Celebrate Israel

by Risa Strauss

In Judaism, “remembering” is an integral facet of all our commemorations and celebrations. In religious schools around the world, we take a spiritual and emotional journey with our students at this time of year. From remembering the heroics of Queen Esther during Purim, to our exodus from Egypt during Passover, to never forgetting the meaning of the Holocaust and the memory of the almost complete destruction of European Jewry on Yom HaShoah, we ask our children to feel, imagine and understand the complete breadth of Jewish experience.  And then, as the 5th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar approaches, we remember with all of our hearts how our centuries of prayer to God to “return to Jerusalem and Zion” were answered with the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948.

For 60 years we have celebrated the re-birth of a nation – a Jewish nation – an event that many Jews in the generation before me never thought they would witness. In just a mere six decades, Israel has built a thriving democracy (alone in the region), an active press, an enlightened and engaged scientific and university community, a civilian-run and supported military, and a robust economy.   Israelis enjoy a good quality of life, excellent medical care and long life expectancy. All accomplishments aside, Israel is an amazing testament to history, courage, belief in God, and the raw will of a people.

As a fourth-grade religious school student in a Queens, New York synagogue, I recall my teacher, Mr. Agranovich, an “Israeli grandpa-type,” explaining to us the wonders of the Yam HaMelach  (literally Sea of Salt or the Dead Sea). “Shoshanah,” he called, “boi” (come here!). That was me. “Uh oh,” I remember thinking, “what did I do?” He gave me the New York Times, a big paper for a little girl, and put me on his lap. “Lean back, open the paper and read,” he said. “This is what you can do in the Dead Sea. The salt keeps you afloat and you can lie on your back and read the newspaper”  I closed my eyes tightly, leaned back and, hoping that I would not be dropped, imagined what it would be like to float without effort in a salt sea.

Obviously, I never forgot that episode or my teachers’ love of Israel and as providence would have it, 10 years later I actually got to experience what, up until that time, I had only imagined.  I was so excited as I waded into the salty sulfur-fumed waters as an idealistic, 18-year-old college student. Then, without warning came the stinging sensation, as the salt entered into every nick and cut on my legs. Keep going, I thought — do it for Mr. Agranovich. Inevitably, pain receptors won out, and I pranced as fast as I could out of the salty waters. Why did nobody tell me that immersing your body in a salty sea could result in intense burning?!? I pondered that question for many years and only upon returning to live in the United States, after spending 10 years in Israel, could I come up with a reasonable answer.

An immigrant to Israel is considered an “oleh.” The word comes from the root ayin, lamed, hey — meaning “to go up,” as in climbing stairs.  In Temple, an aliyah means “going up” to the bimah for the honor of a Torah reading.  In Biblical times, Jews made an aliyah (pilgrimage) three times each year to the Temple in Jerusalem: on Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Immigrating to Israel requires not only a physical adaptation, but a religious and spiritual change as well. Many consider an oleh as someone who is attempting to raise the quality of his life as a Jew. It is no wonder, then, that the complete joy of being able to live freely as a Jew in a Jewish homeland is so overwhelming and powerful that all the little things that could potentially be uncomfortable or something to complain about are just … overlooked. “Yihiyeh tov –  it will be good,” is a favorite expression among Israelis. What’s bad? Things could always be worse!  The fact that the 3,500-year link between land, faith, language and people has resulted in a modern and vibrant nation simply trumps any small problem or difficulty that one could possibly encounter in the day-to-day. So, I must forgive my former teacher and anyone else who “forgot” to warn me about the impact of “salt in wounds.” Relishing the freedom of actually being able to soak in the Dead Sea, most certainly overpowers any possible inconvenience – no matter how painful.  

Jewish educators often fret, “How do we teach Israel?” I think that 35 years ago, Mr. Agranovich had it right. Plant a concept, teach from the heart and trust each child’s imagination to take it from there. 

At Tree of Life we will revel in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Israel at a 60th  Yom Ha’atzmaut birthday celebration during the weekend of May 9-11. Israeli dancing, Middle Eastern delicacies including falafel and chummus (both chickpea concoctions), a special Shabbat service, a PowerPoint presentation and an Israel museum featuring our congregants’ treasures from Israel will highlight our weekend.

“Im tirtzu, ayn zo agadah. Lihiyot am chofshi be’artzeinu. Be’eretz tziyon V’yerushalyim.”

“If you will it, it is no dream: to be a free people in our land in Zion and Jerusalem.”

Text by Theodore Herzl and Naphtali Imber

Chag Sameach!

Risa

- Director Biography
                                                                              mailto:risatol@bellsouth.net