talk to you all in two days when we get back!

Shabbat Shalom!

Sam Margo '14

Sunday, 1/15/2012

By Bart Johnsen-Harris 

I would be remiss if I did not open this blog entry by talking extensively about coffee and cake. You see, all of us here in Israel have had two things uniting us over the past few days. The first is coffee. The second: cake. On the itinerary, there are many exciting activities listed, many things to look forward to. However, I believe all of us on this trip can agree that the most exciting event is the breaking of cake, and the embibing of coffee. We got to sleep in a bit, getting up in time for this hearty shabbat breakfast at 10:30am. It's sad that it's over, but at the same time, there's hope. In our shabbat discussion, we spoke of how the regularity of Shabbat enables its trancendancy; no matter what, we can count on the fact that it will come again the following week, whether we observe or not. In this same way, we can count the days (7) until our next coffee and cake. 

Also, I've been told by my busmates that I should not move on without listing the types of cake. The first: chocolate. Second: chocolate chip. Third: lemon. Fourth: marbled. Gamarnu. Done. 

We proceeded with a torah study. We broke off into groups and read the weekly torah section. I was in a group with Sharon, one of our Israeli friends. Because she had the excuse that her English was not very good, she stuck me with reading the entire thing to her. Then she made fun of my pronunciation. Afterward, we came back together and had a brief discussion. The Torah section was the story of Pesach (Passover)- one of the few Bible stories I actually know. 

We had some time to rest, during which many of us played a game called "mafia". It's an elaborate game where a few people anonymously act as the mafia, killing off group members. The group then accuses people, who are ostricized and killed off. A great bonding activity. 

We then went on a tour of the kibbutz where we're staying. Much of our sightseeing has been from a bus, so it was nice to walk around. It was cold, but at least it stopped raining for a bit. We saw some moo-cows on the farm, some great scenery, and learned quite a bit about life on a kibbutz. I'd never really understood that so much of Israel is still impacted by the socialist influence of Russian immigrants. 

We had a bit of a lecture afterward from our tour guide, who educated us a bit more extensively on the basic geography and politics of Israel. The subject divided many members of the group, with regard to the issue of Palestine, but sparked some great discussions later in the night. Havdallah came next. I have no clue what the correct accompanying verb is- "participating in" Havdallah, "celebrating" havdallah... One of the Israelis, Omri, just informed me the verb is "do". We "did" Havdallah.

We ended Shabbat together as a group. We ended the day with a trip to Tiberius, a small local city in the Golan Heights. It's the most urban place we've been since we left the airport in Tel Aviv. We had a nice dinner on our own, and my group got to see an exciting "show of light and sound". It was like a mini version of the Belaggio fountains. We got some nice pictures, ate some good food, and overall had a nice time just exploring.

Also, I feel the need to mention that Daniel Moraff suffered a crushing defeat in the cardgame "hearts", a true tale for the ages.

Love, 

Bart Johnsen-Harris XOXO #39

Friday, 1/13/2012

By Sarah Grossman 

We arrived yesterday, after an 11 hour flight from Philadelphia, to be greeted by a group of singing, smiling, and jumping soldiers in uniform. This would set the mood for the next 24 hours: strange and absolutely amazing. We drove to the Kibbutz where we would stay, chatting away with our new Israeli friends about being in the army, eating falafels, and dancing zumba. The more curious ones among us learned some crucial Hebrew vocabulary: chamud is cute and sababa is cool. We plan to make use of our new words to charm the locals during our Saturday night out in Tiberius. 

This morning we had breakfast at 7 am (mind you, that is 12 am Eastern Standard Time) and hopped on the bus into the Golan Heights under the rain. We were cold, wet, and sleepy, but we quickly perked up as arrived at an old fortification from the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Our guide Yoni told us the amazing story of the lone Israeli soldier who faked the existence of an entire brigade to keep the Syrians at bay. And right on cue, yet another miracle occured in the Holy Land: it began to snow. Our Israeli brothers and sisters, who were from Haifa, yelled for Hani (our bus driver) to stop the bus and they ran out into the road. They had never seen snow falling from the sky before in the their lives. A snowfight obviously ensued and 15 minutes later, Israelis and Americans alike came back on the bus, freezing and wet and giggling hysterically. 

This would have been the highlight of our day, but then we stopped for lunch. We ate, hands down, the most delicious falafel of our lives - moist, and spicy, and served by a hilarious Israeli man who yelled "Americans! Americans! Best falafel in Israel, 25 shekels! Okay, 17. Okay, 18!" 

It has been a super fun and tiring day, but the fun doesn't stop here: now it's time to nap, shower, and get dressed up for our first Israeli Shabbat :)

Lots of ahava,

Sarah Grossman

Wednesday, 1/11/2012

By Jen Sieber and Kyle Dehovitz

Good afternoon from somewhere south of Jerusalem!

Yesterday was a marathon of visiting amazing sites. Getting an early start, we bussed to Yitzhak Rabin Square to discuss the political turmoil and tragic events surrounding the assassination of one of Israel’s greatest. We split into groups and spoke with locals in the area regarding their experiences surrounding the events. We discovered a variety of opinion; ranging from apathy to heartbreak. 

As our day progressed, we traveled to the studio of Rami Meiri, a street artist who has painted office, home, school, and alley walls all over the world. After Rami gave us a play-by-play of much of his work, we got the chance to make our own street art on a wall that is dedicated to Taglit visitors outside his studio. I think everyone would agree that the highlight of the wall is now the expertly painted Brown logo. Little did we know that that would only be the second most important wall of the day… 

Next was lunch in Jaffa, with more falafel and some haggling in the Arab market (the biggest garage sale ever). We found a lookout point that had a gorgeous view of the sea, Tel Aviv, and Jaffa before getting back on the bus and heading on to the big kahuna….Jerusalem.

Our guide Lior led us through the highlights of Old City history as we stopped at significant points of interest. He kept us all in suspense, not knowing when the Western Wall would finally appear before us. It was worth the wait, because the moment the Wall was visible, the whole group fell quiet. It was a breathtaking sight.

After a few toes were completely numb (yes, Jerusalem is cold. Not Providence, but cold!), we got onto the warm bus and traveled on to our hotel. When pulling into our hotel, our bus driver, Yair, once again proved he is almost as gifted as Yoni (see Andrew’s post above). Then came dinner and a visit from Michael Eglash, a representative from Birthright and the CJP. We ended the night with a preparatory discussion for our upcoming visit to Yad VaShem, Israel’s famous Holocaust museum.

Until next time…Shalom!

Monday, 1/9/2012

By Andrew Silverman 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. (I believe Charles Dickenstein wrote that.) Seriously though, visiting Haifa was the best of times. Our seven, beautiful Israeli peers are actually all from Haifa, which, needless to say, made our visit all the more intimate and personal.

Upon disembarking our bus, we took a deep breath of fresh Haifa air, soaked up the resplendent Israeli sun, and began a scavenger hunt. “What’s that?” inquires my new Israeli crony, who is actually quite proficient in English. She’s great, you guys. (Mom, if you’re reading this, look forward to a free wedding in Jerusalem.)

Anyway, we split into three groups and were given 15 tasks to carry out. (It shall be noted that my group was the best.) For example, we had to obtain a bus ticket, record a short video of people dancing the hora, take a photo with a notable Israeli figure, and learn a whole song in Hebrew - to name a few. The hunt was really a great activity for us to explore our surroundings while having a good laugh with new friends. We met several friendly locals who jew-bilantly (see what I did there?) took pictures with us and danced the hora. They were excellent.

After an hour or two of running around Haifa, we sat down for some delectable falafel and shwarma. I had myself a good ol’ falafel pocket with extra siz-auce. Tahina, if you must know. My good Israeli chum walked me to a wonderful spot atop the city, where we were able to gaze down upon the Mediterranean crashing its majestic waves on the shores of Haifa. I snapped some photos and waved goodbye to the glorious view of the city. 

We’re on a tight schedule here on our Right of Birth trip. Thus, to make the most of the day, we promptly boarded the bus and set out for out Leo Baeck, a local community learning center near the water in Haifa. We had the opportunity to hear from a panel of high school scholars, who told us about their experiences and accomplishments. In particular, a gifted 11th grade boy named Yoni looks like he’s got a Nobel Prize in his future.

Next stop: Tel-Aviv! Oy vey! Did I use the phrase all right?

We arrived in the big city in the evening, ate some kosher comestibles, and went out for a night on the town by the beach. It was a long day, so it was nice to unwind a bit. We went to bed rather early, though, because we had to wake up at 7:00 AM the next day. Pretty early indeed. But it was worth it! 

I’ll leave you on that cliffhanger, folks, for my time on this blog is up. Things to look forward to in future posts: (1) adventures in Tel-Aviv (2) shenanigans in Jerusalem (3) our notes in the Western Wall (e.g., “Dear G-d, I hope you know English. [Insert meaningful message] Sincerely, Andrew, but you already knew that.”) So, thanks very much for reading my post.

FROM ISRAEL

Much peace and love,

Andrew

http://www.israelwithisraelis.com/update-jerusalem-our-visit-haifa

Sunday, 1/8/2012 

By Becca Gevertz

Shabbat officially begins when the sun sets, which was at 4:25 PM at Kibbutz Moran. We began Shabbat with the typical Shabbat prayers all together and then broke up into two groups. Half of us participated in a Kabbalat Shabbat in which we mostly sang psalms. We were fortunate to have Harpo, Chelsea, and Audrey, who participate in the Havurah-style services back at Brown-RISD Hillel, led this service. Rabbi Rackover led a discussion about Shabbat practices with the other half of the group. Despite the fact that I am tone-deaf and did not know the tunes of the psalms, I listened to and tried to sing along to the tunes of the psalms. We then re-split into new groups -- half of us prayed with the Rabbi and half of us continued to discuss big questions with Sara. We continued our Shabbat evening celebration with a relaxed Shabbat dinner and an oneg that was very sababa (“chill” - our Hebrew word of the day!). 

Saturday morning, following the spirit of Shabbat, we caught up on sleep -- we did not meet up as a group until 11. Our first activity included hevruta (partner learning). We read and discussed an excerpt from the Mishna that listed acts forbidden on Shabbat first with our partners and then as an entire group. Rabbi Rackover helped us all to recognize that many of the laws of Shabbat are not random, as may have been thought by the majority of us. Instead, we really began to understand that these rules were derived from ancient common practices that were considered “productive work,” and were, therefore, not allowed on the day of rest. The weather on Shabbat was MAGNIFICENT! We had a few hours to relax outside. Some of us took long walks, exploring the kibbutz. Others sat and read, absorbing the sun and the fresh air. Others continued to catch up on sleep, except this time, they slept outside on the grass. When we reconvened, Rabbi Rackover told us stories, some biblical and others not. We also split up into groups where we were given a list of various values and ideas related to Judaism and Israel, and we were told to rank them in order of importance to each of us, yet come to a consensus. This was an incredibly difficult activity for everyone -- there were many contentious ideas, not only between Israelis and Brown students, but also among Brown students. While very frustrating at times, this activity proved to be one of the most eye-opening experiences we have had thus far. Our last activity was continued hevruta; each group of partners walked around the kibbutz and reflected on Shabbat, our experiences in the past few days, and life in general. I love hevruta and think that it should be a bigger part of education in the States because it is a completely different experience to learn from your peers and get to know one another rather than simply sitting in a lecture. 

Our Shabbat observance came to a close with a Havdalah service, which took place outside after the sun had set. I loved the service because we were all standing in a circle, singing and praying. Not until after I volunteered to hold the cup of wine (grape juice) did I learn that it is customary to fill the cup until the grape juice is overflowing (my hands were quite sticky after services!). Learning Shabbat practices and other traditions first-hand is a truly invaluable experience. It doesn’t matter how many books you have read on Shabbat - until you have observed said practices first-hand can you really understand and feel immersed in the culture. And after one Shabbat, I am only just beginning my Jewish learning experience. I have so much more to learn and experience before I can feel as though I have a solid understanding of a variety of Jewish practices.

http://israelwithisraelis.com/our-first-shabbat-0

Friday, 1/6/2012

By Sarah Presant

Hello! We have reached Israel and it is raining… a lot! After two flights, we are so happy to finally be here! As soon as we landed, we went through a passport check and got our passports stamped. Then, we went to pick up our luggage (Thankfully, everyone’s arrived safely!). As we left baggage claim, aour Israeli peers greeted us with singing and dancing (in Hebrew, of course). Another Shorashim group arrived at the airport at the same time as we did and we made a huge circle in the airport and had an opening ceremony. For the opening ceremony, we all gathered in a circle, linked arms, and we were instructed to chant very loudly ACHIM ACHIM SIMCHA SIMCHA. We learned that ‘Achim’ means brothers in Hebrew and ‘Simcha’ means happiness. As we all chanted and hopped around I realized that something of this magnitude would never be allowed in LAX or JFK airports. Yet, onlookers didn’t really react to the loud group of students. They acted like it was normal! It was incredible to look around and see 90 people, all of whom were Jewish, and in Israel for the same reason and with the same purpose. After the opening ceremony, we went and loaded our baggage on the bus (which was very tightly packed!). Then, we got water, and snacks-- three different types of Israeli candies, “fun-sized.” One was like a Kit-Kat, the other was Hazelnut wafers, and the last one was similar to an M&M candy bar). We then exchanged our money and loaded the bus. On the bus, the Israeli peers introduced themselves as well as our Shorashim tour educator (guide). It was interesting to hear about all of their roles within the army. We rode from Tel Aviv to our kibbutz, which is called Kibbutz Moran. The bus ride was very long as we traveled on the only toll road in Israel. Along the way of course, our Lior explained various facts about Israel, and we got to know the soldiers a little bit. After about a two hour bus ride, we finally arrived at the kibbutz. After putting our bags down in our rooms, we went to dinner where we had chicken, rice, mashed potatoes, bread, hummus, cucumber and tomato salad (Israeli salad), tabouli and for desert, babka (although the Israeli peers refer to it as cake). At the orientation afterwards, we played a game “Where the wind blows.” After the game was bedtime.

Today, we woke up and it was raining and very foggy. It isn’t cold like it is at Brown, but it's not warm either! After breakfast, we drove to the Golan Heights and learned about its significance. Unfortunately, because it was so cloudy and foggy, we even couldn’t see the Syrian border! We also got to go inside the bunker at the top which was very crowded. At the top of the mountain, many of us got coffee to warm up! Following this, we took a short drive to Tzfat, which is a holy town where many Jewish customs began. Here, we learned about the roots of Kaballah as well as about how some rabbis changed Judaism forever with his chanting and singing of poems, many of which are still used today. The biggest lesson that we learned here: one man really can change the world! Following a brief tour of the town, we went to get lunch. It seemed like most of us got delicious falafel or shwarma, although there were other small shops available. Since the town is rather religious, many of the stores were closing early today for Shabbat. Following this experience, we drove back to the Kibbutz, and now we are preparing for Shabbat!

http://israelwithisraelis.com/weve-arrived

On December 7th in New York, ACCESS, the American Jewish Committee’s young professionals group hosted an evening of wine tasting, desserts, and conversation for young Jewish alumni of Brown, Cornell, Stanford, Yale, Columbia and the University of Chicago.  The event was held at the Bulgarian Consulate.  The highlight of the evening was a talk by Radoslav Totchev, the Bulgarian consul general in New York.  Over 100 people attended, and the evening was a great success!

Want to learn more about events and programming for young alumni?  Email Arielle Angell (Arielle_angell@brown.edu) for more information!