Kibbutz Yael- Pomellos for Peace

Molly and Lana arranged a great trip to a Kibbutz through the Reform movement, arranged by the rabbinical students at Hebrew Union College. We departed from the college and met the Rabbi accompanying us, known as "Gingey" for his flaming red hair. He was truly a welcoming and wonderful soul, and if he weren't living in Israel, I would convert to Judaism in the hopes of being in his congregation.

We drove about 4 hours to Kibbutz Yael in the Negev, stopping along the way to dip our feet in the Dead Sea and to get ice cream at Kilometer 101.

Kibbutz Yael is like an oasis, sprouting up in the middle of the desert with the Red mountains as a dramatic background. The first thing we did was to tour the crops of the kibbutz, which actually were located on Jordanian land, but settled in the 1994 Camp David Accords. The pomello groves lies directly next to the boder, with only a barbed wire fence separating the desert belonging to Israel from that of Jordan. A kibbutznik who had been there since the beginning- 1977- explained to us about this very strange fruit the pomello, whih has failed to catch on in the U.S. due to its inconvenient size and packaging. He told us an amazing story.

Alongside the fence marking the border are the roads used by the IDF and Jordnaian forces to patrol the border. One day, the kibbutznik drove out to the groves to find IDF forces congregated in deep discussion. They informed him there were troubling footprints leading from the Jordanian side into the groves, around the trees and back out again. The kibbutznik was not surprised- the soldiers wanted some pomello, and he was pleased to allow them to have it. However, to protect everyone involved, the kibbutznik putout a box the very next day full of pomello. A sign attached informed both groups of soldiers, in Hebrew and in Arabic, that the fruit was for their consumption. He began re-filling it almost daily. Months passed, and once again, driving out to the groves he noticed something strange; a white mercedes swiftly approaching through the desert from the Jordanian side. A well-dressed man got out and addressed the kibbutznik in Hebrew, introducing himself and the mayor of the nearest Jordanian town. He thanked our hero for providing the fruit to his soldiers and asked to meet he and his family the next day for lunch. The families met, the wives talked and the fathers played with one anothers children as they would their own. Further proof of what I have believed, but has been so tested here 1.) Most people want peace 2.) Everyone can connect on a basic level 3.) It only takes a small act of kindness to get a huge response. Apparently, I should add to that "everyone likes pomello", because they do. We were allowed to climb the trees in search of our own pomello, which i gleefully brought home to share. Peace through Pomellos.

We stayed in adorable guest houses with bunk beds and enjoyed a Shabbat services in the Bet Knesset on the kibbutz, and a decent Shabbat dinner in the communal dining room. We changed from Shabbat clothes to sweats in order to sit before a campfire in the desert, but the stars were obstructed by some clouds. After some stories, Molly, Lana, and I grabbed some beers at the kibbutz pub, and then I headed to bed early.

Saturday, after a traditional Israeli breakfast, we had services and some religious discussion, which was interesting. We also headed out to see another commodity of the kibbutz- Dairy cows and some sheep. We had the fortunate (or unfortunate) luck to see a lamb born, it being the season for such things. This new sheep also took his first steps to our applause, which scared him sufficiently to cut those first steps short. Gingey, who got a degree in Agriculture and lactation before getting his rabbincal education (?) also led a tour of the milking facilities. Israel has very advanced agricultural technology.

I love the idea of the kibbutzim and would definitely work on one as a volunteer for a time, maybe if i can't join the Obama campaign...

My Mom and Dad would love to live on a kibbutz- my Dad because he loves Marxism and my Mom because she loves flowers and quaint houses.

The visit was such a nice break from the city; especially the tension, the mistaken identities, the explaining, the cats, and the incessant talk. It gave me hope to keep believing in the things I came here believing (the best things, at least, the things that should not change). The people we met and the successes they have had there were really inspiring. I can only imagine how beautiful it is to be that kibbutznik, to have made something out of nothing in 1977, that in 2007 is flourishing as its very own little society.

Purim Sameach

Last weekend we got four days off to celebrate Purim. Purim is the Jewish holiday that commemorates when the evil Haman was outsmarted in his attempt to kill all of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire who had survived the Babylonian captivity. There is a theme of disguise and the blending of good and evil, which translates into people dressing in bizarre costumes, drinking to incoherance, and eating these amazing pastries called Homentashen, shaped like Haman's ears and stuffed with prunes, fig, or chocolate to resemble bugs. Tasty.

We started celebrating Wednesday when the University threw us a huge outdoor party in our apartment complex. One whole room had hookahs and cushions on the floor, there was a good DJ, pizza and beer, and a funny costume party- a very convincing Edward Scissor Hands took home first prize. We didn't stay at the party the whole time, choosing to set out for our favorite bar, Yankees. My friend Lana has done such a superb job seducing the bartender that our drinks are always cheap, on top of the half price for students that we get before 11. We always have fun there because they have pretty good music, it's really small, and we always get to dominate the place with a huge table.

On Thursday, friends and I took a bus across town with some other Hebrew U kids and went to a low income neighborhood where we put on a Purim carnival in the community center. There were IDF soldiers, police officers, and Israeli Scouts all there to lend a hand as well, and we set up stations where kids could come and have help making costumes. The kids were mostly Ethiopian immigrants, and most were under 10. A reggae band came and sang and let the kids play the instruments, and there was a guy making balloon animals and lots of sweets. My friends and I were supposed to specialize in clown constumes, but a police officer made one kid a ninja turtle costume and we were doomed to spend the rest of the night re-creating it. By the end of the night there were about a dozen ninja turtles. I guess some things are universally cool.

Friday I got up early with Lana and Molly and we went costume shopping. I decided to be a cat, and Lana and Molly found these awesome cow girl costumes with chaps. We went to the shuk next to buy supplies for Shabbat dinner and Lana and Molly wore their hats while I donned my ears. All of the merchants were wearing wigs and costumes and it was the busiest I have ever seen. Everyone was buying these special gift baskets you exchange for Purim, challah, and wine. We narrowly escaped the crazy mix and got intensely flirted with by the man we bought homentashen from.

That night Lana and I made dinner for our friends. She cooked salmon and we made this delicious rice with a spice mix from the best spice shop at the end of the shuk. We also had plenty of veggies, and challah. We finished off the evening by drinking wine and smoking Sam's hookah.

Saturday Lana and I made brunch for everyone. Lana took the leftover challah and made this delicious french toast and I made the famous potatoes. We all hung around in our pajamas forever, finally splitting up to change, but reconvening to walk to the Old City. This time, Sam lead and we took a direct path, which only took about 45 minutes. We headed to the Kotel and then had dinner on Emick, in the German Quarter at this cool restaurant called Soya that Molly found.

The next day we walked back to the Old City to check out this famous silver store. Everyone buys silver jewelery from this tiny, tiny store in the Cardo. They have huge books full of Torah verses and quotes in Hebrew. After a long time deciding, I chose a ring that reads "A little light banishes a lot of Darkness" in Hebrew. The inside of the ring has the date, my name, and the skyline of Jerusalem. I knew it would be one of the most meaningful things I could buy here, and something I can wear for the rest of my life to remind me of this experience. I was also glad to find a quote using my Hebrew name, Ora, which means "light". I get to pick it up tomorrow!

That night we took a taxi back to the Old City for a Chabad (orthodox) reading of the Megillah, the story of Purim. It was held in this old, old room and segregatd by gender. Many of the women and their children were in funny costumes. The best part is that you bring noisemakers, called groggers, and every time the name "Haman" is read from the huge Hebrew text, everyone gets to yell "boo!" and spin their groggers. It was so much fun, and definitely the most rousing religious service I have ever attended.

We rushed back home and put on our costumes- everyone looked so great! At around 11 we too a cab out of town to a Kibbutz that had a huge party. There were hundreds of people, many of our classmates, and we danced and marveled at the costumes until the wee hours.

Needless to say, most of Monday was spent recovering and doing all of the homework we had neglected for the four days. We had Indian food at this cool little place in the shuk where you sit on pillows, and then Lana and I got the most rich hot chocolate ever at Cafe Hillel, where we ended up talking under the pretense of studying.

Purim is my new favorite holiday.

Classes

We started "real" classes this week, which has been challenging. Classes here are longer than at Smith, as is the commute, so I often end up on campus for quite a while. I'm taking two seminars and a supplemental study group as part of the Middle Eastern Honors Program. I switched from Archaeology to Israeli Legal Systems, which I think was a good choice for me. I will also continue with Hebrew for 10 hours per week.

My first seminar, Nationalism and Colonialism is taught by a woman who just received her PHD from NYU and specializes in Feminism in Morrocco. She has spent the last year researching in the archives in Cairo, and seems a bit nervous as a teacher. I am always drawn to the idea of Nationalism that arises in my other classes involving the Middle East, but it has always been mentioned in more of a fleeting manner, and now I have the time to really delve into the notion. I'm also weak when it comes to understanding Colonialism, so it should serve me well. The syllabus notes a lot of Fanon, with Algeria as an epitomizing case study, and Smith has prepared me well to discuss that at length.

The second seminar, Rapprochement and Coexistence, is taught by one of the most renowned professors here, Prof. Medzini. He is quite seasoned; he's known almost all of the Prime Ministers and talks about the wars from experience. We're starting with the '73 War, which is kind of different, and he really emphasizes strategy, which I enjoyed most from my last Warfare class. We'll be making a field trip to the North to examine strategy from the Yom Kippur War.

I went to the law class as part of course shopping, and instantly liked it. The class will be visiting the High Court, and that alone would make the course worth it, but it is also really interesting. Israel does not have a written constitution and uses a mix of common and civil law, so this class will serve as a good juxtoposition of my Con Law class last semester. Our professor is this adorable Canadian man with really funny anecdotes.

Hebrew is not as good as Ulpan; it suddenly got a lot harder and I miss my old teacher, Michal. I ran into her today, though, and she told me all about what her three children are dressing as for Purim, as well as offering to snag me a pastry.

While waiting for a meeting with my advisor, I noticed and advertisement posted by a professor at the Truman Institute on campus who explained that she has a grad student working for her who is blind and needs help translating, synopsizing, and reading works for her dissertation in Middle Eastern Studies. I answered the ad and met with the student, Laila, today. She is absolutely lovely and we decided that I would take articles and write a short piece on the main ideas in English and then meet with her to go over them. In exchange, she's going to give me lessons in basic Arabic. I am so happy to help because she is so nice, and the work will greatly hone my research skills for my thesis next year. Everyone wins!

In short, I have a lot to look forward to this semester by way of academic endeavors. My professors are at the top of their fields, the classes are more specialized than at Smith, and my classrooms overlook the very place I am studying. For once I am in it, rather than looking in from a distance.