What does it mean to be a part of Am Yisrael?

My interpretation of being a part of Am Yisrael is giving back. I think that giving back to the community is the biggest part of Am Yisrael. I also think that learning the history behind Am Yisrael is important. Being Jewish doesn't exactly classify as following Halacha, I think it is being a part of the Jewish people through the culture. Being in Israel allows me to be surrounded by Jewish culture all of the time. I feel most connected to my Jewish identity here because I am exposed to many different Jewish cultures. At home in Chicago, I do not have a strong Jewish culture. I love being here in Israel because I appreciate the Jewish culture more.

Jewish Community in Chicago

As I talked about before on my blog, I do not fit into a specific Jewish community or synagogue. I have been brought up with many different Jewish views and I do not fit into one category. I chose to look into The Chicago Jews News calendar to see the upcoming fun Jewish events in Chicago. There are so many opportunities to meet new Jews, have fun, and help the community. One that stuck out to me was an upcoming event that was about rising anti-semitism on college campuses. While I have been in Israel, I have talked a lot about this subject. Not only because I am in Israel but because this is a common thing that occurs in a lot of places, and is mostly on college campuses. Being home and being able to still talk freely about this and converse with others about this would be very nice. I like knowing that when I go home, there will be many things that I can do to reconnect with Israel and or the Jewish community.

Going home is very scary to me. I am extremely nervous to go back because I do not know what I am going back to. I have been gone for almost 4 months and so much could have occurred within that time. One thing I am looking forward to in Chicago is having all of these opportunities to reconnect with Israel without being there.

Size of Israel

In the past week I hiked from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean Sea. It took about 4 days of hiking to cross from the East to the West of Israel. The views were beautiful and it truly payed off to see the ocean at the end. I came to the realization while walking, Israel is so small. I already knew it of course, but walking from one sea to another in about 4 days is insane. Israel has so much publicity and yet it is so small, half the size of Maine. How can one little state get so much attention, positive but mostly negative.

The Hebrew Language

I recently went to Tel Aviv to visit my brother Elie. While walking around on the streets of Israel, I didn't know what I should have been listening to because of the many sounds that occur at once. My ears were mostly focused on people speaking hebrew throughout the streets. It finally hit me, the Hebrew language. It fascinates me. It is truly the only language that is the language for a religion. Hebrew is the language of the Jewish people. I found it interesting that I came across this realization while being in Tel Aviv because it is the first Hebrew city that was founded in 1909. The Hebrew University was founded in 1918, 30 years before Israel finally became its own state. Hebrew is so important to the Jewish people and we will always have Hebrew even if we do not have Israel.

SFSU Speech with Nir Barkat

On April 6th, the mayor of Israel, Nir Barkat was invited to speak at San Francisco State University. Within the first 10 minutes of his speech, anti-Israel protestors interrupted and didn’t allow him to speak because of their loud commotion and distractions. I believe in freedom of speech but at the same time, the way that these people acted on their beliefs was not respectable. They did not allow Barkat to express the purpose of why he came all the way to SFSU in the first place. 

Journal in Poland

Tykocin Forest 3/28/16
We didn't know where we were going. We were silent and scared. We were taken to a forest where we sat in a silent circle. My teacher started to try to explain where we were and what happened there. I couldn't help but look at the trees surrounding us. Those tall and lanky trees covered the whole forest. They were old. Those trees were standing in those exact spots when the Jews were walking to their deaths. My teacher told us a few things about that place. He told us that the Jews were stripped of their clothing and forced to look directly at their future. Their death. One by one, Jews were shot by the "angel of death". Once we got to see the 3 main graves, I was shocked. It's one thing to learn about these events, but seeing it was much different. I had no emotions to show. All I could think was why. Why us? Why the Jews? Why. We were told when the Jews were walking into the forest, they were forced to sing HaTikvah. We got the privilege to walk out while singing. None of the Jews that entered that forest got to leave, we did. It was extremely empowering to be able to do that for the ones that did not get the chance to.


Lublin 3/29/16
In Meidonik, no emotions showed. No emotions could show. Many questions were going through my mind. How could this happen? Why? Looking past the barbed wire, the fog was shown. It was a rainy day. Beyond gloomy and rainy. While walking through the gas chambers, it could not be process into my mind the horrific things that happened where I was standing. The room for undressing and cutting off all body hair. The room that had tubes lining the ground that used to carry deadly gases. Throughout those rooms, their was a blue ceiling. It occurred to me that it was blue because of the gases that were used to kill. Trying to imagine the thousands of men stuffed into those small rooms who were stripped of their dignity when forced to bathe to death. Why. Why would this occur? The location of this specific camp is directly in the center of town. It was not hidden. They had nothing to hide.
As walking through the crematory, only confusion crossed my mind. Seeing the doors that thousands of corpses were thrown into was insane. Next to all of those doors was beautiful detailed butterfly. Ironic. When it got time to see the final memorial site, it finally hit me. The big round dome that covered a huge pile of ash. The Nazi's did what they wanted. Dehumanization the Jews. They did. But why can't I wrap my mind around the fact that thousands of people were killed where I was walking. Because I am a human. The Nazi's were not. They were monsters. The reason I can not understand why they did what they did those things is because I am human.


Auschwitz-Birkenau 3/31/16
Looking at the railroad tracks, I was trying my very best to imagine the horrific things that occurred, but I could not. We were told a few stories of people and each was worse than the next. We walked through the men's side of Auschwitz #2 until we were led on the path of the Hungarian Jews. My ancestors. They were taken directly from the trains and led on the walk to death in 1944. There are four stones standing that said in 4 different languages "To the memory of the men, woman, and children who fell victim to the Nazi genocide. In this pond lie their ashes. May their souls rest in peace." Behind was a tiny pond that I know has thousands of ashes of Hungarian Jews. Any Jews. Again, I struggled with emotions. Why? Because it is unimaginable the things that occurred where I was standing. I got to light my candle and place it near the pond because I wanted to remember those people who did not get the proper burial and proper way to end their lives.
I am not a good writer. I never know how to phrase things. In the moment, I didn't know how to get the words out. Being able to see the destruction of most of the buildings is terrifying. I had so many questions by the end of my day at Auschwitz #2. How long did it take for the Nazi's to set up the camp? Why did they destroy it if most people knew about it?
Looking at the gas chambers, crematories is a scaring thing. Over 1 million Jews were killed where I stood. I was at the worst place on earth. All I wanted was to leave. If I couldn't stand 4 hours there, how could they stand much much more?

What makes someone Jewish?

In Jewish History class my teacher continuously asks us "what makes someone Jewish?". I truly do not know. Some people answer "knowing prayers" or "having a Jewish parent" or even "if someone says they are Jewish that makes them Jewish".

I am Jewish. I say that I am Jewish. I have two Jewish parents. I know prayers. I am Jewish. But what makes me Jewish?

I was enrolled from a young age at a Jewish Day School where half my day was dedicated to studying the Tanach, Taffilah, and Rabbinics. Even with those hours of focused learning, I do not know what makes someone Jewish.

I have grown up in a Jewish household. In my family we celebrate main holidays, all of my siblings and I had a bar/bat mitzvahs, and mezuzahs placed on each door, but how do those things contribute to someone being Jewish?

This question comes in my head a lot because I am living with over 60 Jewish kids. We all have one thing in common; we are Jewish. How does that connect us? What is connecting us?

Palestinians and Black Lives Matter

"In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds"  -Martin Luther King.

The comparison of Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian people is not an accurate comparison. The article focuses on the differences, similarities, and the parallels between the two. Black Lives Matter movement works to inform people about the oppression, police brutality, and the workings towards coexistence within the world. On the other hand, the Palestinian people's actions are not fitting into those same molds. The people that support Black Lives Matter are reaching for equality while the Palestinians are reaching for the opposite. The Palestinians are working to demolish Israel and are using many forms of aggression to achieve that. Due to this, I believe that comparing the Palestinian struggle to Black Lives Matter is wrong. I believe that they are extremely sensitive matters that have similarities but the way that they go about achieving their goals are affecting the perspective that the world has on both of them.

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/195487/how-israel-is-being-framed

Where do those stories come from?

For generations stories have been retold. This article focuses on Kalmin's book of stories and how many stories are interpreted.  The focus on Kalmin's book is for the historical content to fit that time period. He explains the transmission and migration through his book. For example, the non-rabbinic traditions from the Roman East ended up in the Babylonian Talmud, and rabbinic teachings that went to Rome. He also discusses the role of the rabbis was not always the leader but they sought power within the community. His book reinforces the power of written communication and how it changes throughout time.

Choice

I was talking with my roommate Yulie about her obligation to the IDF. As a dual citizen, she is required to serve in the IDF but if she gets a release letter, she won't have to serve. I was trying to imagine if I was in her position, having the requirement of the army. It was unimaginable. For Yulie, she doesn't have a choice. For me, I have considered joining the IDF but it is only a choice for me. It's extremely weird to think about my future; applying to colleges, getting a job, and make a living for myself. In Yulie's position, she doesn't have to think about her future, it is already set for her for the minimum of 2 years.
I think the obligation for Israeli citizens to join the army after high school is a positive and negative aspect. Most high school students after graduating do not have any idea what they want to do with their life, so giving Israel's the time to delay the process is contributing to the positives. A negative aspect is that every Israeli citizen does not have a choice. Even if they do not want to, they have to serve their country. As for me, I would love to stand behind the state of Israel and that is because it is my choice.

If you want to read Yulie's perspective of this, check out her blog!!!
http://israelicool.blogspot.co.il/

IDF Self-Defense

In the article there was a quote that stated, "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first". The IDF is being judged on their actions towards the stabbings. People that are anti-Israel use the army as a negative aspect to bring Israel down because of the things that are portrayed on media worldwide. The IDF is known to be one of the best armies worldwide and their actions of one single incident should not define them. When a stabbing attack occurs from a teenager, that teenager might have been brought up just to know that they should kill. I think that the way that the IDF is teaching self-defense is good fitting the situation of Israel. During Gadna, my eyes were opened to the ideas of self-defense with weapons and I fully accept the ways that the IDF is teaching their soilders.

Week of Adventure

For the past 10 days, I have been traveling throughout Israel doing incredible once in a lifetime things. We started off going to Masada. We woke up at 4:15 and headed straight to the mountain. The hike up was difficult but totally worth waking up for it. We got to see the sunrise from the east that was over Jordan. During our time on top of Masada, we got to learned about Herod and his construction of the many castles that were hiding places. After our three days at Masada, we went on a hike through a spring that led to a beautiful waterfall. On our way back from the waterfall, we went to the Dead Sea. We got to float and put mud all over our bodies. It was a lot of fun because it is the lowest place in the world. 

After those four days of fun, we arrived at gadna. From the first moment we got there, we were treated like soldiers. It was intense. It really was. Our commander made it clear to us that the #1 thing in the army is friendship and I truly got to experience it during the five days I was there. I was with my group of 13 girls at all times. We did everything together and we all bonded. The commanders taught us all about guns. It was extremely scary to be able to hold and shoot a weapon thats its entire purpose is to kill. During gadna, we had to sleep in army tents, wear the full uniform, and always pay attention to who is talking to you. I had not thought much about going to the army until my week in gadna. Even though the experience was not the best due to the conditions. I would love to stand for the land of the Jewish people. There are many options for me in the future but I am glad that I have the Israeli Army as one. 

Sunrise at Masada

Me in the full uniform at gadna

Taxi ride

When my weekend with my brother away from the Kibbutz came to an end, I had to get a taxi to return to Tzuba. Immediately when I got into the taxi, the man driving the taxi began sharing his opinion with me about politics. He talked about how hebrew is separating the state of Israel, because not everyone is able to speak the language. I was shocked that this random man felt comfortable to share his views with a random American girl. This taxi driver was explaining to me how the language of the Jewish people is not a positive thing for Israel. Even though I disagree with his opinion, I let him continue to speak because I was so intrigued by his political views. As he continued, I was stuck on the fact that this man was so open to share his views with me. I felt privileged that he confided in me so honestly, even though it was not a big deal to him.

Anti-Israel Billboards

In Orlando, many billboards are posted on major streets that are putting down Israel. The billboards are mentioning that America is giving Israel $10 million dollars a day when the organization who posted the billboards and trying to boycott Israel are getting more money than Israel. I think that this situation is a double standard. BDS is short-sided as well as the author because they both are trying to prove that their side is correct.

The author's point was not being shown in the article. I understand that he is going against BDS and their ways but throughout the article, his points were convincing but did not make sense. He was promoting Israel and sharing his opinion. The point told by the author was shallow because there was no conclusion and he did not bring up the opposing side of the argument. BDS has one opinion and the author has one opinion as well but in the article the only opinion told was the authors. I did not get any closure from this article.

The Feeling of Security

As I said on my first blog post, I am trying to become more observant. I have been noticing things that most would not care to pay attention to. One major thing that I have seen wherever I go is guns. It has frequently caught my attention because its not something I see back home. A gun can help people feel protected and secure. I can not imagine living in frequent terror of being attacked. It made me realize how different my setting is now from where I am used to. On the daily, terrible acts continue to occur which causes more people to feel the need of security. It makes me sad that it has come to the point where people need to have a gun on them at all times to feel safe but at the same time it is great that people have a temporary help for feeling sheltered. Throughout my blog, I will try to become more observant and become more aware of safety issues and conflicts that are happening around me.

Adolf Eichmann - Was his fate fair?

Adolf Eichmann took a part during the Holocaust as a Nazi. He was a Nazi Officer who eventually owned up to his mistakes and begged for forgiveness. During the Holocaust, Eichmann was following the commands given to try to stay alive even if those commands were not correct in his eyes. Eichmann was different than most of the officers under the power of Hitler. He didn't think it was right for the Jewish people to be tortured so he was transferred from many positions that wouldn't have direct contact with the Jews. After a long delay, Eichmann finally came out to the world about his perspective from the Holocaust and admitted to his terrible mistakes. June 1, 1962, Eichmann was hung for his actions. My family was personally affected from the Holocaust, and greatly  too. I believe that anyone who had the mindset to initiate terrible acts towards Jews do not have the right to life, with the exception of Eichmann and other instigators that had similar experiences to him.

Eichmann acknowledged his mistakes and tried to get the people of the world to understand that he had no choice during those years. He wrote "I declare once again, as I did in the presence of the court: I detest as the greatest of crimes the horrors which were perpetrated against the Jews and think it right that the initiators of these terrible deeds will stand trial before the law now and in the future". Eichmann did not deserve to be killed . The actions of the people around him contradicted his own morals, and would have killed Eichmann if he did not do what they said.

Distractions During Services

As a teenager, I can not and should not be expected to sit for an exceeding amount of time. During Shabbat services, we were obligated to bring our Tanakh. Casually flipping through that little book, I remembered the assigned pages that I was supposed to read. It took me a while to read those tiny words on those tiny pages to fully understand what it was getting at. The readings started in Genesis 6.17 and on those pages, they were specifically talking about Noah's Ark. While scanning over the story, I realized that the story kept repeating itself. Over and over, the storyline was repetitive and not making much sense. Recalling the information that was taught in Jewish History class a few days prior about documentary analysis, I could see redactor taking bits and pieces from different sources and shoving them into that tiny little book. The exact definition is form of qualitative research in which documents are interpreted by the researcher to give their voice.  That one person who has interpreted the stories of the torah and other sources are changing the original direction. Over this long period of time when I was reading the Tanakh, I started to connect it to me and my Jewish identity.

Since I was little, I have always been involved in the Jewish community near me. I went to a Jewish preschool and was enrolled at a Jewish Day School for 5 years. At that school, I was taught only their outlook on life and Judaism. After I started going to a public school, I was enrolled in Sunday school at Chabbad. It took me a while to realize how there are more than just the opinions that I was taught. I was being taught very contradicting things that most of the time did not make sense. Putting all of those different views together for me, would make my own Tanakh. In the Tanakh, there are different views that are cut and pasted to form a book, and if I were to do the same, I would have my own personal book that probably would not make much sense either. Throughout my life, I have been influenced by many different Jewish perspectives and it is up to me to bring those together (at least try) and give my personal view just as the Tanakh does.

Flying, Sitting, Observing.

During my long day of waiting at JFK on Jan 25, one of the few perks I got to experience was seeing many different types of people. While sitting and waiting for more students from my program to arrive,  I was extremely bored. I got to see a variety of people walking past me, and I thought "what do I have in common with them?". The only thing that truly stuck out in my mind was the similarities between the orthodox jews and me. I became a person who observes everything around me that day; I got to see orthodox families walking past me while I spent all of my time witnessing their actions. My perception of those families was swayed by their outer image and not by their inner beliefs that tie back to the same beliefs that I follow. When the time came to sit for 10 hours on the plane, I became more observant because that was my only option present. I noticed early in the morning, all of the orthodox men got up from their seats and migrated towards the bathrooms to put on their tefillin and pray. Even though their actions that come to play because of their beliefs are extreme, I can see a correlation between my lifestyle and theirs. All of the different types of Judaism that are available for a person nowadays, one would never guess to make the connection between orthodox and reformed. I think that we do have the same core beliefs, we do follow the teachings of the torah, and we do celebrate the same holidays. I am confident that my time in Israel will not only allow me to become more observant but it will also strengthen the parallels between reformed Judaism and other parts of Judaism.