I have been back in Jerusalem for the past two weeks. I have been getting up to speed in terms of my learning and living here. The most interesting experience so far was a trip to the holy city of Hevron and the Ma’arat HaMachpelah ["Cave of the Patriarchs"], where according to our tradition, Adam and Chava, Avraham, Sarah, Yitzchak, Rivka, Ya’akov, and Leah are buried. A good portion of the Darche Noam students and Rebbeim came on the Tiyul, where we had a chance to pray at this sanctified site. Afterwards, we experienced a video/interactive presentation nearby about the history of the Gush Etzion area and the tremendous Mesirat Nefesh [self-sacrifice] that took place among the early settlers in defending the land both before the establishment of the State of Israel and afterwards.

Photos (including full-size originals) can be viewed and downloaded here.

I am returning to Vancouver for the summer at the beginning of next week. I realize that I have been remiss in updating the blog as of late. I am currently re-evaluating the purpose and form of this site.

Wishing you a great summer!

The last few weeks I have been mostly involved only in my learning. However, I have spent a couple of recent Shabbatot in some interesting Yishuvim (settlements) not too far from Jerusalem.

About a month ago, I went with some fellow students on a Shabbaton of sorts to Kochav Yaakov. Kochav Yaakov is a settlement north of Jerusalem consisting of a diverse mix of residents that span the spectrum of observant Judaism in Israel. It was founded in 1984 and today has approximately 380 families. I stayed with a very nice family. I attended a very interesting Kabbalat Shabbat / Maariv prayer service on the outskirts of the Yishuv, where a lone house stood with a small landscaped area around it. Together various residents and guests of the Yishuv sang, danced, and prayed as the sun set, illuminating the clouds and sky with beautiful shades of red. The bare desert lay in front of us, with what I believe was a Arab settlement over the hill to our left. After having dinner at my hosts, we all met up again and ventured over to a Chasidish Tish with Rabbi Kornreich (the local chief rabbi) in Tel Tzion, an adjacent community. After Shacharit, we all met up for lunch with a doctor who is an alumni of my Yeshiva who lives in the Yishuv. It was incredible to see an example of how the Jewish people have transformed the desert into beautiful, habitable communities. I am told that the flowers and foliage around the community are sustained by small “drip”-based water tubes. Kochav Yaakov was “established on the value of Jewish unity” according to their website, and such value was quite highly evident in the interactions I had there.

Last Shabbat, I went to Hashmonaim to spend Shabbat with Rabbi Ari Solomont and family. Hashmonaim is a Yishuv between Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv, near Modi’in. It is a beautiful religious-zionist community with nice large homes and a large percentage of English-speaking Olim. It felt very much like suburban North America with an Israeli aesthetic. Most of the other guests at the Solomonts were recent high-school graduates who are studying here for some time before continuing on to university (as is the practice) and it was interesting to hear their perspectives. I thoroughly enjoyed this Shabbat, and after Shabbat ended, on Saturday night, I was able to hear a lecture by Rabbi Herschel Shachter, Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University in New York. He spoke on the subject of Purim, drawing on a vast array of sources. He is, according to a Rabbi of mine, one of the leading American rabbis of our generation, and it was highly fortuitous that he happened to be speaking in Hashmonaim that night.

About three weeks ago, we attended the funeral of Rabbi Noah Weinberg. Rabbi Weinberg was founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, one of the foremost Jewish outreach organizations in the world, and an organization that has affected thousands of Jews though their Jewish learning programs, Israel activism training, and their very popular Aish.com website among others. The eulogies were delivered from the stairs at entrance of a Shul in the Kiryat Sanz neighborhood of Jerusalem. I was quite an emotional event, where seemingly thousands of people gathered.

On this past Wednesday, we went on a Tiyul (tour/excursion) in the area to the northwest of Yerushalayim. We toured the area where Operation Nachshon, the 1948 military operation to stop the Arab blockade that prevented supply convoys from reaching Jerusalem, took place. This was a crucial corridor to the northeast of the city, surrounded by 40 Arab towns. The success of this mission facilitated the inclusion of West Jerusalem in the 1948 borders of the State of Israel (the Old City and East Jerusalem not having been captured until the Six Day War in June 1967). The area has become Castel National Park, a commemoration, and includes the trenches from the battles. We then walked along a trail in the hills in the area. It was incredible to be able to see the city of Jerusalem from a neighboring hilltop in the Mivaseret Tzion area – the Jerusalem Forest lay in front of us, behind it Har Nof, and then the other western neighborhoods of the city were visible, including the huge bridge that will be part of the light rail transit project.

 

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.