Thursday, May 1 Jerusalem

Thursday, May 1

With a 6:15 wake up, I was out the door by 6:30 am to get to the Kotel by the 7:00 am WOW Rosh Chodesh prayers. I entered the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, only this early in the morning, it was nearly empty of people.  Heading into the shuk, all the stalls were closed and locked, there were scant few people walking in the alleyways. It was a cool, crisp air with the sun barely making it through. It pays to get up early in the morning. The walk was both magical and mystical for me, having traversed the space so many times and never done so in emptiness.  Instead of dodging people and vendors, resisting the screams for really good deals, student prices, (no “middle age tourist prices”), I walked quickly, alone, down the shuk steps, knowing I would end up, in minutes, at the Kotel. It was a great five minute journey, even helping me get a better sense of the alleyways of the Old City and which ones go where.

Here's the typical scene through the shuk..

Here's an early morning shot..

Here's the journey from Jaffa Gate to the "Wailing Wall"

I emerged on the Kotel plaza from the side entrance on the Moslem Quarter side and descended towards the Wall. I was struck by the number of men davening (praying) in the back of the men’s section, along the m’hitzah (gender divider), in close physical proximity to the women’s prayer area. While prayer can often get engaged and engaging, this service, with about 50 yeshiva men, was VERY LOUD. It was either tremendous devotion to the Almighty, or a serious attempt to drawn out the voices of the women (perhaps they might say “both”).

Only at this moment did I realize…

There was Daryl Messinger on her way through the women’s entrance to the Kotel. I remembered that she was in Jerusalem for a meeting of the national board of the Reform movement (URJ). Of course, she would be at the WOW prayers. I ran over, said hello, gave her the obligatory kiss on the cheek (when she reminded me that at this place, at this exact moment, my kiss could gather both religious and political attention). Oh, well.

Then, I looked around and realized that the entire board of the URJ was there, including Jim Heeger, who is in charge of our Camp Newman capital improvements (and is also Daryl’s husband), Danny Friedlander, the Exec. VP of the board who was the one who invited me to deliver a keynote address to his board a few years ago. Just yesterday, I learned, he had accepted a new job as the director of the World Union of Progressive Judaism, which represents liberal Judaism outside the U.S. There was David Bernstein from Camp Swig 30 years ago, now the chief fundraiser in Israel for the movement. And, of course, in the distance, Rabbi Rick Jacobs himself.  Rabbi Jacobs is the relatively new leader of the URJ whom Rabbi Stacy Friedman had introduced me to on his visit to Marin last year. (Thanks Stacy for getting me to the Kotel and introducing me to Rabbi Jacobs J.)

When the women started praying in song, the men on the other side of the mehitzah began singing louder and louder, even jumping up and down with expression. (Subsequently, I learned that Rabbi Jonah Pesner, a VP of the URJ, actually went into the men’s prayer group to ask if this was a protest against WOW.  They responded that it was NOT a protest.  When asked, then, why they were praying so loudly, they replied, “It’s Rosh Chodesh.”  I think that’s code J.

All the men who came to observe the women’s prayers stood in the plaza area in front of the kotel, a gender-inclusive meeting area outside the official prayer area in front of the kotel.  While I was enjoying my reunion conversations with Rabbi Friedlander, David Bernstein, Jim, and a few other people they introduced me to, another man handed out siddurim to us (prayer books).  He reminded us that since we had 10 people (OK, in this case, men) present, we were ourselves a prayer minyan.  In support of WOW, he was leading us in a service paralleling theirs in the women’s prayer section.

What a moment…at the kotel, reconnecting with lots of old friends, observing WOW pray, watching the yeshiva buchers try to drown it out, only to get chastised for not praying myself in support. So, with a few of the organized Jewish community’s leading Reform rabbis, I got to talk, (quickly pray when pressured), get back to more conversation (and a fascinating one about how to develop progressive Judaism in different countries around the world without imposing American Judaism on them), then back to the siddur when the leader of our “men in support of women” service, once again, reminded us to pray. Love the sensory overload.

At the end of the service, the male prayer leader told us that he was the head of “Men of Women of the Wall,” which he proudly proclaimed was “MOWOW.” He let us know they have a facebook page.  Men out there, you are invited to “like” the page.

And it’s only 7:45 am..

As the service concluded, and the women began exiting the prayer space, I walked over to see that they were all getting their picture taken with Rabbi Jacobs. 

 A quick conversation between Rabbi Jacobs and Anat Hoffman, the founder and director of Women of the Wall. 

As they all exited, I (re-)introduced myself to Rabbi Jacobs who told me that he was about to give the national board a briefing on the status of the new egalitarian prayer space in front of Robinson’s Arch.  He invited me to join them.

My way too schedule-minded brain first thought that I couldn’t stay since I had a 9 am lesson at the Pardes Institute already planned.  Then, in a moment of redemption from my own brain, I realized that the head of the Reform movement just gave me a personal invitation to hear a briefing on the status of the Western Wall.  Forget Pardes, folks..  Off to Robinson’s Arch..

The group exited the Kotel plaza, left the secure area, then descended stairwells and narrow walkways to get to the Robinson’s Arch section of the Wall.  This is the space where egalitarian groups currently pray and it is the proposed site of a new (and large) prayer space that will appear just as inviting as the existing gender segregated area. Rabbi Jacobs showed us the difficult architectural challenges, navigating around a set of giant rocks that fell upon the destruction of the Second Temple (not a good idea to cover them up with a prayer platform.  Perhaps “see-through” plexiglass floor so people could get to touch the wall (right now almost all the egalitarian space of the Wall doesn’t let worshippers get close enough to touch the Kotel). Then, again, all this construction connects to the foundation of the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple mount, meaning that Muslim authorities have to understand that this construction will not damage the mosque, nor be an affront to Islam (nor a political statement on the status of Jerusalem). A wrong move could inspire religious extremism on either side.  That’s a challenge.

Rabbi Jacobs updated the group on his own negotiations with the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the ways in which this question is central to pluralistic Jewish life in Israel, where 80% of Jewish Israelis are secular (nationalists) as their form of Jewish identity and 20% are Orthodox. Only a small (but growing) number of native-born Israelis practice forms of Judaism in between those two sides and the URJ is working to open up Israelis to these new (and in the US, the majority) forms of religious expression.

About 8:30 am, Rabbi Jacobs announced to this group that the president of the State of Israel was waiting to meet them. That was my hint to make an exit…  And since we were no longer within the limits of the Western Wall, I did give Daryl a kiss goodbye and hopped into a taxi.  It seems I may just make the 9 am Pardes class, after all..

Pardes is a multi-denominational, egalitarian, Jewish learning community in Jerusalem.  It’s best known for year-long text study immersions that native English-speaking folks often take after high school or after college. Here’s their website: http://www.pardes.org.il.  

Thanks to Abby and Jason Porth, whose cousin, Michael Rosensweig, is the President and CEO of Pardes.  They introduced me to him and we had a chance to speak before I left. In addition to its long-term learning courses, Pardes also offers community-based education on a drop-in basis.  Yeah for me. 

It turned out that this week is the beginning of the new term so I was able to start the course on the State of Israel and Jewish law, as well as another course on Post-Holocaust Theology. Bad news is that I’m only in Jerusalem for a week so I won’t be able to continue. Each of these classes attracted about 25-30 students, mostly north American Jews who either moved to Israel after retirement, or split their years between Jerusalem and (inevitably, it seemed from our introductions at the beginning of class) somewhere in New Jersey. With Israel Independence day approaching, the discussion of the creation of a Jewish state within the bounds of Jewish law was well timed.  Here, I received an overview of the various perspectives, from total embrace of Jewish nationhood (religious Zionists) to its rejection (some in the ultra-Orthodox community).  The class engaged in open debate on the questions. The theology class focused this week on A.B. Yehoshua and his demand that diaspora Jews will never live good Jewish lives until they move to Israel.  The instructor then connected his ideas to post-Holocaust thinking. Four hours later, I opted to skip the “lunch and learn” on the week’s Torah portion so I could have time to walk from Pardes (near Talpiot and just beyond the German Colony and Emek Rafaim) back to the center of Jerusalem, get some lunch, and get to Ohr Sameach Yeshivah in time for the afternoon class.

What a day!  I walked out of Pardes, past Kol Ha’Nishamah, the largest progressive (Reform) synagogue in Jerusalem, then to Emek Rafaim where I stopped for a wonderful and solitary lunch for one, with time to reflect on the morning, and rehydrate in summer-like Jerusalem heat. OK, fellow diabetics out there.  I ordered (kosher) chicken fettuccini. I’m typically walking 20K-30K steps a day (thanks to the fitbit Marci got me for my birthday.).  I figure a carb splurge in these Jerusalem circumstances is actually an affirmation of the moment.

Onward to Ben Yehuda St. where I did get a few minutes to relax in the hotel before boarding the light rail for Ohr Sameach.  This time in “controversial subjects” class, we explored the distinction between haredi Torah Judaism and the “secular religion” of the State of Israel, with its own rituals, holidays, heros, and systems that make it, in the eyes of the haredim, to be its own religion. Here, I learned, is an essential challenge for haredi Zionism.  To embrace the secular religion of Israel is both to embrace another religious tradition (which is, of course, forbidden) but also..and even more painful to Haredi Jews, embracing this “other” religion that was built by Jews. Israel’s independence day, as well as memorial day, are viewed by many in the Haredi community as examples of secular religious observance. Rather than viewing them as affirmations of a Jewish state (Independence day) and respect for soldiers who died to build a Jewish homeland (Memorial day), Haredi perceive them as forbidden secular worship. I appreciated this explanation since I had only heard the haredi anti-Zionist argument as rooted in a refusal to form a Jewish state without the Messiah. (which is also true for the haredi community). Menashe taught a great deal about the differences between modern Orthodoxy and haredi Judaism since Zionism is a key differentiating point between the communities. Given that Menashe’s students were, as far as I could discern from their clothing and questions, all modern Orthodox, I thought the discussion was really interesting and stimulating.  Since I have an appointment to meet with Professor Paul Liptz of Hebrew Union College and Hebrew University (and lots of other places), I skipped Menashe’s history course and headed to the YMCA (known in Hebrew as the YEEMKA) for a quick hello.

Rabbi Lezak brought Paul Liptz to Rodef as a scholar and we hit it off immediately.  He immigrated from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) days before the 1967 Six Day War.  He teaches in Jerusalem, and often travels abroad as a scholar in residence, to offer his views on Israel and the Jewish people.  Paul and I share a special relationship in that we only see each other once every few years (when one of us is in the other’s city).  Yet, with barely a “hello, good to see you again,” we are already deep in conversation. Needless to day, with the day going as it was, I had so much to share with Paul and so much to learn from his reactions.  He had just returned from a scholar weekend in Memphis, Marci’s native city, so we spent our time bouncing between questions of Zionism, Independence day, southern (U.S.) Jews, and the haridim.  I had to cut our chat too short because the Brandeis group was going to be set free to roam Ben Yehuda street and I was going to get to see Shayna again.

Talk about exhaustion…and this time not from my day..Shayna was so wiped out from her travels (see bhds.org for the link to their blog) that she just fell asleep at the dinner table while I ordered hummus from the restaurant next to my hotel…in my ever-evolving hummus taste testing expedition. (Fred, this one wasn’t as good J).

I was able, though, to inspire her to wake up for a Lezak-inspired waffle!

On our way out, we happened upon a May Day march by the leftist youth movement "Ha-shomer Ha'tzair."  The banner translates "Justice, Justice, shall you pursue," a phrase from Torah.  The other signs say bad things about Prime Minister Netanyahu.

This was, indeed, an “Only in Jerusalem” day. 

Lailah tov (good night!)