Dear Friends,
Ever since our group from Temple Sinai returned from Israel at the beginning of the year I have been thinking about when I would be able to lead another Temple Sinai trip to Israel. That’s just the way it is with Israel. Once you’ve gone you keep wanting to return again and again. Of course, I could go back by myself. There are always rabbinic missions and study opportunities. But, I’d much rather go with you. There is nothing like being with congregants and friends exploring our homeland, ancient and modern – the fun, the smiles, the looks of awe as we travel the country. And the bonding; the friendships that developed and deepened during the trip this past December mean so much to me. Just a few weeks ago at my daughter, Sarah’s, bat mitzvah I looked out and saw the faces of so many of those who were with us and participated in the b’nei mitzvah ceremony we held at the Kotel/Western Wall. There was a connection, a feeling that I and the rest of my family felt in that moment that is beyond any words that even I, a rabbi, can write.
I would like to begin planning a new trip to Israel to take place at the end of August or the end of December 2014. In order to do this I need to know that you are potentially interested in participating in a trip at one of those times, and I need some feedback from you regarding the kind of trip in which you are interested. Consequently, I have scheduled an open meeting this Sunday, May 19th at 10:00 a.m. (just late enough for those attending the Temple Gala the night before to get some sleep) to see if there is interest in such a trip and to have a discussion about the different kinds of things we could include in it. The trip we took this past December was multi-generational, including people ages 8 – 80+. It included a number of students who participated in the b’nei mitzvah ceremony I mentioned. Will we do this again or do a different kind of trip? It all depends on what those who are interested want to do. I will share different ideas at the meeting on Sunday.
I would like to begin planning a new trip to Israel to take place at the end of August or the end of December 2014. In order to do this I need to know that you are potentially interested in participating in a trip at one of those times, and I need some feedback from you regarding the kind of trip in which you are interested. Consequently, I have scheduled an open meeting this Sunday, May 19th at 10:00 a.m. (just late enough for those attending the Temple Gala the night before to get some sleep) to see if there is interest in such a trip and to have a discussion about the different kinds of things we could include in it. The trip we took this past December was multi-generational, including people ages 8 – 80+. It included a number of students who participated in the b’nei mitzvah ceremony I mentioned. Will we do this again or do a different kind of trip? It all depends on what those who are interested want to do. I will share different ideas at the meeting on Sunday.
If you cannot come this Sunday at 10 a.m. to this meeting but would consider participating in a Temple Sinai trip to Israel at the end of August or end of December 2014 email me at rabbimillstein@templesinaibc.org ASAP. The number of responses will figure highly in whether we go ahead and begin planning.
This past Tuesday night was the Festival of Shavuot and we celebrated the confirmation of 11 wonderful young people who completed a year of study with me and Jonah Zinn, our rabbinic intern, in our Monday evening High School program. I wish you were all there to participate in the service they led. It was really something to behold. Each student wrote what we call a, “Jewish Identity Statement.” Three of these students were on the Israel trip with us this past December and all three wrote about how significant this trip was in the development of their Jewish identity. Here’s what one of them, Noah Rosenberg, wrote:
While there, I learned not only about what it meant to be a Jew in ancient times but also what it means to be a Jew today. We visited Tel-Aviv which is the epitome of modern Israel as well as visiting Masada and Jerusalem which both have strong ancient Jewish roots….
…It was amazing to see how much Israel has developed into a modern state in only 65 years of existence as the Jewish state. The youth director on the trip brought up a very good point while we were in Tel-Aviv. On the first day she sat all the kids in a circle and said to us, “Isn’t it amazing that when you walk outside, nearly everybody you see is Jewish?” This was when it really hit me that I was in Israel. I was in the land that my ancestors had given their lives for, and now we Jews finally had a place to call our own.
This all came full circle on the last day of the trip when we visited The Wall in Jerusalem. I, along with five other kids in the group were able to become Bar or Bat Mitzvah or in my and my sister’s case, Bar and Bat mitzvah again at the Western wall. What an experience that was! Reading the Torah in front of the last remaining wall of a temple of our people that was destroyed twice was definitely an experience I’ll never forget. It’s just another testament as to how strong we are as a people. That’s what it means to be Jewish.
It’s amazing what thirteen days in a foreign country can do to someone. Being in Israel was such an amazing experience and I would go back in a heartbeat….
If you’ve been to Israel at some point in your life you know you want to go back. If you have never been there, what are you waiting for? As the great sage, Hillel, taught, “Im lo achshav, eimatai,” – “If not now, when?”
Shabbat Shalom,
Jordan
p.s. Hope to see many of you this Saturday evening at our Gala as we honor Janene Edlin, Michele Harris and Ilana Matteson. Mazal Tov Janene, Michele and Ilana!
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