The Excitement of Hosting A Regional Event

This November, my temple youth group, SHAFTY, will be hosting NFTY Northeast's Fall Conclavette, and I'm very excited. Conclavettes consist of three-days (Friday night to Sunday morning) of programming, fun activities, services and havdalah, a dance, and staying at people's homes. It's a lot of work to host a conclavette for both the youth group and the entire temple but it's also very exciting, and a big honor. In addition to the planning of the event, we will be working with our temple's executive board and staff, the clergy, congregants, and many other people in our community. It takes a village to host a conclavette. And I can't wait. 

My youth group is on the rise. Around five years ago, our run of awesomeness ended, and SHAFTY started to shrink, our regional presence declined, and we struggled with membership and leadership. Starting last year, we've turned things around. We have a full 8-person board of sophomores and juniors, we have great turn-out at events, we have one regional board member this year and two next year, and now the cherry on top: we're hosting a conclavette. It really shows our strength as a youth group, and it shows how far we've come. So in November when around 400 NFTYites stay at our temple and our homes, enjoy our programming and services, and hopefully leave with lasting memories, it'll truly show that SHAFTY is back and is here to stay. 

Bringing Camp Traditions to Israel

As I wrote about last week, I miss camp. After 14 summers at Eisner Camp, I was not at camp last summer, and I'm very excited to go back. Two things we did recently have added immensely to that excitement. 

Last Friday, we had song session. In addition to being very fun and rewarding (watching people have fun because of something you created is a wonderful feeling), it reminded me of Eisner. At camp, we have song session every Friday night, and it has always been one of my favorite parts of camp. Something about the atmosphere of 1,000 people all jumping, singing, and having fun together is magical. I love song session, and being able to have a camp-style song session here brought me back to Eisner, and made me even more excited for this upcoming summer. 

The second thing we did was our mini Maccabbiah on Yom HaAtzmaut. We have Maccabbiah every summer at Eisner, and those four days are some of the best at camp. Being able to get in teams by color, play sports, cheer for our team, and do different ridiculous relay races reminded me a lot of Eisner Maccabbiah, and again made me excited to go back. Being able to experience different Eisner-esque things while here has greatly enhanced EIE. It's allowed me to reminisce and participate in some of my favorite camp activities while in Israel and with different people. It's been truly awesome, and as I've mentioned once or twice, it's made me quite ready to return this summer!

Etgar Keret stories provide a fun way to learn about Israeli culture

Even though we are living in Israel, the EIE program does not include too much about Israeli culture. We've obviously learned a lot about music, food, and other cultural aspects from our counselors and just from being here, but we could be learning more. This is not a complaint or criticism, just a reality of the program. Because we're isolated from Israeli society, the little things our staff do for us to introduce us to different aspects of Israeli culture are great, and one of these things has been reading Etgar Keret books in Jewish History class. In addition to being fun and interesting to read, I have learned a lot about Israel from the stories.

For one thing, the sense of humor in this country is very interesting, and is definitely an acquired taste. The stories include death, sex, masturbation, drugs and alcohol-definitely not light topics. However, the stories are written in a certain tone that does lighten the dark humor. One of the things that has struck me the most is how such taboo subjects are so common and nonchalant. You wouldn't find too many humorous stories in America about murder and other twisted topics like the ones in the Etgar Keret stories. Not only has reading the stories been an enjoyable preview of Israeli culture, but it has shown us a lot about Israelis too. In a country with a hard history full of violence and sadness, it's very interesting that death is a "funny" topic. Humor is a way to cope, and it's been very cool to experience this part of Israeli society.

A Busy Week of Holidays in Israel

This is a very important week for Israel and Jews all over the world. We observe Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZicharon, and Yom HaAtzmaut, three very important holidays. We remember the Holocaust and honor those who died, we remember all those who have died fighting for Israel and honor their memory, and finally we celebrate Independence Day. This trio of days that lead up to a big celebration of freedom are quite special, and being in Israel significantly adds to the importance. On Yom HaShoah, we were able to stand outside as the sirens went off, look out at the beautiful landscape of the Judean Hills, and observe the moment of silence. With our Poland trip and now being in the land of Israel, it was much more meaningful this time. Having been to the concentration camps and all the sites of the suffering and resistance of the Holocaust, I really connect to the events on a deeper level, and I can appreciate being in Israel much more. Obviously I cannot even fathom the atrocities or hardships of the Holocaust, but having had the experience of returning to Israel after a tough week in Poland, I truly understand the importance and magic of Israel. The first of the three holidays was very special, and I look forward to experiencing the remaining two with a true Israeli spin (a ceremony and a day at the beach). 

Living Ten Months for Two

Today I had the opportunity to go to the URJ's conference for all the Israelis that will be working at all the camps this summer, and talk about my own camp, Eisner. In addition to being a very fun experience, it reminded me of the magic of camp, and made me extremely excited to go back after too long of a break. The summer of 2013 was my last as a camper, and I didn't go on the camp Israel trip, so I haven't been to camp or with my camp friends for two years. However, after today, all of my memories flooded my head, and all I could think about was the amazing time I had growing up at Eisner.

Eisner Camp made me who I am today. Camp is where I grew up, matured, made lifelong friendships, and formed my Jewish identity. Sure, I grew up in a fairly Jewish home, but for me, camp was always my number one place for Judaism (or for anything, really). Eisner was where I fell in love with Judaism and the community and the prayer and just everything about being a Jew. The reason I'm involved with NFTY and my temple and that I'm on EIE is because of camp. Whether it was Limud, our Jewish education program, living with Israelis, or the magic of Shabbat at camp, there is something special about Eisner, and being Jewish at Eisner. It's truly impossible to articulate how important and impactful Eisner camp has been on my life (it's especially hard trying to explain it to people who aren't the strongest English speakers). My time there and the friends I made at camp will be with me for the rest of my life. And I'm incredibly excited that I get to reconnect with that part of my life this summer after two long years away. We've got plenty of time left on EIE, but today certainly made me feel that same childhood longing for camp, almost to the point where I may start counting down the days.... (it's 71...)

The Sad Truth About Denominational Judaism

Around two weeks ago, we learned about different streams of Judaism, meeting with members of the Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, and Haredi communities. All four were very interesting, but I found myself getting angry and offended often during these meetings. The Reform Rabbi was great, and I agreed with what he had to say about Judaism and the Reform movement. The Conservative representative was also enjoyable, and I could appreciate everything he spoke about. The other two, however, were not as pleasant for me. 

The Modern Orthodox man was an American-born former Reform Jew who transitioned to Modern Orthodoxy after finding many issues with Reform Judaism. Much of what he said at first was interesting- all about his daily life, aspects of Modern Orthodoxy, and his experience living in the West Bank. Eventually, he began speaking about all the problems he has with Reform Judaism, and that's where I started having issues. Among other things, he talked about how Reform Jews reject the Torah. That point really offended me. I understand that Reform Jews don't necessarily follow Halacha, or attend Yeshiva, but that does not mean that we reject and disregard the Torah. Then with the Haredi man, the same happened. He was very interesting and nice, but once he began talking about Reform Judaism, he essentially said that we're not real Jews, making an analogy that we're spies infiltrating Judaism.

So the main point with all of this is that while learning about the other denominations was very intriguing and educational, it opened my eyes to the horrible way that Reform Jews are viewed by other Jews. And honestly, it was quite sad. We're all one people, one Am Yisrael, but based on the way they spoke about my type of Judaism, it doesn't seem that way.