November 18, 2022
Where to start! I’ve seen so many things and heard so many tragic, hopeful, uplifting, miraculous stories in the past week that it’s hard to know where to start. How about a quote from either Golda Meir or David Ben-Gurion, depending on your source: “In Israel, order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.” Seeing the things I’ve seen this week, I have to say, I’m a realist!

I’d like to start with one of the more moving trips we took, to the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s Fallen. The Hall is new, built only in 2017. It’s located on Mt. Herzl, and was built to express Israel’s respect, appreciation and commitment to honoring its fallen soldiers. The building itself is iconic, interconnecting white bricks where each supports the next, reaching to the open sky. Every brick on the outer wall represents a fallen soldier from each of Israel’s five military branches from before the founding of the state of Israel to today. In a small embattled country, everyone knows someone who fell defending Israel. Our guide was no exception and we heard the story of his unit commander who died in Jenin. Kaddish is said daily in front of 7 kiosks which rotate the pictures of the fallen who have yahrzeits that day. The enormity of Israel’s sacrifice is so clear here. I was humbled to be one of the beneficiaries of those who gave their lives to create, preserve and protect our Jewish state.

You’ve heard a lot over the last year about the Meir Shfeyah Youth Aliyah village but I can say now that nothing can prepare you for experiencing it first hand! The village is clean, bright, inviting and filled with flowers and growing things. It’s the only remaining agricultural children’s village in Israel but in addition, has modern classrooms, a performing arts center and a renowned mandolin orchestra. The distinctive aroma of the cow barns greeted us as we headed down to our “work” assignments. An earlier, insightful tour suggested that actually working with kids here as they did their chores would be a great way to connect and they were so right! I headed to the chicken coops to collect eggs with Sonia from Moldavia. We giggled our way down the row of cages, collecting eggs and learning a bit about each other. Our money could not be better spent than helping these bright, curious kids fulfill their potential.

We headed south on day six to the Eshkol region bordering the Gaza Strip. One of our stops was to the workshop of Yaron Bob, who, traumatized by the shelling of his moshav, decided to turn rockets into roses. He takes fallen rockets from the fields of the moshav and cuts, grinds and forms the metal into works of art. Working with the metal was therapeutic and calming, and helped him channel his negative emotions into a visible, positive, symbolic response. He was an inspiration.  

Have a peaceful and restful Shabbat!

November 18, 2022
Where to start! I’ve seen so many things and heard so many tragic, hopeful, uplifting, miraculous stories in the past week that it’s hard to know where to start. How about a quote from either Golda Meir or David Ben-Gurion, depending on your source: “In Israel, order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.” Seeing the things I’ve seen this week, I have to say, I’m a realist!

I’d like to start with one of the more moving trips we took, to the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s Fallen. The Hall is new, built only in 2017. It’s located on Mt. Herzl, and was built to express Israel’s respect, appreciation and commitment to honoring its fallen soldiers. The building itself is iconic, interconnecting white bricks where each supports the next, reaching to the open sky. Every brick on the outer wall represents a fallen soldier from each of Israel’s five military branches from before the founding of the state of Israel to today. In a small embattled country, everyone knows someone who fell defending Israel. Our guide was no exception and we heard the story of his unit commander who died in Jenin. Kaddish is said daily in front of 7 kiosks which rotate the pictures of the fallen who have yahrzeits that day. The enormity of Israel’s sacrifice is so clear here. I was humbled to be one of the beneficiaries of those who gave their lives to create, preserve and protect our Jewish state.

You’ve heard a lot over the last year about the Meir Shfeyah Youth Aliyah village but I can say now that nothing can prepare you for experiencing it first hand! The village is clean, bright, inviting and filled with flowers and growing things. It’s the only remaining agricultural children’s village in Israel but in addition, has modern classrooms, a performing arts center and a renowned mandolin orchestra. The distinctive aroma of the cow barns greeted us as we headed down to our “work” assignments. An earlier, insightful tour suggested that actually working with kids here as they did their chores would be a great way to connect and they were so right! I headed to the chicken coops to collect eggs with Sonia from Moldavia. We giggled our way down the row of cages, collecting eggs and learning a bit about each other. Our money could not be better spent than helping these bright, curious kids fulfill their potential.

We headed south on day six to the Eshkol region bordering the Gaza Strip. One of our stops was to the workshop of Yaron Bob, who, traumatized by the shelling of his moshav, decided to turn rockets into roses. He takes fallen rockets from the fields of the moshav and cuts, grinds and forms the metal into works of art. Working with the metal was therapeutic and calming, and helped him channel his negative emotions into a visible, positive, symbolic response. He was an inspiration.  

Have a peaceful and restful Shabbat!