At the End of the Tunnel

Today was one of those days where no matter how tired you are or no matter how overwhelmed you feel, you seem to still wake up on the right side of the bed and see light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve had a hectic three weeks, trying to adjust to a routine schedule that brings me home late a night with a never ending supply of homework to do. Yet, as busy and overwhelmed I can be, I still have been able to find time for myself. I’m learning so much about the sociology of Israel; being a student at HUC is difficult, let alone Jerusalem being an intense place to live in general. There is a strikingly apparent shift in the feel of Jerusalem come Wednesday, as people are starting to prepare themselves for the weekend. Sometimes you just want to be able to press “pause” on your “life remote” so you can take a breath. Fortunately, Wednesdays are the beginning of that breath. Unlike the rest of my week, I have the opportunity to explore Israel and understand the country from a very different lens. My Wednesday Israel Seminars allow me to encounter contemporary Israel, an opportunity that unfortunately would be very difficult to have due to my constant schedule.

Today was perhaps one of the most rewarding days for me in Israel. There have been moments where I have been so frustrated with all the “balagan,” or problems of Israel. Even the littlest things have contributed to my frustration. Yet, today, I finally saw something that was very much Israeli even if it was in the confines of the HUC bubble. Being the Remembrance Day for Yitzhak Rabin, former Prime Minister of Israel who was assassinated in 1995, it seemed fitting that the theme of our Israel Seminar, whether intentional or not, was the bond humankind has with each other.

Rabin placed great emphasis on establishing peace, and for the first time this entire year I truly felt part of a community. We began our day with a short memorial service commemorating Rabin, each of us, while different in our backgrounds and relationship to Judaism, seemed to truly mold as a group. We have been told numerous times that our group has appeared to be the most cohesive in a long time. The establishment of a Jewish State at some level was based (and continues to be based by many) on the idea that the Jewish people – from all over the world – deserves to have a place to call home. As a group, the HUC community is slowly becoming comfortable with one another; teachers and students have a relationship inside and outside the classroom. The fact that each of us are learning in Israel for similar reasons clearly brings us together.

After our memorial service, we traveled to Yad V’Shem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem. I don’t know why, but my interest in the Holocaust always continues to grow. I constantly am intrigued by the stories of survivors, and their struggle to live. Now that I have been to Aushwitz, my understanding of this tragic event has truly changed. The imagery of the camp haunted me as I walked into the museum. The elaborate structure of the building reminded me of the entrance to Birkenau. You walked into the museum and felt completely narrowed in, as the walls literally were leaning towards you. Each room had its own story, and each account presented was a story within itself. Unique to this museum was the fact that they didn’t just focus on individuals who died in the concentration camps. They paid tribute to those who had very different stories as well. A wired “fence” blocking parts of the exhibit immediately reminded me of the fences within Aushwitz. There was this constant stress that Jews simply did not fit in anywhere they went, ultimately leading to the establishment of Israel. In many respects, the survivors of the Holocaust came in to and out of the depths, and their relationship to the world truly changed. Yitzhak Nissenbaum, Rabbi at the Warsaw Ghetto said it best:

“This is a time for sanctifying life, not for sanctifying God’s name through death. In the past, our enemies demanded our soul, and the Jew sacrificed his body to sanctify God’s name. Now, the enemy is demanding the Jew’s body and the Jew is obligated to defend it – to protect his life.”

Following our trip to Yad V’Shem, we explored Mount Herzl, a cemetery for both major political leaders and those who gave their lives for Israel and their Jewish identity. Because of the scheduled memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin, we weren’t able to see the political cemetery. However, we took a little adventure and practically snuck into the military section of Mount Herzl. We went through the various graves of the many who sacrificed their lives. The impacting thing about our exploration of the military cemetery was not just about exploring the memorials, but also about being a group. Many of the military heroes of Israel created a separate family outside their own. I am realizing more and more how much friendships are important in this journey ahead of me. There are only 53 other people who can even remotely relate to the experience I am going through, but even then their path towards becoming a rabbi, cantor, or educator is different.

As each day passes, there are times where I truly miss home. Being so far away from something you have been so close to for years is a difficult experience. Yet, I also have this great chance to grow as individual. I’m having a second Bar Mitzvah per-say – this is my year of growth and transition into true adulthood. This journey has only begun, and I’m once again excited to see what is going to happen next.