April 12, 2003
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Shalom l'kulam (hello everyone),
With just a few days left before we head off for the Passover break, I wanted to reconnect and to give you an update about what has been happening here in Jerusalem. It's a beautiful time of the year and we've been enjoying every minute.
We suddenly realized a few weeks ago that we'll be heading back to the States next month! There's a bittersweet feeling about that reality, as we're not quite ready to leave Israel, yet we're extremely excited to return home, be with our family, begin new adventures, and get settled into LA life. I was talking to a friend yesterday about this, about the feeling of having one foot in the States and one foot here and how hard that can be. It's a difficult thing to reconcile, being completely attached -- albeit in different ways -- to two places separated by thousands of miles. So with limited time, we're packing our days and nights and treasuring these last couple of months. (Click here for photos of our recent activities: https://millers18.tripod.com/recent.html
In addition to my "regular" routine -- visiting with the Ayale family every week, working out, going to lectures, cooking, etc. -- I've also been busy on a few projects. I just finished up with my business plan and I'm currently working with a friend to build the Butterfly Video Productions website. She used to work in the web site design field and she has amazing talents, so we decided to "barter" services -- I'm going to make a video of her upcoming wedding in exchange for her work.
May 17th will be the screening of the "HUC Year-in-Israel" video -- a way for the students and faculty to remember the experiences, friends, and way of life in the Holy Land. There will be over 400 photos, several video clips, music, graphics, etc. The organization and design has been a fun challenge and I hope that our community will enjoy having such a keepsake.
Mark and I recently volunteered with the Rabbanit Kapach, an incredible woman. I wrote about her once a few months ago, you may remember. (Link to that e-mail: https://millers18.tripod.com/1115.html) She has such strength and character, it's completely inspiring. She organizes the distribution of Passover "kits" -- filled with enough food and matzah to last through the holiday -- to over 5,000 people in need. This was her 39th year of doing this and at 80-something, she's still going strong.
We continue to read and watch about the situation in Iraq -- we've been mesmerized, actually, to see the response since the coalition took over Baghdad. The image of that first statue of Saddam being pulled down, jumped on, dragged through the streets, kicked...well, it was one I'll never forget. There is still a long way to go -- the stabilization, the rebuilding, the geopolitical situation of the US. But for now it seems that many Iraqi people are embracing this "liberation."
The biggest project of late has been preparing to go to the Former Soviet Union. We're leaving on Tuesday for a two-week adventure in Mother Russia. Our HUC group of 20 students and spouses organized the whole trip, from start to finish. We did fundraising, planned programs, designed itineraries, worked with partner organizations, etc. It has been an exhausting and rewarding experience thus far, and I can only imagine what will happen when we land in Moscow in three days. There are four of us (split into two groups) going to the Moscow area, a group going to the Ukraine, and one to Belarus. Mark and I will be working together to provide a number of Jewish experiences to small communities. Since the fall of Communism, the international Jewish community has done incredible work to educate, care for, and connect with Russian Jews. A lot of time, money, and energy has gone into education, especially, as many of the Jewish customs were lost, forgotten, and abandoned during the time of oppression. This is part of what we'll be doing -- educating people and revitalizing communities where Judaism (and all religion) was forbidden for years. We'll be leading Passover Seders, discussions about Israel, Judaism, and freedom, art projects with kids, Shabbat with a youth group, and -- perhaps most importantly -- making visits to elderly Jews who are homebound due to health reasons. We'll bring with us gifts, passion for Israel and Judaism, and an excitement to celebrate the holiday of freedom with people who haven't always had it. I know it will be a whirlwind 6 days, but I have a feeling it will be the experience of a lifetime.
Following our work in the outer communities, we'll spend a couple of days in Moscow then head on to St. Petersburg for some adventures on our own. I look forward to sharing stories and pictures when we return.
So I'll get back to planning for now. My thoughts are with you and your families all the time. May the beauty of spring and the holidays that accompany it bring you renewed strength, hope, and faith.
Love,
Rachel Ann
