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Published: January 15th 2010
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Almond blossoms
Just in time for Tu Bishvat! Tonight is Rosh Hodesh Shvat, the beginning of the month of Shvat, which is known primarily for the birthday of trees. The children's song says, "The almond tree is blooming, the golden sun is shining, and from every roof birds proclaim the arrival of the holiday: Tu Bishvat has arrived - the tree holiday!" And indeed, the almond trees are blooming right on schedule. I am hoping, weather permitting, to go to Ein Kerem next week, a Jerusalem neighborhood that is in the middle of almond groves. It should be beautiful!
Living Over the past couple of weeks, we have had the opportunity to hear from a number of interesting people, at least two of whom, Steven Cohen and Danny Gordis, who expressed their concern that American Jews are losing their sense of peoplehood. Some of this is based on sociological studies that suggest that younger generations of American Jews feel less connected to Israel than their parents' generations and that this can be extended to a greater sense of distance from other Jewish communities as well. There are concerns that phenomena such as intermarriage and non-Orthodox Jewish practice contribute to this erosion of Jewish solidarity.
Those of
The goats are back.
I am becoming obsessed with the goats. I went up to see the view from the empty lot up on the hill by the synagogue in Abut Tor and there they were, enjoying the grass under an almond tree. you who know me well might pick up that I am not necessarily convinced either of the fact of a decreasing sense of peoplehood or of the dire implications. I personally am strongly committed to finding a balance between being a strong, proud part of the Jewish people and a responsible, loving citizen of the planet. I am a little suspicious of the "oy gewalt" school of Jewish hand-wringing over the slipping away of American Jewry; my work in the Hillel world serves to validate my hopefulness that we can find that balance of the tribal and the global in thoughtful and dignified ways.
So this week I was invited by one of the Israelis studying at Mandel to speak to his 12th grade class about Israel-Diaspora relations. Just a word about the school: It is called the Keshet ("rainbow") School and is one of very few K-12 schools in Israel where both "religious" (ie Orthodox) and secular students learn together and where the curriculum reflects both religious and secular concerns. Sagiv asked me to talk about why I live in the US and how I understand the relationship between Diaspora Jews and Israelis. I spoke about how I
What the goats saw
Pretty wonderful dining view!! had considered living in Israel when I was in my 20's, how Israel plays a role on campus and how I see us as a large, sometimes contentious but ultimately profoundly connected family.
To my astonishment, the students overall largely rejected the idea that there was any connection between Diaspora Jews and Israeli Jews. They felt that they didn't know us, that we had little in common, that Diaspora Jews have no business telling Israeli what to do. They thought it wasn't fair that we have Birthright, a program designed to help Diaspora Jews get to know Israel, feel connected to it, but not actually live here. It didn't make sense to them. One student asked me if I identify as an Israeli and when I said no, expressed confusion at how I could then feel a bond with the country.
Now, these students are teenagers who feel very passionate about their views in the moment and may feel differently next week or next year, but it was a sobering and even deflating experience nonetheless. It made me think that if "we" think that the peoplehood aspect of being Jewish is important, we need to do more on
both sides to cultivate it. It's not just an American problem or a non-Orthodox problem. We need to know each other better. Sagiv, the teacher, told me that this is the beginning of the unit in which they discuss the issues. I am curious if any of the students will have different opinions at the end of the unit.
And, just to round out the picture on a colorful, albeit superficial level, today I was waiting in line at the ATM machine which went out of service just as I got to the front of the line. The older man behind me in line walked with me to the bank down the street. He asked if I was a Jerusalemite. I explained no and asked about him. He was born in Algiers, left after Algerian independence when the Jewish community was pressured to leave amidst great violence, lived in France for a decade and then came to Jerusalem where he has lived 35 years. After we wished each other Shabbat shalom, I reflected that it felt like I was hearing the story of a distant uncle, not just a random man I met on the street.
Learning This week we heard a lecture by Michael Fishbane, a professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Chicago. He is working on a new commentary on the Song of Songs. Traditionally, there are four levels of interpretation of sacred texts: the most literal, the midrashic (ethical/theological), the philosophical and the mystical. The Song of Songs is a particularly rich text to apply this approach to, because the literal reading of the text is erotic love poetry with very explicit (although poetic) references. Both Jewish and Christian traditions have allegorized this "surface" level to say that this is not actually a love story between two people but rather symbolic language describing the love between God and Israel or God and the Church. Fishbane's commentary lets all the different levels sit together as complementary lenses, not mutually exclusive ones. I like this approach.
On the other end of the disciplines, we had a lecture by Iris Tabak about the Learning Sciences, an interdisciplinary field of psychology, neurology, computer science, anthropology, sociology and others, to understand better how people learn and how different "designs" and technologies can help facilitate learning. We saw an example of a computer program called Zora which is a virtual city designed to work with teenagers in identity and values clarification. It was really interesting - I wanted to participate myself!
My final note today is to acknowledge the horrific earthquake in Haiti. I have directed my giving through the American Jewish World Service, which already has a network of grassroots organizations which can provide vital infrastructure support both in the short term and the long term. If you are looking for a way to help out, you might want to explore AJWS. (www.ajws.org)
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Jen
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I am loving the birthday of trees. I can only imagine how lovely a grove of almond trees must be! I found your experience at the school very surprising--but I guess it sort of mirrors the view of a lot of countries towards Americans. Irish people find it odd that Irish-Americans consider themselves "Irish" and want to connect with their roots. Maybe the teens feel protective and posessive of their country--maybe they feel that Americans are so fortunate already, why should Americans take some part of Israel as well if the Israeli students aren't given the opportunity to get to know Jewish Americans or visit America in the same way? I'm curious to know the details of what they said. But like you said, teens tend to have very strong and fickle opinions--I'll be curious to know whether you hear from Sagiv how their opinions change over the course of the lesson.