Due to technical difficulties and a very sleepy rabbi, this is a combined blog for the past two days! Sunday morning we awoke still energized from the amazing b'nei mitzvah ceremony the evening before. The youngest kids went to the Biblical Zoo and explored the variety of animals here in the land of Israel (and the variety of ice creams available in the land of Israel). The rest of us went to Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial and museum in Israel. It was, as it always is, a powerful morning spent wrestling with the questions of theodicy--how do we make sense of God's role in the world, particularly during that period of time? We began at the Children's Memorial to the 1.5 million children who were murdered in the Shoah. Our guide asked us to try to remember one name we heard as we walked through this dark room filled with reflected candles. Almost everyone was able to recite a different name afterwards, continuing the act of memory. We walked at our own pace through the amazing museum--everyone agrees there is always more to see and one could spend several days going through everything at Yad Vashem. We took time to have a brief Yizkor service to take a moment to process all that we had seen and felt. I began this service by explaining there are no clear answers to why, how, and where God was in this. We are left with many questions, a sense of uncertainty, and a desire to make meaning. Thus, everyone was encouraged to take a moment and hug their children (and in some cases, this was a three-generation hug), to recognize that even amidst the uncertainty we can find blessing, we can take pride in our children and that Judaism continues with their generation and beyond. Yad Vashem is a testament to the most evil acts and the most selfless acts which exist side by side. We depart from it with a mission to choose good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, compassion over hatred, and memory over disinterest.
We said goodbye to Jerusalem and drove towards the Dead Sea. Immediately outside of Jerusalem we find desert (much like just outside of metro Atlanta, we find Georgia!). The landscape changes, everything becomes more isolated, dry, and desolate, with little pockets of vegetation. We went to Ein Gedi and hiked Nahal David, a waterfall/oasis amidst the mountains. You can imagine that in the mid-afternoon heat, the waterfall was an amazing find. Several commented on what a miracle it must have been like to discover water like this in the desert. We continued to our hotel and several went to float in the Dead Sea while the rest went in the pool. It felt exactly like a warm salt bath, but everyone enjoyed the float.
This morning brought us to the top of Masada. It is quite warm, almost unusually so, and thus we discouraged all but the most avid exercisers to take the cable car. We toured the ruins and tried to put ourselves in the position of the Jews on top of Masada. There are many questions about that story (we kept it less graphic for the younger kids), but it is a symbol of Jewish pride and commitment to faith. For a long time, IDF swearing-in ceremonies were held at Masada.
We hiked down after two long, hot, hours up on the mountain and made our way to Kfar Hanokdim, a Bedouin farm village. There, we enjoyed some Bedouin hospitality (we were taught about Bedouin culture by Mohammed, who has 19 children and 3 wives), a camel ride, and lunch. It was fun but still quite hot...plus there is something about seeing your pita being carried to the kitchen by wheelbarrow that makes you think twice about your lunch. The camels were a hit with the kids, and I am pleased to report the adults have stopped walking funny.
The rest of our day has been spent by the pool and the Dead Sea. Several people went for the mud, and almost everyone has been in the pool for at least a minute (have I mentioned it is hot?). It is a lot of fun to see all of our kids playing and enjoying one another's company--they love havng kids' tables for meals and are really quite bonded. And, the adults are having fun too--everyone always seems to have someone to talk to, and although we are divided into buses, there is clearly a sense of community among everyone. If the goal of this trip is to be bonded to the land of Israel and our Temple family, I think we're succeeding!
Tomorrow we will be doing a dig and then heading to the modern city of Tel Aviv. We are definitely in the homestretch of our trip, but there is a lot to do in these next few days!
Rabbi Lapidus
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