5/17/14
Today we celebrated Shabbat in Jerusalem. Our day began and
ended with kehillah (“community”).
Attending Shabbat morning services in Jerusalem is actually a bit more
complicated than it sounds. Though there are hundreds, if not thousands, of
synagogues, many of them aren’t able or interested in welcoming a group of our
size. Beyond the logistical challenges associated with finding a congregation
that can accommodate our group we face a spiritual challenge— it’s equally
possible that our kids will feel like strangers as it is that they will feel at
home.
At Davis we try our hardest to make sure that our kids can
walk into any synagogue in the world and feel like they know what’s going on
and are able to participate in meaningful ways.
The richness of Jewish prayer and the countless idiosyncrasies
associated with it leave many adults feeling slightly uneasy at synagogue—even
their home synagogue sometimes. The same is true for kids, but for different
reasons. Primarily, they simply haven’t had enough exposure to the diversity of
Jewish life. For that reason it’s important to prepare the kids in advance—to
remind them that they are guests, that there will be much that is familiar but
much that is new, and that they are there primarily as Jews seeking a community
for Shabbat worship but also as anthropologists, to try and understand the
synagogue community.
Today we attended services at the Conservative Yeshiva. For
those who know Jerusalem it’s located in Kikar
Tzarfat (“French Square”). By coincidence, the rabbi of the congregation,
Adam Frank, is the brother of a Davis parent. Unfortunately he is currently in
the States. But even in his absence, and for some slightly complicated reasons,
we had a very special and meaningful Shabbat morning service.
In recent months a troubling phenomenon has been taking
place across Israel. It’s called Tag
Mahir (“Price Tag”). It’s basically
a loosely connected group of ultra orthodox Jews who vandalize different sites
that they find objectionable—churches, mosques, and, unfortunately, the
synagogue we attended today. To my knowledge, this synagogue is the first
Jewish site to be vandalized by this group. The vandalizing included a
swastika. Therefore, last night, hundreds of Jews from all different
backgrounds gathered at the synagogue as show of solidarity. Today, the
synagogue was much less crowded (in fact we helped make the minyan) but the hurt and outrage of the tag mahir incident was still very fresh
in the minds of the congregants and the rabbi. During his drash the rabbi shared what had happened and he emphasized the fact
that, as Jews, we are stronger together. The strength of one Jewish community
need not come at the expense of the strength of another Jewish community. We
also witnessed an older woman reading Torah for the first time—an adult bat
mitzvah if you will. Along with these
important lessons, we also got to support Mr. Barry, Ian L., and Val L. as they
recited the aliyot blessings. Overall it was a great experience and an
important one.
Our time at the Israel Museum included lunch and a tour of
some of the basic exhibits. We took our annual picture at the Ahava Sculpture though we had to stand at
quite a distance since the plaza itself was closed. By the end of the Israel
Museum visit it was clear that our kids were ready for menucha (“rest”)—one of the greatest gifts of Shabbat.
We set out toward the famous Jerusalem windmill in the early
evening. There we gave the kids a chance to continue to reflective conversation
from the day before. Instead of studying a quote from Albert Einstein we
discussed the simple statement, “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” Our
sharing led us down the path of thinking about the questions we ask, the
questions that our asked of us, our openness to change and growth, and our
fears about what the future might hold. As with last night there were tears of
laughter and sadness. Once again we emerged as a more cohesive group by virtue
of our honest sharing.
Havdallah followed on the heels of the discussion. We found
a beautiful garden overlooking the old city. While singing our Havdallah
blessings, a shipment of 30+ pizzas (and some gluten free options) arrived for
dinner. We had a picnic, and then made our way to Mamilla Street (Jerusalem’s
rodeo drive). The kids enjoyed watching Jerusalem bid farewell to Shabbat and
then we attend the David Citadel Light Show—an absolute must see if you’re ever
in Jerusalem. We got back to the hotel very late in the evening and all crammed into the elevators. If you've ever wondered what 12+ Davis kids in a tiny elevator looks like here's a glimpse...
Based on the spiritual check ins the main thing that the
kids have discovered is that they are blessed to be a part of The Davis Academy
kehillah. As they stand on the
threshold of inevitable change they are able to achieve the perspective
necessary to know what a gift you have given them by entrusting Davis to
partner with you in helping them reach their fullest potential. One student
observed that the strength of our community lies in our collective
individuality. Jason Z. shared that the community he found at Davis was
stronger than the community he’d found anywhere else in his life. The ability
to recognize blessings while we are enjoying them is one of the greatest gifts
we can give ourselves and one another. Tonight our kids demonstrated that they
are able to recognize how blessed they truly are. Sharing in the collective
sense of blessing brought us all even closer as we bid farewell to our last
Shabbat in Israel.
No comments:
Post a Comment