ZIPLINE IN GUSH ETZION
450 meters long - the second longest zipline in the world. Second scariest activity I have ever done in my life (first was cliff jumping off a waterfall in the Golan)
450 meters long - the second longest zipline in the world. Second scariest activity I have ever done in my life (first was cliff jumping off a waterfall in the Golan)
LIVING ON A PRAYER! When I was ten years old my favourite band was Bon Jovi. I went to Hebrew Day School and attended morning prayers (shacharit) daily. Most of the time it was a real bore for me. I honestly cannot recall what I prayed for at that age, but I would bet it would be to meet all-star athletes like Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and rockstars like Axl Rose and Jon Bon Jovi. That's all I really thought about at that stage in my life. When I was at the Western Wall in 2019 I was at the right place at the right time and got to meet my favourite past time rock star - Bon Jovi! I was sure that my prayers were answered from 30 years ago in Day School. Only in Israel could this happen!
REVIVAL OF THE DEAD AT THE KOTEL
I do my best to pray three times a day according to Jewish law. Daily Jewish prayer has helped enrich my life by giving me focus, direction, reflection and Jewish spirituality. Despite all of this, I must admit that I struggle with the second blessing. The second blessing praises God for reviving the dead. I attest three times every single day that I believe that one day God will miraculously revive dead people back to life. The closest vision I can have to such an idea is from Michael Jackson's Thriller video! I do not deny that it can happen, however I have a hard time imagining what such a scene would look like and intellectually struggle when I recite this tefilah. This all changed when I was davening mincha at the Kotel Friday night.
I took in the amazing scene of thousands of Jews, all prepared for Shabbat, dressed in their finest clothes, clean from recent showers (most of them), opening up their siddurim, singing, dancing and praying. All were there to celebrate Shabbat at the site where the ancient Holy Temple of Jerusalem once stood. It is the same scene that occurs at the Kotel every Friday night, some are more busy than others.
While I was reciting the 'Revival of the Dead' blessing in Mincha, I looked around at the thousands of Jewish people who speak dozens of different languages from so many different countries scattered all over the globe and thought of something so inspirational: The Jewish people were kicked out of this very site by the Romans two thousand years ago and have returned only in recent decades. During our long exile, when were the Jewish people brought together in large numbers like so many were that night?
The only other time I could think of was when the Nazis imported Jews from all over Europe to Auschwitz and other Death Camps to be gassed. Both scenes involve thousands of Jews traveling long distances to one meeting spot; in Auschwitz it was to march to their death, at the Kotel it is to celebrate life! I realized that I was experiencing the Revival of the Dead for the Jewish people! Then I came to the conclusion that if this miracle is something that I am experiencing and know it to be true, then other forms of the revival of the dead are also possible and true.
'Rak Ba'aretz' can I experience such incredible inspiration!
I do my best to pray three times a day according to Jewish law. Daily Jewish prayer has helped enrich my life by giving me focus, direction, reflection and Jewish spirituality. Despite all of this, I must admit that I struggle with the second blessing. The second blessing praises God for reviving the dead. I attest three times every single day that I believe that one day God will miraculously revive dead people back to life. The closest vision I can have to such an idea is from Michael Jackson's Thriller video! I do not deny that it can happen, however I have a hard time imagining what such a scene would look like and intellectually struggle when I recite this tefilah. This all changed when I was davening mincha at the Kotel Friday night.
I took in the amazing scene of thousands of Jews, all prepared for Shabbat, dressed in their finest clothes, clean from recent showers (most of them), opening up their siddurim, singing, dancing and praying. All were there to celebrate Shabbat at the site where the ancient Holy Temple of Jerusalem once stood. It is the same scene that occurs at the Kotel every Friday night, some are more busy than others.
While I was reciting the 'Revival of the Dead' blessing in Mincha, I looked around at the thousands of Jewish people who speak dozens of different languages from so many different countries scattered all over the globe and thought of something so inspirational: The Jewish people were kicked out of this very site by the Romans two thousand years ago and have returned only in recent decades. During our long exile, when were the Jewish people brought together in large numbers like so many were that night?
The only other time I could think of was when the Nazis imported Jews from all over Europe to Auschwitz and other Death Camps to be gassed. Both scenes involve thousands of Jews traveling long distances to one meeting spot; in Auschwitz it was to march to their death, at the Kotel it is to celebrate life! I realized that I was experiencing the Revival of the Dead for the Jewish people! Then I came to the conclusion that if this miracle is something that I am experiencing and know it to be true, then other forms of the revival of the dead are also possible and true.
'Rak Ba'aretz' can I experience such incredible inspiration!
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STRANDED ON A MINE FIELD!
Many years ago, I went on a road trip all over the country with seven other friends. We rented two cars and kept on having mechanical troubles with one of them. One night, we were driving on a mountainous road in the Golan Heights and got yet another flat tire. We were stuck on the road and had no where to go as their were mine fields on both sides of the road. Our tents in the trunk of the car were useless. This was before cell phones so we couldn't call for help. So we desperately stuck our hands out to any passing car, hoping for a miracle to happen. Then, all of a sudden a pick up truck pulls over and a large man with a massive kippa on his head steps our of the truck. His name is Rav Shuki and he came from Moshav Bene Yehuda in the Golan. Rav Shuki not only fixed our flat tire, but after learning that we had no decent options for a place to sleep for the night, he told us that his neighbours are in Columbia for the year and he can let us stay there for the night. Where else in the world do people give 8 teenage strangers a house to sleep (party!!) for the night? Where else in the world do you get stranded next to a minefield and then get rescued by a farmer who gives you a comfortable house to spend the night? |
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HOW I ENJOYED CHRISTMAS IN ISRAEL THIS YEAR
A few years ago, I was staying at a hotel in the Golan and decided to spend some quiet time doing some work on my laptop in the hotel lobby. No one else was there other than a large Arab family. I put on my earphones to block out the noise and did my own thing. My quiet work time was suddenly interrupted by the sound of bells; jingle bells! All of a sudden, I turned to the Arab family in the lobby and there he was, Santa Claus. Santa was wearing a red and white robe and hat, he had a big white beard and even said loudly “Ho, ho ho”. He was almost how I always envisioned Santa to look like, except I always thought of Santa to be fat and Scandinavian, this Santa was rather skinny and Arab. As the Christian Arab family sang Christmas carols and Santa distributed gifts to the children, I couldn't stop smiling. Please do not misunderstand me, I am an Orthodox rabbi and would never celebrate a Christian holiday. I don't even buy Chanukah gifts for my own children because I believe it is merely an imitation of Christmas gifts. I was smiling because it made me even more of a proud Zionist. I thought to myself; “where else in the Middle East can a Christian family publicly celebrate Christmas without any security threats the way this Christian Arab family from Nazareth is doing in this Israeli hotel lobby?”. The answer is obvious. News reports about discrimination and terrorism against Christian minorities in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and so many other of Israel's neighbouring countries are common these days. Unfortunately, these stories of everyday life of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs are not what makes media headlines. Oh, and did I mention that the Jerusalem Municipality offers free Christmas trees to it's residents in the spirit of religious freedom and tolerance. As a proud Zionist, I want to wish all Christian Arab Israelis a belated Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
A few years ago, I was staying at a hotel in the Golan and decided to spend some quiet time doing some work on my laptop in the hotel lobby. No one else was there other than a large Arab family. I put on my earphones to block out the noise and did my own thing. My quiet work time was suddenly interrupted by the sound of bells; jingle bells! All of a sudden, I turned to the Arab family in the lobby and there he was, Santa Claus. Santa was wearing a red and white robe and hat, he had a big white beard and even said loudly “Ho, ho ho”. He was almost how I always envisioned Santa to look like, except I always thought of Santa to be fat and Scandinavian, this Santa was rather skinny and Arab. As the Christian Arab family sang Christmas carols and Santa distributed gifts to the children, I couldn't stop smiling. Please do not misunderstand me, I am an Orthodox rabbi and would never celebrate a Christian holiday. I don't even buy Chanukah gifts for my own children because I believe it is merely an imitation of Christmas gifts. I was smiling because it made me even more of a proud Zionist. I thought to myself; “where else in the Middle East can a Christian family publicly celebrate Christmas without any security threats the way this Christian Arab family from Nazareth is doing in this Israeli hotel lobby?”. The answer is obvious. News reports about discrimination and terrorism against Christian minorities in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and so many other of Israel's neighbouring countries are common these days. Unfortunately, these stories of everyday life of peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs are not what makes media headlines. Oh, and did I mention that the Jerusalem Municipality offers free Christmas trees to it's residents in the spirit of religious freedom and tolerance. As a proud Zionist, I want to wish all Christian Arab Israelis a belated Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
My long, lost Savta of Haifa
Ben Hazman is the time in the yeshiva schedule when we get time off. There are three ben hazmanim; one in Tishrei, (fall) one in Nissan (spring) and the third in Av (summer). When I was a young yeshiva student in Israel, my friends and I made the most of our ben hazman vacations biking, hiking and even hitchhiking all over Israel.
During my first ben hazman vacation in the spring of 1997, I and two other friends heard about Tiberias; the city with a lot of nightlife on the beach. We decided that we wanted to check out the scene over there. We didn’t have a car, nor much money to pay for a bus, but we did have an adventurous spirit, so we decided to hitch hike up there from Jerusalem. To make a long, adventurous story short, we didn’t make it up to Tiberias on our first night, we made it as far as Haifa. We were three homeless yeshiva bochers traveling the Holy Land with no set plans, not much money, no place to sleep, the one thing we did have were our sleeping bags! So we found a nice green lawn with fresh, soft grass and decided to sleep there. The lawn happened to be private and was someone’s backyard, but we were tired after a full day of hitchhiking and the grass looked like a cozy bed for the night.
At the time, I was suffering from very bad allergies and was coughing quite loudly all throughout the night. As a result, none of us slept very well. Finally, dawn began, birds started to chirp, color was filling the sky and people in the neighborhood were starting their days. We thought that we better get out quick before we get into any trouble. We saw the lights turn on from the apartment of the lawn we slept on. We started to pack our bags, roll our sleeping bags quickly before the owner calls the Haifa police to arrest us for trespassing on private property. Then the door to the apartment opens up and out comes an elderly Israeli woman. Rather than shouting at us for crashing in her backyard, she brings out a tray of hot tea, bananas, biscuits and some cough medicine for me. This stranger who could have had us arrested chose instead to take really good care of us, just like any of our grandmothers would have. This is story that we say ‘Rak Ba’aretz’ – only in Israel, where we are in our home, and where strangers are nothing but long, lost distant relatives. The old Savta from Haifa cared for us, fed us and even gave me some medicine to take with me for the road
Ben Hazman is the time in the yeshiva schedule when we get time off. There are three ben hazmanim; one in Tishrei, (fall) one in Nissan (spring) and the third in Av (summer). When I was a young yeshiva student in Israel, my friends and I made the most of our ben hazman vacations biking, hiking and even hitchhiking all over Israel.
During my first ben hazman vacation in the spring of 1997, I and two other friends heard about Tiberias; the city with a lot of nightlife on the beach. We decided that we wanted to check out the scene over there. We didn’t have a car, nor much money to pay for a bus, but we did have an adventurous spirit, so we decided to hitch hike up there from Jerusalem. To make a long, adventurous story short, we didn’t make it up to Tiberias on our first night, we made it as far as Haifa. We were three homeless yeshiva bochers traveling the Holy Land with no set plans, not much money, no place to sleep, the one thing we did have were our sleeping bags! So we found a nice green lawn with fresh, soft grass and decided to sleep there. The lawn happened to be private and was someone’s backyard, but we were tired after a full day of hitchhiking and the grass looked like a cozy bed for the night.
At the time, I was suffering from very bad allergies and was coughing quite loudly all throughout the night. As a result, none of us slept very well. Finally, dawn began, birds started to chirp, color was filling the sky and people in the neighborhood were starting their days. We thought that we better get out quick before we get into any trouble. We saw the lights turn on from the apartment of the lawn we slept on. We started to pack our bags, roll our sleeping bags quickly before the owner calls the Haifa police to arrest us for trespassing on private property. Then the door to the apartment opens up and out comes an elderly Israeli woman. Rather than shouting at us for crashing in her backyard, she brings out a tray of hot tea, bananas, biscuits and some cough medicine for me. This stranger who could have had us arrested chose instead to take really good care of us, just like any of our grandmothers would have. This is story that we say ‘Rak Ba’aretz’ – only in Israel, where we are in our home, and where strangers are nothing but long, lost distant relatives. The old Savta from Haifa cared for us, fed us and even gave me some medicine to take with me for the road
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PORK!!! BARUCH HASHEM!!
Many years before I became a licensed tour guide, I was travelling with my brother. It was during the Intifada and I was uncomfortable to be in an Arab Muslim village for obvious reasons. It was late at night and I was driving to friends who live in Ma'alot and was stuck in traffic in an Arab town in the Galil. I was very worried and unsure about this town and how they might have treated my brother and I had they find out that we were Jewish. We had no where to go, as the traffic was not moving behind nor in front of us. But then.... I saw this sign and sighed loudly, "PORK!! BARUCH HASHEM" (as I realized it was a Christian Arab Village who tend to be more peaceful with Jewish Israelis than Muslim Arabs) |
