The Chief Rabbi and the OU National Convention

A little over two weeks ago, the Orthodox Union (OU) held its annual National Convention in the Ramada hotel in Jerusalem, which happens to be a few minute walk from where I am studying. On the Thursday during the convention, I walked over to hear Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonweath, give a keynote address at the convention. Rabbi Sacks was asked to articulate a “mission statement for the 21st century” for the Orthodox Union – and by extension, the “centrist” or “modern” Orthodox community overall.

Rabbi Sacks set up his proposed “mission statement” by quoting a Biblical verse (Bamidbar/Numbers 13:19). When Moshe instructs the spies that are sent into the Land of Israel, one of the attributes they are told to look for is whether the people live in open or fortified (walled) cities. Rabbi Sacks explained that if the Canaanites lived in fortified cities, it would indicate that they feel weak and feel in need of the protection of the city walls. By contrast, if they lived in open cities, it would indicate that they feel strong and do not feel in need of the protection that walls would afford. Rabbi Sacks concluded that, in his estimation, it is preferable to live in open cities (perhaps, only if one feels that it is relatively safe to do so), and he compared living in open cities to the ideological position of “centrist” or “modern” Orthodoxy, which takes on the challenge of interacting with the non-Jewish world, within the boundaries of Jewish law and belief.

Rabbi Sacks then formulated a three faceted mission statement based around the Mishniac dictum that states that “…the world stands on three things: on Torah, on Divine worship, and on acts of loving-kindness. ” (Avot 1:2).  He spoke of an ideal contemporary Jewish community that is strong in its learning of and adherence to Torah so that its members are able to live in open cities. He also emphasized the tremendous importance of dedicating a significant portion of one’s time or resources toward acts of Tzedakah and Chesed (kindness) to others in need. I am afraid I do not recall as much about this part of the address (the actual “mission statement” ironically) as compared to the prefatory material (which touched upon my fascination with the sociology of contemporary Judaism), and for fear of misquoting Rabbi Sacks more than I may already have, I will not venture to further elaborate.

The next morning I again returned to the Ramada to hear Chief Rabbi Sacks speak as part of a Yeshiva University sponsored event. The audience consisted largely of recent high school graduates who were studying in Israel during their “gap year” before continuing on to university (much as I am doing prior to the next stage of my life). Thus Rabbi Sacks mostly dealt with the challenges that Jewishly-commited students will face when confronted for the first time with the intellectual and, even more so, the social pressures of university life. Sacks gave a passionate appeal that students take on a Jewish leadership role both on campuses and in their lives in general, in order to help address the monumental threat that intermarriage and assimilation poses to Jewish “continuity”.

I returned to the OU conference that evening during Shabbat after dinner and had the good fortune to find myself talking with a member of the staff of the OU’s Jewish Leadership Initiative on Campus, an organization that partners with Hillels to address the needs of observant students on campuses across North America. Such an organization on campus at UBC would have been incredible during my undergraduate degree. Later, the convention had a very uplifting Oneg Shabbat with singing and food. It was also great to see some of the people I used to work with as part of NCSY, which is a program of the OU.

Tragedy in Mumbai

Two Tuesdays ago, in the afternoon, I experienced a powerful and emotional event. We walked across Jerusalem to attend a part of the funeral for the Chabad  couple who were killed in the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg worked as Chabad emissaries in Mumbai, serving three Kosher meals a day, providing Shabbat hospitality and Jewish education, and a myriad of other services to Jewish travelers. At the funeral one of the speakers spoke of how the Holtzberg’s entire lives were dedicated to serving the Jewish people, sacrificing their own time to provide kosher food and an open non-judgemental Jewish connection for all different kinds of Jews who found themselves in Mumbai.  The funeral began in Kfar Chabad, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, then proceeded to the Chabad Yeshiva in Jerusalem (where we attended), and after that proceeded to the Mount of Olives cemetery to bury the couple. I am not sure how to conclude this paragraph in an adequate manner to properly convey the right sort of emotion so I will leave it as such.

Some assorted updates:

The Shabbat before last, I travelled to Efrat – about an hour bus ride from Yerushalayim – to spend Shabbat with my cousins who are Olim (=”one who makes Aliyah”) from England. It was really nice to spend Shabbat with family here. I didn’t get to really see Efrat, but I will most definitely be there again and will attempt to get a greater feel for it then. Last Wednesday, we participated in a guided Tiyul of Ir David (”The City of David”) and the Kotel Tunnels. While I have seen both sites several times before, the particular tour guide we had was highly knowledgeable and provided some fascinating insights into the history of Yerushalayim vis-à-vis the various biblical periods. This last Shabbat, I spent Shabbat in Yerushalayim. As I looked out the window from the 7th floor apartment of the family I was staying with, I could see a magnificent view of the city. It was an awe-inspiring feeling to know that I am looking over the Jewish city, where myriads of people are also partaking in a Shabbat dinner with family and friends.

That’s all for now. As Hanukah is coming up, I figure I will have much more to write about in the coming weeks.

Last Friday, I joined my cousins who live in Israel and their parents from England for breakfast/brunch at the Inbal Hotel on Jabotinski Street. It was a very nice morning. It was interesting to see how the the Inbal had constructed a massive Sukkah in the courtyard of the hotel as well as around part of the outer perimeter. Later that day, I spent Shabbat with the Bermans.

 

On Sunday, I spent the day wandering the streets of Jerusalem with my camera (a Nikon D80 dSLR with SB-600 speedlight and a 18-70mm Nikkor DX lens). I started off at the Shuk Arba Minim (the market for the Four Species for Sukkot) that was set up on Yaffa Street just west of Machane Yehudah (if I remember correctly). There were a significant number of vendors selling various Lulavim, Etrogim and the like. Each time I would make eye contact with a seller, he would begin trying to sell me his offerings. More times than not, the seller would talk to me in English, I suppose able to recognize me as a non-native.

I then ventured over to the Shuk, Machane Yehudah, with more of a goal of taking photos of the colourful scenes than making a purchase. I met an overly friendly vendor selling his art and other nicknacks.

I then made my way toward the Mea Shearim / Geula area, the streets were crowded with people buying and selling Arba Minim (Four Species), Sukkah decorations, and building materials for constructing Sukkahs. I picked up an inexpensive tape measure that, in addition to inches, has markings for the Biblical/Mishnaic measurement units that are used for, among other areas of Jewish law, constructing a valid Sukkah and ensuring a Lulav of adequate length.

 

I’ve been thinking about an interesting phenomenon that I have observed here in Israel. With regard to homes and buildings, it seems that here in Israel there is less of a separation between what is outside and what is inside. Whereas in Vancouver, by and large in my observation, people do not extend their indoor mode of living so naturally to the outdoors – in terms of using the outdoor space on their property in the manner that one would use indoor space – by contrast, in Israel, it seems that outdoor space functions as more of an extension of indoor space, rather than something separate that demands its own mode of use entirely. I am told that this is evidently due to the dry weather conditions that exist for most of the year. I nonetheless find it quite interesting. During the holiday of Sukkot, where people dine and sleep in their Sukkahs, this relationship between outdoor and indoor living space becomes even more emphasized. 

Last night I attended a Simchat Beit HaShoeva – a celebration mirroring the celebration in the Beit HaMigdash (Temple) during Sukkot that would include the water libation ceremony, though contemporary celebrations do not include this ceremony – at Darche Noam / Shapell’s. It was a nice evening consisting of refreshments in the Sukkah with a D’var Torah, followed by rounds of dancing to live music. Sukkot is described in our liturgy as “Z’man Simchataynu” – the time of our rejoicing. While all the Jewish festivals consist of happiness, Sukkot stands as special in this regard, where happiness and rejoicing is effectively legislated as a explicit fundamental component of the Chag. Perhaps one way of looking at this is to understand Pesach as the time of redemption for the Jewish people, then Shavuot as the time we receive the Torah, followed by the introspective month of Elul that precedes Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which in turn is the time of our collective judgement, where Sukkot is the joyous culmination of this yearly cycle.

Today I went down to the Old City and prayed Shacharit (the morning prayer service) at the Kotel (Western Wall). Today, as it was the second day of Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of Sukkot) – or the first for those from outside of Israel (like myself) – there was a large scale Birkat HaKohanim (the Priestly Blessing that Kohanim recite) at the Kotel. The Old City and the Kotel Plaza in particular were packed with people. It took a significant amount of time to get down to the Kotel itself. When coming back up, I found myself squeezed into a narrow block of the Jewish Quarter, with a huge number of other people all pushing and yelling to get through. It was a rather uncomfortable experience to say the least. I had lunch with friends at Rimon in the new mall just outside the Jaffa Gate. It was really good food. We ate in the restaurant’s massive Sukkah. We then walked around the Old City for a while and observed the festivities.

 

That’s it for now. Feel free to comment by clicking the comment link below. Please note that to protect against spam if you comment you will now need to enter the text in the box below the comment field (it is also part of a project to digitize old books that computer OCR software cannot read).

A few weeks ago, I spent Shabbat in Har Nof. Har Nof (lit. Scenic Mountain according to Wikipedia) is a religious neighborhood in the northwest corner of Jerusalem. It’s a hilly neighborhood (or rather, located on a hillside), devoid of much greenery but is surrounded by the Jerusalem Forest. I found it to be a rather interesting experience to be in such a neighborhood over Shabbat.

Around midnight on Friday night, as I stood on the balcony of the family I was staying with, I was astounded by the near utter silence. Only the sounds of crickets chirping, and every so often of people walking down the street below, and perhaps the faint mechanical whirling sound of the HVAC systems in a nearby low-rise apartment building could be heard. Likewise, the next afternoon, when most families were presumably enjoying a Shabbat afternoon nap, only the birds and the moderate wind could be heard. It was incredible just to stand there, enjoying the quiet, and it made me realize how much I have become accustomed to the ambient urban soundscape that is ever-present in most places that I find myself. 

Another interesting, and perhaps somewhat disconcerting experience, was the strong feeling of anonymity that could be felt in Har Nof. As a (albeit relatively recently) observant Jew, who at most times has been in a predominantly non-observant or non-Jewish environment, I am at most times acutely aware that my identity stands out in relation to those around me. So to be in an essentially completely observant neighborhood, yet one that exists without the intimate familiarity of the small Shabbat-observing community that I am accustomed to in Vancouver, was a profoundly fascinating feeling (for lack of a more precise term). An identity that I am so accustomed to as something that stands out (though perhaps my hatless head with its colorful knitted kippah still affords me such a status as different in Har Nof) became something standard and prevalent, and with this came a sense of anonymity.

Last Friday, I took the bus into the center of town, from where I walked into Mea Shearim (lit. One-Hundred Gates, though based on a verse in Bereshit – the highly observant community to the north of the Ben Yehudah / Yaffo area). I didn’t spend much time observing the neighborhood – though I did note that pedestrian traffic at the intersection of Strauss and Mea Shearim Street (Kikar Shabbat I believe it’s called, though let me know if I am in error) was sparse at ten o’clock in the morning on this particular Friday – though I don’t know why nor have I experienced other Friday mornings there for comparison. The purpose of my trip was to buy some Jewish books at one of the many Sefarim shops, and I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the extensive selection of books at Manny’s.

Afterwards, I walked back to Yaffo Street and over to the Shuk (”Machane Yehuda”). I also did not spend a significant amount of time here, but will hopefully return (with camera) in the next week or two. The Shuk is such a lively place (though crowded – especially it being Friday I imagine) and I hope to spend more time perusing the various stalls and such. As I walked westward along Yaffo Street, it began to rain – not incredibly heavily but significantly nonetheless. I had never experienced significant rain in Israel (as I have never been here but in the summer months). I remember once feeling a very slight rain in the summer in the North, but never had I experienced rain in Jerusalem. Coming from Vancouver where it rains constantly, the rain for me is strangely comforting and “real”.

I made my way to the Central Bus Station, where I spent a good hour or so trying to figure out which bus to take to my Shabbat destination – I simply could not understand the broken English (or fluent Hebrew) when I asked various people (including several employees) from where the requisite bus was departing and found myself circling the area for some time.

Tomorrow is Erev Rosh Hashana. I will be spending Rosh Hashana here in the Yeshiva. It should be a spiritually impactful experience (or so I am told).

I hope to use this space to post more photos in the near future. I have not had the opportunity as much as I would like as of yet to take a great deal of blog-worthy photos. I will also endeavor to post more frequently.

Ketivah V’Chatimah Tovah / may you be written and sealed for good.

It’s been almost two weeks thus far since I arrived here in Israel. After settling in at Darche Naom / Shapell’s in Beit HaKerem, I spent the first few days getting over jet lag in Givat Ze’ev, staying with the Bermans.

Some web and non-web research tells me that Givat Ze’ev (Lit. Hill of Ze’ev – after Ze’ev Jabotinsky) is a relatively large settlement northwest of Jerusalem. It acts as a suburb of Jerusalem, offering more affordable and larger housing, and is located on the other side of the 1949 Armistice line (the “green line“) and is thus within the so-called West Bank. It is a quiet residential place with temperatures similar to Jerusalem.

I enjoyed a nice quiet Shabbat in Givat Ze’ev with the Bermans, including an interesting Seudah Shlishit (third meal of Shabbat) experience at a potluck with local young observant families. I took part in a youthful and quite spirited Kabbalat Shabbat and Shacharit (morning prayer service) at the local branch of Bnei Akivah (a religious zionist/nationalist youth group). I will still have to get used to the prevalent use of Nusach Sefard (the variant arrangement of Ashkenazi prayers designed to offer a compromise or hybrid between traditional Ashkenazi and true Sefardi prayers).

After spending Shabbat in Givat Ze’ev, I returned to Beit HaKerem and began my studies. Research informs me that Beit HaKerem (lit. House of the Vineyard – a Biblical name) is a well-to-do neighborhood in the western part of Jerusalem. It was established in 1922 during the British Mandate. It features abundant greenery, and one person I talked with likened it to living within a forest. It is located to the north of Bayit VeGan and and to the southeast of Har Nof (the only other nearby neighborhoods that I am significantly familiar with, though there are several other distinct neighborhoods surrounding it) and I’m told it is about a one hour walk from the Old City (and, I’m told, a fifteen minute drive). Beit HaKerem is a largely secular neighborhood. Indeed, the Ha’aretz newspaper calls it “the last secular holdout in Jerusalem” in an article from February 2008 that paints a rather unflattering picture of observant Judaism amid present demographic trends in Jerusalem. The neighborhood is enjoying ongoing development, including a segment of the Jerusalem Light Rail, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2010.

Yeshivat Darche Noam / David Shapell College of Jewish Studies is housed in a medium-sized building located on Rechov Beit HaKerem off Hertzl Boulevard. It contains a large study hall (Beit Midrash) and a library, a dining hall and related facilities, numerous seminar-style classrooms, and dormitory facilities. The grounds are attractive, and include a courtyard of decent size with lush greenery. I was initially attracted to this institution because of its approach that values and respects the diversity of philosophies and traditions that exists within the spectrum of Halachic Judaism and its positioning as a post-university program which also values secular knowledge and work in the professional world. The name Darche Noam could be translated Ways of Harmony (or, as “Rabbi Artscroll” would tell me, Ways of Pleasantness). I am presently quite happy with my choice of institution, though the intensity of learning has been somewhat exhausting (I’m told I will become accustomed to it in short order) but nonetheless so far it has been quite enjoyable.

I have posted some photos below.

 

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