Part of The Yom Haatzmaut Project
I'll be honest, it's taken a long time and a lot of bugging from Dan to get me to write this post. Clearly, it's not because I'm not a Zionist... (I don't think I'd be writing for Tzipiyah if I wasn't!) and it's definitely not because I don't have anything to say. It took me so long because I view Israel, and it's history, as an entity that is impossibly split up. Each event is a cause for the next; each accomplishment is a product of it's predecessors. It's really difficult for me to find any moment in Israel's history that can possibly stand alone. Having said that, I do need to answer the question. So I will.
I would like to explain what I see as the true "accomplishments" of Israel. In backwards order of precedence, they are:
4. Falafel, Beaches, Children, Heat.
These are the physical aspects of Israel. They are the smells and the sites and the sounds and the feelings that hit you in the face as soon as you step out of the Ben Gurion airport. They are the sun rising over the Judean Hills. They are the smell of the trees that line the roads into Jerusalem. They are the loud Hebrew bartering that you hear as you pass the Machane Yehuda Shuk. They are the 12 o'clock sun that melts your back when you walk through the old city. They are the taste of the Western Wall when you put your lips to it. This accomplishment of Israel is the unique sensory experience... the one that can be found only in glimpses in other parts of the world, never in such a complete way as is found in Israel.
3. Yeshivas, Books, "Little Women" in Hebrew
The next accomplishment is that of the intellectual. Israel is full of knowledge. The streets are lined with book stores, both new and used. People sit on benches and read. Yeshivas, high schools, elementary schools, universities, and preschools are packed and expanding. The fact that there are over 50 American Yeshiva/Seminaries in the Jerusalem area alone reminds us that those are not just Israeli's spending time learning in Israel. People go to Israel just to learn! They pack up their lives wherever they were living and take a year just for that purpose. Books are translated from Hebrew to other languages and back again. I even found an old and worn out copy of Little Women in Hebrew when I was there last year. The point is, Israel is a country that can't stop learning. Learning is education, and education is success. To me, this is an awesome accomplishment.
2. Shloimie, Yitzy, Chava, and Yardena.
The Rosh Yeshiva of the seminary I was in last year used to talk about how everyone in Israel is one big family. This might sound super cheesy, but put in context it makes incredible sense. People often joke about the rudeness of Israeli culture, and how the word "polite" doesn't seem to be part of their lexicon. Israeli;s are rude, they push, and they add in their own two cents, whether or not it was asked for. I have distinct memories of the lady in the Jerusalem post office actually scolding me for having carried a big box down the street all by myself, because I may have hurt my back. To me, this is what it means to feel completely comfortable with the people around me. To have the chutzpah to lecture me about carrying heavy boxes means that lady was not just a post office lady. She was someone who cares about me because we are members of the same family tribe. This family strength is felt in a magnified way in times of terror and distress. This is the emotional accomplishment of Israel. It allows Israel to be the only place in the whole world where I feel comfortable and at home with almost all of the people around me.
1. God.
The most important accomplishment of Israel (though the word accomplishment seems inappropriate in this particular context) is its spirituality. God is the spiritual connection that elevates Israel to such an astounding level. As a country divinely chosen for a divine people, Israel radiates with holiness and with pride. I believe that it is this holiness that allows for accomplishments 4, 3 and 2 to exist.
May we all have the merit of experiencing the holy Land of Israel in it's entirety, as a physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual whole. Moadim L'Simcha! -Elana
As an almost 20 year old in the 21st Century, I've got some things to say about today's Modern Orthodox society. They're a little random, (as can be noted by the title) but trust me it all comes together at the end.
1. Piercings
For the past 7 years or so, I spent a lot of time and effort badgering my parents to let me get a second piercing in my ears. Then one day I woke up to discover that I am living in an apartment in a city across the country from my parents, paying my own rent, buying my own groceries and doing my own laundry. Turns out I grew up. So I went out and pierced my own ears, no permission needed. (Don't worry, my parents weren't angry)
Now I've got two holes in each ear, which I don't think is so uncommon. In certain circles, however, it is. I'm at a secular university now, but I plan on spending some time in a ... more religiously inclined area ... next year. I'm aware that what I'm about to say is not the opinion of all, and perhaps only the opinion of a small percentage, but it is nevertheless there: Some people find it "hashkafically compromising" to have more than one hole in each ear. To me, this is incredibly absurd. It's one thing to say "never pierce your body" - that makes sense to me! Don't put extra holes in your body, because you don't want to change the way God made you. But once you're accepting one hole... what difference does it make that there are more? And it's not even a matter of having 17 holes crowding you're ear! It's one more hole, right next to the first one! What really gets me is that some people will go as far as to avoid dating people who have more than one hole in their ear. I don't think I have to go into detail of why that is ridiculous.
2. Fluff.
Having gone to a slightly more "intellectually inclined" seminary and now finding myself in the super-duper academic land of university, there's a comment that I often hear being made (and unfortunately catch myself saying too). It's the assertion that certain classes or shiurim are "too fluffy" "not real Torah" or "could just be read in a book". What does that mean that something is "not really Torah"? Is it idolatrous? Is it somehow not related to Judaism? Is it offensive in any way? When we say that things are "too fluffy", are we not essentially saying that we are above the subject matter, and therefore perhaps too good for a certain element of our religion? And when we say "I could just read it in a book", how many people actually go home and do that?
It seems to me that there is an entire element of our religion that is completely ignored by the intellectual world, simply because it just doesn't seem hardcore enough. Let's take the example of classes that are often referred to as "story time". I agree that if one has only a certain amount of time in their schedule, they may be more inclined to take a class that is more challenging. But what about after class? "Story time" classes usually involve stories of the shtetl, of Judaism as it was in past centuries, of the lives of people who could be great role models to us. Why don't we read these stories after class? Why is it so beneath us to educate ourselves in what the world today just writes off as "fluff?" It pains me to see an entire chapter of our tradition be cast aside because it's just not hardcore enough.
3. Overflung Chickens
I'm writing an essay for my religious ethics class about the Jewish approach to Animal Rights. Of course, the tradition to swing chickens over our heads for atonement the day before Yom Kippur gets a lot of ethical flak, and my argument is that the flak is with good reason. Where is the source for Kapparot? What's the point in it? It's mentioned in neither the Torah nor the Talmud, and was only brought about much later. Some even say that its origins are in pagan rituals. The potential idolatry aside though, what gives us the right to abuse a chicken like that? When researching for my essay, I found all these youtube videos of people attacking the poor chickens, swinging them around over their heads and then chucking them into big garbage bags or tiny crates. I've even seen this myself on the streets of Jerusalem, Erev Yom Kippur. Whatever happened to Tzar Baaley Hachayim, the biblical commandment not to hurt animals?! It would seem as though by going out of our ways to fulfill a Minhag (tradition) that has ambiguous sources, we are inadvertently violating a biblical commandment. In my eyes, this is way, way wrong.
Are we really willing to cast aside halacha in order to "atone for our sins" through the pain of a potentially pagan chicken?
Does it really matter enough how many piercings we have in our ears, that we would even avoid dating someone because of it?
Do we really mean to ignore learning aspects of Judaism that may help us better our connection with the history of our religion, just to say that we're hardcore learners?
The common denominator among these three topics is clear:
The Modern Orthodox World Is at Risk;
It's our job to correct it.
Display Name : Elana
Gender: Female
Birthday: May 4th
HomeTown (where you grew up): Vancouver, B.C.
Current City of Residence: Montreal, QC
Favorite City outside of Jerusalem: Most of the Galil and Golan
Yeshiva/Seminary Attended: MMY
Occupation: Student, eventually going into Education but currently with an undeclared major... hooray for indecision!
Interests or Hobbies: Torah and all things that encompass it; Jewish History; Music; Sewing; Swimming; Hiking; Breathing; etc
Favorite Music: Depends on the day and the time of year. For now, though, I've been listening to Moshav Band, Matisyahu, and both Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield. I also just discovered that the sound track to the Prince of Egypt is really really good!
Favorite Book : Exodus; Life of Pi; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; Um... Tanach...
Freestyle Description: I was born in Vancouver, B.C., spent a great deal of time there wishing I was in Israel, and then went to seminary in Israel for a year and officially decided that I needed to make Aliyah. Now I am completing my undergrad in North America, and planning on making Aliyah soon after graduation... which is in like 3 years. It's a while to wait, but Israel is worth it. :-)
Random Questions:
When you hesitate before hitting snooze on your alarm clock, are you being lazy?
Absolutely not!It's a psychological science.
Do you like hot sauce?
No
Whats your favorite planet and why?
It would have been Pluto, because it was so cute and small and cold. But now that it's not a planet, I'm gonna have to go with Earth.
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