The Big City--Tel Aviv
So here I am, sitting in a hotel room in Tel Aviv, looking out on the coast of the Mediterranean, trying to find some pithy quotes to insert in to the Saturday morning service I'll be leading in a few hours. It's been raining all night here in Tel Aviv, with a few thunderstorms last night as well. Strange how much it's been raining since Sukkot and the first rain of the year...we're in a desert, after all, it's not like it rains all the time. Oh well, guess there's no reason to complain, the rain smells nice anyway.
This past week has been pretty hectic, all told. We've gone through the Middle Ages in Judaic Studies, learning all about the Crusades and Inquisition(s), as well as the movements that European Jewry underwent to keep their Judaism alive during such trying times. After my last entry, we had a few days of class, and then went into Jerusalem to check out a real-live Kehilah Kodesh--a "holy community." Basically, this is a small, fenced-in neighborhood where the Charedi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews settled outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. They choose to live in isolation because of the nature of their Judaism and the requirements and practices they adhere to. Charedi Jews follow Chalahah (Jewish Law) to the letter, wear the same clothes their ancestors wore almost a millenium ago, and spend their entire lives studying Torah, Talmud, and trying to bring the world one step closer to the Messianic Age. We spent a half-day wandering around this Fiddler-On-The-Roof kind of neighborhood, talking to people and finding out as much as we could about the Charedi way of life. After a while, our time was up and off we went through the streets of Jerusalem, arriving at our next destination, and met one of the more impacting people I've met since coming here.
Marching up three flights of rickety stairs in an old, old building, our group crammed into a classroom and in came a Charedi Jew by the name of Moshe Pelleg. He is a scholar and, although not a Rabbi, very high up in the Ultra-Orthodox world. We were able to talk to him and interview him about many subjects we'd discussed, including the Charedi view on marriage, kashrut (keeping kosher), and Chalahah. The most interesting thing he said, though, came up in a discussion of his view on Reform Jews and their observance:
"In my mind, all of you are my brothers and sisters, and you are all Jewish [have a Jewish mother]. But in my mind, you are not practicing Judaism in any way, shape, or form." (paraphrased--Moshe Pelleg)
This was, for me, a slap in the face. This little man who wanted to be a director in theatre in New York, then changed his mind and began going to yeshiva, eventually getting to where he is today, just told us we aren't practicing Judaism. The guy had balls, I'll admit that much. His reasoning was even more interesting--any Jew that doesn't follow Chalahah to the letter isn't part of Judaism here. This is the common division in Israel: you're either a religious (Orthodox) Jew, or a secular Jew. This all got me thinking about the Reform movement and where it is going, where it has come from, etc. I'm beginning to make my own form of Judaism, one that isn't Reform (I'm following some Chalahah), but isn't Conservative or Orthodox. Especially after studying the beginnings of the Reform movement (in the Pittsburgh Platform of 1886, when the Reform Jews rejected Israel and all things remotely important to the Jewish people), I'm coming to the conclusion that I want to stay somewhat Reform, but branch out and study other ways of Judaism. At the moment, I'm reading some literature on a false Messiah in the Middle Ages by the name of Sabbatai Tzvi, which incorporates a form of Judaism known as Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. I finished a term paper on the subject last night, and the Kabbalist movement is very interesting, with promises of enlightenment and being able to chill with G-d every now and then--which is why pop figures like Madonna claim to practice it. For myself, though, I think I'll do some experiementation.
Tuesday, a panel of three rabbis, one each from the Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox movements, came to talk to us and lay out a description and platform for understanding of each type of Judaism they practice. This event, however cool and entertaining, and even though I learned all about the differences between each movement, is a bit overshadowed by what we're studying currently...
We have stepped into the realm of Zionism (finally). In Tel Aviv, which was the first Hebrew city founded under Theodor Hertzl's vision in the early 1900's, we are learning all about Zionism and the influx of European Jews to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel) to found a Jewish state. The first part of our trip was the most exciting, as our madrichim surprised us by taking us to a concert in a rickety little club in the city to see a band named Hadag Nachash--"snake fish". Their style could best be described as...trip-hop alternative. The concert was amazing, and words can't really describe how cool their music is. If you look up "The Bumper Sticker Song", you'll find them. Israelis sure know how to party.
Last night, we went to the only Reform Jewish synagogue in the entire city of Tel Aviv, which is a big deal considering that Tel Aviv has now beat New York in population of Jews in one municipality. There, we met some Israeli teens and got to know them, hopefully making some friends in the process. After services and dinner with the Israelis, I chose to walk back to the hotel with some of my group, and got to see the great city at night. The funny thing about Israel is that everything opens up around 11 or midnight on Friday nights, so the entire culture is pretty much nocturnal when it comes to having fun.
Now, it's still early in the morning on Shabbat morning, and after getting a great Israeli breakfast (descriptions/pictures to come soon), I'm headed back to bed to get a bit more sleep before services. Also, I've got to come up with some pithy quotes to insert in, make services a bit more fun. Anywho, much love to all those in the States, all that other mushy stuff, and as we say in Israel: L'hitraot! (See you later).
Shabbat Shalom Kulam,
--Aron
PS-here's my mailing address, and just to give you hints, my birthday is Nov. 3, a week from yesterday.
aronaltmark@aol.com
Aron Altmark
NFTY-EIE High School
Kibbutz Tzuba
90870 D.N. Harei Yehuda
ISRAEL
**Please be sure to mark all letters with, “AIRMAIL.”
This past week has been pretty hectic, all told. We've gone through the Middle Ages in Judaic Studies, learning all about the Crusades and Inquisition(s), as well as the movements that European Jewry underwent to keep their Judaism alive during such trying times. After my last entry, we had a few days of class, and then went into Jerusalem to check out a real-live Kehilah Kodesh--a "holy community." Basically, this is a small, fenced-in neighborhood where the Charedi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews settled outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. They choose to live in isolation because of the nature of their Judaism and the requirements and practices they adhere to. Charedi Jews follow Chalahah (Jewish Law) to the letter, wear the same clothes their ancestors wore almost a millenium ago, and spend their entire lives studying Torah, Talmud, and trying to bring the world one step closer to the Messianic Age. We spent a half-day wandering around this Fiddler-On-The-Roof kind of neighborhood, talking to people and finding out as much as we could about the Charedi way of life. After a while, our time was up and off we went through the streets of Jerusalem, arriving at our next destination, and met one of the more impacting people I've met since coming here.
Marching up three flights of rickety stairs in an old, old building, our group crammed into a classroom and in came a Charedi Jew by the name of Moshe Pelleg. He is a scholar and, although not a Rabbi, very high up in the Ultra-Orthodox world. We were able to talk to him and interview him about many subjects we'd discussed, including the Charedi view on marriage, kashrut (keeping kosher), and Chalahah. The most interesting thing he said, though, came up in a discussion of his view on Reform Jews and their observance:
"In my mind, all of you are my brothers and sisters, and you are all Jewish [have a Jewish mother]. But in my mind, you are not practicing Judaism in any way, shape, or form." (paraphrased--Moshe Pelleg)
This was, for me, a slap in the face. This little man who wanted to be a director in theatre in New York, then changed his mind and began going to yeshiva, eventually getting to where he is today, just told us we aren't practicing Judaism. The guy had balls, I'll admit that much. His reasoning was even more interesting--any Jew that doesn't follow Chalahah to the letter isn't part of Judaism here. This is the common division in Israel: you're either a religious (Orthodox) Jew, or a secular Jew. This all got me thinking about the Reform movement and where it is going, where it has come from, etc. I'm beginning to make my own form of Judaism, one that isn't Reform (I'm following some Chalahah), but isn't Conservative or Orthodox. Especially after studying the beginnings of the Reform movement (in the Pittsburgh Platform of 1886, when the Reform Jews rejected Israel and all things remotely important to the Jewish people), I'm coming to the conclusion that I want to stay somewhat Reform, but branch out and study other ways of Judaism. At the moment, I'm reading some literature on a false Messiah in the Middle Ages by the name of Sabbatai Tzvi, which incorporates a form of Judaism known as Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. I finished a term paper on the subject last night, and the Kabbalist movement is very interesting, with promises of enlightenment and being able to chill with G-d every now and then--which is why pop figures like Madonna claim to practice it. For myself, though, I think I'll do some experiementation.
Tuesday, a panel of three rabbis, one each from the Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox movements, came to talk to us and lay out a description and platform for understanding of each type of Judaism they practice. This event, however cool and entertaining, and even though I learned all about the differences between each movement, is a bit overshadowed by what we're studying currently...
We have stepped into the realm of Zionism (finally). In Tel Aviv, which was the first Hebrew city founded under Theodor Hertzl's vision in the early 1900's, we are learning all about Zionism and the influx of European Jews to Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel) to found a Jewish state. The first part of our trip was the most exciting, as our madrichim surprised us by taking us to a concert in a rickety little club in the city to see a band named Hadag Nachash--"snake fish". Their style could best be described as...trip-hop alternative. The concert was amazing, and words can't really describe how cool their music is. If you look up "The Bumper Sticker Song", you'll find them. Israelis sure know how to party.
Last night, we went to the only Reform Jewish synagogue in the entire city of Tel Aviv, which is a big deal considering that Tel Aviv has now beat New York in population of Jews in one municipality. There, we met some Israeli teens and got to know them, hopefully making some friends in the process. After services and dinner with the Israelis, I chose to walk back to the hotel with some of my group, and got to see the great city at night. The funny thing about Israel is that everything opens up around 11 or midnight on Friday nights, so the entire culture is pretty much nocturnal when it comes to having fun.
Now, it's still early in the morning on Shabbat morning, and after getting a great Israeli breakfast (descriptions/pictures to come soon), I'm headed back to bed to get a bit more sleep before services. Also, I've got to come up with some pithy quotes to insert in, make services a bit more fun. Anywho, much love to all those in the States, all that other mushy stuff, and as we say in Israel: L'hitraot! (See you later).
Shabbat Shalom Kulam,
--Aron
PS-here's my mailing address, and just to give you hints, my birthday is Nov. 3, a week from yesterday.
aronaltmark@aol.com
Aron Altmark
NFTY-EIE High School
Kibbutz Tzuba
90870 D.N. Harei Yehuda
ISRAEL
**Please be sure to mark all letters with, “AIRMAIL.”
posted by aron at 1:45 AM
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