A Purim "Shpil" in Soviet Moscow

Growing up, I always admired the Purim play at my temple. There was even one year that I was in it. To me, it symbolized turing a difficult but victorious Jewish story into a play that I could relate to and understand. I never thought of Purim as a way to come together until I read this article. I liked how the author though of Purim as a way to escape the oppression and want to emigrate. Everyone, no matter who they were came together for the play, all squeezing into an apartment since there was no theater they could perform at. I think the story the author of the article told also perfectly encompasses the story of purim. It is about standing up for Jewish rights without knowing the consequences. In the end, Ester’s devoted bravery saved all the Jews from Haman’s horrid antisemitism. This story shows how going out of ones way to celebrate purim and put on a play can allow people to come together in ways they did not know was possible. The play united a family just as Purim united the Jews of Soviet Moscow. 

http://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/2016/02/a-purim-shpil-in-soviet-moscow/

Jerusalem

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to spend the weekend with my parents in Jerusalem. I had been into Jerusalem before, but never for more than a couple of hours, and not during all of shabbat. I spend the weekend with my parents, seeing family friends, eating really, really good food, and walking around the streets of Jerusalem. The experience was really enjoyable as I had never left Tzuba before without the EIE community. It was really nice to have a weekend to reflect on my past 6 weeks in Israel and become excited for what was yet to come. I knew that stores in Jerusalem closed on shabbat, but I never understood what the fully meant until I witnessed it first hand. I felt like I was in a zombie apocalypse movie as the streets were completely empty. The only other time I had seen something like this was during Christmas in America. It was nice to know everyone around me celebrated shabbat and that the stores were closed for a reason, a jewish reason. At the same time though, I felt frustrated with the fact that I was only in Jerusalem for 2 days, and could not go out to eat dinner at a restaurant or shopping past sundown. I now better understand why liberal and secular Jews are angered with the city closing down on shabbat. It really can put a dent into ones weekend, even the trains are closed. At the same time, I felt very united and like I was sounded by Judaism everywhere I went. 

While in Jerusalem I had the opportunity to go to the Zoo! This was such a fun experience for me because I love animals. At the zoo, I got to feed the giraffes and elephants which was something I had never done before. One of the giraffe’s had also given birth just a week ago! The zoo was really cool because it is one of the only places in Israel where complete pluralism exists. While walking around I saw people from all cultures and religions existing in peace. I thought it was awesome knowing that the zoo is a safe place that is welcome to everyone. 

Richard Kalmin’s Migrating Tales

The babylonian Talmud, or the talmud we study today is made up mostly of the Mishna and Gamara. The Mishna is oral law once written down by Yehuda Hanaci, and once it is written down, it is set in stone. The Gamara follows three main guidelines: it states logic and opinion, brings in other teachings and text and uses stories to explain itself. Also in the Talmud is the Rashi commentary, which is commentary used to explain the logic behind the talmud and help understand it. The Mishna and Gamara are in the center of the Talmud page so they are least likely to get destroyed. The article I read talks about a book, Migrating Tales by Richard Kalmin and contains evidence of all parts of the Talmud’s creation. It shows that it is very impressive the Jews did not assimilate while living among so much roman culture and influence. To me, this proves the importance the Babylonian Talmud had on the Jews, as its teachings allowed us to remain strongly Jewish. 

http://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/here-there-and-everywhere-by-amit-gvaryahu/

Gadna

EIE is so crazy to me because we are constantly on the move and having new experiences. At the cost of sleeping, we are able to do more than I could have ever imagined. Sometimes what we do is super fun, but other times it can be really difficult. I’ve learned on this trip that there are 3 main ways in which we experience things. The first being we enjoy the experience while it is happening and after it over, the second that we do not enjoy the experience while it happening but learn from it once it is over and the third being we do not like the experience at all. So far on EIE I am pleased to say I have in one way or another enjoyed everything on the trip and am forever thankful for all that I am experiencing. 

Before Gadna, I was very unsure of what to think of the next 5 days. I am not a very loud or athletic person, so I did not not think Gadna would be for me. I was pretty worried it would be a type three experience, and I would just be counting the down the seconds until it was over. Luckily, my Gadna experience was quite different from how I imagined it being. I learned to appreciate the commands once I saw they weren't a punishment. Looking back on Gadna, it was definitely a type two experience. Although it was really hard for me in the moment, I am happy I did it and feel so proud of myself for surviving. I learned discipline and respect, and have a new found loving and understanding for the army (but don’t worry mom and dad I won’t be joining anytime soon.)

Massada

After hearing about Massada for so long, I was so excited to finally be able to experience it for myself. I was filled with so much jubilee about getting to the top that I did not realize how hard the hike itself would be. We woke up 4 in the morning to try and get to the top of the rock for sunrise. Although I am not an early riser, I can truly say it was worth it. I have never seen such a beautiful sunset as the one I saw that morning. The hike itself was long as there were many steps and it was all uphill. At times I wanted to give up and wished we were ridding in the gondola to take us to the top. As I reached the last step though, I felt so proud of myself, knowing I had made it. I imminently regained my breath and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I was in awe of the view, I had never seen something so magical in my life. I felt so accomplished and happy. Being at the top of Masada is a feeling I will never forget. Up until this trip I felt like I had been living in an American bubble in Israel, but being at the top made me feel so connected to all of Israel. It was the first time I considered Israel home and I am so happy for that. Although Massada was a difficult climb, it is an experience I will never forget.

500 year anniversary of the world's first ghetto

When I think about the word ‘ghetto’, I normally think of an unsafe neighborhood or a run down part of town. It is crazy to think that to many Jewish people, the word ‘ghetto’ is an automatic trigger of being oppressed. The word "ghetto" is derived from a community in Venice, Italy, where the first ghetto ever was. Now, 500 years later, although ghettos are no longer a threat to the Jewish people, they remind us of the hardships Jews had to face. This article illustrates that this 7 - acre piece of land was used to keep Jews captive. In the beginning, they had no rights, but were eventually able to trade during the day, and ultimately become free. Although free today, very few live on the land that used to assimilate the Jews. I believe this is because the land is a physical and tangible symbol of what the Jews went through. It is a constant reminder, and living on the land is still too hard for many. I think this shows how important it is to have time to heal. Even 500 years later, the ghettos still remain a soft spot for the Jews, showing how difficult it can be to recover from being put down for hundreds of years. The photos of the ghetto showed its dark beauty. It illustrates the memories of the jews that are no longer with us by painting the land in such a grim light. I really liked the pictures because they showed that even though time moves forward, sometimes it takes longer to overcome the past.