Observations by Bennet A. McConaughy of the Multi-faith program at the Yeshiva

I’m going to talk a little bit this morning both about Rabbinic Texts and the Multi-faith experience. As a non-Hebrew speaking Christian, I came to Conservative Yeshiva both with excitement and trepidation. I was so enthused to be here to study a rich faith tradition that I didn’t know enough about. At the same time, I wasn’t sure how a multi-faith program would work with a purely Jewish curriculum within a Jewish institution in Jerusalem. My concerns turned to panic when I was handed a piece of Mishna in Hebrew in Rabbinic Texts the first day – “How will I ever read this, let alone think about it?” I was bewildered as we began delving into the brakah on food – “What is all this stuff about hierarchies and classifications?” I knew nothing about what everyone else in the class seemed to take for granted. Fortunately my classmates were patient, gracious, and helpful to me in catching my footing, which, as I now understand, is part of the Yeshiva experience.

I expected the Mishna to be a comprehensive and detailed compendium of rules. I learned instead to view it as a pedagogical tool, one edited and framed to encourage questions, arguments and reflection. And it was a tool intended to be engaged collectively. The opportunity to learn with a partner was a big draw of this program for me. It often felt like a three-some or four-some or five-some at the table: the two partners, the text, our life experience, but especially the presence of G-d. What I experienced as divine presence led to insights, and questions, and sidetracks – but always came back to a welcoming of the search and challenge.

I learned that structure of learning – of both assisting and challenging each other’s beliefs – is inherent in the Rabbinic Texts themselves. The canonization of argument speaks to a faith tradition that continually engages with and plays out what it means to live into Holy Mystery in the practicality of life. To preserve and validate argument and dissent is to recognize the dignity of the individual human soul. It reflects humility and an encouragement for us to grow, challenge, reflect and understand. That conversation continues over generations and change in our practices and understanding. It is a rich conversation – one I was able to join and become a part of by coming here.

I appreciate your openness in welcoming non-Jewish students to the Yeshiva. In our Multi-faith group, we asked some serious questions:

·         What do we see in other faith traditions that appeals to or confuses us?

·         What about boundaries -- How do we engage with the things that speak to us, while at the same time holding true to our own tradition?

·         How will others see that tension, and, when it plays out publically, is it confusing or offensive or ambiguous or heartening?

·         How is our understanding of our own tradition enriched by learning more about other traditions?

We didn’t have answers to those questions, but we did sense that we best engage with each other when we listen with respect and genuine curiosity to our respective stories and traditions.

Respect and genuine curiosity – sounds like the Yeshiva to me. The Yeshiva was a safe place to explore those issues, both within the context of our multi-faith group but also within the general classes. I received an embarrassment of riches in here in terms of learning about Jewish texts, thought, and tradition. I came away with a deeper appreciation of Judaism and its implications for its followers. I hope that in some respect I offered stories and insights that may have shared part of my own story and tradition.  

But it is more than learning about Judaism. At one point in one of our classes, Rabbi Joel referred to the blessing that one says on seeing a group of people. It goes like this [and pardon my pronunciation]:

Barukh Ata Adonai, Eloheynu Melekh ha'Olam cha'kham ha'razim.

A loose translation of that is: Holy One of blessing, Your presence fills creation, You are the wise one of secrets.

This blessing recognizes and gives thanks to G-d for the diversity and uniqueness of each person we encounter. I was inspired and touched by this vision of humanity as interconnected and yet diverse. I look out at all of you and who you are – your smiles, insights, questions, wisdom, and stories – and radically connect with the vision of the blessing. The Holy One – the Wise One of Secrets – surely blessed me by bringing me into this place amidst all of you. For that and for each of you, my heart is glad.  

Last Couple of Days in Israel

I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I am going home tomorrow. Four weeks passed like a moment. Even the weekend with Mickie and Sherwin and “the girls,” so long awaited passed like sand through the hour glass (you will have to forgive me).

The Kepes family left on Monday morning for Afula and places north. Norma and I decided to spend the remainder of our stay in Jerusalem but moved to a boutique hotel off Ben Yehuda called The Arthur. Norma loved it and I was happy enough with the neighborhood. We both loved the wonderful walk in shower.

Having spent several Shabbats in Jerusalem I was concerned that the city would shut down for Tisha B’Av but it did not, just most restaurants and businesses were closed and the whole city took on a quiet aspect as is appropriate for public mourning for the destruction of the Temple and the potential destruction of the Jews as a people.

Monday Norma and I went to the Israel Museum to see a much lauded exhibit of Herod and Herodium, the place Herod built for his tomb. The exhibit was fantastic and the tour guide could not have been better but what we found most exciting in the museum were exhibits from their permanent holdings: 4 synagogues transported from various places in the diaspora and reconstructed in the museum; a gallery of Jewish life; and of course the reconstruction of Second Temple Jerusalem and the exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex. We had the rare experience of wanting to come back again, like the next day. Oh, and the gift shop was wonderful and even though I was done shopping, I shopped.

Monday late evening we joined liberal Jews “lamenting” the fall of the Temple at Robinson Arch, an extension of the Wall. What could be better but to be at the site of the action more than 1900 years after the fact? Better than being there then.

Tuesday, quite appropriate for a national day of mourning we went to Yad v’Shem. We used the Light Rail for the first time and it took us to Mt Herzel, a ten minute walk to the museum. It was my 4^th or 5^th trip to the memorial but each time I see something new. Or maybe I just don’t remember or maybe they change things. But the curators know what they are doing. No matter how many times you see it you keep learning things. I think the most important thing I got out of is to not forget how easy it is ignore injustices. It was Norma’s first time but she will have talk about her experience which was different from mine. And probably more powerful.

This visit I was able to spend some time at the Valley of the Destroyed Communities, those communities that had been full of Jews with vibrant Jewish cultural and religious life that were wiped out by the Holocaust. The area is a bunch of large rocks organized to represent the map of Europe before World War II. I was able to find the towns that my mother’s parents came from. Next time I will look for my father’s family. I put a stone on the area where my grandfather came from because I felt like I was visiting a grave, a grave of a community.

The day was finalized with the perfect shakshuka at Tmol Sholshom. (my 4^th time there this visit).

Wednesday was our last day in Jerusalem because we will be going to see my cousin Shuli at her home in Heirut on Thursday. I was hoping to contact Steven Greenberg but never got around to it and I found out from the Kepes’s that unfortunately he is not around tomorrow.

Wednesday we just hung around and let good things come to us. We planned to go to the Yeshiva to say goodbye and we had some time to kill so we had coffee at the YMCA and had the good fortune to get a tour of the space by their artist in residence, Neil. There is a lot to tell but for more detail you will have to check it out yourself. I just can’t remember. But I did find out that the same architect that designed the Empire State Building designed this building and at the same time. His goal was to create a space that supposed coexistence among Christians, Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem. The place has always felt special and now I know why. During the tour wee climbed up to the top of the tower and got incredible views of Jerusalem. On a clear day you can see the Dead Sea….it was not a clear day but that did not diminish our experience.

As a finale, we had dinner in East Jerusalem at the American Colony. We shared several dishes and left before dark so we could go home by Light Rail. That area of East Jerusalem is pretty interesting and has been taken over by some big hotels. A kind of urban renewal.

I am writing this post from my favorite seat in Tmol Sholshom  and of course eating some dessert that defies description but here goes. Nevo and Ofri---Belgian chocolate tart with hazel nut and nougat crèmes with a side of Ben and Jerry vanilla ice cream. And an ice coffee. After all that I will either sleep like a baby or not sleep at all.

Judy

Final Shabbat in Israel

Friday Ellyn and I moved ourselves from Laura and Naomi's apartment. (I released I have not mentioned Naomi before. She is one of  Laura's roommates who was also taking classes at the Conservative Yeshiva with us although she took different classes and was enough advanced in speaking Hebrew that she was in Ulpan Gimmel. She is enrolled in a master's program at Pardes and will be finished next year. We had a good time with her and enjoyed being with someone who knew the lay of the land.). We moved from the apartment into the Prima Royale Hotel on Mendele off Hayeshod. It was cool moving into an area close to the school and with which we were familiar with. Now we were the ones that knew the lay of the land.

After spending a long and hot day walking around Ben Yehuda and the Cardo we joined Norma Friedman and Mickie and Sherwin Kepes at the hotel. It was wonder to have them in Jerusalem with me, old friends that I have know since my early days in Fort Wayne. Mickie and Sherwin went to be with their daughters Laura and Leslie who are here on a UJA leadership mission while Norma, Ellyn and I went over to the converted railroad station for a singing Kabbalat Shabbat. Besides the music being wonderful and welcoming of Shabbat, I bumped into several of my fellow students from the Yeshiva as well as some faculty. It is wonderful to actually know people here.

After the music we ambled down to Kol Haneshama, the progressive synagogue not far from the railroad station and participated in a formal service. For the first time in more than 3 weeks I participated in a service that felt like I was actually praying and not just learning and understanding. What a way to end the time here. And it was wonderful to meet up with Reuven Greenvald from CBST who is here for work with the Jewish Agency for Israel.

But we were not finished yet with wonderful coincidences. Saturday morning we joined Laura and Leslie at the UJA program. A woman who was the program guide for their mission lead us through a session (can't come up with the right word) about prayer. About how does one actually pray verses reading the words. It was more complicated than that or maybe simpler. The actual activities of the morning are not important for this discussion. What is important is that the whole thing felt like icing on the cake, the cake being the classes and prayer experiences we had at the Yeshiva. In short, praying in the Jewish tradition means you have to know something about the tradition and the language (what we were doing at the Yeshiva) and then you have to develop some way to be present at the time of prayer (what we talked about at the Yeshiva but did not dwell on). During this Shabbat morning we spent some time actually being present or trying to be present to each other. And I met someone who knows someone from the Yeshiva. And someone who lives in Highland Park New Jersey right by high school. All I can say was---it was cool. How trite. How wonderful.

During the afternoon Ellyn and I took Mickie, Norma, and Sherwin to through the sook in the Old City to our favorite place by the Austrian Hospice, Basti's Restaurant. A final meal of lemonade and mint which I don't like but Ellyn loves and hummus that is excellent and pizza that is really good, believe it or not.

The Shabbat ended with dinner at my favorite Armenia Restaurant with Norma, all the Kepes;s and Ellyn followed by Havdalah with UJA and then coffee and dessert at the Kind David.

What a nice day..

Summary of My Studies

Everyone once in a while someone asked me what/why I was in Israel and I realized I should have started the posts with an explanation and description about what I would be doing.

The day that I found out that I would not be traveling to Israel this with Kohenet I happened upon a flyer advertising a three-week study program at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem which was scheduled for more or less the same time slot. I signed up as did a friend of mine, Ellyn Bender who is starting on her journey to be a bat mitzvah. At about the same minute I met my cousin Ami's daughter Laura Marder who was living in Jerusalem and had a room to sublease in her apartment, in fact two rooms. So we were set, something to do and a place to live.

I really did not know what I was getting into when I signed up for the Conservative Yeshiva. I thought I would be studying conversational Hebrew in the mornings and text study and biblical Hebrew in the afternoon as I was told they did at Pardes. But it was not to be. In the morning, for 5 mornings a week, Sunday through Thursday I did conversation Hebrew in an Ulpan at the Yeshiva. Ulpan is a method developed to teach immigrants, not stubborn Americans. So for many of us it was a challenge to let go and just be ignorant and incompetent. For those of us who were used to beginning ignorant and incompetent, not such a challenge.

During the afternoon sessions there were many choices of study. And we did study text but in English although there was always the chance to look at the Hebrew and if knowledgeable enough compare the translation with the original text. I was pleased that I was not totally in the dark having taken Biblical Hebrew at Hunter College last academic year. My big issue is one of my core issue---too many choices, interesting choices. It was my mantra, "I can't be in two places at the same time. Don't you just hate that." And to make things worse, we were able to try out classes and then settle in. And of course, the two I liked the best met at the same time. But let's skip this neurotic litany and get on with it.

On Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I took "The Theology of Human Rights" taught by Shaiya Rothberg. I also took "We were Strangers" taught by Esther Israel during which we looked at the commandments in Leviticus and Deuteronomy that deal with commandments that related to our obligations towards other people. The perspective if not the content reenforced Shaiya's class examining human rights as an aspect of God. On Mondays and Wednesdays I took a class in liturgy and one on Engaging with Israel in the Diaspora.

Classes started at 9 AM, continued to 12:30 followed by a break until 2 and then ended around 5:30.  Not for the faint of heart.  And don't forget, this was the Conservative Yeshiva affiliated with Jewish Theological Seminary and there were morning prayers at 7:30 to about 8:15 and afternoon prayers from 1:30 to 2.  But the atmosphere was very open and there was no pressure to participate unless they needed a minyon. And all the services were completely egalitarian with women as full participants. But the services were Conservative and not to my liking. However, I would often study in an adjoining room and could hear the prayers, prayers and melodies that I am very familiar with from my youth.
 Here is the course descriptions of the classes I took.
Jewish Theology of Human Rights  "Human Rights" is a modern idea. But the idea of redeeming humanity through the just rule of law is as old as the Bible itself. Would an international Human Rights regime fulfill the prophecies of old? What constitutes the Kingdom of God? These questions have been explored in halacha and aggadah and in Jewish philosophy and mysticism. In this class, we will delve into Jewish tradition in order to uncover some of the Torah significance of the global movement for Human Rights.  Dr. Shaiya Rothberg
Tefillah / Liturgy (Prayer) This class will explore sections and texts of the Siddur, the prayer book. We will try to understand the meaning of the texts, their place in the service, and how they got there. Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb
For You Were Strangers… I am God  Fear of God and historical experience- both joint and communal- form a partnership which is the basis for the commandments aimed at promoting justice, and preventing injustice, as we will see in both the written and oral law.  Esther Israel
Engaging with Israel  This course will focus on defining what is meant by 'Israel,' identifying the challenge of Israel in the Diaspora, and creating a vision for translating this into meaningful educational/congregational engagement with Israel.  Sally Klein-Katz
And the parsha of the week with Esther Israel.

Third Week, I can't believe it

On my way to class this morning I found a place that makes ice coffee that resembles ice coffee in the US. With a kick. Now, 12 hours later it is still kicking. I feel like a bipolar who refuses to take lithium because the high feels so good. The day was smashing and I made connections among texts that seemed to come from no where yet were so obvious. Now, if I could only sleep.

Tomorrow in early early AM we are joining Women Of the Wall for Rosh Chodesh shakarit (New Moon morning prayers). Update will follow. I am apprehensive but glad to be going.

Thoughts on Rosh Chodesh Av Almost at the Wall--"And then everywhere will be called Eden once again"

For just a minute, a split second I had vision strange and beautiful, something related to Judy Chicago but what was it?. There I was in the midst of Rosh Chodesh Av close to but not quite at the Western Wall, the Kotel with Women at the Wall when I found myself floating above the fray. Ironically, I was welcoming Av, the month that theologically and psychologically represents the destruction of the axis mundi of the Jewish people, The Temple. The noise, the high tensions, and some limited physical violence made palpable the conflict inherent in competing demands and values and made me think that I was actually reliving Tisha b'Av. Was that a Roman soldier or and Israeli police or a hostile Jew over there?

And I could not shake the words in my head of the song/poem by Judy Chicago..."And then all that has divided us will merge; And both men and women will be gentle; and both women and me will be strong, and Everywhere will be Eden again.

But it certainly is not Eden again yet. And yet, could it be that something was happening? It felt like that for me.

And then my mind wandered to my 2008 visit to Hebron and the yelling by the residents of Kiryat Arba screaming that we were Nazis and wanted Judenriden because we talked with Palestinians. And because of that we now had Jewish blood on our hands. I saw the Palestinian woman looking out from her porch on the second floor from behind chain-linked fencing. Below her apartment I could still see those blue Jewish stars spray painted on the closed storefront. And I remembered the little children peering out of windows, also behind chain linked fencing. We were told by a police man that the fences were erected for the safety of the Palestinians. They were there to protect them from Jewish children who threw dirt and stones at the few Palestinian remaining in this area of Hebron. For their own good the Palestinians were restricted in movement but sure looked like prisoners to me.

And quickly I returned to the present where barricades blocked our entrance to the women's section of the Kotel and forced us to pray "not quite" at the Wall. It was for our own good I was told by who knows whom. We were being protected from the Haredi men who felt entitled, no, obligated to throw things, yell, blow whistles call us Nazi-ettes (sounds better in Hebrew)  and generally threaten us. And we also had to be protected from the Haredi girls and women who were overflowing from the Women's area of the Wall and who would certainly tear us limb from limb if we entered.

It certainly is not Eden again yet. And yet...

From behind me I heard one of the original Women at the Wall rabbis exclaim that she was upset. At that moment I did not know why nor do I now. Was the pain of seeing Jew against Jew and feeling like it is a fight to the death? Or was it the pain of the barrier that prevented us from actually getting to the Women's section at the Wall? For her and many others it was not Eden again yet. And there was no "and yet...." The sadness and anger were palpable. But for others and also them there was joy to be praying together-- women of all religious persuasions and men there too. The big pictures was not yet Eden but for a moment I could pretend.

And again for just a minute, a split second my mind wandered. What if instead of trying to out pray and out shout each other someone, some Nachson walked into the Sea of Reeds that separated us and joined us together in song, in Psalms, not in competition but in celebration of the new month and acted as if, as if...

Won't that be almost as good as the Messiah's coming? Would it be Eden?

Maybe not but it would certainly shake things up.


                                                                               

By the Sea

Not much to say, breakfast and several hours at the sea reading a newspaper and floating on the waves.

This afternoon we will walk through Neve Tzedak (The Oasis of Justice), the oldest neighborhood in Telaviv and then catch a sherut for Jerusalem and dinner at Bastia.