Middle Eastern Welcome
Tonight, I received my first hearty dose of reality being in such a region of turmoil. A few friends and I were sitting at an overlook spot on the kibbutz grounds that overlooks the valley below and the Arab villages in the surrounding hills, enjoying the night time vista. During a particularly quiet moment, we heard a sudden series of "pop-pop-pop!" noises, all in quick bursts. At first, we just looked at each other nervously, thinking "Oh, just fireworks..." when another burst went off, and that was the second my brain made the connection that what we were hearing was automatic rifle fire from not too far away.
Somehow, I kept my calm--a trait which has helped me numerous times--and told my three friends to stay together, while I called one of our madrachim (counselors) to see what to do, just as flashing police lights appeared to and fro in the valley. He came down and met us halfway up the hill, and we all went to our rooms to call parents and siblings. I stayed with him, though, being very curious as to what was going on. I was scared--had another conflict started? Were we really safe? So I asked Josh what to think of the situation. His reply: "Welcome to the Middle East, my friend." Things are fine, by the way, turns out it was just a few kids having fun with a automatic rifle and flares.
On a much brighter note, we went on our first big tiyul yesterday to a place called Tel Gezer. This archeological dig site was once the site of ancient Canaanites and is believed to be where the origins of Judaism lie. We were there to learn about how the people that eventually became the Hebrew lived in the days of old, and to gain a little more insight into something so dense as the Torah so that that knowledge can be used to decipher the texts and make sense of them.
The experience was amazing. Josh, our Judaic Studies teacher, let us in on a little secret: the very rocks and clay we stood on dated back to something like 4000 years ago. That's four millennia. To compare, some people feel age just going to a historical site like where the Civil War battles were fought in America, and those landmarks are 200 years old at the most. I stood on a casemate wall (hollow on the inside, good for defense and trade) that dates back to the first human written languages and mingling of cultures resulting from trade. This city was where one man may have walked through the gates and started the very founding of Judaism as we know it today. And I got to stand in the same place.
At one point, I had to crouch down and feel the dirt to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was, in fact, studying the city of Gezer at the same time as I read about it in the Torah.
In other news, this weekend marks the first week of classes over and our first week here on Tzuba. All my classes are really fun, especially AP English Lit and Judaic Studies, and the almost one-on-one ratio is unbeatable. The Hebrew ulpan class is giving me a little trouble, but that can be attributed to Dad and his learning disabilities, and my goal is to come back to the Sates speaking fluent Hebrew.
We've also begun having theological discussions on Torah and Tanakh material in our spare time, which is a great way to make friends if in a strange place, as well as late-night Hebrew study sessions.
Tomorrow marks our second Shabbat in Israel (??????), which we will spend at a Reform synagogue in Jerusalem. I'm excited to see how Jews of the Reform movement operate in our homeland, coming from such as diverse background as myself. Saturday, we're going to Tel Aviv and hanging around the boardwalk for a good few hours, and after that classes start back Sunday.
*Sigh*. One can never escape routine.
Lila Tov & Shabbat Shalom
www.AronAltmark.blogspot.com
PS-Pictures will be on a separate linked website by tomorrow night, but they will be there for those of you that want to look. Much love!
Somehow, I kept my calm--a trait which has helped me numerous times--and told my three friends to stay together, while I called one of our madrachim (counselors) to see what to do, just as flashing police lights appeared to and fro in the valley. He came down and met us halfway up the hill, and we all went to our rooms to call parents and siblings. I stayed with him, though, being very curious as to what was going on. I was scared--had another conflict started? Were we really safe? So I asked Josh what to think of the situation. His reply: "Welcome to the Middle East, my friend." Things are fine, by the way, turns out it was just a few kids having fun with a automatic rifle and flares.
On a much brighter note, we went on our first big tiyul yesterday to a place called Tel Gezer. This archeological dig site was once the site of ancient Canaanites and is believed to be where the origins of Judaism lie. We were there to learn about how the people that eventually became the Hebrew lived in the days of old, and to gain a little more insight into something so dense as the Torah so that that knowledge can be used to decipher the texts and make sense of them.
The experience was amazing. Josh, our Judaic Studies teacher, let us in on a little secret: the very rocks and clay we stood on dated back to something like 4000 years ago. That's four millennia. To compare, some people feel age just going to a historical site like where the Civil War battles were fought in America, and those landmarks are 200 years old at the most. I stood on a casemate wall (hollow on the inside, good for defense and trade) that dates back to the first human written languages and mingling of cultures resulting from trade. This city was where one man may have walked through the gates and started the very founding of Judaism as we know it today. And I got to stand in the same place.
At one point, I had to crouch down and feel the dirt to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was, in fact, studying the city of Gezer at the same time as I read about it in the Torah.
In other news, this weekend marks the first week of classes over and our first week here on Tzuba. All my classes are really fun, especially AP English Lit and Judaic Studies, and the almost one-on-one ratio is unbeatable. The Hebrew ulpan class is giving me a little trouble, but that can be attributed to Dad and his learning disabilities, and my goal is to come back to the Sates speaking fluent Hebrew.
We've also begun having theological discussions on Torah and Tanakh material in our spare time, which is a great way to make friends if in a strange place, as well as late-night Hebrew study sessions.
Tomorrow marks our second Shabbat in Israel (??????), which we will spend at a Reform synagogue in Jerusalem. I'm excited to see how Jews of the Reform movement operate in our homeland, coming from such as diverse background as myself. Saturday, we're going to Tel Aviv and hanging around the boardwalk for a good few hours, and after that classes start back Sunday.
*Sigh*. One can never escape routine.
Lila Tov & Shabbat Shalom
www.AronAltmark.blogspot.com
PS-Pictures will be on a separate linked website by tomorrow night, but they will be there for those of you that want to look. Much love!
posted by aron at 4:28 PM
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