Parents Week For Everyone

     March 17 was parents week. Although my mom didn't come then, (she came at the beginning of April instead) there were so many other parents that wanted to take me to dinner or to the grocery store or simply be like a parent to me since mine were not there with me. It was this week when I felt so happy to be here, surrounded by so many Jews that are here for the same reason I am. it was this week, when I felt proud to be a part of such an amazing community that I'm not sure I would find anywhere else or even in another religion. Everyone treated me like family and acted as if they'd known me all their lives.

     Throughout history, Jews have shown time and time again, that we are Jews, we will be a nation, and we will fight for our right to be Jewish, whether it be reform, conservative, modern orthodox, ultra orthodox, or a convert, we will stick together when the hardships come and we will all be Jews. In the Holocaust for example, the strong didn't ask the weak how religious they were before helping them. When no one has the right to dress how they want or the way they believe, say prayers whether it be 10 minutes or 3 hours, when you take away the details, all you have left are Jews.

A Purim with meaning

     My first Purim in Israel was almost 2 months ago. I still remember it, because it was when I finally learned the true meaning behind Purim. I used to not even think of it as an important day, just another one of those holidays where you dress up and have fun. I later found out it was so much more. It represents the story of when the Jews were threatened with their lives, yet again, and yet again they didn't give up. They fought for what we have today and they overcame that obstacle.

     Jews have shown so much resilience, over and over again, and no matter how many times history repeats itself, and despite the amount of anti-Semitism, and regardless of the fact that we are such a small percentage of the world, we survived, and we fought for what we believed was ours and we won. For the first time in my life, Purim was not about finding the best costume or having some great party, it was about remembering another one of those times when Jews refused to give up and gave me the life I have today.

Women: Pure or Lucky - Impure or victimized

     Daf Yomi analyzes a page of Talmud every day. A recent page, was on the topic of women being raped in prison/jail and if they are pure for their husbands or not. It clearly states that once a woman has had sexual relations with anyone other than her husband, even if she is forced into it, she is considered impure and her husband cannot 'be with her'. It shows that if a women is sent to jail for her husband crimes, usually for debts, she is less likely to be raped considering the fact that a man is less likely to pay for an 'impure' wife. However, if a woman is sent to jail/prison for her own crimes, she is more likely to be raped noticing how many of their husbands were disgraced by their wives and no longer cared about them or if they were pure, and especially recognizing that many of the women involved in these crimes, were not married. I think the system explained here makes sense, but it should not be happening in the first place. It seems so unfair that a women who was victimized to such an extent would then be punished and humiliated by their community, and they are no longer allowed to be with their husband because they are considered impure.

Prepared for a fantasy

     The Etgar Keret story "What Do We Have In Our Pockets" tells about a man who was everything you could possibly need, in his pockets. His ideology was that if there was a girl at a pay phone that needed some change, he would have it and they would fall in love and his life would change forever. I think this is only applicable in certain situations, and without meaning to I find myself putting one of everything in my purse or backpack even if I know I personally won't use it. It seems flawed at the second part where your life will change if you are that prepared, almost like a fantasy.

     Another way to view this story, is how it relates to Jews in the sense that in the past, Jews had to practice professions that were easy to pick up and move, such as a doctor (knowledge stays with you anywhere you go) or someone who sells jewelry or pearls because that is also easy to move. They had to be prepared for every situation just like man in Etgar Keret's story.

Women of the Wall

     Yesterday we went on a Jewish History tiyul to the Kotel and joined the women of the wall. It started as it normally would, then without anyone taking notice, a man passes a small Torah from the men's side (he opens the gate and shits it quickly) and U.S. Women continue to pray and begin using the Torah. Once the men realize what has happened, they open the gate and men come rushing in physically pushing their way through women on the women's side of the wall. They were screaming things in Hebrew and yelling הספר שלי (the book/Torah is ours) and women were shouting back הספר שלנו (the book/Torah is ours). It went on like this for about 5 mins with shouting and pushing and men trying to take back the Torah before the guards showed up and got all the men back on their side.

     I grew up in a private (orthodox) Jewish school, and I had an modern orthodox bat mitzvah. I had it at 12 and instead of reading from the Torah, I recited the ashes chayil with translation. Everything I was taught about Judaism is against the idea of women reading Torah. Many of the people that were there think of how terrible the orthodox men are and were acting, and in some sense I can understand why they are mad at them, but thinking deeper about the topic, they have a right to be angry. They have the same right to their belief as we do to  ours. All they saw was a bunch of Reformed Jews taking a Torah from the men's side and reading it with all the women. This is against the entire base of their beliefs and of Hal'cha. I don't know if I can agree or disagree with what happened yesterday 100%, all I know is that I am so happy that I was there to witness the first time a Torah was brought on the women's side at the Kotel. I can't help but feeling an outrage of pride and joy for being there on a very important day in Jewish history/

To Love Responsibility

     After reading an article on Michael Oren, an author, and past Israeli ambassador, I questioned myself. Michael Oren grew up with dyslexia, and was faced with many anti-Semitic challenges that made it difficult to achieve his goals. With his determination and love for responsibility, he got himself moved to an honors English class, and learned Hebrew. I am so blessed to have good health, an amazing family, and an amazing opportunity to be studying in Israel, the Jewish state that so many people don't have the privilege of visiting, but am I taking it all for granted?
     I look at myself and think that I've worked hard and earned the wonderful life I have, but the truth is, without luck I would not have been where I am now, and Michael Oren didn't have the luck I do, but he earned his life. He studied as hard as he could, set his mind on something, and fought to get it, no matter the challenges. Reading this article made me realize that I have been taking my life for granted and every opportunity in it. Someday soon, I hope to push myself as hard as I can, become the person that I know I can be, and find the same love for responsibility that Michael Oren found at such a young age.

Revitalizing Jewish Prayer

     An article about revitalizing Jewish prayer discusses how discovering better ways to pray will keep us from losing a core of Jewish religious life. From my point of view, the core of Jewish religious life will be lost if we continue to change the ways of Jewish prayer. I can understand the concept of wanting to adjust our beliefs, and some of the laws of הלכה, to adapt to the modern world, but adapting to the modern world and completely changing the base of our religion. The idea of revitalizing Jewish prayer is flawed simply because of the way it's defined (according to this article). It states that revitalizing Jewish prayer is a way of altering what each of the laws mean. I would define revitalizing Jewish prayer as adapting the practices of  הלכה to apply more towards the modern world, while still keeping the basic laws and beliefs that can still be practiced in the modern world. For example, the sacrifice of animals is no longer an applicable law to our current day and age, but saying a short blessing before eating something is something that can still be done today without negatively affecting our daily lives. I personally say a prayer before anything I eat or drink to constantly remind me to be thankful for the life I have, and although I do not follow some of the other rules of הלכה, that does not mean that I don't understand the concept and relation in in faith to God.

Yemenite The First

     I had my first Scphardic Passover Seder in Israel with some family friends. Being Ashkenazi, I found it really interesting to learn about their traditions and how they differ from ours. The family I visited was also Yemen and every time they said a hebrew prayer, they said it again in a different Yemen language. It was exciting to taste all of the different Yemenite foods. We had a cilantro based soup with potatoes and chicken, grilled chicken, and my favorite was chicken stuffed with beef, rice, olives, and beans. It felt somewhat strange to eat rice at a Seder during Passover, being that's only a Scphardic tradition. I was also amazed by how many similarities there were dispite the completely different language. I also enjoyed spending time with the children and was amazed at how mature and intrigued they were with all the prayers and traditions. I had an exciting and memorable first Seder in Israel and can't wait to have another one.