Friday, May 2, 2014 Jerusalem

Friday, May 2, 2014  Jerusalem

Ahead of the trip, I asked my facebook friends for ideas about where I could learn about ancient and medieval history, as well as the ways in which Judaism developed in those periods.  As a scholar of modern American Jewish history, I don’t get much formal training in the earlier periods, nor in the discipline of religious studies. I teach only the survey level classes on pre-modern Jewish life, but it still helps to know more. I am also aware of a phenomenon among professional educators…after 20 years or so teaching the same topic, we tend to get reductionist.  That is, we’ve taught the subject so many times that it becomes rote, we miss some of the complexity, we reduce the arc of history to its main themes.  Worst of all, we lose sight of ways that we can fundamentally reframe our own (and then our students) understanding of the topics. 

Enter Rabbi Menashe Bleiwess.  

He is both a certified guide with the government of Israel as well as a former Cal Berkeley undergrad who is now in the Haredi community. He is someone with a massive knowledge base, a perspective on Jews and Judaism quite different from mine, and a person that I can, even given his own journey in religious life, still relate to in our conversations.

We spent Friday together and what an incredible immersion and learning experience for me. I told him that even as I have toured Jerusalem so so many times, I wanted to see the city through his eyes.  More, I wanted to understand his arc of Jewish history and of Jewish experience. I wanted to see how he framed events, how he put the pieces together (“causality” for those of you in the field J), and how he might reveal ways that my own thinking and approaches have become complacent.  All of this, for a professor of Jewish Studies, is (for me) a major goal of a sabbatical.

We met at Jaffa Gate at 8:30 am and didn’t leave our meeting spot for nearly an hour. We just talked and talked. Subjects, conversations, engagements moved from topic to topic.  We went back to finish up earlier threads, then on to even more.  

Through it all, haredi Jews kept approaching us asking for tzedakah. Menashe handed each a shekel, as did I, then asking Menashe about the particulars of Jewish giving. I know that one is obligated to give if asked (hence the reason why so many approached him).  I also know, from the very first research I ever conducted in grad school (and it became chapter 1 of my first book), that concepts of Jewish giving are complex.  Add to that concepts of giving in U.S. history.  Add to that the ways in which Jews in America negotiated the two…  I engaged Menashe, then, in a larger question of tzedakah.  

Even as we stood there at Jaffa Gate, trying to get the narrative of that place, we were investigating halachah (Jewish law), its various applications, and the influence of both Israeli and American culture on it.  Our tzedakah conversation matured into a larger discussion of ethics (I recounted how I once stayed with a haredi family that kept the Israeli equivalent of pennies in a big jar so that they could give only a little whenever another haredi Jew asked them for tzedakah).  This was offensive to Menashe, as he explained that the person who asks for money is a giving him a gift since it offers the opportunity to perform a mitzvah, which is the goal. 

I made a quick transition, then, to the new ideas about “ethical kashruth.” In the same way that giving out pennies, while technically seeming to fulfill Jewish law (Menashe says it doesn’t because the intention is lost), I asked him about the Iowa kosher meat facility that treated its workers poorly, even as it, technically, still qualified as “kosher.” I asked about the Conservative movement’s efforts for “ethical kashruth” that would require that workers (who are non-Jews) be treated humanely before it would be certified as “kosher.” Menashe replied that “ethical kashruth” is an oxymoron since the system of kashruth is already complete, since it came from Torah. To add elements to certification is to imply (no, state) that Torah is somehow lacking.

We went on like this, on a variety of topics…what it is to be a rabbi, to be a Jewish Studies professor, the various denominational movements, the different Orthodox groups.  Heck, we even talked about Women of the Wall and Menashe’s time as a speaker to the conference of Reform rabbis.

Then, we walked through Jaffa Gate (with Menashe adding a little history of the gate and the Old City) before we ventured towards the Tower of David museum. 

A quick pause on the bridge over the moat (near the museum entrance) to catch up on our lives since college, on each of our Jewish journeys to arrive at our own places, some quick updates on mutual friends from back in the day, and then into the museum.

Menashe brought me first to the roof of the museum at what he considers “the second best view of the Old City.”  (The first one is from the Mt. of Olives, of course). I was amazed by the view (and rather shocked that I had never been to this museum nor seen this view).  We were standing high on a building looking at the TOPS of buildings in the Old City.  Every view of the Old City I have scene is from street level, with all the various shop stalls everywhere.  From the museum rooftop, we could see an entirely different Old City, with porches, balconies, rooftop seating areas, not to mention antenna and electronics. Of course, the Golden Dome stood right before us, with great vistas of Jerusalem all 360 degrees around us.

Menashe did his best to start in one spot on the horizon, tell its story, and then move around all of Jerusalem, new and old city, to capture the geography and reflect its historical and religious import.  Of course, we constantly interrupted the lesson to begin tangents, follow them, finish one, or agree we need to just keep going. He told me that he has guided groups for 4 hours on that museum roof alone.  I

believe it.

Inside the museum, I quickly understood why Menashe had selected it for our day together. The rooms are arranged to offer a chronological history of Jerusalem from ancient times to the present. How perfect for a Jewish historian who wants to deepen knowledge of the ancient and medieval periods, while getting religion and Israel mixed in. On one hand, I wished I would have been taking copious notes the whole time.  On the other, the visit would then have been about nothing more. Instead, I decided not to worry about the specific facts and focus instead on the larger themes, arcs, and interactions over time.  This would be more helpful for me, anyway, since I only teach these topics broadly (and can easily get dates from my books later on).  In fact, I learned, though many of the exhibits, two narratives intersecting (and not).  That is, Menashe has developed more of a Torah-centered perspective of history while the museum is arranged more towards my own academic approach. That said, Menashe and both agreed when the museum seemed more tourist-centered than history-centered (not to mention Torah-centered) in its depictions. Between academic history, popular history, and Torah history, it was enriching as well as overwhelming. There is so so much to learn.

By the time we reached the 14^th century in the museum, it was clear that we were running way way behind.  (Can you believe it?).  We decided to cancel a visit to another museum on the Second Temple so I could get more time with the ongoing narrative.

Hours after we entered, we left the museum.

Menashe led me through the Old City, this time to the Jewish Quarter.  We skipped the planned tour of the Cardo (and everything else) since it was already afternoon, we had so much more to do, Shabbat was coming, and I was hungry and thirsty.

We stopped at a little pizza stand, I got a bottle of water and started to guzzle it down. That reminded me of a specific question that one of Menashe’s students asked him earlier in the week.  Apparently, there are separate blessings for how one is drinking; whether its simply drinking as part of a larger meal or whether one is…guzzling down water on a very hot day feeling really relieved and thankful for having the abundance of that water..  Clearly, I just landed in category #2!  I reminded Menashe of the question asked, and the ways in which our meal reflected it. He did not recite motzi which prompted a question from me, which received a reply that this was a “snack” rather than a “meal,” how that’s qualified, what the appropriate blessing is, and we just kept engaging one another through the meal..er…snack.

Off again to walk, Menashe asked if I wanted to daven mincha at the kotel. (ie afternoon prayers at the Western Wall). In two earlier visit to the Wall, I hadn’t yet prayed and thought this would be really nice, especially with the opportunity to join Menashe. We went to the Wall (this time, of course, to the men’s section). Thankfully, there’s a whole section of the Wall (far left of the prayer area) that is shaded. In fact, it’s a bit of a cave-like enclosure that extends underneath the buildings surrounding the Wall area.

A man, who acts as a bit of a gatekeeper, gathers groups of 10 men together to form a minyan. They go off and start praying while he collects the next group of 10 for the next service. Menashe gave me a quick overview of the service and off we went.  The prayers lasted only 10 minutes or so and we continued through the Moslem Quarter, now engaging one another on questions of prayer as we walked. Menashe brought me to the place he described as “the closest any Jewish person can get to the location of the Second Temple.” It was, in fact, the exit I had taken days earlier FROM the Temple Mount.  From that point, though, we could stare at the Golden Dome, almost at the same elevation. It was a great spot to view…and even greater to hear Menashe talk about what its like, from a Torah perspective, to be that close to that spot.  He recounted all that tradition states occurred there..and what it means to him to get to be there…and live in Jerusalem. (And for those who are already feeling the evangelism, I will say that all that Menashe shared came from his heart, and his reality, and his truth, which I appreciate and respect. Not to worry, this middle-aged man is, indeed, heading back to Marin next week J.)

Menashe wove me through narrow alleyways (that made me a bit nervous) until we reached the “kleine kotel” (little Wall).  I never knew the place existed (did you?).  There’s a small piece of the Kotel visible from this spot in the Moslem Quarter.  Both its elevation and location place it much much closer to the sight of the First and Second Temples that it is, for many, the preferred place to come and pray.  I saw many notes pushed into the stone crevices, though only a scant few people there to pray.  (One of them was a former student at Menashe’s yeshiva and they chatted at bit.).

It’s only 2 pm..

With our tour scheduled to end by 2:30 pm, Menashe asked if I minded ending at Damascus Gate, in East Jerusalem, where I could catch the Light Rail train back to West Jerusalem.  Of course. Menashe told me that he often gets unwanted attention, in the form of aggressive pushing, when we walks through the shuk in the Moslem quarter. As we walked together, I saw lots of it. He called back to me, “I don’t recommend you do this walk alone.”  (Two days too late on that one J.  This was the same walk I (accidently) took before).  By the time we were close to the Damascus Gate, it was wall-to-wall people, squished together, moving inch by inch towards the exit. That was a scene as the space was filled, mostly, with Moslem Arabs, some Christian tourists, a few Orthodox Jews, and the rarified American Jewish tourist (OK, me). 

We exited the gate, headed over to the train stop, and I said my good-byes to Menashe, who offered his email expertise when I get stumped by student questions on halacha.

What to do now?

I knew that the Brandeis group was going to go to the Machane Yehuda market in the afternoon, before heading to the Kotel before Shabbat. So, I stayed on the light rail until Machane Yehuda, which, for those who have not been on a Friday afternoon just before Shabbat shuts Jerusalem down for 24 hours, is PACKED. I did one loop but couldn’t find Shayna. (I did see a few of the others from the class). Then, on a quick walk down the center of the market, there she was, sipping a slush, and she just saw Hallie Goldstein who was in the market after arriving in Israel from Poland and the “March of the Living” program. A quick hello and “Shabbat Shalom” to Shayna and I was on a walk back to the hotel for a little rest.

Against the specific request of Leah Lamstein, I now mention her in the blog.

Marci told me that Leah couldn’t make their book group meeting because she was going to be in Israel.  Fantastic.  I’ll see if we can see each other in Israel. Nope. Leah told me she was on a Federation tour with the Israel IGI committee (Israel Impact Grants Initiative). This particular committee, comprised of Bay Area lay leaders with specific expertise in “social venture philanthropy,” focuses on the leading Israelis and Israeli organizations that seek meaningful change in the Jewish State.  Many of the grantees are involved in strengthening pluralism within the Jewishness of Israel.  Others seek social justice and civil rights for Israel’s Arab citizens. Members of the committee, including Leah, were on a whirlwind 6 day immersion in Israel and in the work of the grantees.

Lucky for me that their tour was being organized by Noa Turgeman, who worked for Federation in SF for years before returning to Israel to raise her family. One of Noa’s jobs in SF involved running the “G’vanim” program, that brought groups of Israelis to the Bay Area to learn about religious pluralism and to see models for how they might want to think about programs in Israel. On the side, I reached out to Noa just to see her and get her “Tel Avivi” perspective on Israeli life. Instead, she invited me to join the IGI group as much as my schedule allowed. Yeah Noa!

I wrote back to Leah to tell her that the bad news was she had no time to see me, due to her incredibly packed Federation IGI schedule.  The good news is that I just got myself an invitation to join her group J.

On Friday afternoon, I took the walk from my hotel in Ben-Yehuda to their hotel in the German Colony. (I later learned its actually in the Greek Colony). (averaging over 25,000 steps a day, thank you Fitbit.)  There, I met up with the group from SF, including a bunch of people I knew from Brandeis-SF, as well as Federation, where I sit on a few committees. It was a great reunion…and the hotel provided great afternoon food and drink (which I needed!).

Leah and Marc

Their first meeting focused on the work of a grantee organization that is committed to religious pluralism in Jerusalem, which is fast becoming a haredi-controlled city. (Note the fast change from Haredi immersion to “the other side.” Noa introduced me to Rachel Azaria, who sits on the Jerusalem City Council and is now the deputy mayor of Jerusalem. She is leading the effort for pluralism in Jerusalem, which began when she learned that she could not put up her political campaign posters on the city busses since women were not permitted to have their images publicly displayed like that. WOW. (note double entendre here). 

I was certainly thrilled (and honored) to meet her and when I said, “Nice to meet you,” Rachel replied, “We’ve already met.  I attended your lecture in S.F. with G’vanim and when I was telling my Uncle in New York about it, he told me he saw you on TV with Helen Hunt.”  Now that was one great ego boost.  Loving Federation now J. It’s a good day.

We sat on the patio of the hotel and heard Rachel and her colleagues talk about their political work, their social agenda, and the challenges of living as non-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem. 

We headed next for Shabbat dinner at Ruth and Yossi Yudkowitz’ home. While the evening was a way for Federation to immerse the Committee members into an Israeli home for Shabbat dinner, I also learned that Ruth is good friends with Rabbi Don Goor, who recently made aliyah to Israel.  In fact, I learned that we were sitting at the same table as Don did for the Passover seder.  Small world, really.  Ruth has a business called “shuk and cook” where folks first go to Machane Yehuda to buy food, then get a cooking lesson from Ruth, then eat dinner together afterwards. Interested?  http://www.shukandcook.com.

As the committee folk took a walking tour of Ruth’s Abu Tor neighborhood, I walked back to center city.  On erev Shabbat in Jerusalem, there’s barely a car on the street. (Is that good or bad?  You decide after a day like today…).

PS Forgot to mention that as I made my walk from Pardes back to the hotel yesterday afternoon, I literally walked by a fire that started at a park (located at the corner between Keren Ha’yasod and Emek Rafaim (the one with the copy of the Liberty Bell).  When the fire and police arrived, they “kindly” ask me to go.