November 2007
0 posts
"In Through the Out Door": Lessons from Led...
Even before I joined MRT, I had heard complaints about the religious school pick up procedures: too dangerous, too slow, too cold, too hot, too controlling, not controlled enough. The parents, the teachers, the principal, the clergy, and the board of trustees all knew of the problems. And yet, no solution seemed acceptable or actionable. This school year, I suggested an “out of the box”...
October 2007
2 posts
Return of the blog
This blog started simply as a way to stay connected while I was in Jerusalem this past summer. Readership was high. Responses were postitive. I had not considered an ongoing blog… In response to popular demand, the blog will return with a slightly new format and some new features (i.e. you’ll be able to post comments onto the blog itself). The blog returns on Tuesday, October 16th....
August 2007
22 posts
"I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane..."
We leave Israel tomorrow night after Shabbat ends and land in Newark early Sunday AM. This will be the last posting until I return home. I hope you have enjoyed following along these past three weeks.
John Denver died during Sukkot ten years ago when I lived in Jerusalem. In his honor, a group of us sat in the Sukkah at HUC-JIR and had a big John Denver sing along. Singing, “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” we really meant it when we said, ”…don’t know when I’ll be back again.” This time it’s different. We’re not singing much John Denver (no...
How Low Can You Go?
We take our first and only real overnight trip outside Jerusalem: to the Dead Sea, lowest place on earth. I feel confident enough in my Hebrew and courageous enough vis-a-vis the prickly Sabra drivers, to rent a car and brave the highways of Israel for this little jaunt. We go on Thursday and return Friday - perfect timing to enjoy the start of the traditional Israeli “weekend”...
The floor of the Judean desert is merely 15 miles outside Jerusalem but the 4,000+ foot drop in elevation brings us to another world. The new tunnel under Mt. Scopus accentuates the dramatic ecosystem change. We enter from Hebrew University’s panoramic view of a sprawling city and emerge from the tunnel’s darkness into a bleached, moonscape unfolding as far as the eye can see. ...
Save the Princess, Save the World
Everyone loves a good castle. I knew of a special program for kids at the Tower of David Museum, which was never really King David’s but a later era fortress and castle. The museum also holds plenty to interest adults including some Chihuly glass installations and musical sculptures that chime, gong, and strum as the wind blows across them (we will visit this museum on MRT’s Summer 2008...
It was a fun program and great afternoon. After the museum we wound our way through the Jewish quarter for another visit to the Kotel (Western Wall). The only glitch in the day was our attempt to return home. Secretary of State Rice is in Jerusalem and staying at the David Citadel Hotel which sits directly in the path of our cab ride from the Old City to our apartment on Moshe Hess Street. And...
First, the announced listings for the program indicated that it runs Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I called to be sure and learned, NO, it only runs on Wednesday. The published statements of official bodies don’t always reflect the reality on the ground. They also wanted me to know that the program is conducted in Hebrew. I could translate some and the kids picked up whatever they picked up and...
After several stations and more clues, we found the princess and received lemonade to quench our thirst. The program closed with a song session and a craft project: make your own knight’s helmet to take home with you (see above photo). I won’t saw we had a dozen new best friends, but by the end of the mission we had made the acquaintance of a cross section of Israelis: settlers, secular...
July 2007
71 posts
Eliyahu Gets the Door Himself (Talmud)
Continuing with the opening of Talmud Berachot, we studied an interesting aggadah. Many scholars describe the Talmud as containing halachah, which are more legalistic sections of Talmud discussing points of law and practice, and aggadah, legends or stories that may help teach a law or practice but whose narrative is the first foremost feature. In our case below, the Talmud has shifted from...
Happy Birthday
Today is Noah’s birthday so we celebrated with two typical Jerusalem activities. First, we went to the Malha Kanyon (the big mall) for lunch and some shopping. The mall is an absolute zoo. In fact, there are animals literally running around various parts of the facility. It’s a real slice of Israeli life, especially the food court. Later, we had dinner at Beit Ticho, an old...
Mission Impossible: tefillin, lunch, sefarim,...
I had a clear mission in mind. After today’s Talmud class, I would go purchase a new set of tefillin and have my old set checked. Both the batim (black boxes) and the ktav (parchment writing) inside should be checked every few years. I had the name and address of a reputable sofer (Torah, mezuzzah, and tefillin scribe): Rabbi Moshe Flugenbaum of HaSofer (see his website). I would visit...
How do you say "Simpsons" in English?
What would a Jerusalemite do on a hot day in the middle of summer? Just what any self-respecting American would do: go to the movies. As the Harry Potter fever waned slightly, the Simpsons madness set in. So we hailed a cab to the Rav Chen Kolnoa (cinema). The movies here are the same as the movies there, just a little different. Having a rabbi’s perspective inclines me to...
Co-existence at the Y
Americans initially express surprise upon hearing that the Jerusalem YMCA holds one of the city’s fine restaurants. The Three Arches restaurant was one of our favorites and continues to hold a special place in our eating plans. Even better than the food and building design is the degree of coexistence among Muslims, Christians, Jews, and tourists of all backgrounds. Today’s lunch...
Havdallah - the separation that comes at the end...
After a week of temperatures in the 90s, without air conditioning, no breeze coming through our apartment, and mosquitos attacking like death eaters run amok at Hogwarts, the end of Shabbat brought some relief. Havdallah. We light candles, drink some wine, savor the spices, and thank God for making a distinction between all manner of things: Holy and Profane, Shabbat and the rest of the week,...
"From out Zion will come Torah" (and latte)
The parashah this Shabbat - Va’etchanan (Deut. 3:23ff) - is a heavy hitter. It includes the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5) and the first paragraph of Shema (Deut. 6:4-9). Sages have offered interpretations of the Shema for millenia - see my posting below for one example (Talmud from Jerusalem: Morning and Night). Throughout this trip I have been trying to “Shema Yisrael” - Hear...
Shabbos in Shomayim
Shabbat Shalom, we’re off to Reform congregation Kol HaNeshama for Kabbalat Shabbat. Will post more later. Here’s some of today’s photos.