OJC Israel Experience Day 8: Lessons from the Edge
People say that life is lived on the edge here in Israel. Today we learned to specific examples of living on the edge.
We were welcomed into an example of a traditional tent for Bedouin hospitality (and of course The requisite camel rides) in order to experience something about this proud people who live on the edge of Israeli society.
Zalman, our guide, taught us about the complexity of the situation: How does a traditionally nomadic people manage in a land of boundaries and governmentally established cities and towns? How does one generation pass on ancient tradition to the next generation that desires to be part of modern society? How is one people citizens and soldiers yet outsiders, tent-dwellers yet also students in university, shepherds but also hopelessly unemployed? We enjoyed coffee and baklava even as we came to understand the precariousness of Bedouin culture in the Middle East.
We visited Kibbutz Alumim along the Gaza border and learned about life on the edge: of the boundary of the state of Israel, of the socialist tradition of kibbutzim, of living a religious life as kibbutzniks, and of the potential for a normal life despite the threat of tunnels and missiles from neighboring Gaza.
Yes, it was an intense day. But we also laughed a lot, starting out with Zeke’s masterful joke telling on the bus, the kids’ coaxing all of us into participating in a mannequin challenge (if you don’t know what that is, ask a 12-year-old!) and continuing through our hilarious escapades atop camels.
As for me personally, I had to say goodbye to Josh who returned to base this afternoon, but rejoiced in the opportunity to light candles with Sarah and Sagi in their new apartment in Tel Aviv.
I have so much gratitude to my fellow travelers on this pilgrimage in the land of Israel. We are experiencing a week beyond all expectations.
Thinking of everyone on night four of Hanukkah from the shore of the Mediterranean sea,
Rabbi Paula Mack Drill
OJC Israel Experience: Lessons of the Desert
Micah blew shofar to begin our day.
Looking out over the amazing Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater), eight year old Micah Fox blew his new shofar with perfect pitch and rhythm. Zalman (our guide) read to us from The Little Prince:
One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams… “What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well.”
And so began a day of desert exploration: political, spiritual, physical and emotional. At Sde Boker we learned about the vision David Ben Gurion had about the future of Israel; that the settlement of the Negev was the most important national, security and economical mission.
We hiked along the canyon bed and up the side of the cliffs at Ein Avdat. Members of the group hiked according to their level of comfort. Regardless of who decided to hike up the stairs and ladders, all were inspired by our almost nonagenarian, Marvin Shapiro, who hiked to the very top. Ice cream was everyone’s reward!
In the town of Yerucham, we were welcomed into the home of Jo Jo and Mazal for a delicious lunch and Jo Jo’s family history of aliya in the 50s from Tunisia. Our afternoon concluded with text study about why the Torah was given in the desert. Like all Jewish questions, they were many answers! Meet me at the OJC in about five months when we begin reading the book of Bamidbar on Shabbat mornings; I promise to share the answers that we developed at the shore of Yerucham Lake on the edge of the desert.
I feel so blessed to have been welcomed lovingly into a group that has been traveling already together for almost a week. As we are about to light candles for the third night of Chanukah, we will all be thinking about Rabbi and Nancy Scheff. Earlier today in Florida, Rabbi Scheff officiated at the funeral of his beloved Aunt Debbie. May the entire family find comfort in being together and sharing beautiful memories.
Kol tuv from the edge of the desert,
Rabbi Paula Mack Drill
OJC Israel Experience 5777, Day 3 – A community is revealed
Our Day 3 experience kicked off in the early morning with a prayer service at Azarat Yisrael, the portion of the Kotel that our community calls home. Eliana Pressman, our Bat Mitzvah celebrant, led us in prayer, read from the Torah, and taught us about treating people according to their needs. Her words were a fitting lesson for a day of meeting others’ needs. Amidst so much celebration (the naming of a 3-month old girl in absentia; conferring a Hebrew name upon Jack and Janet Miller’s granddaughter Julia; Marvin Shapiro’s upcoming 90th birthday; Michael and Bryna Schoenbarts’ 35th anniversary; and Mark Katz’s birthday), we had reminders throughout our day that the best way we can show our gratitude for blessings is by being there for others in need.
Today we marveled at the majesty and mystery of Jerusalem’s holy sites and history. We walked the length of the Western Wall underground, appreciating the architectural feats of 2 thousand years ago in the construction of mikvahs, cisterns and towering walls.
It was the simple acts of kindness, however–literally raising up the fallen, celebrating special moments in life’s cycles, restoring lost items, comforting the bereaved, and feeding the hungry–that truly made this day what it was.
Today, our group of pilgrims and tourists became a community.
As I hand over the group to Rabbi Drill after Shabbat, I am so comforted by the knowledge that a new community within our community has been born. Thank you, God, for giving us life, sustaining us, and bringing us to this moment in time.
Rabbi Craig Scheff
Israel Experience 5777, Day 2
Shalom me’Yisrael!
Our flight brought us into Ben Gurion this morning just after 9am, Israel time. After collecting our bags, we paused to consider whether we would be taking in the next week as pilgrims or as tourists. It didn’t take us long to get “down and dirty” (so much for being tourists!) as we visited the landscape of the Bible at Ne’ot Kedumim. Our ancestors’ stories came to life as we drew water from the ancient cisterns and crushed olives to make oil. As we herded sheep and reflected on the challenges we faced, the words of Psalms became part of our lesson on leadership, responsibility and compassion. I’ll never read “The Lord is my shephard” the same way again.
Next stop, lunch. And with Chanukah Eve approaching, it is far more likely to find these tasty delights in storefronts, as opposed to tinsel. They seem to be everywhere food is found, and they are called SUFGANIYOT! They are a thick and cakey version of the doughnut, and they are wildly decorated to flavor.
It wasn’t long before we were eating again, as we drank a L’chayim and broke bread (over two very long challahs!) upon our pre-sunset entry into Jerusalem. We were introduced to the many dichotomies Jerusalem (it’s very name a plural) represents: the Jerusalem on high and the Jerusalem of this world, old and new, ancient and modern, east and west, physical and spiritual … and the list goes on. No doubt we will spend many hours considering the complexity of this holiest of cities through the end of the week.
After checking in at the hotel in Jerusalem, we met to process our first day’s experiences in Israel. The most common expression of surprise was how cosmopolitan and developed the country feels. It’s a minor miracle we were still awake to share our thoughts, and perhaps even more miraculous that we still had room for dinner!
Early wake-up call as we head to the Kotel for a Bat Mitzvah celebration in the morning.
God, I am so filled up and full!
Laila tov from us all,
Rabbi Craig Scheff
The “long arm” of the OJC
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s an F-35! No, it’s OJC on United 84, leaving Newark and headed for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. OJC?! Yes, OJC, where just one month after sending 24 people on a week-long volunteer mitzvah mission, the congregation is sending a delegation of 39 for the 5777 OJC Israel Experience.
Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu called Israel’s “long arm” longer and mightier with the arrival of two F-35 fighter jets. There is no debating the qualitative advantage these machines provide to Israel for the protection of the Jewish homeland. I like to think of our frequent Israel trips as the long arm of OJC, made longer and mightier with each trip, providing a qualitative advantage to the Jewish identities of those participating in our trips.
It is remarkable to consider, in a community of 500 households, how many people will represent us in Israel in the year 5777. Between our synagogue trips, college students on Birthright, Conservative Yeshiva or semesters abroad, high schoolers on USY or Ramah summer programs, 8th and 12th graders participating in Schechter school trips, our children making aliyah, congregants visiting friends and families, and individual families taking a 2-week tour, I estimate that at least 120 individuals will touch down in Tel Aviv. It brings your rabbis tremendous naches (comfort/pride) to sense the strong connection that our OJC community shares with Eretz Yisrael. As a factor that heavily influences Jewish engagement and future identification, our Israel connection bodes well for the next generation, despite the widely reported trends to the contrary.
The OJC Israel experience is also one committed to appreciating the nuances of the relationship we share with Israel. Firmly committed to her security and longevity as the Jewish state, we also acknowledge the challenges–particularly the political, religious and social–that Israel faces in maintaining a democratic and pluralistic character and in living up to our Jewish ideals. Our journey will take us back in time to trace forward the progression of the Zionist dream: from the history of Jerusalem (the city of Zion) to the earliest Zionist dreamers, to the British Mandate, to the survival of Shoah, to the founding of a State, to the development of the Negev, to the birth of a start-up nation. We’ll celebrate a bat mitzvah and the holiday of Chanukah, experience a Jerusalem Shabbat, reunite with friends and family, and partner with communities. We’ll learn, feel, struggle and grow. We’ll fly, float, eat, climb, ride, eat, shepherd, plant, eat, sing, package, eat, pray and maybe even jog. I guarantee you, we’ll come back more tired than we left (and perhaps a couple pounds heavier!). We’ll strengthen our understanding, our commitment, our identities and our community.
This is the OJC Family Israel Experience 5777. And today is Day One. We depart from the synagogue lot today at 12:30pm, only hours from now. Follow us for the next 10 days with our daily blog and Facebook posts.
L’hitraot,
Rabbi Craig Scheff
Breast Cancer Awareness Does Not End on October 31
Time collapses each time I have my annual mammogram. Months and years fold in upon themselves like an accordion. My last mammogram was a year ago and yet, as I signed in at the reception desk today, it felt like I had just checked in not a month before. How does the just-been-here-just-done-this feeling surface every year?
Millie Ibarra walked 39 miles for Avon Breast Cancer Walk 2016
Millie Ibarra, our family nanny and dear friend, is a ten-year breast cancer survivor. I made my mammogram appointment today, November 30, to honor her birthday. I know that it has been more than ten years since Millie’s diagnosis, but when I put on the robe before the mammogram, time collapsed for me. It felt like just a moment ago that I was sitting in an office at UMDNJ with her, listening to Dr. Clark tell us that Millie had stage four breast cancer.
My mother and maternal aunt both died of metastasized breast cancer. I bring them with me into the cold, antiseptic room with the spaceship-like imaging machine every year, wishing that they had benefited from all the advances in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment of the past decades. Although my mother’s twentieth yahrzeit is in two weeks, it feels like just a minute ago that she was on the phone, telling me that the cancer had spread and that it was time for me to come home to help her. I packed up Josh, just five months old, left the older three at home with Jon and flew to Maine. Time collapses.
For my mom and my aunt and Millie and my friends, and for the scores of women at the Orangetown Jewish Center who are fighting or have fought breast cancer, I religiously make my annual mammogram appointment . And I go on time. I say a prayer, smile bravely through the test and leave, hearing the precious words, “Looks good! We’ll mail the report.” The Breast Center provides bouquets for every woman and I always choose yellow roses, my mother’s favorite.
One year, the technician could not find any yellow roses amidst the pinks and reds. When I burst into tears, she put her arm around me. “Don’t take any roses this year,” she said. “Next year, take two”. I am one of the lucky ones; the seven in eight, not the one in eight.
Breast cancer awareness does not end on October 31st each year. Women (and men who are at risk) must stay vigilant all through the year. The courageous women of Orangetown Jewish Center who established the Pink Bag Project take care of each other and anyone who is diagnosed as time goes on.
On December 9 and 10, they are bringing Pink Bag Project Shabbat to us at Orangetown Jewish Center. Melissa Rosen, Director of National Outreach of Sharsheret, will join us for Shabbat to teach about breast and ovarian cancer awareness, research, treatment and family support. The purpose of this Shabbat is to share ways to support caregivers of family and friends who are ill. Join us on Friday, December 9 at 6:00 pm for services and Dinner and Dialogue (RSVP today to Diane Goldstein, dolphin99@optonline.net) and on December 10 for Shabbat learning during services and after kiddush.
And if it has been more than a year, if you have let time slip by, consider making your mammogram appointment today.
With prayers for good health,
Rabbi Paula Mack Drill
OJC Mitzvah Mission 2016, Conclusion
The beauty of Jerusalem was on full display this morning, as our running club jogged through the gentrified railway station and the German Colony and the rising sun burned through the early haze to clear the sky. Our first formal stop was the Masorti Kotel, the spot where we are most comfortable praying as a community, and one that has generated much controversy in the last months. The Israeli government has failed to implement legislation, passed last year, that would formally extend the Kotel, its plaza and its security, to the southern end of the western wall. Our presence here is, in part, a stand for what we believe and what we expect from the state we call our Jewish homeland.
The morning service was participatory and upbeat; Amy Schwartz led shacharit, Linda Varon and Mikalah Weinger read Torah. Most special of all, however, was the moment our group quietly stepped over to the next Torah station at the wall to complete a minyan for a family’s bar mitzvah celebration. When they boy looked up from reciting his blessings, he was shocked to see 23 of us standing around him! And when we started to sing “mazel tov,” we could see the boy’s joy and the parents’ emotion and appreciation. It’s always amazing how the most meaningful moments are often the ones not planned. Add one more beautiful mitzvah to the list of the many fulfilled this week!
We drove west to Motza, where we visited Beit Yellin, established in 1860 as the first Jewish agricultural settlement outside the Old City. We learned the history and historical significance of this home, now rebuilt and revitalized by the Jewish National Fund. An hour of digging, planting and staining gave us the satisfaction of preserving a piece of our pioneering history and beautifying another natural setting.
Our closing lunch once again was an emotional time of sharing impressions and highlights, validating our decisions to commit to this unusual and challenging experience, whether for the first time or the eleventh.
As I sit on the plane anxiously awaiting takeoff, I am looking forward to my own pillow and a restful Shabbat. Leaving Israel, however, is never easy. There is so much work still to be done. That being said, I take solace in knowing that, as the sun sets on this mission, in 4 short weeks I will return with our OJC Israel Family Experience with a group of 39; and in one short year, the sun will rise upon OJC’s 12th annual mitzvah mission, November 12-19, 2017. Join us!
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Craig Scheff
OJC Mitzvah Mission 2016, Day Four
Yoav greeted us at Ahava this morning as family, with all his warmth, sincere care and passion, as if we had just come home after a semester abroad. He enthusiastically described the new projects taking place around the village; in particular, a soccer field where children and their fathers typically play on visiting days, accompanied by coach, social worker and therapist. At other times, groups of children play together, observed by the social worker who will then sit the boys down and process their interactions. Brimming with pride, he shared that Ahava had just been awarded another 5-star rating for the beauty of its facility, and a certificate of recognition for its efficient operation as a nonprofit. And he attributes these successes–at least in part–to our OJC contributions and the unique relationship we share.
So much life, empowerment and hope in a place potentially filled with so much pain. Mikalah spent last evening partying with girls of Ahava, ages 6 to 17, at an opening event for an initiative called the “Girls Project.” It was a night of music, food, fun, and companionship, celebrating healthy relationships and positive self-image. We met with the class of children beginning the process of study towards bar mitzvah and gave them watches donated to us back home. We delivered beautiful artwork from our own Naaseh/USY kids to our host families.
And finally, we created another beautiful space (with the assistance of the talented staff) that serves, literally and symbolically, as a place of life, growth, fruition and hope.
That’s what this place is all about. That’s what we want to be all about. And as we finished the day gazing at Jerusalem, we realized that’s what this land of Israel, at its heart, is all about.
Laila tov,
Rabbi Craig Scheff
OJC Mitzvah Mission 2016, Day Three
Day 3 of our 11th annual mitzvah mission to Israel was graced with a brilliant blue sky and a warming sun, so any work outdoors today was going to be welcome. It was great to be back at Ahava, seeing familiar faces of children and counselors who anticipate our arrival each November, hearing “the group from Orangetown” being acknowledged with familiarity and gratitude, and sweating a little from our physical labor.
We started the day in “Rob’s Corner,” which we created and dedicated last year in memory of Rob Katz z”l and Danny Klein z”l. Being there today was particularly poignant, given that this date was Rob’s birthday, and this was where he celebrated for nearly the last decade. This home for children “at risk” held a special place in his heart, and Rob was beloved by the administrators, staff and children alike. We quietly prayed, and rededicated our efforts to honor the legacies of 2 beloved people, to stretch beyond our comfort zones and to give freely to others.
The Ahava stories of resiliency and generosity–those of the children and of their caregivers–continually inspire us; but we have come to recognize that we inspire them as well. The work of our hands can be seen all around the village, and the village administrators have expanded their vision of what is possible. As a result, our projects have become more intricate, artistic and interesting, and the village facilities more beautiful.
Our group broke into pairs to share lunch with the children and their caregiver families, and our experiences in this setting are always quite diverse. Some home settings are quite functional, familial and warm; others exhibit difficult dynamics of disciplining adults and oppositional children. I happened to sit next to a talkative 15 year-old boy who shared with me that, before coming to Ahava, he had been in a residential facility that could not teach him to address his challenges. In contrast, three years at Ahava, along with the loving discipline of his second family, have given him the skills and confidence to overcome his past and to look ahead with a sense of hope.
Tomorrow we return to Ahava to complete our flower gardens, trellises, planting, painting, photography project, bracelet-making and mosaics. We’ll celebrate with, and offer gifts to, this year’s bar mitzvah class. We pray that God will bless the work of our hands so that it–and we–may serve as a legacy to the benefit of others.
Happy birthday, Rob. Miss you.
Rabbi Craig Scheff
Day 2 – On a mitzvah mission
Part of the beauty of this group is that sometimes, honestly, we don’t know exactly where we are going or what to expect. “Roll with it,” we tell ourselves, because our intention first and foremost is just to be here, and when we show up to support an organization that is doing some good for someone, chances are we’ll do some good as well.
ALEH is that organization that collects small change on El Al flights in order to make a big difference in the lives of those with disabilities. We chose ALEH as our first project, and started our day south of Tel Aviv, in Gadera, where we met the special people who give hours of their lives, 6 to 8 each day, to teach, care for and grow with individuals from infancy to 60 who experience a wide range of disabilities. We entered ALEH’s school after a brief introduction and instantly found ourselves bewildered by the severity of the disabilities–physical, cognitive and emotional–of the people with whom we had chosen to interact. The “projects” we were meant to undertake with the consumers were frustrating and futile attempts to establish some level of communication. The discomfort was evident in our body language.
Until, that is, we started seeing each child, teen and young adult as individuals. First, we strung beads, guiding their hands, or pushed them gently in their swings. Next we held their hands. And finally, we danced. The sounds and smiles, followed by the jumping and swaying, gave expression to the excitement we all felt in connecting. (Sorry, no pictures allowed of the consumers.)
And when the songleader led the residents in the Hebrew song “Thank you for all You, God, created,” several of us were reduced to tears. How astonishing to hear such expressions of gratitude from those with such challenges in their lives–for God’s goodness, for their teachers, for each other, for us. How could we ever be the same?
We took a deep breath to recover from the emotion of the morning by finding respite in the shade of my sister’s back yard. We filled our bellies with pizza, pita and falafel while enjoying the home hospitality and Randi’s story about our family history, dating back to 1949, on the moshav. Thank you, Randi and Avi, for opening your home!
By 2:30, we felt like it was Day 3 of the mission, but we had one more stop to make before heading to Haifa. BINAH (“wisdom”) is a “secular yeshiva” in Tel Aviv where Israelis of all sorts join in Jewish study, social action and community empowerment. “A Home for the Creation of the Nation’s Soul” is the vision towards which the movement works, and “secular” Israelis are lining up to reclaim their Jewish heritage as expressed through this vision. We toured the depressed area of Neve Sha’anan, near Tel Aviv’s central bus station, to learn how this neighborhood came to be the haven for asylum seekers and migrant workers from the African continent.
Once at the yeshiva, we engaged in a text study that led us to reflect on how Israel wrestles with preserving its character as a Jewish state while representing the highest ideals of our tradition, remembering that Israel is, by and large, a nation of refugees. Needless to say, Israel and the Zionist dream is still a work in progress.
All in a day’s work. Small change, big difference.
Rabbi Craig Scheff
Two Rabbis, One Voice, Three Opinions 
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