Border Troubles, Troubled Youth, Syrian Refugees, Shiva Visits, and Family

My final days on this AIPAC AIEF sponsored trip were as eventful and impactful as the first. The emotional swings were gigantic as well as brutal. And I am thankful for every one of them.

We heard directly from the great Natan Sharansky about his frustration with the compromise between the Israeli government and the Women of the Wall falling through. A man who survived many years in Soviet prison will not give up so easily, though, and neither should we.

The incomparable Natan Sharanksy

  Colonel Haim Moriah 

Colonel Miri Eisin

We met with three different Israeli Colonels, two of them female, about impending threats facing Israel that are even more disconcerting than their problems with the Palestinians. We learned from Colonel Haim Moriah about the growing rocket power from all the surrounding nations, including Iran. We learned about the growth of Hezbollah's weaponry just meters from the Israeli/Lebanon border in the North and the practical inevitability of a 3rd Lebanon War with Colonel Sarit Zehavi. With Colonel Miri Eisin we stood meters from the border of Syria, looking directly at camps with fighters from Assad/Hezbollah, Al Qaida, and Isis. Yes, they are all there, and fighting one another at the moment rather than Israel.

Colonel Sarit Zehavi

                                                                   
         
Three possibilities for war, but balanced out by three moments of incredible inspiration.

We had the sacred opportunity to meet three wounded Syrian men who were being treated by an Israeli hospital in the Galilee for their wounds. One was a fighter, the other two happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, one in his home and one having a bomb explode right outside his car. Israel has treated over 1500 Syrian victims of the conflict, as word has gotten out that that is where they will get the best treatment. It costs Israel approximately 10 times as much, on average, to treat these men, as it does their average patient, and yet, unappreciated by the world, Israel presses on helping people. The motto of the hospital is human to human, and that is exactly what they do.

Human to Human: Motto of the Galilee Medical Center, Where Syrian War Victims Are Treated

We went to the village of Yemin Orde, which is a boarding school/village for troubled teens, many of them Ethiopian, and they work very hard to show them that they have value so they can contribute to society. We were shown around by a woman named Batya, who herself came over as part of  Israel's Operation Solomon, an airlift of 10,000 Ethiopian Jews in just a few days that was happening while I was in my first year of rabbinical school. The reality of Israel for them has not been able to match the dreams of this Zionistic community, but they continue to work at it.

Batya in the Synagogue At Yemin Orde Village for At-Risk Youth

Shiva Tent for Salomon Famly

Almost the last thing we did was visit the shiva tent set up for the beautiful Solomon family, three of them struck down by terrorists this past Shabbat during their Shabbat dinner celebrating the birth of a baby boy. Though the custom is not to speak at these gatherings, the son actually spoke to us about his time as an Israeli shaliach at a Camp Ramah on the East Coast. It meant so much to be there for all of us. We stand with our Israeli brothers and sisters and grieve with them in their loss. We were there to fulfill the mitzvah of comforting the mourners. Zichronam livracha, may their memories be for a blessing.

The Salomon Family, Victims of Terrorism While Celebrating Shabbat 

All of this, the constant need to defend the nation, the striving to do better, the mitzvah, the people, the tragedy and the triumph, are part and parcel of the place I call my second home, Eretz Yisrael. 

In this week's Torah portion, the first word Devarim, which means words, is read by our rabbinic sages, as Devorim, which means bees. Why so? Because the words of Torah can feel like the sting of the bee but can also be as sweet as the bee's honey. So, too, with the land of milk and honey. That is what we saw once again on this trip, hearing it from the mouths of some of the most knowledgeable people in the land. 

A very special trip with some very special rabbis.

But it's even more special to share Israel with the people I love the most. Pictured below are Karen and me with a former Beth Abraham Bat Mitzvah, Sheli Schacker, our dear friends from Australia the Guths, and some random kid we met in Israel.