What does it mean to be a part of am yisrael?

Being a part of am yisrael is complicated, yet very rewarding.  There are many complex ideas and traditions that play into it.  Personally, am yisrael provides a culture as well as a religion.  Many parts of the culture that are meaningful to me are the holidays and traditional foods.  The culture is more prevalent when in Israel.  In Israel, days off of school revolve around the Jewish holidays and the main language spoken is Hebrew.  When in Israel, you do not have to go out of your way to keep up with the Jewish aspect of your life because your always surrounded by it.  This is a really cool aspect of being part of am yisrael and being in Israel also.

Another important part about being a part of am yisrael is Israel advocacy and education.  It is important to educate the non-educated and then leave them to make their own decision based on their knowledge.  This is especially important when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  People need to be educated when choosing positions on any subject, and this is very important when it affects am yisrael. 

Am yisrael provides a community that stems from ancient times.  Even though, there are disagreements sometimes, when it gets down to it everyone has each others backs.  Being a part of am yisrael means you get a culture, a community, and a lifestyle all in one. 

Anat Hoffman

Recently, Anat Hoffman came and spoke to us about her organization Women of the Wall and the other social action based activities she's involved in.  Her missions include obtaining equality for all in a way that will fall into Israeli society.  I have had a couple experiences with Women of the Wall.  My first was last winter when I got to light Hanukkah candles at the Kotel. After that we also got to have a personal talk with Anat Hoffman.  It was very interesting to hear a lot of the things she was advocating for in Israeli society.  This year I had my second experience with Women of the Wall and we went for Purim. Still it was a very cool experience.  Anat Hoffman came and spoke to our group and explained what she was about.  However, this was the same as the first talk I listened to from her.  The difference was me.  She mainly focuses on issues regarding the Kotel.  However, since being on EIE I have become aware that the average secular Israeli does not really care about Kotel rights, since it does not directly affect their everyday life.  The question was then brought up of non religious marriage and if she is fighting for any rights regarding that.  Then, she went into an explanation saying she has tried and is still currently trying, but she usually does not bring it up to American groups considering it is not something that affects us. Anat Hoffman is coming to my synagogue in June. This will be the third time I hear one of her talks and I am very curious to see how she portrays herself, Women of the Wall, and how it compares to the other talks I have heard from her. 

Yam L'Yam (Sea to Sea)

Just call me Forrest Gump because I just walked across the country.  Even though Israel may not be even close to as big as America....we still traveled the whole width.  It was so crazy fun!  So I'm basically gonna take you guys through the gist of my days. 

Day 1:
We started at the Sea of Galilee.  We did a super easy water hike and then went to our campsite.  We had a cute first night bonfire and roasted marshmallows (kosher for Passover obviously).  Then, we got to sleep under the stars.  No, we didn't have a tent, they just laid out a tarp and gave us all sleeping bags.  Quite a first camping experience. 

Day 2:
This was the hardest day of all of them.  We woke up at 6ish and started our hike about an hour later.  About an hour in, we stopped and made ourselves breakfast.  Each group is given 2 burners, a bag of apples, matzah, salami, spices, cooking oil, rice, and chocolate spread.  This is given to us each morning and we eat it for breakfast and lunch.  Also, we have to carry all of this with us, as well as 4.5 liters of water.  Let me tell ya it gets pretty darn heavy.  So, we continued to hike for the rest of the day and most of it was uphill so it was very difficult.  We took the occasional break and about an hour break for lunch.  We continued out hike until around 5 and finally made it to our campsite.  Even though the day was hard and tiring, it was still so much fun and one of my favorite days of EIE.

Day 3:
They gave us tents this night :-).  We woke up and got ready to go for another long day of hiking.  Still a super fun day.  This day we got to do self navigation, so each group got a map and a walkie talkie and had to navigate ourselves to our checkpoints along the way and our destinations.  This went interestingly because I was in charge of navigating for my group and we went to the wrong way within the first 30 seconds.  But, we ended making it to lunch perfectly fine.  On the way we passed by wild cows just roaming the forest and tons sheep being herded all by one man.  It was so cool to see.  The day was a little shorter than the previous and was still a lot of fun.

Day 4:
This day was a water hike!! So much fun.  The whole day we walked past streams and small natural pools and we would stop and get to swim and explore the secrets of them.  My friend and I discovered a waterfall and climbed up it.  It was one of the coolest experiences.  Also, the whole hike was beside and stream so we got to adventure and create our own slippery path to navigate it. 

Day 5: 
This was our last day, and do not get me wrong I loved it, but I was really looking forward to a shower, not sleeping outside, and indoor plumbing (did I mention there were no toilets unless you count the bushes).  This day we rode bikes and finally made it to the Mediterranean sea.  It was so cool to be able to look into the distance and see the approaching sea.  Then, we rode our bikes right up to the sea and were able to run and jump into the ocean.  It was soo much fun and definitely made it on my list of most fun  days.

Yam L'Yam was challenging and very rewarding.  The distance we traveled on foot everyday was a crazy accomplishment for all of us.  It was so much fun and a great experience.

Still in Israel!!!!!

Hello fellow humans! Nice to make your acquaintance.  I just have so much anticipation to update everyone on my past week.  However, first I must begin by telling you guys that I got back from Poland about a week ago. It was an intense experience, but no worries I will try to communicate my feelings and the horrors to the best of my ability.  These will be in an essay that I am writing for Jewish history.

On a lighter note, the past week has been choc full of wonderful times and activities.  We had Sunday off since we got back to the Kibbutz at the ripe ole time of 5 am.  Also, let me tell ya there is nothing like coming back to a home as amazing as Israel after a lengthy and draining trip.  Then, we had school for a couple days, but even school in Israel is a billion times better than school in the US.  We two trips last week, which include a tiyul (trip) to the north and to Tel Aviv.  We went to the Kinneret aka the Sea of Galilee.  It's so beautiful there.  During this tiyul, we went to the first Kibbutz in Israel, which was established in 1909 (my mom and dad may remember that) (lol because they are old), it was very interesting to see all the hard work and struggles that people went through in order to create this settlement.  We also got a super beautiful view over the yam (sea).  Do my Hebrew skills impress you yet?

Another tiyul we went on was to Tel Aviv!!! Yay, it was super, super fun.  My Jewish history teacher is a certified tour guide (he also has a secular wife) (that needed to be included because everyone on EIE with me will get the joke).  He took us on a graffiti tour in his neighborhood, so he basically knew it like the back of his hand.  He lives in a "super hipstery" (his words) part of Tel Aviv called Florentine.  The graffiti encasing the neighborhood ranges from artwork belongs in a museum to a pre-schooler trying to write his/her name for the first time.  Regardless, the whole place has a ton of personality and seems to be an amazing place to live.  We also got some free time to walk around Tel Aviv by ourselves (woot, woot party!!).  It is so amazing to experience the rush to complete the shopping for Shabbat and be in the shuk (the market) while this is taking place.  Everything about it just intensifies the love I have for being here, because there is just something different in the air. I will not be able to feel that once I get home. We ended our week with a Shabbat service themed around friendship, which just seems so fitting.

Some miscellaneous things that I would like to include are EIE is halfway over :-( .  I love it here (if you were not aware yet).  My friends here are amazing.  I am just learning so much all the time.  This upcoming week we are going on two more tiyuls; one to Tel Aviv and one to Jerusalem to see a jail (????).  These are supposed to be super fun and interesting.  Also, MY BIRTHDAY IS FRIDAY!!!! WOOHOO! That's about it for now, catch ya on the flip side!

Hello everyone, I missed you!
sorry I haven't blogged in a while I just got rescued from a juvenile detention center in Siberia.
It was hard, but educational, just like my time in Gadna. So if you aren't aware Gadna is a week long taste of the Israeli army, which many Israeli teens experience to prepare them for the army. While many people use Gadna to release enough tears to fill an entire ocean, I had an amazing experience.
I had so much fun messing with my commander, and tryimg to make her laugh when she tried to be super serious in front of us. However, I succeeded in making her laugh and smile on several occasions. Also, just a little tip if you plan on going to the IDF, they do not enjoy it when you march behind them or salute them.

Some of the highlights of my Gadna experience include, painting my face with mud, engineering the construction of my tent, cleaning the dinning room and kitchen for 5 hours (well kind of), braiding the Israeli girls hair, and trying to make friends with my commander (and failing :-( ) . I loved braiding the Israeli girls' hair, failing to make friends with my commander, cleaning the dinning room and kitchen for the first 15 minutes, then I proceeded to lead my group in many musical performances including (but not limited to) High School Musical, Camp Rock, and Annie. But above all I just enjoyed living the life of the IDF soldiers.

Just like in regular life, not everything in army life is perfect. Sometimes you need to put your big girl panties on and shoot the gun (literally). Shooting a gun was not fun, it made me sad. Also, sleeping in a tent while the big bad wolf is trying to blow your tent down, is not ideal, but thanks to my panties I got over it and had an overall fantastic time during Gadna.

This article is about the interactions between Goliath and Saul.  Both of these men are very easily defined.  Saul is certaintly worthy and capable of being a king, while Goliath relates more with a warrior.  Throughout the article, it is able to communicate a sense of the connection or lack of between apperances and reality.  Then, everyone is thrown off by the misconception of looks when David, who is only a shepard, turns out to be one of the most accomplished kings and warriors in the Israelite society.  A quote written in the artcle: "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for it is not as man seeth: for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" is able to identify the main theme that is being communicated in the story of Goliath and Saul.  David, who ends up winning in the end, owes his success not to God, but to his faith in God. 

The last sentence of the article perfectly defines the whole things and relates it back to life today. "When thinking about world conditions today, and in particular about the real sources of Israel’s strength as a nation, careful readers of the David and Goliath story might do well to bear in mind its central message: things are not always as they are seen, or as others wish us to see them." This quote is saying that sight is a bias sense to rely on.  If you rely too much on it, you could morph the reality into what you wish was there.  This is important to realize and be aware of in life.  Everyday, people are judged based upon their looks, gender, and the color of their skin.  Based on this, people's oppurtinity's are either dimished or increased depending of the other person's judgement of them.  This is a problem because the person may not always be suitable for the position or whatever

David's Secret Weapon Article

As many people know, David and Goliath both competed in an epic battle.  Within this story, there is a theme of defining people based on their appearances.  David, who is a shepherd, was thought to not have the ability to become king.  However, he soon becomes one of the greatest kings the Israelites have ever seen.  The idea of not judging someone based on their appearances or your immediate judgement is very important.  They also related this idea to the modern day society. "When thinking about world conditions today, and in particular about the real sources of Israel’s strength as a nation, careful readers of the David and Goliath story might do well to bear in mind its central message: things are not always as they are seen, or as others wish us to see them."  This idea is very important considering Israel appears to be a very small, insignificant county.  However, they really are a center for technological developments and other advancements that are being used around the world.  In modern times and from the biblical period, the idea of not defining things based on their first appearance is still prevalent, and will always be no matter the time period.