 |
||
February 2007
My Recent Trip to Israel
On October 30, 2006, 20 colleagues embarked upon a 10-day Staff Seminar to Israel. We were sent by the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and the JCCs of Marin and Palo Alto, with generous funding from the Gallanter family and the “Living Bridge” Program of the SF-based Jewish Community Federation’s Israel Center. Each of us represented a different program or area of interest at our respective JCC. As we all emerged from the airport in Tel Aviv out into the cool darkness where we were led to our tour bus, the smell in the air was earthy and rich. The concept of “The Land of Israel” was immediately palpable. Some of us were arriving for the first time and some of us were returning for our second, third or tenth visit. Our group consisted of people from different cultural and religious backgrounds. The one thing we had in common was that we were all employees of the JCC. Many of us had only had peripheral contact around the JCC before this trip, but for the next ten days, we shared meals, stories and engaged in many heartfelt discussions while traveling through this amazing country. Our bus driver, Oleg, who had immigrated to Israel a few years previously from Russia, drove us up the hills and into Jerusalem, the first stop on our itinerary. Though I lived in Israel in my junior year of college, I didn’t remember what it felt like to ascend into this holiest of holy cities, home and center to the three monotheistic religions–Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I was reminded of the concept of “aliyah,” which means in Hebrew “to go up” and refers also to one who moves to Israel. We had all begun our journey in Israel by going up, and in a way, making our own personal “aliyah.” I began to understand just how different this trip was going to be, as it was my first time back as an adult, and as a wife, a mother and a partner in an interfaith relationship. My relationship with Israel was evolving, and the sites that I would see would have new meaning. Israel is a country of paradox and contradictions, a place where one is constantly touching and traversing history, a place where it is virtually impossible not to have an intense emotional response to something. We spent time at the Western Wall – the last remaining wall of the second temple in Jerusalem built around Mt. Moriah, it is the holiest site in Judaism. We climbed Masada, the mountain fortress on the Eastern Edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea where a significant part of the Great Jewish revolt against the Romans took place. We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, in the old city of Jerusalem, which is said to be the site of both the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. At each site our brilliant guides, Mookie and Sharon, led an appropriate discussion on the history, politics and/or interpersonal dynamics of Israel. They would often conclude with the phrase “it’s complicated.” In other words, there are no simple answers to any of the historical or socio-political dilemmas that currently face Israel. It was wonderful just to be a part of the conversation for a time. Israel offers people the interfaith experience of a lifetime. There will soon be trips to Israel created especially for interfaith couples…so stay tuned! « Back to Newsletter | Next Article »  |
||
 |
