These past Daniel-less weeks have been a whirlwind of activity - goodbye dinners, spending time with friends, writing papers, etc.
Tonight I said goodbye to some of our closest friends of our Year in Israel by going with to see a community theater production (in English) of Oklahoma. It was a pretty good show - the singing was terrific although the dancing left much to be desired. Ultimately I was left with a strong sense of pride for America, a kind of nostalgia for good-old-American patriotism as represented by Rogers and Hammerstein. Although the play did not end in the singing of Hatikvah, as did 1776 (see my post on the Zionistic ending to that play), the notes in the program answer the question "Why Oklahoma in Israel?" in an interesting way:
"It strikes me that makes the show particume that there are many similarities between the fledgling state (Oklahoma joined the Union in 1907) and our own country. Both reflect a microcosm of conflicting interests, loyalties, sectors, and traditions joining together to form a new polity. Bit it is another, subtler, common theme that makes the show particularly appropriate for the Israeli stage. Bridging the often conflcting interests of the formers and the cowmen is Oklahoma's peddler, Ali Hakim. Despite being labeled as a Syrian (in Lynn Riggs' play, Green Grow the Lilacs, which served as the basis for Oklahoma!) or Persian (as adapted by Oscar Hammerstein II), Hakim is ostensibly Jewish, as were most ofthe peddlers in the western territories at the time. In fact, the role was created by Joseph Buloff, a star of the Yiddish stage, and his Jewish inflection was the subject of considerable critical discusion at the time. Does that make Oklahoma! a Jewish play? Not really, but iot does reflect the overwhelming influence that Jewish immigrants and their descendants had on the American musical theater."
I'm not sure that the most important point is that the 'Jewish' peddler represents Jewish influence on the American stage, as the character, a hypersexualized, irresponsible, money/business focused outsider is a conglomeration of negative stereotypes, likeable though he may be as a comic character. His Jewish character, not unlike the women who are treated as objects to be bought and sold, won and owned, are the creations of the 1943 American imagination of Jews, and performing the play in Israel, with Jews performing all of the roles and sitting in the audience, truly changes the meaning of the play and places Jews as the insiders, the active characters, and the athletic, macho heroes - truly a feit suiting the Zionist spirit.
As today was my last day of Yiddish class, and as we've been reading some poetry in class lately, I decided to end this post by translating a Manni Leib poem for you:
To the Non-Jewish Poet
An heir of Shakespeare, of shepherds and knights,
So good and fine for you, non-Jewish poet!
The earth is yours, where your uncle pig trots:
She gives him feed and gives your muse sustenance.
You sit like a bird on your branch and twitter,
And all the wild space answers you:
From you see the satieatedness, the breadth of the cities,
The complete serenity of satiated spirits.
And here am I, unwanted, a poet of the Jews,
Growing with weeds upon not-our world
Of grandfathers - tired wanderers with dusty beards -
That nourish themselves from books and markets;
And melodically I sing in a strange world the tears
Of wandering in a desert under foreign stars.
And one more for good measure (sorry about my poor translation skills, but at least this gives you the rough idea, though you are missing the patterns of the sounds). Here is one by David Hofstein:
In a Winter Evening
In a winder evening in Russian fields...
Where can one be lonlier, where can one be lonlier?
An old horse, a creaking sled,
A snowcovered dirt road - and I am in the middle
Behind, in the only corner of the paleness,
Smouldering stripes of sun's light still extinguish themselves sadly.
Ahead, a white desert spreads out
And far ahead a few houses are scattered -
There sleeps a hamlet, sunk down in the snow...
A few paths lead to the Jewish home.
A house, like all the others, but with larger windows,
And among the children there I am the oldest.
And narrow is my little world, and small is my circle:
Once in two weeks I go from the hamlet to the village.
And longing in silence for fields an for the vast wideness,
For many roads and paths, covered by snowdrifts...
And I cary in my heart the hidden pain
Of seeds that wait and wait to be sewn...
In winter evenings in Russian fields...
Where can one be lonlier, where can one be lonlier?...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Civil Defense Drill
This week, Israel is conducting it's largest ever civil defense drill (read about it here). Today at 11:00 a siren went off in the city and we led the preschool students into the synagogue's bomb shelter. All the while teacher made dark and nervous jokes about how long it was taking, and then assured one another that the exercise was unrealistic as it didn't occur under the pressure of a real crisis. In the bomb shelter, teachers passed out pretzels and sang songs with the kids for ten minutes, along with the Rabbi and Cantor and the synagogue's president, who happened to be in the building at the time of the drill. Although a teacher asked me afterward if I had been scared during the drill, it hadn't occurred to me to be scared as it all seemed very similar to the fire drills conducted in the US - getting in lines and following teachers to safety. The real question, I suppose, is whether the bomb shelter is really safe in the event of a nuclear attack, and would the students be able to get there fast enough?
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Shavuot, Part II
I'm told that Shavuot is not a widely-celebrated holiday outside of Jerusalem. Last time I was in Israel, I was in a small town called Ben-Ayish, where Shavuot as known as a day off from school during which kids squirted water guns and threw water balloons. I did see one water gun fight in Gan Sacher over the two-day Shavuot break, but this seemed a pretty marginal aspect of the holiday in Jerusalem.
Shavuot is characterized by a number of pieces that are kind of hard to put together into one big picture.
1) The agricultural aspect: In Israel, the harvest began with barley in Passover and ended with wheat, on Shavuot- thus Shavuot celebrates the wheat harvest. In the days of the Temple, people would bring loaves of bread to be sacrificed in celebration of the harvest. The agricultural aspect seems to get much more emphasis here than in the US - I saw at least three preschool presentations about grinding wheat into flour and baking bread, and all the signs for Shavuot sales at the clothing stores have pictures of wheat stalks on them.
2) the food aspect: It is traditional to eat dairy on Shavuot. The explanation I've heard for this is that because Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah, it was the first time that the Israelites had heard the laws of kashrut and they did not yet have the proper equiptment and knowledge to slaughter meat properly, so they ate milk. Whatever the reason, it's a great holiday to be a vegetarian, but a lousy one for vegans. Traditional foods include cheesecake, blintzes, etc. Cheese itself is less popular. According to the Shavuot Nextbook podcast I listened to, Jews weren't big cheese consumers because most cheeses are made with rennet, an enzyme found in calves' stomachs. There are kosher cheeses, and I'm sure some people do eat cheese on Shavuot, but some of these softer cheese/milk products are more popular.
3) the giving of the Torah: As with many Jewish holidays, the agricultural and theological/historical/Biblical understandings are paired. Therefore, not only does the counting of the omer represent anticipating the wheat harvest, but it also anticipates the giving/receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
4) reading the book of Ruth: It is traditional to read the Book of Ruth on the morning of Shavuot, as it takes place during the barley and wheat harvests and tells of a woman who, like the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai, accepts the Jewish tradition. The book of Ruth is the paradigm for conversion into Judaism, and as David was Ruth's descendant and the Messiah will be David's son, we can see how fully integrated Ruth was the Jewish tradition, despite having been born as a Moabite. The book of Ruth is also a favorite among feminists, as it portrays strong and revered women who have agency over their own lives.
5) all night Torah study: It is traditional among Askenazi communities to study Torah all night on Shavuot - the study can be of any holy book. In Jerusalem, it is traditional to finish the studying by walking to the Western Wall to perform the morning service there.
6) greenery - It is traditional to decorate homes and synagogues with greenery on Shavuot, because Mt. Sinai is said to have blossomed when G-d gave the Torah to the Israelites.
6) confirmation - in the US, progressive synagogues often hold their confirmation ceremonies on Shavuot, a ceremony to acknowledge the completion of post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah studying. As it falls at the end of the school year and is connected to a theme of receiving and accepting the Jewish tradition, confirmation fits nicely into the holiday.
My Shavuot experience began with services at Har El, which was actually quite crowded (I was surprised!) with an upbeat crowd. The cantor donned his special tall high-Reform black hat and performed a combinatin of traditional tunes and contemporary compositions. We read the first chapter of the book of Ruth, the rest was to be read at morning services. After the service, I went to the potluck at Har El, which was filled with fruit salads, egg and cheese dishes, and breads. My friends Rebecca and Aya joined me at the potluck and we chatted with congregants a bit before heading in to the lecture given by Rabbi Ada.
Rabbi Ada's lecture was about the coming of the Messiah. She explained what some Rabbinic sources have to say about questions of when and how the Messiah will come, what the Messiah will look like and do, what the world will be in the Messianic era. All of this was done with a sense of humor but also with a sense of hopefulness and faith, a balance between a liberal and modern perspective and a respect for and sharing in the hope of a perfect world to come. Rabbi Ada is terrific and I was proud that I understood almost all that she said.
Afterwards, Rebecca, Aya, and I went to HUC to do some more studying. HUC was all lit up, the fountain was running, and many classes were set up around the courtyard, in Hebrew, and one in English. We, along with several HUC students, attended a talk about the idea of chosen-ness and uniqueness in Judaism, followed by a presentation by Rabbi/Prof Michael Marmur in which we examined one verse and used it as a way to understand what it means to be a stranger or an outsider, and the value and difficulty this perspective presents.
We ended at about 3:00 in the morning, and while I could have waited and walked to the Western Wall at 4:00, I was too tired by that time and I went home to bed.
Shavuot is characterized by a number of pieces that are kind of hard to put together into one big picture.
1) The agricultural aspect: In Israel, the harvest began with barley in Passover and ended with wheat, on Shavuot- thus Shavuot celebrates the wheat harvest. In the days of the Temple, people would bring loaves of bread to be sacrificed in celebration of the harvest. The agricultural aspect seems to get much more emphasis here than in the US - I saw at least three preschool presentations about grinding wheat into flour and baking bread, and all the signs for Shavuot sales at the clothing stores have pictures of wheat stalks on them.
2) the food aspect: It is traditional to eat dairy on Shavuot. The explanation I've heard for this is that because Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah, it was the first time that the Israelites had heard the laws of kashrut and they did not yet have the proper equiptment and knowledge to slaughter meat properly, so they ate milk. Whatever the reason, it's a great holiday to be a vegetarian, but a lousy one for vegans. Traditional foods include cheesecake, blintzes, etc. Cheese itself is less popular. According to the Shavuot Nextbook podcast I listened to, Jews weren't big cheese consumers because most cheeses are made with rennet, an enzyme found in calves' stomachs. There are kosher cheeses, and I'm sure some people do eat cheese on Shavuot, but some of these softer cheese/milk products are more popular.
3) the giving of the Torah: As with many Jewish holidays, the agricultural and theological/historical/Biblical understandings are paired. Therefore, not only does the counting of the omer represent anticipating the wheat harvest, but it also anticipates the giving/receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
4) reading the book of Ruth: It is traditional to read the Book of Ruth on the morning of Shavuot, as it takes place during the barley and wheat harvests and tells of a woman who, like the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai, accepts the Jewish tradition. The book of Ruth is the paradigm for conversion into Judaism, and as David was Ruth's descendant and the Messiah will be David's son, we can see how fully integrated Ruth was the Jewish tradition, despite having been born as a Moabite. The book of Ruth is also a favorite among feminists, as it portrays strong and revered women who have agency over their own lives.
5) all night Torah study: It is traditional among Askenazi communities to study Torah all night on Shavuot - the study can be of any holy book. In Jerusalem, it is traditional to finish the studying by walking to the Western Wall to perform the morning service there.
6) greenery - It is traditional to decorate homes and synagogues with greenery on Shavuot, because Mt. Sinai is said to have blossomed when G-d gave the Torah to the Israelites.
6) confirmation - in the US, progressive synagogues often hold their confirmation ceremonies on Shavuot, a ceremony to acknowledge the completion of post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah studying. As it falls at the end of the school year and is connected to a theme of receiving and accepting the Jewish tradition, confirmation fits nicely into the holiday.
My Shavuot experience began with services at Har El, which was actually quite crowded (I was surprised!) with an upbeat crowd. The cantor donned his special tall high-Reform black hat and performed a combinatin of traditional tunes and contemporary compositions. We read the first chapter of the book of Ruth, the rest was to be read at morning services. After the service, I went to the potluck at Har El, which was filled with fruit salads, egg and cheese dishes, and breads. My friends Rebecca and Aya joined me at the potluck and we chatted with congregants a bit before heading in to the lecture given by Rabbi Ada.
Rabbi Ada's lecture was about the coming of the Messiah. She explained what some Rabbinic sources have to say about questions of when and how the Messiah will come, what the Messiah will look like and do, what the world will be in the Messianic era. All of this was done with a sense of humor but also with a sense of hopefulness and faith, a balance between a liberal and modern perspective and a respect for and sharing in the hope of a perfect world to come. Rabbi Ada is terrific and I was proud that I understood almost all that she said.
Afterwards, Rebecca, Aya, and I went to HUC to do some more studying. HUC was all lit up, the fountain was running, and many classes were set up around the courtyard, in Hebrew, and one in English. We, along with several HUC students, attended a talk about the idea of chosen-ness and uniqueness in Judaism, followed by a presentation by Rabbi/Prof Michael Marmur in which we examined one verse and used it as a way to understand what it means to be a stranger or an outsider, and the value and difficulty this perspective presents.
We ended at about 3:00 in the morning, and while I could have waited and walked to the Western Wall at 4:00, I was too tired by that time and I went home to bed.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Shavuot, and Goodbye to Daniel
I played hookey from school today so that I could spend the day with Daniel before he flew out this evening, homebound.
We spent a lazy morning reading and doing crossword puzzles before we headed out to the preschool's Rosh Chodesh ceremony. The preschool celebrates Rosh Chodesh with parents/congregation members every month, but this is the first time I've made it to the celebration. In honor of Shavuot, which is later this week, the cantor dressed as the high priest of the Temple, and the kids, all dressed in white, brought fruits to be sacrificed. The Rabbi opened the ark and showed the kids all of the Torah scrolls, and gave them an opportunity to touch the Torah crown. Then, there was a skit about grinding wheat to make flour and bread, followed by some singing, dancing, and shofar blowing. It was adorable, and we were also struck by the kind of knowledge it gave the kids - in a Reform setting, they had access, at a preschool age, to the Hebrew calendar, to Jewish history and holidays, in a pretty detailed fashion. It seemed particularly meaningful to be doing this in Jerusalem, especially as it was Daniel's last day here.
We went next to the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, which we've been planning to visit all year. The museum covers Islamic art from the 7th century through the Ottoman Empire, and we enjoyed peeking around at the ceramics, tiles, and jewlery. We particularly enjoyed the exhibition on contemporary Arabic art in Israel - it was a small installation, but for us it was the highlite.
We strolled through the German colony and stopped in the Rose garden to sit on a park bench and chat before having ice cream on Emek Rafaim Street. We took a brief trip to the Malcha mall for a last-minute purchase before coming home for a game of scrabble.
We ended the day with a fancy dinner at Al Dente, an Italian place that many HUC students have been raving about all year. While there, we struck up a conversation witha family who is on a two week trip to Israel from New Mexico. Daniel used his Jerusalem expertise to recommend places they should visit while here - a final act as a Jerusalem resident welcoming others to his city. We arrived home with just enough time for Daniel to pack the last few items and make his final trip down our tiny old fashioned elevator to wait for the sherut that would carry him away.
It seems lonely in the apartment now, but I already have plenty of plans for the week, and plenty of work to do for school, so I don't think I'll even have time to feel sorry for myself. I am very much looking forward to Shavuot (which you are bound to hear about soon!) and to the next month-or-so that I have left to explore Jerusalem!
(see pictures here)
We spent a lazy morning reading and doing crossword puzzles before we headed out to the preschool's Rosh Chodesh ceremony. The preschool celebrates Rosh Chodesh with parents/congregation members every month, but this is the first time I've made it to the celebration. In honor of Shavuot, which is later this week, the cantor dressed as the high priest of the Temple, and the kids, all dressed in white, brought fruits to be sacrificed. The Rabbi opened the ark and showed the kids all of the Torah scrolls, and gave them an opportunity to touch the Torah crown. Then, there was a skit about grinding wheat to make flour and bread, followed by some singing, dancing, and shofar blowing. It was adorable, and we were also struck by the kind of knowledge it gave the kids - in a Reform setting, they had access, at a preschool age, to the Hebrew calendar, to Jewish history and holidays, in a pretty detailed fashion. It seemed particularly meaningful to be doing this in Jerusalem, especially as it was Daniel's last day here.
We went next to the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, which we've been planning to visit all year. The museum covers Islamic art from the 7th century through the Ottoman Empire, and we enjoyed peeking around at the ceramics, tiles, and jewlery. We particularly enjoyed the exhibition on contemporary Arabic art in Israel - it was a small installation, but for us it was the highlite.
We strolled through the German colony and stopped in the Rose garden to sit on a park bench and chat before having ice cream on Emek Rafaim Street. We took a brief trip to the Malcha mall for a last-minute purchase before coming home for a game of scrabble.
We ended the day with a fancy dinner at Al Dente, an Italian place that many HUC students have been raving about all year. While there, we struck up a conversation witha family who is on a two week trip to Israel from New Mexico. Daniel used his Jerusalem expertise to recommend places they should visit while here - a final act as a Jerusalem resident welcoming others to his city. We arrived home with just enough time for Daniel to pack the last few items and make his final trip down our tiny old fashioned elevator to wait for the sherut that would carry him away.
It seems lonely in the apartment now, but I already have plenty of plans for the week, and plenty of work to do for school, so I don't think I'll even have time to feel sorry for myself. I am very much looking forward to Shavuot (which you are bound to hear about soon!) and to the next month-or-so that I have left to explore Jerusalem!
(see pictures here)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Jerusalem Day/Student Day
Today is Yom Yerushalayim, a national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in 1967. It officially became a national holiday in 1998, though it had been celebrated since 1968. Mostly it's commemorated by state ceremonies, assemblies and activities in school, etc.
As it turns out, today is also Yom HaStudentim (Day of the Student), the Israeli version of spring break. Apparently, Yom HaStudentim is not the same day in every city, but in Jerusalem it is always on Yom Yerushalayim. I don't have school today, which is a plus, but on the other hand there was an all-night concert (about 8pm until 6am) in a park near our apartment and we couldn't get to sleep all night, so I guess that's the minus...
We commemorated Yom Yerushalayim in the preschol this morning during our daily circle time. Mazal, one of the teachers, talked about her memories from before Jerusalem was unified, when Israelis couldn't access the Old City or Mt. Scopus. Then, she said, there was a big war and the wall between East and West Jerusalem came down and everyone was happy. She asked the students to name some big Jerusalem institutions that they are proud of -the Knesset, the Western Wall, the Biblical Zoo (that one was a big hit - lots of kids stood up and screamed "I've been to the zoo!") But most of the kids she called on wanted to answer the question "What is in Jerusalem" with "my house." or "grandma and grandpa's house." At some point during the conversation, Mazal started listing museums in Jerusalem and asking me if I'd been to them. "Jessica is visiting us from America," she told the kids, "so she hasn't been to a lot of places here before. She really should go see the museums. What else should she see?" "My house! You should come to my house, Jessica!" "My granparents' house!" (I don't think they really understood what she was going for). Anyway, we learned a bit about Jerusalem, and then we did some Jerusalem dances.
(I should mention that while the Jerusalem education was going on, I was sitting next to a little boy who just moved here from the US. He didn't understand any of the Hebrew, and he kept leaning over to whisper to me about dinosaurs. So as my attention drifted between him and the rest of the class, what I heard was something like, "And then the giant T-rex stands on its legs like a person and...we have hospitals in Jerusalem - how many of you were born in Haddassah on Mt Scopus? When I was a little girl we couldn't go to Mt. Scopus...he runs really fast because he's a dinosaur, but I can run faster." The kid from America has a little sister in the other class, and the other day I gave myself a headache by playing with an English-speaking 3 year old, two Hebrew-speaking 2 year olds, and a Hebrew-speaking 4 year old who is much more able to have a mature conversation - I kept speaking the wrong language to the wrong kid...it was a mess!)
As we were going down to the playground, Mazal said to me, "I can't believe I forgot to talk about how there are churches and mosques in Jerusalem. I was going to talk about how in Jerusalem the three religions live together, but I forgot all about that."
As it turns out, today is also Yom HaStudentim (Day of the Student), the Israeli version of spring break. Apparently, Yom HaStudentim is not the same day in every city, but in Jerusalem it is always on Yom Yerushalayim. I don't have school today, which is a plus, but on the other hand there was an all-night concert (about 8pm until 6am) in a park near our apartment and we couldn't get to sleep all night, so I guess that's the minus...
We commemorated Yom Yerushalayim in the preschol this morning during our daily circle time. Mazal, one of the teachers, talked about her memories from before Jerusalem was unified, when Israelis couldn't access the Old City or Mt. Scopus. Then, she said, there was a big war and the wall between East and West Jerusalem came down and everyone was happy. She asked the students to name some big Jerusalem institutions that they are proud of -the Knesset, the Western Wall, the Biblical Zoo (that one was a big hit - lots of kids stood up and screamed "I've been to the zoo!") But most of the kids she called on wanted to answer the question "What is in Jerusalem" with "my house." or "grandma and grandpa's house." At some point during the conversation, Mazal started listing museums in Jerusalem and asking me if I'd been to them. "Jessica is visiting us from America," she told the kids, "so she hasn't been to a lot of places here before. She really should go see the museums. What else should she see?" "My house! You should come to my house, Jessica!" "My granparents' house!" (I don't think they really understood what she was going for). Anyway, we learned a bit about Jerusalem, and then we did some Jerusalem dances.
(I should mention that while the Jerusalem education was going on, I was sitting next to a little boy who just moved here from the US. He didn't understand any of the Hebrew, and he kept leaning over to whisper to me about dinosaurs. So as my attention drifted between him and the rest of the class, what I heard was something like, "And then the giant T-rex stands on its legs like a person and...we have hospitals in Jerusalem - how many of you were born in Haddassah on Mt Scopus? When I was a little girl we couldn't go to Mt. Scopus...he runs really fast because he's a dinosaur, but I can run faster." The kid from America has a little sister in the other class, and the other day I gave myself a headache by playing with an English-speaking 3 year old, two Hebrew-speaking 2 year olds, and a Hebrew-speaking 4 year old who is much more able to have a mature conversation - I kept speaking the wrong language to the wrong kid...it was a mess!)
As we were going down to the playground, Mazal said to me, "I can't believe I forgot to talk about how there are churches and mosques in Jerusalem. I was going to talk about how in Jerusalem the three religions live together, but I forgot all about that."
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Preschool Notes
Preschool yoga is about the cutest activity that I've ever witnessed. It involves a teacher telling a story and along the way having kids act the story out through poses (ie. "And then she met a dog" - and then everyone has to go into the 'downward facing dog' pose) At the end of this week's story a boy and a girl decide to become friends, and the kids took turns holding hands in partners and skipping around the room.
As we descended from the upstairs classroom into the sandy outdoor play area, Sasha said to me, "no one wants to play with me!" so I said, "what do you mean no one wants to play with you! I want to play with you!" and we spent a half our baking sand cakes of every possible variety: honey, poppyseed, chocolate, banana chocolate chip, carrot, and cheese.
Eventually I said to her, "I have to leave soon." "Where are you going?" she asked. "I have to go to class soon - you know my Hebrew isn't very good so I have to go to class so I can learn to speak Hebrew better." And she said to me, "When I go to school I'm going to have to learn to speak English better. I already know a few words, but only a few." She proceeded to list the words she knows: 'okay' and 'no'. I asked her if she knew how to say 'yes' in Hebrew, but she had already forgotten. Now I don't feel so badly about my Hebrew language skills.
As we descended from the upstairs classroom into the sandy outdoor play area, Sasha said to me, "no one wants to play with me!" so I said, "what do you mean no one wants to play with you! I want to play with you!" and we spent a half our baking sand cakes of every possible variety: honey, poppyseed, chocolate, banana chocolate chip, carrot, and cheese.
Eventually I said to her, "I have to leave soon." "Where are you going?" she asked. "I have to go to class soon - you know my Hebrew isn't very good so I have to go to class so I can learn to speak Hebrew better." And she said to me, "When I go to school I'm going to have to learn to speak English better. I already know a few words, but only a few." She proceeded to list the words she knows: 'okay' and 'no'. I asked her if she knew how to say 'yes' in Hebrew, but she had already forgotten. Now I don't feel so badly about my Hebrew language skills.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Lag B'Omer
Tonight is the beginning of Lag B'omer, a holiday I've never celebrated before and I hardly ever noticed was a part of the Jewish calendar. But it is apparently a pretty big deal here. I asked a lot of Israelis at school today what they do for Lag B'omer, and the answers all were the same: set things on fire. Yes, Lag B'omer is the holiday for bonfires, for wrapping potatoes and onions into the fire and then eating them cooked and whole. It used to be the holiday for singing Israeli songs, but now it is more often the holiday for marshmallows (a concept brought over from the US) and barbecues. I suppose it might also be thought of as the start of summer.
Daniel and I stopped by the Har El bonfire to eat an onion, visit with some preschoolers, and see what it was all about. It was really fun - some singing, some eating, some chatting, some Israeli dancing. On the way home from school today I saw a giant fire in an Israeli neighborhood and it looked pretty dangerous to me, but the Har El one seemed relatively reasonable.
Since I'm talking about Lag B'omer, let me give you a little information abou the holiday, as my guess is that you also don't know too much about it:
In Leviticus 23:15-16 we are told to count seven complete weeks from the day after Passover and ending with the festival of Shavuot on the 50th day of the "counting of the Omer" The counting of the omer is to keep track of the time between the wheat and barley harvests in Israel, and also the time between the Exodus from Egypt and receiving the Torah. Lag B'Omer is the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer. According to Talmudic tradition, during the days of Rabbi Akiva 24,000 students of his died during a plague, which supposedly ended on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer - so one explanation for Lag B'Omer is that it celebrates the cessation of the plague. Lag B'omer is also supposedly the yartzheit, or anniversary of the death, of Rabbi Yonatan Bar Yochai, a student of Rabbi Akiva's who survived the plague. According to tradition, Bar Yochai revealed the secrets of the Kabalah on the day of his death, and so Lag B'omer is a celebration of the Kabalah. (thanks, wikipedia!)
During the counting of the Omer, many life-affirming activities such as shaving, getting married, and having sex, are forbidden, but on Lag B'omer they are permitted, so it is a big celebratory holiday. It is also a custom for many Jews to make a pilgramage to Mt. Meron to the tomb of Rabbi Yonatan Bar Zochai. Also, many Orthodox Jews perform the first hair cut of their 3-year-old boys on Lag B'Omer. You can read here about celebrations at Mt. Meron. Thousands of Orthodox Jews head to Mt. Moriah, and thousands of secular Jews light their own bonfires all over the country. You can read here about environmentalists who are upset about all the fumes.
You can check out some pictures of our Lag B'Omer experience here.
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