5/13/15
Tonight we had
dinner as the sun set over the Tel Aviv port. After dinner we met a “crazy
Israeli”: Lisa Cohen. Lisa is the founder and executive director of BRACHA.
BRACHA is a volunteer organization that is dedicated to helping raise awareness
of how genetic patterns increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer for
Jewish women. Cohen founded BRACHA after losing both her mother and sister to
cancer in close proximity. Originally
from Wales, she works two jobs by day and dedicates whatever energy and
resources she has left to running BRACHA and caring for her three children, two
of whom are currently serving in the army and one of whom is her 13 year old
daughter, Emily. We met Lisa (and Emily) because BRACHA is the Israel charity
that the Davis Academy Class of 2015 selected in 7th grade during
Project Impact. Since BRACHA lacks a robust non-profit infrastructure we were
unable to deliver the near $2,000 of funds that the kids allocated more than a
year ago until this evening. But everything happens for a reason because this
meant that Jake R. and Noah G., the two kids who researched and nominated the
charity, were able to speak in front of the entire class and hand the check to
Lisa in person. I don’t think that Lisa was prepared for the size of our group.
I say that because she commented on how surprised she was that a school from
the United States had taken an interest in BRACHA and because she was clearly emotional
throughout the entire presentation, especially when Jake spoke about what moved
him to nominate BRACHA. A number of our kids came up to thank her and share how
cancer has impacted their lives. At the end we took a group picture wearing the
white hats that she gave to each of us. I call Lisa a “crazy Israeli” because
of the sheer magnitude of her commitments—two jobs, three kids, and a
non-profit organization that is trying to save lives.
I’m writing to you
from the lobby of the Seanet Hotel. All around me kids are visiting with
Israeli family and friends. Some of them are reuniting. Some of them are
meeting for the first time. Though the mood is light and the conversations are
casual I know that I’m witnessing a moment of sacred connection. It’s
inspiring. And I’m certain that some of the folks chatting around me are also
“crazy Israelis” with stories, commitments, and lives that represent the
multifaceted nature of Israeli society. And Mr. Frank has joined us bringing
his loud laugh and endless energy to the remaining days of our trip.
Today we explored
Tel Aviv in greater depth than on any other Davis Academy trip. And we are the
better for it. We explored Tel Aviv by visiting the Palmach Museum, participating
in a scavenger hunt in the city center, and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Palmach
Museum is a testament to the fact that Tel Aviv and all of Israel exist because
of the tremendous sacrifice of tens of thousands of men and women who fought
and died in the years leading up to and following 1948. It’s a great museum and
always makes an impression on the kids. During our visit to the Palmach museum
we ran into the grandparents of a future Davis Academy mechina student! Were it
not for the crazy Israelis that formed the rank and file of the Palmach and
other pre-state military forces Israeli would not exist. In the words of the
Israeli poet, Natan Altermann, their lives are the “silver platter” upon which
Israel received its independence.
The “On our
Streets’ scavenger hunt provided an interesting balance to the Palmach Museum.
Whereas the museum is a reverent and at times somber place, the streets of Tel
Aviv are overflowing with crazy Israelis. Consider that our scavenger hunt, in
addition to asking us to find a variety of significant landmarks, also awarded
us points for taking pictures with people dressed in gothic or punk attire,
people inked with animal tattoos, and celebrities. Animal tattoos were
shockingly easy to find. Celebrities were
a bit harder, but one group did meet a true Israeli celebrity: Dovele Glickman,
and another group stumbled upon a TV show being filmed at Dizengoff Square. The
crazy Israelies of Tel Aviv were only too happy to help us complete our various
quests and the kids absolutely loved doing it. Jared R. and Sarah L. exhibited
remarkable leadership and could’ve continued exploring Tel Aviv for at least
another week.
The juxtaposition of the Palmach Museum
and “On our Streets” brought to the fore an interesting tension in Israeli
society and Jewish life more generally. That’s because one of the scavenger
hunt quests involved identifying the names and basic biographies of some of the
people after which Tel Aviv’s streets are named. Even though these details are
readily available on the signs themselves, most of the Israelis we met couldn’t
tell you who most of those people were or why the streets bore their names. The
Jewish commitment to honoring the memory of those that came before us and the
Jewish commitment to living each moment to the fullest seemed to be, at least
momentarily, in tension with one another on the streets of Tel Aviv and in the
hearts of the crazy Israelis we met there.
If the Palmach
Museum is about honoring the past, the Mediterranean Sea is all about being in
the moment. Swimming in the Mediterranean gave our kids a chance to taste what
life is like for many crazy Israelis.
A few years ago as I watched the kids
splashing in the sea I realized that I was witnessing one of the purest
expressions of carefree joy I’d ever seen. Knowing that these moments in Israel
truly represent the freest moments that these kids may ever experience I was
filled with a variety of emotions. On the one hand I was, in the best sense,
envious of the kids and their simple happiness. On the other hand I found
tremendous meaning in my ability to see their joy in a broader context and
through the lens of my somewhat more expansive life experience. My wish for
them is that they find a way to preserve the core of their being that allows
them to dive into the sea with such abandon but also that their life experiences
lead them to a similar place of appreciation where they’re able to stand on the
shore and see what I saw today.
I’ll conclude
with a crazy Israeli story. One of our kids left his wallet in Mitzpe Ramon.
Mitzpe Ramon is the worst possible place to leave your wallet on this trip.
It’s like leaving your wallet in Tipton, Ga. Here are the details that make
this a crazy Israeli story. First, we
learned of the missing wallet because the hotel called to inform us. We
couldn’t confirm whether there was any money in the wallet because the hotel
refused to open it and placed it immediately in a sealed envelope. Next, the
wallet was brought to Tel Aviv by the husband of someone who works at the hotel
who happens to be an Egged bus driver. It was acquired by Morah Lahav at Tel
Aviv’s central bus station during the short period between when the driver
arrived and when he departed. Finally, it was returned, with all of its contents,
to the kid who lost it. Like I said, a crazy Israeli story.
Not every Israeli knows why the streets of
Tel Aviv are named the way they are. Not every Israeli actively thinks about
the sacrifices that were made and are made in order for Israel to exist. Not
every Israeli would report a lost wallet or drive a bus that could schlep it ½ way
across the country. Not every Israeli is originally from Wales and working
three jobs. Not every Israeli has an animal tattoo. Not every Israeli has a
friend or relative in the Davis Academy graduating class of 2015. But we know a
few Israelis who do meet at least some of these criteria. And we are crazy about them.
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