Aesthetically Displeasing

My first trip to Israel was, I think, when I was about 12 years old. It was a simple family trip -- just me and my parents. We visited some old friends, went to some interesting sites. I honestly don't even have that clear of a memory of the trip.

When I came home, one of the elders in my community asked me what I thought. How was it? I knew instinctively that beneath his question was some kind of expectation. As a Jewish youth I was supposed to feel something particular, was supposed have found connection. I suppose he wanted me to say I couldn't wait to go back or that it felt like home. 

I have a stubborn streak.

Israel Museum

I went to the Israel Museum today. There was so much to see that I'm hoping to go back again next week to finish what I started. 

One of the first exhibits I went to was about pottery and archaeology. There was a long exhibition case showing different kinds of pottery shards from different periods. The idea was to walk along the case and notice differences from one period to the next.

Janusz Korzcak

 

Janusz Korzcak monument at Yad Vashem

I saw this monument at Yad Vashem (Israel's Holocast Museum and Research Center) this week. I'd seen  it before, but this was my first time actually knowing the story behind it. You can read about Janusz Korscak on Wikipedia, but I was introduced to him through a phenomenal podcast episode on Jewish History Nerds. 

Janusz spent a live utterly devoted to children. He studied (and created) pedagogy around them. He wrote books for them and about how to raise them. He ran an orphanage and he refused to abandon his orphans, even when he was given several chances of escaping death. He is literally the only Jew I've ever heard of from the Nazi period whom was given repeated chances of opting out, simply because he was so beloved even by the Polish public, but he refused to take it. As far as we know, he went to death side by side with his orphans. He taught them to dress well and hold their heads up with pride even to their deaths in Treblinka. 

Onions

Two days ago I took a couple of buses to Rehovot to visit my friend OW. Her family's long-term plan had always been to make aliyah. Once she had grandchildren in Israel, that solidified the plans which finally came to fruition in August 2023. She had no idea at the time just how much she'd be needed by then. With her son in the reserves, and her daughter-in-law working full-time, her family needed help around the clock. Her greater family needed her too. Back in NJ, we used to buy OW's baking -- challah, cakes, cookies... now she bakes instead for soldiers.

Obviously I wanted to go to visit my old friend, but the reason I specifically went when I did was because I knew she was scheduled to leave early Wednesday morning to volunteer on a farm. The usual workers are also in the army. So we got up early, went to the farm and spent two and a half hours picking onions. 

Living Rather Than Visiting

We plan to be here in Jerusalem for five weeks. It's a completely different trip from any we've ever taken before. We've been fortunate to have many opportunities for travel, but these are usually 10-14 day trips, often moving around all over the location we are visiting. 

As a teacher, I often have very open summers. I can schedule as much time as I choose for tutoring, visiting family and friends locally or not-so-locally, mini-adventures, exercise etc. etc. Meanwhile, my husband works a remote job that usually has him sitting at a desk in our home office. We are doing the exact same thing this summer but in Jerusalem instead of in New Jersey. 

Telling People That I'm Going To Israel

I've had this blog in mind for awhile but took a very long time to get started actually writing it. Summer vacation is here and now I have time. How appropriate then, that we decided to spend over a month this summer in Israel. 

At this point in my life, there are very few people (Jewish or not) with whom I interact outside of a Jewish context. The security guards at our school, for example, are wonderful, but I don't find myself worrying about what they are thinking of wondering if there is any way in which I need to be careful what I say. They have already shown they accept us. 

Shifting Identity

What it means to me to be a Jew has changed and evolved throughout my life. There have been times when I might have been uncertain if I liked it. There have been times when I sought spiritual inspiration elsewhere or times when I saw myself as more of a member of the community of humanity than of the Jewish community. There have been times when I have felt embarrassed by my community, even times when I've spoken lashon hara (smack). (I regret these now but I'll save that discussion for another time.) 

All that said, there has never been a time that I did not see myself as a Jew. It is who I am. Full stop. And it makes me proud to say that that is who I am.