September, 2002
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It’s amazing to me how quickly Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, rolls around. Most years I am good about finding time to read, write, and reflect on the previous year in the weeks leading up to this holiday. Now, with more time on my hands than I’ve had in a while (yes, I work hard in school, but it’s nothing like running a camp!) I simply didn’t find the time. So I’ve been trying to cram some contemplation into the last day or two (of course, that defeats the whole purpose of contemplation, but that’s another story…). Judaism has been wise to provide us with 10 Days of Awe between now and Yom Kippur – we can’t make up for a year of neglecting our personal needs or making amends for our errors, but we can certainly start the process anew. I just read an interesting article that the reason we do this every year is so that we can never build up our sins for too long. As with anything else, the larger our pile of stuff to do, the more difficult it is to confront. Once a year, we can tear down the stack and begin with a fresh to-do list. So as I work on mine, I want to wish you a Shana Tova U’Metukah – a good and sweet year!
I also thought it would be a nice time for another update on our lives here in Jerusalem. As you know, the political situation has been very quiet for the past month or so. It is a blessing, and the city has regained some of the vitality that was ripped away with the Hebrew University bombing. People have been going out more, spirits are rising, and there has even been a regular street festival going on with music, food, art vendors, etc. on the Ben Yehuda walking mall. Security is very tight, and the Mayor himself joined us at our HUC orientation to welcome us and encourage us to mingle with the citizens of Jerusalem at these festivals. We’ve gone a few times, and it is wonderful to see so many people outside enjoying themselves. Jerusalem can be a “heavy” city… you can feel in the air that there is lots going on in people’s heads and hearts, a lot of weighty issues, lots of weighty concerns. So it is important to balance out with some lightness of purpose and lightness of spirit. :)
Aside from that, school has been great. Many of my classmates arrived in mid-August. Originally, we were supposed to have 68 in my class, and we ended up with about 40 in Jerusalem. It’s a shame that so many decided not to come, but each had their own personal or family reasons for it. They will be in Cincinnati for the year, and will spend a future year in Israel before being ordained as rabbis. I honestly feel like they are missing out on something very special, which is too bad. More strange as it may sound, in SOME ways his is even a better year to be here than other times. Of course it is nerve-wracking at times, we have to take special precautions, and we can’t do everything we might like to do. We are taking our safety very seriously. But there is also an intensity to the experience of being in the Holy Land. It’s hard to explain, but this year is more complex, emotional, and educational than I believe it would have been without the terrible political situation. No one is happy about the situation, but I can at least have a positive attitude.
It’s been a lot of fun getting to know my classmates. There are some incredible people here, and I feel like I am not only building a group of colleagues, but making some very good friends. I am also inspired by the diversity of our class – these people will turn into very different kinds of rabbis, and I think it’s great because the Jewish people need a lot of different things.
Hebrew is coming along quickly, and it is still so much fun! I’m putting in lots of hours outside the classroom, and it’s paying off. Not only can I read, write, and understand much more, but I see my conversations on the street getting more and more detailed. Instead of just, “Hello, how are you?” I’m able to have real (if a little slow ;) conversations. We have 2 more weeks of intensive Hebrew, and then regular classes will be starting in early October. I’m VERY ready to expand into a full academic schedule – Hebrew is great, but I’m ready for it to be one part of what I’m learning instead of the whole thing.
Rachel Ann has been busy, too. She is spending a lot of time on her computer, developing her skills in digital photo and video editing. She’s been putting together a photo montage for a friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah in LA, which is blowing me away. I can’t believe the magic she can do with her Macintosh. And last week, she landed her first Israeli client! She’ll be putting together a presentation for a 25th wedding anniversary party. She is LOVING every minute of it, and already thinking ahead to developing it into a business when we get back to LA. She’s also been volunteering with several organizations around Jerusalem, who greatly appreciate her time and efforts.
There is a lot more to tell, of course, but time is running out before we need to head out for Rosh Hashanah services. It is customary at this time of the year to start the process of asking for forgiveness for the things we have done to wrong others. If any of you are West Wing fans (thank you Adam Eichberg), there was a great show a year or so ago in which there was a discussion in the Oval Office about Yom Kippur. They were trying to understand the concept of Jewish forgiveness, and one of the characters brought up the fact that in Judaism, you cannot ask forgiveness from God until you have already sought it out from the people who you have hurt directly. It’s an amazing part of this process, and I was shocked to see real Jewish teaching on TV. In any case, I hope that I have been a good person in the past year, and I will be working hard to be better in the coming year. If I have hurt you in any way, inadvertently or not, I hope you will forgive me.
I look forward to hearing more about what is happening in your life! We’re far away, but e-mail and phone calls make the distance much easier to handle.
Be well,
Mark
October e-mail
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