Israel at Sixty: The Persistence of Vision

The Etrog Shuk

by Barry Leff

Sukkot is a wonderful holiday to experience in Israel.

Note the title of this post: "The Etrog Shuk."  If you don't know what an etrog is, click here for a tutorial.  We have an etrog shuk here.  In most placees in the US, if you want to have the "four species" to wave during Sukkot, you need to order them in advance from your synagogue (or from Chabad, or by mail order).  Here in Israel you can wait until the day of Erev Sukkot, go to one of the "etrog shuks" (markets) and still have a wide choice of quality and prices.  From the low end with a missing pitam (which the vendor tried assuring me were kosher; maybe they grew without one which theoretically is OK) to the "medium-grade" to the beautiful and expensive.

Another way we could tell we are not in Toledo any more is that on the way home from school my 7-year-old daughter counted 27 sukkot.  And she could tell which ones were kosher and which ones were not -- she learned all about how many walls a sukkah has to have, how tall they have to be, details about the scach, etc.  When I came home with my etrog, she examined it to make sure it was kosher.

All of which also tells an interesting tale about our adaptation to life in Israel -- not only is she getting an excellent religious education, she is really becoming bilingual.  I had a lengthy conversation with her in Hebrew last week, and she told me how at the start of last year it was hard for her, but by the end of last year she could understand everything in class, and then at the start of this year it was like a "switch flipped" and she could easily speak Hebrew as well.  My wife and I were at first surprised when she reported to us that while it is still easier for her to speak English than Hebrew, she finds it easier to read Hebrew.  Of course, thinking about for ten seconds it's obvious why -- even though we read with her in English at home, she's absorbed in it all day at school.

If you are stressed out by the gyrations in the stock market over the last few weeks, take comfort in the message of Sukkot: we go out and dwell in booths for seven days as a reminder that the physical world is all temporary, and the things that are important are not fancy houses and other material things.

Which comes as a very timely reminder for me as well -- on Yom Kippur I was leading High Holiday services as a volunteer on a kibbutz in the Galillee, and mamash on Yom Kippur our car was stolen.  And we imported the car from the US and didn't have it insured against theft.  I find I'm not quite on the spiritual level of Rabbi Akiva, who was able to say "gam zu l'tovah," this too is for the best, when he lost his material possessions one night.  But I'm glad I have my kids around to remind me it's a commandment to be happy this time of year, and I do take to heart the message of Sukkot about not being obsessed with the material.  If I'm not yet able to say "gam zu l'tovah" with a whole heart, at least I'm still always able to say "it could have been worse!"

It is taught that "the day of judgement" for rain (and by extension therefore, our communal material prosperity) falls during Sukkot.  May God bless the coming year with health, prosperity, and spiritual growth for all!

Aliyah Economics

There have been a couple of blog posts in recent months suggesting that American Jews should consider making aliyah because it makes “good economic sense.”

See, for example, “Why American Aliyah? It’s the Economy, Stupid.”  The author quotes Abraham Waxman who points to the high cost of Jewish living – with day school tuition north of $15,000 a year, summer camp $4,000, synagogue dues, etc., the argument goes that it can be a financial benefit to make aliyah.

I’m all in favor of encouraging people to make aliyah.  Israel needs more Jews from Western countries—I believe our background and attitudes on everything from customer service to the environment to participating in the democratic process contribute greatly to the development of Israel.

However, of all the many reasons for making aliyah – and there are many good reasons – for pretty much any professional in the US or Canada at least, financial gain will not be among them, unless you have a lot of kids and work in a field that commands a high salary in Israel, like high-tech, or in a field that allows you to tele-commute to the US.

My “day job” is working for an outsourcing company that is based in the US and has major operations in India, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, and now a small operation in Israel.  When I look at the caliber of doctors and lawyers we have working for us – for wages that are decent by Israeli standards, but would be unheard of by American standards (unheard of in you’d never be able to hire someone straight out of school for what we get people with 20 years experience) – I am continually impressed with the dedication to building Israel these people have.

People like Abraham Waxman can say all they want about how much money olim can save on Jewish educations, etc., but considering that top professionals may be taking something on the order of a $200,000 / year pay cut to live in Israel, all I can say is you can buy a lot of day school tuition for that kind of money.

What makes aliyah from Western countries inspiring these days is that davka it’s NOT about financial improvement.

In last week’s Torah portion we read one of the more misunderstood lines in the Torah.  Everyone has heard the expression “for man does not live by bread alone.”  Gourmets use it as a justification for fancy meals.  Many people, including many Jews, think it sounds like some kind of New Testament quote.  The truth is the expression appears in the book of Deuteronomy, and what’s important is the rest of the sentence: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by what comes from the mouth of God.”  What’s important is following God, not having a lot of bread in your basket.  Immigrants from the West are putting the words of God above bread.  They are making the most powerful possible statement that there are other things that are more important than money, and they are putting their money where their mouths are. 

Happy Anniversary!!

Today marks the first anniversary of my family’s aliyah.  Exactly one year ago today, on July 10, 2008, we stepped off of our El Al charter flight…we had the distinction of receiving our teudat olah from Tzipi Livni on stage as part of the ceremonies.

So what’s it like after a year?  How does the reality live up to the expectation?

The State of the State

by Barry Leff

Last year I wrote a think piece presenting what my platform would be if I were running for Prime Minister of Israel.  You can read it here.  Since I have the hubris to think as if I were running for Prime Minister, the logical next step is to think as if I WERE Prime Minister.

We recently celebrated the 60^th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel.  If I were the Prime Minister, what kind of “State of the Union” speech would I have given?  Sixty years after our founding, what successes do we celebrate, what challenges do we face?

This Year in Jerusalem

by Barry Leff

Every year we close our seder with the words “L’shana haba’ah birushalayim,” “next year in Jerusalem.” Unlike the requirement to mention the Passover offering, maror, and matzah this phrase is not found in the Mishnah or even in the Talmud.  But the roots of the saying are found in the Mishnah, which is to say from about 1,800 years ago.  In Mishnah Pesachim we are told that Rabbi Akiva would conclude his seder with the following: “SO MAY THE LORD OUR GOD AND THE GOD OF OUR FATHER SUFFER US TO REACH OTHER SEASONS AND FESTIVALS WHICH COME TOWARDS US FOR PEACE, REJOICING IN THE REBUILDING OF THY CITY AND GLAD IN THY SERVICE, AND THERE WE WILL PARTAKE OF THE SACRIFICES AND THE PASSOVER-OFFERINGS.”  These sentiments are brought into the final bracha of the seder…”and rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city, speedily in our days, and bring us up into it.  Let us rejoice in it, and bless you in holiness and purity…”  It’s pretty easy to see how we naturally go from that blessing to a call for “next year in Jerusalem!”  And I did find a reference to saying “l’shana haba’ah birushalayim” in Minhagim Yisrael, from the early 1600s, so the custom is at least that old.

“Next year in Jerusalem” was clearly a cry from a people living in exile.

Competing narratives

by Barry Leff

One of the things that is fascinating about living in Israel is the way that myth informs reality, and how sometimes it's hard to separate myth FROM reality -- with consequences that are profound.

Last year, when I was still living the life of a congregational rabbi in the US, I gave a sermon on the topic of these "conflicting narratives," and how the stories that the Israelis tell and the stories that the Palestinians tell about the founding of Israel are widly different, and how those different narratives are a real barrier to peace and understanding; you can read the sermon by clicking here .  In recent weeks we've seen the depth of competing narratives WITHIN the Israeli population.

The terrorist who killed 8 students at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva was not picking a random target. 

Poll Results: What Will Be Israel's Situation 60 Years From Now?

by Barry Leff

Israel at Sixty is a place where we reflect on the state of Israel, 60 years after its founding.  It therefore seemed very appropriate that for our first poll, we would take a look in the other direction, and look 60 years in the future.

We posed the question "What will be Israel's situation 60 years from now?"

Despite the fact that this is a Zionist web site, and you might think the people reading the site would tend toward a positive bias, slightly over half the people have a pessimisstic (from a Zionist perspective) view of the future:

Those Walled In

by Barry Leff

Living in Israel is one continual encounter with the Israeli character, stereotypically labeled as the “sabra,” the cactus that is hard and prickly on the outside, but mushy and sweet on the inside.  But the Israeli character is far more complex than the stereotype.

Of course, on the one hand, there is no such thing as the Israeli national character – after all, a nation is composed of individuals, and each individual is unique.  And yet – somehow – there is a sort of character, a personality that a country has.  Or at least there is the character that people project on a nation.

Amos Elon, Israeli journalist and intellectual, wrote a review of “Walled: Israeli Society at an Impasse,” by Sylvain Cypel that appeared in the New York Review of Books. In the article Elon wrote "The original French title of the book, Les Emmurés—those walled in—better expresses the peculiar mixture of joie de vivre, arrogance, provincialism, aggressiveness, fear of another Holocaust, and claustrophobia that has struck foreign observers and also some Israelis for years."

I thank my American friend Nick for bringing Elon’s quote to my attention.  It makes an excellent launch pad for an exploration of the Israeli character.

Looking for a Woman Blogger...

It was pointed out to us some time ago that while we have a variety of voices on this blog, they are all men.  As we've been trying to get a woman to join our ranks, we keep being told "sorry, don't have the time."  It seems good women writers are in demand.  But I figured, what the heck, we have a perfect place to advertise: this blog.  If you are a woman, an excellent writer, and believe you have something to say about the state of Israel as we approach the 60th anniversary of the state, please send me an email including a writing sample and something about your background.

Send the email to rebbarry at yeladim.org.  Note you put this into usual email format with a "@", not the word at; writing it out helps prevent my email address from falling victim to automated spam email collectors.

Thanks!

Rabbi Barry Leff
"blogmeister"

Peace Deal in a Year?

by Barry Leff

US President George Bush has been here in Jerusalem for the last few days. Not wanting to take any chances with security, they simply shut down the center of Jerusalem for three days. It turns out traffic was not as terrible as people expected – it appears instead of fighting massive traffic jams, most people decided to stay away from Jerusalem, especially the center of town, for the duration.

Both the merchants and the journalists complained. The merchants obviously because they lost three days of sales, and the government was not reimbursing them. The journalists because when they aren’t taking notes in a meeting like to go out on the streets for some “local color” to add to their reports. And for the last three days there was no local color to speak of in the center of Jerusalem because there weren’t any people.

The right wingers were disappointed that attendance at anti-Bush rallies was pretty minimal. So between the lack of traffic jams and sputtering demonstrations, it feels like Bush’s visit didn’t have a big impact.

The question is will Bush’s efforts as symbolized by his visit here have an impact. It’s really hard to tell.