Two posts in three days! Woo!
I'm going to write about Shavua Gadna in this post, our week in army simulation. We spent the week in an army base called Tzalmon, in the north of Israel, close to the Kineret. The view there was BEAUTIFUL!!! Other than that, there weren't very many beautiful things about the week. Stam! (Just kidding!) No but actually, it was a very fun week, and I learned a lot, too.
I connected less to the week than a lot of people did, because it was a lot of talking about different jobs in the army and other things that apply more to people who are going to the army, which I am not. Nonetheless, I learned a lot about different "dargot" (levels) in the army, what different signs on the uniforms mean, "tohar haneshek" (literally meaning "purity of the weapon," but is the concept in the IDF of using weapons in a moral way), women in the army, and much more.
Highlights of the week:
1. They told us every morning we would have 20 minutes to get ready, which is relatively a lot. They ended up waking us up early for two of the mornings and telling us we had 7 minutes to get our uniforms on, go to the bathroom, and do whatever else we needed to do.
2. Yom Shetach, our Day in the Field. We spent a day outside of the base in the middle of some vines, simulating what fighters do when they train in the field. We learned and practiced how to do army crawls (we all have black-and-blue knees now), we did a "masa," hike/run/journey, with stretchers and crawling, and we did a group competition where we had to eat a can of tuna, a can of loof (the most DISGUSTING thing in the world...basically meat leftovers), and chug a 5 liter jerrycan of water as quickly as possible. It was very fun. We were supposed to sleep outside that night, but there were 4 drops of rain in the middle of the night, so we weren't allowed.
3. We stood in "Hakshev" for hours at a time. This means with your legs in a v position and your hands in a special position behind your back. It hurts, but I can now do more push-ups because the hand position makes your arms stronger I guess.
4. I shot an M-16!!!! I didn't hit the target at all, but it was mostly because I was so nervous.
We were all split up into groups of about 15 that we spent allllll our time with during the week. My group was great! We made lots of cheers, and we came out of the week much closer than when we began. Tzevet Sheva 4eva!!!!!!
One more thing-I had already done this week 3 years ago with my EIE program when I was here as a sophomore in high school. It was a very similar thing, except that this time, they tried to make it harder for us because we are older and in a mechina, and I didn't have to translate the whole time :) Anyway, this week brought back many Gadna memories and just EIE memories in general, and I realized how meaningful that semester was to me. Later in the week, I visited my brother YONI at Tzuba, where EIE is based! He just got here for the program. I miss EIE, but I know that it helped me in the best way that it could, and now I am moving on to even bigger and better things.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Campus Jerusalem
I'm going to write about our trip to Jerusalem now, which actually happened about three weeks ago, but I am going to try my best to remember the details!
The mechina organized during the summer for a different program to plan this trip for us, and they provided us with tour guides and a place to sleep and some funding. This is very different than what usually happens, because we didn't get to pick the places we wanted to go or prepare the lectures ourselves. Although this was a downside, the upside was that our tour guides were great and gave us knowledge on a level that we would not have been able to do ourselves.
The first three days of the trip were very difficult. We spent three hours a day doing archeological work, which sounds cool, but basically we just stood in an assembly line for three hours and passed 5-pound bags of sand to each other. The sand in the bags would later be inspected by archeologists who would look for artifacts to discover exactly what the place we were in was. After the 3-4 hours, we learned in a classroom about the City of David until we had lunch at 2:30, which was very late for us. Then, we walked around the City of David and learned A LOT of history about the place. Some of us were a little dissapointed that we spent so much time focusing on the City of David and not on the rest of Jerusalem, but we learned a lot and it was pretty interesting. It was harder for me because I didn't understand everything, and we only got about 5 hours of sleep every night, so many people had trouble staying awake during the day.
After the first three days, the trip got a lot a lot better. We learned about the green line that separated Israel from Jordan before the Six Day War, and about how this line was drawn by military men who had no intention of the line lasting longer than a couple months, but it ended up lasting 20 years. The line was drawn hastily, and people's houses were cut into two, so they couldn't cross from the kitchen to the living room without being shot. We learned a little about Christianity and Islam in Jerusalem, because the place is holy for many religions, and this part was especially interesting to me. Then, we walked to Shuk Machane Yehuda, which is a famous market in Jerusalem. We played a game where we had to walk around and ask the shopkeepers for recipes related to their own ethnic group. Most people were very nice, and we even got a few free samples!
The last day, we woke up at 3 am to start a "masa," or journey, called our "Aliyah L'Yerushalayim." Basically, we walked from Ma'ale Adumim area to Jerusalem in order to simulate the hike that Jews used to make from their homes to Jerusalem for specific holidays to make sacrifices at the Temple. We ended at the Kotel, the Western Wall, and we had a meaningful closing circle and wrote notes to put into the wall. This was my first time at the Kotel this year, and it was great to be there again.
So to sum this up, the trip was really really hard. We were always exhausted, and it was tiring to spend so much time in an assembly line passing sacks to each other. However, it was also one of the most fun trips we've had, and I'm so glad that I finished it to the end (about half the group left in the middle because it was so hard...we ended with 29 people out of 50). Jerusalem has a different atmosphere than other cities in Israel, and I've decided that when I do live in Israel, I will want to live in Jerusalem.
The mechina organized during the summer for a different program to plan this trip for us, and they provided us with tour guides and a place to sleep and some funding. This is very different than what usually happens, because we didn't get to pick the places we wanted to go or prepare the lectures ourselves. Although this was a downside, the upside was that our tour guides were great and gave us knowledge on a level that we would not have been able to do ourselves.
The first three days of the trip were very difficult. We spent three hours a day doing archeological work, which sounds cool, but basically we just stood in an assembly line for three hours and passed 5-pound bags of sand to each other. The sand in the bags would later be inspected by archeologists who would look for artifacts to discover exactly what the place we were in was. After the 3-4 hours, we learned in a classroom about the City of David until we had lunch at 2:30, which was very late for us. Then, we walked around the City of David and learned A LOT of history about the place. Some of us were a little dissapointed that we spent so much time focusing on the City of David and not on the rest of Jerusalem, but we learned a lot and it was pretty interesting. It was harder for me because I didn't understand everything, and we only got about 5 hours of sleep every night, so many people had trouble staying awake during the day.
After the first three days, the trip got a lot a lot better. We learned about the green line that separated Israel from Jordan before the Six Day War, and about how this line was drawn by military men who had no intention of the line lasting longer than a couple months, but it ended up lasting 20 years. The line was drawn hastily, and people's houses were cut into two, so they couldn't cross from the kitchen to the living room without being shot. We learned a little about Christianity and Islam in Jerusalem, because the place is holy for many religions, and this part was especially interesting to me. Then, we walked to Shuk Machane Yehuda, which is a famous market in Jerusalem. We played a game where we had to walk around and ask the shopkeepers for recipes related to their own ethnic group. Most people were very nice, and we even got a few free samples!
The last day, we woke up at 3 am to start a "masa," or journey, called our "Aliyah L'Yerushalayim." Basically, we walked from Ma'ale Adumim area to Jerusalem in order to simulate the hike that Jews used to make from their homes to Jerusalem for specific holidays to make sacrifices at the Temple. We ended at the Kotel, the Western Wall, and we had a meaningful closing circle and wrote notes to put into the wall. This was my first time at the Kotel this year, and it was great to be there again.
So to sum this up, the trip was really really hard. We were always exhausted, and it was tiring to spend so much time in an assembly line passing sacks to each other. However, it was also one of the most fun trips we've had, and I'm so glad that I finished it to the end (about half the group left in the middle because it was so hard...we ended with 29 people out of 50). Jerusalem has a different atmosphere than other cities in Israel, and I've decided that when I do live in Israel, I will want to live in Jerusalem.
An example of every 5-minute break we had!
Me, Ori, and Sagit with a beautiful view of Jerusalem!
Brad, Roy, Tali, me, and Ori. We are also by the view, but it is blocked by trees. I like this photo anyway though :)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Campus Negev!
We got back last week from a week-long trip to the Negev, which is the desert in southern Israel. It takes up about 70% of the land in Israel, but there are very few people who live there because it is a desert and there is very little civilization set up there. The trip was AWESOME-I learned a lot and had so much fun with the people I was with. Some highlights:
1. We spent a day learning about Bedouins. First, we went to "Ohel HaShalom," the tent of peace, and spoke to Bedouins who told us about Bedouins who go to the army. It is usually looked down upon in their culture to join the army, but there is an organization that helps them in the army if they decide to go. We also learned there about different specifics in their culture, such as the whole idea of hospitality (it is a rule that they must prepare tea or coffee for each guest they have), and how they live together in tribes with one man who is responsible for telling them what they can or cannot do. We visited about four Bedouin homes during the week, and we heard a different point of view from all of them, which was also really cool.
2. We learned a lot about what people who live in the Negev think about the Zionist idea of having people move from the cities to the desert in order to habilitate all the land that Israel has. Most people who live there told us that they moved because they love the sand, the peace and quiet, the security, etc. They have to drive an hour and a half each way to take their children to school, but it is worth it to them because they feel that they have a better quality of life. This is interesting because most people seem to think that habilitating the Negev is a purely Zionist idea, but the people who are putting it into action did not move because of Zionism.
3. We went on an all-day hike in Ein Akev, which was amazing. We did a little solo-hike, and it was great to feel alone in the middle of the huge desert. We also took a break to go swimming in a FREEZING spring before lunch-it was probably the coldest I've ever been in my life! You couldn't breathe as soon as you got in, and within a minute I could not feel my toes. Picture below :)
This weekend is "Shabbat Ptucha," meaning that many of our Israeli recruitees are coming to spend Shabbat with us, to see if they like the mechina and can see themselves spending next year here. Everyone is really excited about it, and we are working hard to put it all together!
A few hours after the recruitees leave, we are leaving for Jerusalem, where we will spend the week doing archeological digging and touring around the city. I'm very excited!
1. We spent a day learning about Bedouins. First, we went to "Ohel HaShalom," the tent of peace, and spoke to Bedouins who told us about Bedouins who go to the army. It is usually looked down upon in their culture to join the army, but there is an organization that helps them in the army if they decide to go. We also learned there about different specifics in their culture, such as the whole idea of hospitality (it is a rule that they must prepare tea or coffee for each guest they have), and how they live together in tribes with one man who is responsible for telling them what they can or cannot do. We visited about four Bedouin homes during the week, and we heard a different point of view from all of them, which was also really cool.
2. We learned a lot about what people who live in the Negev think about the Zionist idea of having people move from the cities to the desert in order to habilitate all the land that Israel has. Most people who live there told us that they moved because they love the sand, the peace and quiet, the security, etc. They have to drive an hour and a half each way to take their children to school, but it is worth it to them because they feel that they have a better quality of life. This is interesting because most people seem to think that habilitating the Negev is a purely Zionist idea, but the people who are putting it into action did not move because of Zionism.
3. We went on an all-day hike in Ein Akev, which was amazing. We did a little solo-hike, and it was great to feel alone in the middle of the huge desert. We also took a break to go swimming in a FREEZING spring before lunch-it was probably the coldest I've ever been in my life! You couldn't breathe as soon as you got in, and within a minute I could not feel my toes. Picture below :)
This weekend is "Shabbat Ptucha," meaning that many of our Israeli recruitees are coming to spend Shabbat with us, to see if they like the mechina and can see themselves spending next year here. Everyone is really excited about it, and we are working hard to put it all together!
A few hours after the recruitees leave, we are leaving for Jerusalem, where we will spend the week doing archeological digging and touring around the city. I'm very excited!
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| Getting into the water! |
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| After a few minutes... |
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| Our whole group at Mitzpeh Ramon! |
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Cats
On Wednesday, I was "toranit," meaning I cleaned the whole day. Usually, being "toran" is a non-desirable job in the first place, because there are lots of gross dishes and you get pretty tired. But I am pretty sure that nobody is going to be able to fight with me for the rest of the year about who got the worst day to be "toran." I definititely did.
I woke up at 6:30 to start preparing breakfast and the boy who was "toran" with me hadn't woken up yet, so I just started cutting up the salad. I didn't have a watch/the time with me, so I just assumed he would come at like 6:45 or something, but at 7:15 (which is when breakfast starts), he came running in and we quickly set up the rest of breakfast. That wasn't too bad.
Then I walk out and see two people sweeping up a few broken plates in the corner of the cafeteria. I thought it was weird because I hadn't broken any plates and I hadn't even noticed that there were shards when I walked in that morning. Then somebody points out to me a broken window that we have with blood all over. Our eyes went down a little, and we see bloody paw prints all over the wall, and then all over the floor, and then on the tables, and then on the serving utensils that were left out during the night, and then on the garbage cans. It was disgusting to say the least. It turned out that a cat had gotten in during the night, had broken the plates, freaked out and tried to run around the whole room and escape through the broken window. Now it is stuck in the ceiling and we cannot get it out. Ew.
We moved breakfast outside and spent the morning moving everything in the cafeteria outside and cleaning everything ver very well with some kind of special toilet cleaner. We ended up having lunch outside because it was a beautiful day and the tables and chairs were already outside!
So that was my horror story of the week.
Tomorrow, we are leaving for the rest of Campus Negev, our trip in the southern desert of Israel. We already had a day on Thursday, in which we met with many Bedhoins.
Merry Christmas, and Shabbat Shalom!
I woke up at 6:30 to start preparing breakfast and the boy who was "toran" with me hadn't woken up yet, so I just started cutting up the salad. I didn't have a watch/the time with me, so I just assumed he would come at like 6:45 or something, but at 7:15 (which is when breakfast starts), he came running in and we quickly set up the rest of breakfast. That wasn't too bad.
Then I walk out and see two people sweeping up a few broken plates in the corner of the cafeteria. I thought it was weird because I hadn't broken any plates and I hadn't even noticed that there were shards when I walked in that morning. Then somebody points out to me a broken window that we have with blood all over. Our eyes went down a little, and we see bloody paw prints all over the wall, and then all over the floor, and then on the tables, and then on the serving utensils that were left out during the night, and then on the garbage cans. It was disgusting to say the least. It turned out that a cat had gotten in during the night, had broken the plates, freaked out and tried to run around the whole room and escape through the broken window. Now it is stuck in the ceiling and we cannot get it out. Ew.
We moved breakfast outside and spent the morning moving everything in the cafeteria outside and cleaning everything ver very well with some kind of special toilet cleaner. We ended up having lunch outside because it was a beautiful day and the tables and chairs were already outside!
So that was my horror story of the week.
Tomorrow, we are leaving for the rest of Campus Negev, our trip in the southern desert of Israel. We already had a day on Thursday, in which we met with many Bedhoins.
Merry Christmas, and Shabbat Shalom!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Back in Israel!
It's Thursday now, and I got back on Tuesday from the US, surprisingly with very little jet lag. The trip home was very nice-I spent lots of time with my family, saw some friends (although I was upset that so many people were still at college), and I even went to my high school a few times (I know, ew).
It was great to come back to the mechina and see everybody! We missed each other a lot! Basically, during every single break we've had since I've been back, I've had a meeting with the trip committee to plan our trip to the Negev next week. It looks like it's going to be an AWESOME trip! I am in charge of one day with another person, and I still have to call a few places, but this is what it looks like may happen on our day:
1. We will visit a prison where they put Darfur refugees who have illegally immigrated to Israel (a controversial issue).
2. We'll visit a community of people who have moved to the Negev (the middle of the desert) from big cities like Tel Aviv and have made this decision with the intention of taking a stance against big-city living.
3. We'll go to some sand dunes!!!!
4. We'll go to another city where our Rosh Mechina, Zevik, will lecture. I need to look up more about this city-I'm not exactly sure about it yet.
5. At night, we are sleeping at Mechinat HaNegev, another mechina! It's always fun to meet people from other mechinot and compare (ours is obviously the best though).
So this should be pretty exciting! Other than that, we are starting work on giyusim (recruitment) for other Americans who may be interested in doing this program next year!
One thing I wanted to mention that happened before my trip to the States: I had my Shuir Chanich-my lesson that I gave by myself ALL IN HEBREW for a little over an hour. My subject was anti-Semitism on college campuses in the United States, and I started by taking a Palestinian side and telling them all about how Israel is a terrible place. After that, I took questions-they tried to defend Israel, and I responded to their defenses as a Palestinian. One person believed that I actually thought this way, which was pretty funny, but even though most people knew I wasn't being serious, they played along with it really well, and we had a good debate. After that, I showed a 6-minute clip about things that happen on college campuses with regards to Israel, and then I gave statistics and took questions. It was a successful shiur, and I'm proud of myself for doing it!
It was great to come back to the mechina and see everybody! We missed each other a lot! Basically, during every single break we've had since I've been back, I've had a meeting with the trip committee to plan our trip to the Negev next week. It looks like it's going to be an AWESOME trip! I am in charge of one day with another person, and I still have to call a few places, but this is what it looks like may happen on our day:
1. We will visit a prison where they put Darfur refugees who have illegally immigrated to Israel (a controversial issue).
2. We'll visit a community of people who have moved to the Negev (the middle of the desert) from big cities like Tel Aviv and have made this decision with the intention of taking a stance against big-city living.
3. We'll go to some sand dunes!!!!
4. We'll go to another city where our Rosh Mechina, Zevik, will lecture. I need to look up more about this city-I'm not exactly sure about it yet.
5. At night, we are sleeping at Mechinat HaNegev, another mechina! It's always fun to meet people from other mechinot and compare (ours is obviously the best though).
So this should be pretty exciting! Other than that, we are starting work on giyusim (recruitment) for other Americans who may be interested in doing this program next year!
One thing I wanted to mention that happened before my trip to the States: I had my Shuir Chanich-my lesson that I gave by myself ALL IN HEBREW for a little over an hour. My subject was anti-Semitism on college campuses in the United States, and I started by taking a Palestinian side and telling them all about how Israel is a terrible place. After that, I took questions-they tried to defend Israel, and I responded to their defenses as a Palestinian. One person believed that I actually thought this way, which was pretty funny, but even though most people knew I wasn't being serious, they played along with it really well, and we had a good debate. After that, I showed a 6-minute clip about things that happen on college campuses with regards to Israel, and then I gave statistics and took questions. It was a successful shiur, and I'm proud of myself for doing it!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Meeting with Charedim
On Thursday night, we went to Jerusalem to spend the night with Charedim, really really orthodox Jews. The meeting was organized by an organization that tries to get religious and secular Jews to talk and try to understand each other. I think this is really important because I think that both groups have stereotypes about each other, and although they may never agree, it is important for them to at least understand in order for the Jews in Israel to stay united.
Anyway, I was put in a group with my friend from the mechina (Racheli) and two Charedi women, one of whom joined later. We had discussions about two topics in particular: the army and women. The Charedi community has a reputation for not going to the army because they think it is more important to learn Torah all day. The woman explained to me that the army does things that she does not agree with that makes it unreasonable to ask her and her family to serve. For example, in ceremonies for the army, everyone sings "Hatikva" (the Israeli national anthem) and stands up. In her opinion, this is treating the "Hatikva" as if it is a holy prayer, which it isn't for her. She said a lot of other things, including that there is no benefit for men to exercise all day, and that the Charedi community is doing just as good of a job protecting Israel as the army because they are praying to God for it. She used Hanukkah as an example; in the story of Hanukkah, the Jews defeated the Greeks even though the Jews' army was much weaker and smaller. She says the Jews must have prayed and that's why they won. I didn't agree with her on this issue, but it was interesting to hear from her what she had to say. I could tell that she felt bad saying all this stuff; she was always stopping to make sure that we were not about to blow up.
I felt a little more connected to the next issue we talked about: women. She explained to me how men and women are two completely different beings and as such have completely different roles in life. A man's role in life is to study Torah, and a woman's role in life is modesty. She should protect over herself as something so valuable that nobody can see it other than her husband. I kind of understand this, but it still bothers me how women are forced into a little corner of the synagogue where they can't even see or hear anything, and how if there is a party with singing and dancing, they are supposed to just sit and do nothing, since men are not allowed to hear their voice or see them dance. The woman I talked to was not bothered by this at all-she said she was protecting over herself.
Then, I brought up the issue of women in different movements of Judaism who wear kippot, t'filin, and talit. She said that this was forbidden by the Torah by the law that says that men cannot wear women's clothes and vice versa. I told her that this was the way that many women find a real connection with God, and she said that women need to find their connection in other ways, such as lighting candles on Shabbat. I talked about how some movements try to modify Judaism a little bit to make it more relate-able to people and times now, to which she answered that the Torah was written to fit all times and can never be changed based on what people think. She said that people cannot decide what God wants of them because God has written it all clearly in the Torah. I had a little issue with this, because many Jewish laws are not taken exactly from the Torah, but from the "mishna" and "gmara," which are two interpretations of the Torah written by rabbis a long time ago. Anyway, this conversation went on for a long time...I can see where she's coming from with the whole modesty thing, but I still disagree with her on a general level. It was very interesting to hear.
By the way, I am writing this in on my laptop on my bed in Chicago! I came home yesterday for Hanukkah!
Anyway, I was put in a group with my friend from the mechina (Racheli) and two Charedi women, one of whom joined later. We had discussions about two topics in particular: the army and women. The Charedi community has a reputation for not going to the army because they think it is more important to learn Torah all day. The woman explained to me that the army does things that she does not agree with that makes it unreasonable to ask her and her family to serve. For example, in ceremonies for the army, everyone sings "Hatikva" (the Israeli national anthem) and stands up. In her opinion, this is treating the "Hatikva" as if it is a holy prayer, which it isn't for her. She said a lot of other things, including that there is no benefit for men to exercise all day, and that the Charedi community is doing just as good of a job protecting Israel as the army because they are praying to God for it. She used Hanukkah as an example; in the story of Hanukkah, the Jews defeated the Greeks even though the Jews' army was much weaker and smaller. She says the Jews must have prayed and that's why they won. I didn't agree with her on this issue, but it was interesting to hear from her what she had to say. I could tell that she felt bad saying all this stuff; she was always stopping to make sure that we were not about to blow up.
I felt a little more connected to the next issue we talked about: women. She explained to me how men and women are two completely different beings and as such have completely different roles in life. A man's role in life is to study Torah, and a woman's role in life is modesty. She should protect over herself as something so valuable that nobody can see it other than her husband. I kind of understand this, but it still bothers me how women are forced into a little corner of the synagogue where they can't even see or hear anything, and how if there is a party with singing and dancing, they are supposed to just sit and do nothing, since men are not allowed to hear their voice or see them dance. The woman I talked to was not bothered by this at all-she said she was protecting over herself.
Then, I brought up the issue of women in different movements of Judaism who wear kippot, t'filin, and talit. She said that this was forbidden by the Torah by the law that says that men cannot wear women's clothes and vice versa. I told her that this was the way that many women find a real connection with God, and she said that women need to find their connection in other ways, such as lighting candles on Shabbat. I talked about how some movements try to modify Judaism a little bit to make it more relate-able to people and times now, to which she answered that the Torah was written to fit all times and can never be changed based on what people think. She said that people cannot decide what God wants of them because God has written it all clearly in the Torah. I had a little issue with this, because many Jewish laws are not taken exactly from the Torah, but from the "mishna" and "gmara," which are two interpretations of the Torah written by rabbis a long time ago. Anyway, this conversation went on for a long time...I can see where she's coming from with the whole modesty thing, but I still disagree with her on a general level. It was very interesting to hear.
By the way, I am writing this in on my laptop on my bed in Chicago! I came home yesterday for Hanukkah!
Pictures from the Judean Desert!
חולניקים!! Americans! Roy, Ari, Yoella, Brad, me!, Roy, Jonathan
A mountain that we climbed in the middle! I don't know how much you can see in this picture, but it was realllllly steep!
Me and ma pack
Doesn't it look like The Lion King? At some points there were actually the trees that they have in The Lion King!
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