On Erev Memorial Day:
I wrote about this family in my Memorial Day post last year. Their grandmother and uncle are from houston and the kids used to hang out with us during the summers. They are Israel's Real Heroes:
read the Jpost article: here
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wedding Season
I thought I'd post some pictures from the weddings we've been to lately... I don't have from each one because I forgot my camera a few times :)
Where Can I Get Some?
This past Friday, two soldiers were killed during an operation in Gaza. One of them, Eliraz Peretz, was a father of four. While it is always hard to hear about a father being killed or dying for any reason and leaving behind him four young children, this situation is even harder to understand. Eliraz had already lost an older brother in battle as well as his father a few years later. His family had been kicked out from Sinai as part of the peace agreement with Egypt and then later his family was kicked out of Gush Katif for reasons that still don't make any sense to me. He adopted the family of his friend Roi Klein who was killed 4 years ago during the Second Lebanon War. His house in Eli (West Bank) {Where David studied before enlisting in the army} is currently under demolition orders.
I have been sitting on the couch reading news story after news story detailing the eulogies delivered at his funeral that was this morning (and sobbing uncontrollably) and about his family. The thing that strikes me the most: their strength. The message his mother, a widow who already had to burry one son , wanted the world to hear was one of strength and continuation and bravery and love of life. I am sitting here and I can't stop thinking to myself: Where can I get some? some of that strength? some of that deep sense of belief if our purpose and mission here? some of the courage to allow her other children to be in combat units even after losing her first? some of that power that allows her to put the Jewish People above herself no matter the cost?
David pointed out to me that I have already made a huge sacrifice for the sake of the Land of Israel and the Jewish People- I moved here. I left my family and a cushie American life and moved here to be where I felt I belonged. Well, thats all well and good and everything, but I can't help feeling like I haven't done anything. I am afraid that were I to be put to the test, I wouldn't have the strength and courage and fortitude that the Peretz family has. I can't help feeling that I was prepared to go only half-way. I get scared whenever there is unrest. I worry whenever there are serious terrorist threats. Will I be able to continue life normally if a Third Intefada does break out? I guess the only answer is that time will tell and that I will continue to pray that I never have to be tested the way this family has been tested.
It hurts so badly to see what these people have to go through and to glimpse their unbreakable strength at a time when so much of the outside world as well as large portions of Israeli society hate them.
May we all be blessed with a safe and peaceful Passover. May we continue to come ever closer to the days when neighbor will not lift up sword against neighbor, nor will they learn war anymore. May we merit in our days to see a united Jewish People not ripped apart by internal hatred so that we can stand a chance against our enemies who wish to destroy us.
I have been sitting on the couch reading news story after news story detailing the eulogies delivered at his funeral that was this morning (and sobbing uncontrollably) and about his family. The thing that strikes me the most: their strength. The message his mother, a widow who already had to burry one son , wanted the world to hear was one of strength and continuation and bravery and love of life. I am sitting here and I can't stop thinking to myself: Where can I get some? some of that strength? some of that deep sense of belief if our purpose and mission here? some of the courage to allow her other children to be in combat units even after losing her first? some of that power that allows her to put the Jewish People above herself no matter the cost?
David pointed out to me that I have already made a huge sacrifice for the sake of the Land of Israel and the Jewish People- I moved here. I left my family and a cushie American life and moved here to be where I felt I belonged. Well, thats all well and good and everything, but I can't help feeling like I haven't done anything. I am afraid that were I to be put to the test, I wouldn't have the strength and courage and fortitude that the Peretz family has. I can't help feeling that I was prepared to go only half-way. I get scared whenever there is unrest. I worry whenever there are serious terrorist threats. Will I be able to continue life normally if a Third Intefada does break out? I guess the only answer is that time will tell and that I will continue to pray that I never have to be tested the way this family has been tested.
It hurts so badly to see what these people have to go through and to glimpse their unbreakable strength at a time when so much of the outside world as well as large portions of Israeli society hate them.
May we all be blessed with a safe and peaceful Passover. May we continue to come ever closer to the days when neighbor will not lift up sword against neighbor, nor will they learn war anymore. May we merit in our days to see a united Jewish People not ripped apart by internal hatred so that we can stand a chance against our enemies who wish to destroy us.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
I Lived Through My Presentation
Yesterday I had to give a presentation to my seminar class on Second Temple Period burial practices. It was an hour and a half and included a power point presentation that I had to write in Hebrew. The longest I had ever had to speak in front of people in Hebrew before this was 7 minutes in my ulpan class when I first made Aliyah.
Not only did I survive, but everyone said it was really interesting and that my Hebrew was really good. I only lost my train of thought once (and subsequently couldn't get it back EVEN in English...). I haven't slept well for 2 weeks because I was freaking out...but at the end of the day I survived it.
I feel like I have crossed a huge threshold in my "absorption" to Israeli society. I can now even give presentations in Hebrew. Wow. Now I just have to start working on the one that is due in June :)
Not only did I survive, but everyone said it was really interesting and that my Hebrew was really good. I only lost my train of thought once (and subsequently couldn't get it back EVEN in English...). I haven't slept well for 2 weeks because I was freaking out...but at the end of the day I survived it.
I feel like I have crossed a huge threshold in my "absorption" to Israeli society. I can now even give presentations in Hebrew. Wow. Now I just have to start working on the one that is due in June :)
Friday, February 26, 2010
I'm Famous!!
I just realized that there are actually people out there who do (or at least did) read my blog! I am so excited about it, and I'm not even sure why...
How did I find this out?
So... I was watching Band of Brothers with David, which is an amazing series that HBO put out about American troops in WWII, and it made me think about my grandfathers, both of whom served in the war. After watching the last episode, in which the real troops that the characters represented were interviewed, I wanted to find out more about where my grandfathers served. Unfortunately, unlike my generation who live our entire lives on the internet, it is not so easy to find out about their army services through google (and if it is, it just means I'm not very internet adept.) From there I started googling myself using my various name combinations, and lo and behold, someone else quoted me on their blog and even posted a link!! The best part about it was that it made me want to go back to my blog and read what I had written almost 2 years ago (no, I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly!)
It was pretty apropos that the post that was quoted I had written on a fast day, and today was a fast day. In my old post, I had a lot to say and a lot of emotions having just moved to Israel and all. Now I feel that a lot of that is missing. I have settled down to a "normal" life routine and things don't seem to excite me and amaze me so much anymore like they used to. I wonder if in all of my attempts to create a normal life for myself I have let some of the power of making aliyah disappear. Re-reading my post also made me realize how wonderful of an outlet this blog has been, and now hopefully I'll really start writing again at least semi-regularly.
For now, Purim is this weekend and today was Taanit Esther. It was pretty uneventful... I went to the library and rushed to finish a project that I had ignored until the very last minute. The amazing thing though is that I am right now in the most intense wedding season of my life. I have already been to 4 weddings since the start of the year and I have 3 more coming up in rapid succession, and David just found out that another of his friends just got engaged. While it is a bit overwhelming, exhausting, and frankly quite expensive to have so many friends get married in such a short span of time it really is a truly wonderful thing. I would rather be exhausted from happy occasions than from sad ones! May we all be blessed to join together only for Smachot!
Happy Purim!
How did I find this out?
So... I was watching Band of Brothers with David, which is an amazing series that HBO put out about American troops in WWII, and it made me think about my grandfathers, both of whom served in the war. After watching the last episode, in which the real troops that the characters represented were interviewed, I wanted to find out more about where my grandfathers served. Unfortunately, unlike my generation who live our entire lives on the internet, it is not so easy to find out about their army services through google (and if it is, it just means I'm not very internet adept.) From there I started googling myself using my various name combinations, and lo and behold, someone else quoted me on their blog and even posted a link!! The best part about it was that it made me want to go back to my blog and read what I had written almost 2 years ago (no, I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly!)
It was pretty apropos that the post that was quoted I had written on a fast day, and today was a fast day. In my old post, I had a lot to say and a lot of emotions having just moved to Israel and all. Now I feel that a lot of that is missing. I have settled down to a "normal" life routine and things don't seem to excite me and amaze me so much anymore like they used to. I wonder if in all of my attempts to create a normal life for myself I have let some of the power of making aliyah disappear. Re-reading my post also made me realize how wonderful of an outlet this blog has been, and now hopefully I'll really start writing again at least semi-regularly.
For now, Purim is this weekend and today was Taanit Esther. It was pretty uneventful... I went to the library and rushed to finish a project that I had ignored until the very last minute. The amazing thing though is that I am right now in the most intense wedding season of my life. I have already been to 4 weddings since the start of the year and I have 3 more coming up in rapid succession, and David just found out that another of his friends just got engaged. While it is a bit overwhelming, exhausting, and frankly quite expensive to have so many friends get married in such a short span of time it really is a truly wonderful thing. I would rather be exhausted from happy occasions than from sad ones! May we all be blessed to join together only for Smachot!
Happy Purim!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Back and Better than Ever!
After a Very long break, I'm back! I had sort of gotten out of the blogging rhythm and felt like I didn't have much to say, but after such a long time there is plenty to update :)
I am currently in my second year studying Archaeology at Bar Ilan. I LOVE it. It's fun and interesting and I'm having a great time.
There are a few changes though this year. I'm volunteering and working.
I just started working as a research assistant in one of the Archaeology labs (read: data entry.) It's a pretty lame job, but I'm thrilled. My first real job in Israel and it's in my field! This is the time to make the connections that will hopefully help me throughout my entire professional life. This was one of the main arguments I made to my parents when I told them I wanted to study in Israel, and see, its true!
As part of being an immigrant, I get a scholarship for school from the Government. In order to get the entire value to which I am entitled, I have to do a certain amount of community service. To fulfill the requirements I have started working at a place called Beit Noam (Noam's House). Beit Noam is a day center for adults (21 and up) with serious physical and mental handicaps. It is a place that provides physical therapy, hydrotherapy, reflexology, communication therapy, an opportunity for the capable participants to work and make money, programming to inspire creativity, and an opportunity to give parents a break from dealing with their grown children during the day. In addition, Beit Noam has a series of apartments that are fully staffed so that participants can live independently. It is an inspiring place and I love working there.
I come in twice a week and have 3 participants who I work with one on one for an hour at a time. They are all of varying levels of disability and have different levels of communication. I have only been working there for 3 months, but I already feel a strong connection to them. When their faces light up when I walk into the room I get moved to tears, and when their classmates recognize me from the other side of the room and ask how I'm doing I get goosebumps. It is such an incredible place, I feel like I am being sucked into this special little world where, as their motto goes, "Everyone feels equal." I would attach a link, but I don't think they have a website. Hopefully I'll post pictures soon.
David is doing well and working hard. I am still just as proud of him as always.
Hopefully I'll start updating more regularly now, even though I'm not sure if anyone still reads this thing!
I am currently in my second year studying Archaeology at Bar Ilan. I LOVE it. It's fun and interesting and I'm having a great time.
There are a few changes though this year. I'm volunteering and working.
I just started working as a research assistant in one of the Archaeology labs (read: data entry.) It's a pretty lame job, but I'm thrilled. My first real job in Israel and it's in my field! This is the time to make the connections that will hopefully help me throughout my entire professional life. This was one of the main arguments I made to my parents when I told them I wanted to study in Israel, and see, its true!
As part of being an immigrant, I get a scholarship for school from the Government. In order to get the entire value to which I am entitled, I have to do a certain amount of community service. To fulfill the requirements I have started working at a place called Beit Noam (Noam's House). Beit Noam is a day center for adults (21 and up) with serious physical and mental handicaps. It is a place that provides physical therapy, hydrotherapy, reflexology, communication therapy, an opportunity for the capable participants to work and make money, programming to inspire creativity, and an opportunity to give parents a break from dealing with their grown children during the day. In addition, Beit Noam has a series of apartments that are fully staffed so that participants can live independently. It is an inspiring place and I love working there.
I come in twice a week and have 3 participants who I work with one on one for an hour at a time. They are all of varying levels of disability and have different levels of communication. I have only been working there for 3 months, but I already feel a strong connection to them. When their faces light up when I walk into the room I get moved to tears, and when their classmates recognize me from the other side of the room and ask how I'm doing I get goosebumps. It is such an incredible place, I feel like I am being sucked into this special little world where, as their motto goes, "Everyone feels equal." I would attach a link, but I don't think they have a website. Hopefully I'll post pictures soon.
David is doing well and working hard. I am still just as proud of him as always.
Hopefully I'll start updating more regularly now, even though I'm not sure if anyone still reads this thing!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
It’s Definitely Summer, but It Ain’t No Summer Vacation 18/8/09
I have been in an extended finals period since June 28th. I have reached a point where I can no longer look at anything that has to do with school or my paper that I’m supposed to be writing or the three finals that I still have to take. It’s almost like a sick joke that Israel plays on its college students: we have “vacation” from the end of June until the end of October, but we are theoretically taking finals until mid-September. Its nuts. I mean I would rather spread out my 13 finals than take them all at once, but still, this is quite ridiculous.
Ok done complaining.
This summer I have had the opportunity to experience some pretty cool things through the framework of my studies. I spent 2 weeks on the archaeological dig at Tel E’ton
, about 10 Kilometers from Lachish. The dig was amazing. It was incredibly hard work: wake up at 4am, dig from 5am-1pm all hard physical labor, but I learned a lot and had a really amazing experience. One of the best experiences was one morning on the way to the dig I went with my friend in his car instead of taking the bus. He had the radio on to one of the national stations and just before the clock struck 5am they broadcast the Shema and then a Chapter of the Mishna (Oral Law) to start the day off with some Jewish learning. I had no idea that anything like that existed. My friend explained that at 5am on this channel and 6am on another they broadcast this every morning to mark the start of their new day (even though they broadcast continuously throughout the night). I was in shock. I was so pleased and impressed that the
country started its day with the Shema and some Jewish learning. There are so many times when the arguments about the character of this country and the fights between the secular Jews and religious Jews are unbearable, but this simple act that took less than 30 seconds helped make it clear that I live in the Jewish Homeland. It was inspiring and uplifting, and made me feel blessed that I was up at 5am to experience it.
This past week I also got to experience my First Anniversary. It is unbelievable that a year has gone by so quickly. It seems like it was only a few months ago that we got married! This has been a wonderful year for us where we have built our home and strengthened our relationship. To celebrate we stuffed our faces at the all-you-can-eat Brazilian Buffet at Papagaio (thanks mom and dad), we spent Friday playing on the beach and going sailing, and to top it all off we had a lovely, relaxing Shabbat together at home. It’s been really nice to be able to look back over the last year with such fond memories, and we look forward to many many many more happy years together!
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