Havdalah and Farewell

Shabbat Shalom, Saturday, February 24, 2007
Making the most of our last day in Jerusalem

(submitted by Sydney Baer)

It was another glorious day that began with a leisurely Israeli breakfast. Because it hasn’t been described as other than vast, that doesn’t do it justice. Breakfast is a huge buffet, there are usually several types of bread, marmalades, granola, yogurt, dried fruit, herring and smoked fishes, a dozen or more types of cheese, Israeli salads, eggs, blintzes, sweets – the best chocolate babka, sweet rolls and cakes and lots of luscious fresh fruit. About 10:30 Zipora, one of the hostesses from the previous evening had had a display of her paper cuts at the synagogue brought over a sampling for Carol to look at to bring back for our Gift Shop. This woman, as all of our hosts and hostesses has remarkable stories.

At noon we boarded our bus that took us to Caesarea, originally a town built by King Herod as a port and beach palace on the Mediterranean. The ruins are extensive and have been carefully excavated and are remarkable for what they show of Roman era life. There was an artificial harbor and a lighthouse associated with the palace and hippodrome. Over the years the harbor collapsed, as did the lighthouse and other structures. The main cause was earthquakes. Later, the Crusaders and still later the Ottoman Turks rebuilt structures on the site. The Roman amphitheater has been rebuilt and is still in use. The area of this old city has become an upscale housing area for modern Israelis. That day was very hazy and the pictures reflect it.

From Caesarea, we boarded the busses for our final stop before heading to the airport. We visited a facility called Pinat Shorashim that is on the kibbutz but not a part of it. Pinat Shorshim’s Executive Director David Leishman gave us a tour and the history behind this beautiful nature garden and educational center. This kibbutz was established about 30 years ago when David and a group of 20 friends made aliyah. David was originally from New York. He was very articulate and gave us a better understanding of Israeli thinking and social problems. This entire nature preserve has different stations; we first gathered in their sanctuary. The centerpiece of this outdoor sanctuary is the Holy Ark, flanked by the Lions of Judah, with a reproduction of the Gezer Calendar as its background. The Gezer Calendar is the oldest agricultural calendar ever found, and the earliest known example of Hebrew writing. We then walked to the area near some grape vines where the grapes are smashed. Our next stop was at the beautiful Sukkat Shalom. As we continued the tour, we came upon pomegranate trees, and David stopped to show us the crowns on the pomegranate and the six-pointed stars the crowns form as well as the story behind the 613 seeds in every pomegranate. Pomegranates are on the gates at the entrance. We continued to the Exodus Obstacle Course and wound our way to the Havdalah Garden. David’s wife, Rabbi Miri Gold led our Havdalah service. We plucked the aromatic herbs from the garden as part of our service. Rabbi Gold was the third woman to be ordained as a Rabbi in Israel. Rabbi Gold had visited Rabbi Cahana at Temple Israel in New Rochelle. It was a lovely way to conclude Shabbat in Israel. We then had dinner with Rabbi Miri Gold and David Leishman in the dining hall/tent at Pinat Shorashim. During dinner Rabbi Gold told us that the Israel Religious Action Center has petitioned the State of Israel for the opportunity to her to be recognized as a Rabbi in Israel. At the moment the state only recognizes Orthodox Community Rabbis. The IRAC (Israel Religious Action Center) feels this is discriminatory, as there are many conservative and reform rabbis serving communities in Israel. Rabbi Miri Gold and David were fascinating. They invited us to be a sister congregation. Upon our travels, we learned that many of the congregations in Israel have “sister” congregations in North America.

Sharon, our tour guide returned to share dinner with us, before boarding the bus for the airport. Sharon bid us farewell about 9:30 p.m. as we prepared four our journey home. There was consensus that it had been a most memorable journey, with very full days and not enough time to do everything. Craig had left our group earlier in the day, and with Rabbi Cahana having left on Thursday evening – 13 of us traveled home. We flew from Tel Aviv to Atlanta. Sharon had provided snacks for our trip and there was an email waiting for us from Sharon as we connected our computers in Atlanta. We all arrived in Portland about noon today – the better for our rich experience in Eretz Israel

Haifa and Acco

23 February 2007. Friday. Warm, hazy-bright day.







We were up a little later than usual and after breakfast left the hotel at 8:30. We took the bus to Akko or Acre, a city that is very ancient and is mentioned in the Bible. It also had a considerable history during Crusader times and Ottoman times. Napoleon tried to invade here and was repulsed. The citadel, originally built by the Crusaders and later taken over by the Ottomans, came into British hands in the 20th century. It was used as a prison for Jewish and other captives during the Mandate era. A number of Jewish fighters for Israel were kept there and some were executed. We saw the cells and the execution chambers. It has been restored but is something of a controversial site with the Israelis. As we left the prison we recalled the story told us by Joski, the former Irgun (Etzel) fighter who participated in the attack on the prison to free Jewish prisoners. This attack was depicted in the movie Exodus.


We walked along the defensive walls facing the sea which were originally built by the Crusaders. The walls had been reinforced and improved during the Ottoman era. We came to a tunnel which had been recently discovered and whose purpose is unclear but which was built by the Crusaders. It was undoubtedly a passageway under the fortifications. We passed through the tunnel and emerged in the old city of Akko. We walked through some of the narrow streets until we came to a marketplace or souk. We went to a restored bathhouse or hammam which dated from the Ottoman era. The bathhouse has been redone in such a way that one walks through with the feeling that it is still in operation. We were shown the various rooms and finally the heated Turkish bath room where statuary figures depicted the activities of the bathhouse. There was also a video presentation projected on a large screen with a discussion in English of the functions of the bathhouse.

We went to back to the souk and had a little while to shop. One of the pictures sent with this shows some of our group making purchases in a spice shop. We also found a sweet shop which sold Arab goodies such as baklava. We reboarded our bus and returned to Haifa where there was a little time in the afternoon to wander around and shop or sightsee. Shopping was limited as the shops were closing in the afternoon in preparation for Shabbat. Another photo attached shows a view of the Baha'i shrine seen from the top of the hill. It is a very large tract of land perfectly landscaped and manicured with several buildings relating to the Baha'i faith. It is beautifully kept. Haifa is a holy city to this group as Jerusalem is to others.

Sharon our wonderful tour guide left us to return to Jerusalem for Shabbat, but will be taking us to the airport tomorrow evening. We have all adopted her and feel we have been so lucky to have her as our guide.

We gathered again at the hotel about 4:30 and went by bus to the synagogue of Congregation Or Hadash. Rabbi Edgar Nof, an immigrant from Argentina greeted us and gave us a tour of their building. The congregation was started in 1964 and is one of the three oldest and largest Reform Congregations in Israel. They are part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and are the sister congregation to about 6 Reform congregations in the USA. Rabbi Nof told the story of how the basement of their synagogue was turned into a shelter and used for 200+ daily children during the Hizbollah war in 2006. Rabbi Nof told us a little about the dynamics of their congregation and the generous support they receive from the URJ and other Jewish organizations. Or Hadash is a Classical Reform Congregation and the services would be partly in English as we and another congregation from Lexington Mass were their guests for the evening. Sydney participated in the lighting of Sabbath candles as a representative of our congregation and Craig received a gift for our congregation from theirs. They were very excited to have so many guests this evening. The service was very participatory, with the Rabbi calling on many of the children to help lead the service. One very cute young girl read and “signed” the Ve’ahavta. Afterward our group dispersed in twos and threes to homes of members of the congregation. We all had very interesting and pleasant experiences and met some fascinating people. The families returned us to our hotel. We met in the lobby and shared our stories of our visits with these families. We will report these stories later. It was a long day and we all were ready to turn in, anticipating a busy last day in Israel tomorrow.

The North is Healing

The early morning mists began to burn off revealing the Haifa harbor below. Like Portland, Haifa is built on hills with winding roads. The sky cleared into another warm and beautiful day. Haifa is a city that sparkles.

Haifa is unique not only in its natural beauty but in the ways that the Arab Muslim, Christian and Jewish populations intermix. There is a peacefulness here among the diverse populations that one rarely sees in Israel.

It is hard to remember that only a few months ago, Haifa was under fire.

We met in the morning at city hall with Zvi Dahari, Deputy Mayor of Haifa. He welcomed us graciously and told us about the challenges of last summer. With a moving Powerpoint presentation, we saw pictures of the aftermath of the ketusha rocket attacks. The destruction from the rockets was bad enough, with some making craters through three floors of apartment buildings, wreaking devastation along the way. But what was not always reported in the press was that the warheads were packed with ball bearings and other shrapnel to make sure they would kill as many civilians as possible. Indeed, missiles would often be sent along the same trajectory hoping to kill some of the first rescuers. The deputy mayor spoke of many miraculous instances of the unaimed missiles destroying areas right next to hospitals and other institutions which would have killed untold many. And the death toll was so low because of the many shelters and safe rooms in people’s homes. The entire city lived under constant fear as the warning sirens gave people no more ten seconds to get to a shelter. Arab, Christian or Jew, parent and children, were all wondering when the next rocket would fall.

Our group was very moved by what the city had endured and the courage to live under fire. We were told that reconstruction began immediately after each attack, even when the missiles were falling. Every effort was made to keep life as normal as possible. We wanted to know how to help the city rebuild and heal, and there were many discussions of projects that CBI could get involved with. Those conversations will continue. Everyone is concerned that there may be another war soon and that the northern cities may again be under fire. Today’s newspaper headlines seemed to echo those fears.

From City Hall we traveled to Leo Baeck Education Institute (www.leobaeck.org.il). There we were met by my childhood friend Rebecca Kristovsky whom I last saw 17 years ago (hi Becca!). During the Lebanon War I read daily e-mails from Becca who detailed life under the constant threat of rocket attack. It made the situation very alive for all those who read her missives.

We began our tour of Leo Baeck, the Reform Movement’s premiere community education institution in Israel, in the parking garage. There Rebecca told us that during the summer war, Leo Baeck opened its garage as a safe day care center for children in the community. Some 400 children took refuge in the improvised summer camp, where a parking garage was converted with games, inflatable bouncing toys, movies and art projects, into a children’s safe house.

We learned about the mission of the school, which is to provide an excellent secular and Jewish education and to provide a wide variety of services to the community. Before Leo Baeck it was unheard of to provide a serious Jewish education outside of the Orthodox schools. We toured the high school and the preschool (lots of cute children in Purim costumes), and learned about plans for an elementary schools. We even learned about a Portland connection to the school, with a tree of life sculpture dedicated to one of Portland’s own. I have been a supported of Leo Baeck for many years and was very impressed to see the new building and all the programs they are doing.

We gathered in the auditorium for a brief ceremony with music and readings. There we heard from Dan Fesler, headmaster of the school who talked about the difficult times the country is going through, with scandals on every level of government and the dangerous situation in Lebanon. But, he noted that there are always difficult situation, and there is always a need to educate new young leaders in values that will guide them in the future. Then we heard from some of the young people themselves. A group of very impressive 10th, 11th and 12th graders – shared with us their experiences at school, and for many of them their experiences as “ambassadors” in the United States. We were all moved by their eloquence and energy.

From Leo Baeck we drove north to Nahariya. Our first stop was the Western Galilee Hospital, the largest hospital in northwestern Israel. Situated only six miles from the Lebanese boarder, it was the primary site for taking care of the wounded during the katusha rocket strikes. We toured the bunkers which became the underground hospital during the war. The hospital itself was struck by what was termed a “baby katusha,” which meant it had a small charge and no shrapnel. We saw the extensive damage that even this small rocket caused.

From there we stopped at the Reform synagogue in Nahariya, Congregation Emet v’Shalom – “Truth and Peace.” They were fortunate enough to have a new building which they are renting thanks in part to the Israel Emergency Funds raised by the Federation. We met with members of the congregation, including a 13 year old boy – a recent émigré from Argentina, whose aunt was the first civilian killed in the summer war. We heard other harrowing stories from that time. Over 400 rockets fell into Nahariya and members of the Reform synagogue were among those personally affected. The congregation help organize, along with the World Union for Progressive Judaism, a caravan of buses to take those who wanted south and out of danger. Others chose to stay in their homes out of defiance. Some have lost faith in the army to protect them. Everyone believes that the war is only in a state of pause and that sometime soon the war will resume and rockets will fall again.

Seeing the courage and determination of those who live under fire, we are encouraged. But we know that Israel continues to need our support. The young man who lost his aunt told us it never occurred to him to return to Argentina. “This is our home now,” he said. The rabbi of the congregation said that it was better to live free but in danger, than to be safe but live with the Anti-Semitic oppression he knew in South America.

After we returned to Haifa, I had to bid farewell to the group as I returned to America. It was sad for me to separate from everyone. We have been through so much together in only a few days. I loved being able to share the Israel I knew, and discover so much that has changed, with this wonderful group. There will be time to reflect and time to plan how we can tell the story of what we have seen. For now, I wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat in Eretz Yisrael. L’hitraot.

(N.B. the blog will continue with other contributors over the next few days.)

From the Desert to the City – Finding Jewish Power

It is hard to say farewell to the desert. No matter how accustomed we are to the city, we are at heart a desert people. In the desert we heard God’s voice, in the desert we learned the commandments. As the sun rose this morning I took a walk to the edge of the maktesh to give my personal farewell. The desert sun already shimmered over the mountains and a herd of ibex, with their curving shofar horns, surrounded me on the summit. Farewell. I will carry the wilderness with me.

We traveled west towards the Mediterranean on a lovely warm and clear day, and north towards Tel Aviv. Just outside Tel Aviv we had an amazing experience at an army base. We arrived at the gates of the Zeferin IDF Ordnance School. Three young soldiers got on our bus – Craig’s eyes lit up as he realized that one of the young ladies was a California girl from San Diego. Danielle was a recent graduate of USC. She immediately made aliyah and began serving in the army. That personal connection began what continued to be a very personal exchange.

We began with a standard orientation that explained the purpose of the school – a technical training camp that gives the support corps their skills to maintain all the machines and weaponry of the army. The school has some difficulty attracting candidates. Ordinance is not the most popular corps among young Israelis who dream of more exciting army placement. None the less, as we learned, the support services are vital to the work of the army and there is great pride in what they do.

After our orientation we had a special surprise – we had just walked over to a large work shed when, with a roar, a large Merkava 4 tank, one of the most advanced in the world, rolled up in front of us. After a few impressive maneuvers, including a smokescreen and its rapidly turning turret aiming the barrel right at us, the soldiers brought us around back and gave every one of us a chance to poise for pictures in the tank, and have our own Michael Dukakis moment. We also had time to have personal conversation with the soldiers. Many are very young and our group was impressed with their youth, beauty (Janice!) and energy.

Sharon told us as we left that a group of young Israeli soldiers had came up to her and asked in Hebrew why we bothered to come to an army base – why would a group from America care what they were doing. Sharon explained that when people ask questions about what is going on in Israel, we are the ones who have to explain. This seemed to be something of a revelation to them and, as Sharon believes, their thinking is changed. Israel and Diaspora, we are connected.

In private conversations I gained the impression that the Israeli military is preparing itself. They have learned lessons from the experiences of the Lebanon war, but feel the situation is growing more unstable. Now we have faces and stories to go with those soldiers who carry the burden in any military conflict. We can imagine fresh young faces like those we met today, facing terrible conflicts, and our hearts sink. We are connected.

From the army base we come to Old Jaffa, the ancient port city from which the biblical Jonah set off before being swallowed by a “great fish.” Today it is filled with art galleries and features a spectacular view of the Mediterranean and the Tel Aviv beaches. We had some free time to wander the streets, paved with stones like Jerusalem.

From Jaffa we drove a short distance to the Etzel Museum. The Etzel (I.Z.L. - Irgun Zva Leumi – or National Military Organization, often referred to simply as the Irgun) was an underground fighting force during the British Mandate era. My father, may his memory be blessed, was an officer of the Irgun.

In the small museum we met a former Irgun fighter named Yosi Nachmiash. He was a vibrant 82 year old man who told absolutely riveting tales of the operations he was involved in. A former member of the British military during WWII, he was perfectly posed to exploit his knowledge of British army procedures and his command of English to “liberate” weapons and rescue captured comrades during the years before the state was established. Everyone enjoyed his almost cinematic storytelling. We could picture the dashing young man and his brave exploits. I am reminded that this generation will one day be gone – a point that was driven home to us as he left us early to attend the funeral of a former colleague – and feel privileged to have heard his story from his own lips.

Back on the bus I told the group that my father, who was in the Intelligence unit, spoke very little about his Irgun days – except when we were visiting Israel. He felt that there were secrets he had sworn to that, unlike the operations Nachmiash described, are not in the public record. However he was always clear that, unlike terrorists, the targets of the Irgun were always military and that supreme efforts were made to preserve civilian life.

After dipping our toes into the Mediteranian, we traveled north from Tel Aviv to Haifa. The lovely modern hotel where we are staying overlooks the port and offers a spectacular view at night. As we walked to find restaurants for dinner, Sharon oriented us by making a map of Israel out of Adam. With the youngest member of our group well humiliated, we were able to have a lovely evening out.

In the heights of Haifa we reflect on the lessons of the desert. We have gained strength – as has Israel. Now the question is how we use our power.