RabbiLisa
Lisa Goldstein Joined: August 5th 2009
Logged in: March 9th 2011
Logged in: March 9th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
Ramat Hanadiv
My year in Jerusalem is almost over; I am heading back to San Diego on the last day of the month. I'll tell you about two concluding trips, a day of goodbyes, a list of things I will particularly miss about this year and a final word. Two Concluding Trips The Jerusalem Fellows took an end of the year trip to the north; our theme was transitions. Our first stop was a medium security prison near the Golani Junction. The prison houses about 1,000 inmates, about 50% Jewish and 50% Arab. All the inmates were male; apparently there are only about 150 women inmates in the entire country. I wish I could have brought my camera in to show you photos of the prison and what we saw, but we were only allowed to bring in ... read more
Musical Instrument Workshop
Summer is upon us - hot, hazy skies and cool, buggy nights. This Shabbat I went to visit my friend Tamar and we went swimming in the warm Mediterranean. Summer often brings medusahs, huge jellyfish, to the shore, and although we didn't see any, traces of their stingingness was in the water and left little electric shock welts on my legs. Still, it was worth it for the cool air and the saltiness on my skin and the refreshing breeze of the sea. Living This week one of the other Jerusalem Fellows and I joined the School of Educational Leadership, Mandel's premier Israeli program, for their end of the year trip. The theme was music and it was a delightful, inspiring three days, refreshing in its own way. We traveled to the north, to Zichron Yaakov, ... read more
Roman Aqueduct
My year is rapidly, rapidly coming to an end. It seems that things are getting more intense - the politics of the region, the pace at Mandel, even the visits from friends. So without further ado... Living I have received dozens of emails from friends and families about the Gaza flotilla wondering how things are being discussed here. Unsurprisingly, the opinions here in regards to the flotilla and the general approach to Gaza run the gamut. The incident still occupies the front page of the newspapers every day, even after it has disappeared from the headlines of the New York Times. On the one hand, everywhere you go, people are talking about the unfolding events, but on the other hand, it does not feel like we are living in the middle of crisis in that day ... read more
Ramparts Walk
Jerusalem is generally not one of those cities about which it is said, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." Yet the past few weeks have been bizarre! The temperature soared up into the 90's for a couple of days, hot and clear, and then dropped down into the 60's with chilly nights. Today is a sharav, a hot, heavy day with the air so filled with exceedingly fine dust or sand that I can't see the other side of the valley from my windows. It is disgusting, but if the full moon emerges through the dust tonight, I imagine the light will be glittery magic. Here's hoping... Living Last week was the holiday Shavuot. Shavuot literally means "weeks" and it is a week's worth of weeks (ie 49 days) after Passover. It ... read more
Jerusalem Rooftops
Even for a veteran wanderer like me, it is easy to stay for weeks at a time in the magical city of Jerusalem. But over the last little while I feel like I am riding up or down the Jerusalem hills all the time, either heading towards the west in between century-old terraces of oaks, olives, carobs and pines, or dropping down past Bedouin encampments through the ever starker and barer Judean Desert to the Jordan River Valley. I'll include lots of photos this time - so enjoy! Living My uncle Mike and aunt Susan came to visit me and after a day in the Old City, we decided to head back up to the north of the country. We drove up the Jordan River Valley, stopping at a Crusader Castle called Belvoir. It was a ... read more
Hebron door
Last week we had a remarkable opportunity through Mandel to visit with four very different representatives of the settler movement in the West Bank. As I have done in my descriptions of my visits to Bethlehem ("Visit to Bethlehem") and Hebron ("Living on the Seam"), I will once again tell you what I saw and the stories of the people we met and let you draw your own political conclusions. But first a few comments: It is important to note that despite the fact we participated on two different political tours with Mandel, they do not represent "the two sides" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Neither side is just one side. When we met with Palestinians, we met with people engaged in peace work, not with Hamas spokesmen or extremists who reject Israel's right to exist. Likewise, ... read more
Independence Day decorations
Spring is moving steadily into summer. The days are warmer, and although we had a little rain yesterday, the grass in the valley outside my balcony is beginning to fade on the sun-facing slopes. The poor goats! The warm air deepens the fragrance of honeysuckle and jasmine that have begun blooming along countless walls in the neighborhood. It's wonderful. Living A week after Yom Hashoa Israel observes Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day. But don't think BBQ's and sales. Memorial Day is a solemn day of memory of soldiers and civilians who have been killed in wars and terrorist attacks over the years. It began Sunday evening. I went to a little ceremony that was held at a community center in my neighborhood. People from the neighborhood gathered a little before eight o'clock; at 8:00 a siren sounded ... read more
Remember
I had a lovely visit back to California for Passover and spent most of my time with family enjoying the spring. I returned to Jerusalem last week, just in time for a crazy day-long sand storm, which was so intense that I could barely see across the valley outside my balcony. It gave me good reason to spend the day at home, listening to the wind howling around the shutters, with my foot elevated; on Friday I misstepped on an uneven sidewalk and lightly sprained my ankle. It has been an opportunity to reflect on how much I have enjoyed not having a car this year and how lucky I generally am to easily navigate the dozens of steps and stone-paved walkways that are part of my everyday routine. Fortunately, it's not a bad sprain and ... read more
The Knesset
One Passover tradition is the reading of the Song of Songs, exquisite love poetry of the Bible, celebrating the blossoming of spring and of young love. Allegories aside (and there are plenty of them!), it is so lovely to see the Biblical verses coming alive all around me: "The winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its green figs, and the vines in blossom give forth their fragrance." And indeed: we may get one more rain, but I am packing up all my winter clothes. Fruit trees are blooming all over the city; there are expanses of yellow flowers in every vacant lot and overnight ... read more
Hope Flowers School
Passover is already in the air. The supermarkets are displaying cleaning materials (including toothbrushes) and matzah and we recently got a notice at Mandel that following our usual Monday "tea time" in two weeks, we will be packing up the cups. Cafes and restaurants are starting to post notices about whether they will be open or closed during the holiday and people are talking about their vacation plans. I'll describe the whole Passover phenomenon another time; this time I want to tell about my visit to the area around Bethlehem with an organization called Encounter. (www.encounterprograms.org) This was part one of a two part series through Mandel in which we spent two days speaking with Palestinians living in Bethlehem and the West Bank. The second part will be after Passover in which we will visit a ... read more
