SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2008
My morning walk took me to the Hass Promenade or Tayellet. From there I saw the same view of the Old City from the same spot as I saw on the night I proposed to Ida Rae almost 19 years ago. Yes, this is an emotional city for me.
We were without our guide today and I took the group to Shabbat morning services at Hebrew Union College. Along the way we stopped to look at some graffiti.
I like to gauge the issues in Israel by looking at the graffiti. It may be an imperfect assessment, but I get an idea of what is on some people’s minds that is not always reflected in the news. Not far from the Reform movement’s central campus in Israel, there was a poster for the new movie Batman movie “The Dark Knight.” Th
e tag line for the poster is “Welcome to a World Without Laws.” In the lawless flames on the poster, someone had added in maker the English words “Reform” – indicating that the evil lawlessness of Batman’s Gotham was a metaphor for the “evil lawlessness” of Reform Judaism. In Israel, despite the problems with the Palestinians, Syria and Iran, the Reform Movement still finds itself engaged in the “culture wars.”
We walked a short distance to the beautiful HUC campus where I, and all first year rabbinic and cantorial students since 1979, have spent their first year of studies. This is where Ida Rae and I met and I am brought back to those years very quickly.
Services were very lovely, led by Rabbi Michael Marmer, Dean of the Jerusalem campus, and my dear friend Cantor Tamar Heather Havilio. Everyone was struck by the beauty of the Cantor’s voice and the rich melodies as well as the engaging style, depth of knowledge and warmth of Rabbi Marmer. The congregation was mostly visiting Reform groups, the newly arrived students for this year and the family of Rabbi Uri Regev, the Executive Director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, whose son is getting married this coming week. The four parents were given aliyot to the Torah as was the couple and it was wonderful to share in their joy. I have known Uri since my days here at HUC. Uri is one of the shining lights and powerful forces in the Reform Movement and I wish him a Mazel Tov!
After services, I gave the group a private tour of the beautiful HUC campus and the amazing view of the Old City and the Jaffa Gate. We stood on the rooftop of the new Merkaz Shimshon, the center for the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which we will be visiting in a few days. The HUC campus is rather remarkable in its design and everyone enjoyed seeing this center for the Reform Movement.
From there we hiked down to the Old City itself. We came in through the bustling Jaffa gate and entered into the world of the old Ar
ab market, or shuk. One cannot help but be engaged in the mixture of Arabs, Chasidic Jews and tourists who converge in that juncture. It is good to see the market so vibrant, as I remember times during the first Intifada when the shuk was virtually shut down.
Everyone made their way back individually to the hotel. I walked back through the beautiful neighborhood of Yamin Moshe, the artists colony. Then I had a nice long Shabbat rest.
In the evening we met in the hotel lobby and prepared for the end of Shabbat and the explosion of activity that greets the new week in Jerusalem.
Tom and Susie had spent the day at the Israel Museum and the Rubenstein family made their way there after the Old City. They were all a bit disappointed as the museum is undergoing construction. The Finger family was meeting with their Israeli cousins for the evening.
We made our way to the center of town and had a nice dinner out, most of us at “Spaghettim” – a Spaghetti restaurant. Then a night on Ben Yehuda street. The pedestria
n walkway that, when Shabbat ends, explodes with life. Young people are crowd the street and there is music, shops open late into the night and a great joy of life. Shabbat is over, let the week begin!
My morning walk took me to the Hass Promenade or Tayellet. From there I saw the same view of the Old City from the same spot as I saw on the night I proposed to Ida Rae almost 19 years ago. Yes, this is an emotional city for me.
We were without our guide today and I took the group to Shabbat morning services at Hebrew Union College. Along the way we stopped to look at some graffiti.
I like to gauge the issues in Israel by looking at the graffiti. It may be an imperfect assessment, but I get an idea of what is on some people’s minds that is not always reflected in the news. Not far from the Reform movement’s central campus in Israel, there was a poster for the new movie Batman movie “The Dark Knight.” Th
e tag line for the poster is “Welcome to a World Without Laws.” In the lawless flames on the poster, someone had added in maker the English words “Reform” – indicating that the evil lawlessness of Batman’s Gotham was a metaphor for the “evil lawlessness” of Reform Judaism. In Israel, despite the problems with the Palestinians, Syria and Iran, the Reform Movement still finds itself engaged in the “culture wars.”We walked a short distance to the beautiful HUC campus where I, and all first year rabbinic and cantorial students since 1979, have spent their first year of studies. This is where Ida Rae and I met and I am brought back to those years very quickly.
Services were very lovely, led by Rabbi Michael Marmer, Dean of the Jerusalem campus, and my dear friend Cantor Tamar Heather Havilio. Everyone was struck by the beauty of the Cantor’s voice and the rich melodies as well as the engaging style, depth of knowledge and warmth of Rabbi Marmer. The congregation was mostly visiting Reform groups, the newly arrived students for this year and the family of Rabbi Uri Regev, the Executive Director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, whose son is getting married this coming week. The four parents were given aliyot to the Torah as was the couple and it was wonderful to share in their joy. I have known Uri since my days here at HUC. Uri is one of the shining lights and powerful forces in the Reform Movement and I wish him a Mazel Tov!
After services, I gave the group a private tour of the beautiful HUC campus and the amazing view of the Old City and the Jaffa Gate. We stood on the rooftop of the new Merkaz Shimshon, the center for the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which we will be visiting in a few days. The HUC campus is rather remarkable in its design and everyone enjoyed seeing this center for the Reform Movement.
From there we hiked down to the Old City itself. We came in through the bustling Jaffa gate and entered into the world of the old Ar
ab market, or shuk. One cannot help but be engaged in the mixture of Arabs, Chasidic Jews and tourists who converge in that juncture. It is good to see the market so vibrant, as I remember times during the first Intifada when the shuk was virtually shut down.Everyone made their way back individually to the hotel. I walked back through the beautiful neighborhood of Yamin Moshe, the artists colony. Then I had a nice long Shabbat rest.
In the evening we met in the hotel lobby and prepared for the end of Shabbat and the explosion of activity that greets the new week in Jerusalem.
Tom and Susie had spent the day at the Israel Museum and the Rubenstein family made their way there after the Old City. They were all a bit disappointed as the museum is undergoing construction. The Finger family was meeting with their Israeli cousins for the evening.
We made our way to the center of town and had a nice dinner out, most of us at “Spaghettim” – a Spaghetti restaurant. Then a night on Ben Yehuda street. The pedestria
n walkway that, when Shabbat ends, explodes with life. Young people are crowd the street and there is music, shops open late into the night and a great joy of life. Shabbat is over, let the week begin! 
No comments:
Post a Comment