Shabbaton in Binyamina

This past weekend was one of the best I've had in Israel. I spent it in Binyamina, a small town on the coast, south of Haifa. It was there that our Parallel Lives group of students and soldiers had our final  Shabbaton together.

First mifgash: an intense discussion about community and world Jewry

Truth be told, few of us were looking forward to the Shabbaton. It came a mere week before our finals start, two weeks before many of us are scheduled to go home. Everyone's stressed and frenzied, and the thought of going up north to a foreign place made us all a little bit meshuggie. Yet somehow, we arrived in Binyamina on Friday morning refreshed and ready; we were greeted with an insane amount of love and respect from the community, and all of us - soldiers and students - had an awesome time. 

With my host mother, Orit Orr 

What made it so amazing? Well, I think it started with the natural beauty of Binyamina. It felt a lot like a sleepier, quieter, less fancy-shmancy Santa Barbara. Arriving there I felt so much lighter and happier; getting out of Jerusalem will do that to anyone. So right from the start, it felt good; it felt like a Shabbaton. 

Binyamina residents are unbelievably kind, and it's a small enough town that everyone seems to know and love each other. The family that hosted us (me and Rona, a female Tzahal soldier raised in Tel Aviv) was so fabulous. They were just awesome, lovely people. Orit and her husband Boaz had a warm, beautiful home. Within ten minutes I was in love with both of them, and felt totally comfortable in their house. They invited us in and fed us boatloads of delicious, homemade food. They wanted to know all about us - who we were and what we did. They were fascinated and supported my decision to become a rabbi. They were so alive, warm, and kind. It was the first time this entire year I felt welcome - truly welcome - in an Israeli home. 

With Boaz, Orit, and soldier Rona

The programs were mostly put together by Maya, who coordinates the program from the Israeli side, and the various residents of Binyamina who volunteered their time out of interest and generosity. LuAnne and I have coordinated the program the whole year from the HUC side, so it was great to be able to simply be participants. The events were planned beautifully. They were meaningful and significant and not over-the-top. We were also able to simply have downtime in our host families' homes. Which, obvi, I was thrilled to have. 

This weekend was the first time I was able to look back and understand what a tremendous experience Parallel Lives has been. I was also able to witness the impact it's had on students and soldiers. We each came away from this yearlong program understanding each other better, having learned about each others worlds. We became friends, we became a community. 

The group says goodbye... for now 

The most important part of Parallel Lives, for me, was building a bridge between Israeli elite unit soldiers from all over the country and a select group of aspiring clergy members in North America's Reform Movement. In a time when Israel's Progressive Movement is struggling to find its voice, its identity, and its legitimacy, I feel that I contributed some small part to the cause. I feel that I did something to help bring the beauty of Reform Judaism to the Israeli masses. Hearing what the soldiers learned about us, and how they were impacted through this program, made me realize that we did make a difference; we did achieve some wonderful goals throughout the year. 

And so, I do hope that these relationships and conversations continue, and am confident that they will. Some soldiers will visit us in LA in the fall as the final piece of the program. They will come to our turf and observe how we live our lives. By then, hopefully, we'll all be settled and comfortable in our new lives in Los Angeles. (For which I am getting incredibly excited)

Six Years?!?!?!

Finally, yesterday was my six (yes, SIX) year anniversary with my dear darling Jew Fro. Thanks to the suave skills of my dear friend Lisa, I received a beautiful bouquet from my beloved Fro this afternoon.  What a mensch, that Adam! I cannot wait to get back to California, back to family and friends and especially to he man who honors my deep love of fresh flowers.  (And 30 Rock) 

In two weeks I'll be home, and all this will be a distant memory. Thank goodness I've got a blog to keep the virtual momentos. 

Love,

Jaclyn