From Jerusalem with Love

Picture It

The Jewish new year 5767 started on Saturday. Though I miss the Rosh HaShana (Head of the Year) sights, sounds and smells that fill Israel this time of year, it's been more than nice to refuel in Boston. It's a lot less intense living here than in Jerusalem, and more comfortable. This is not to say it's as special or challenging or exciting - just easier.

I've told people that Israel (and particularly Jerusalem) is like your crying infant - you love it, but in order to keep doing so you need  breaks every now and then. (Unless you enjoy wailing and getting pooped on, that is.) Being in the US right now feels like intermission during one of my high school plays. Time to freshen up, fix your make-up, and mock whoever screwed up their lines. In two weeks, Act II opens in Jerusalem. Thanks to my employment here in Boston, I'll have some new clothes, cologne and Crocs to wow the audience.

A major theme of the past year has been "either/or." For a while I felt somewhat guilty and sad I hadn't moved to Israel and made it my home. After all, I'm needed there a lot more than here, at least from a nation-building perspective. Nothing like sleeping in, strolling two hours to school and passing notes during class to build a nation. This year, I've slowly realized that not all decisions need to be "either/or." They can also be here, now and later.

It's likely I will move back to this area in a year after my program ends. In the US, I will work for Israel, visit Israel and continue to dream Israel. One day, when I have more resources and roots, I might move there to bake muffins. It's not a matter of preferring one place to another, or deciding against something. Israel is as much a state of mind as a physical place to me. The Jewish values and culture formed there are not limited to the country's non-borders, after all, but can be found around the world.

Here in Boston, I've enjoyed reconnecting with Temple Israel, where I taught, learned and grew prior to moving to Jerusalem. In many ways, I see more of an appreciation and joy for Judaism there than I do in Israel, where "Judaism" is something for men in black in hats who enforce rigid laws. Working at the Jewish Community Relations Council again, I'm reminded that Israel's future is closely tied to the Diaspora, particularly American Jews and their willingness to share energy, resources and vision with the Jewish state. The State of Israel was built largely by people born outside its borders, and Diaspora Jews continue to shape the homeland's future.

For the New Year, I encourage you to picture your life in ways that are less "either/or" and more here, now and - if necessary - later. Appreciating where you are today, but keeping in mind it's not necessarily where you will (or should) be later. Like the bee I photographed the other day (above), with G-d's help you can fly to new places and pollinate many more flowers. Or not.

Legacy

Today is one of the rare occasions when most people in the US are on the same page. Every newspaper and broadcast reminds us what happened exactly five years ago. Today is 9/11, 2006.

It's unfortunate that is takes commemoration of a mega-tragedy to bring people together and focus their thoughts on the same issue. I see the same process in Israel, when it's only during war that the country becomes less fractured and more united for a brief time. Imagine if modern societies were able to focus attention, energy and goodwill around things other than tragedy commemoration or self-defense.

Many millions of dollars and hours have been spent writing about 9/11, talking about it, depicting it, rethinking it, etc. I am not implying that the loss of thousands of innocent Americans to barbaric terrorists is not worthy of our grief and reflection for many years to come. The 9/11 "industry," however, does make one think what our country is capable of when we're on the same page. What if we applied this passion to feeding our millions of below-poverty level children, or educating them, or fixing our troubled inner cities?

America appears no less divided than it was before the attacks half a decade ago. Our politics are still fraught with fear-mongering and divisiveness (think of gay marriage and immigration law, to name just two issues). Instead of uniting us, our leaders too often play on prejudice and fear of the unknown in their quest for votes. This has the effect of pulling people apart, raising walls between Americans when we should be tearing them down.

Those lost to us on 9/11 will never walk this Earth again. We must find ways to honor their legacy by making our country stronger. The terrorists and those who sent them sought (and still seek) to demoralize us and eradicate our way of life. It remains to be seen whether or not they will succeed.

(I took the photo above at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston two years ago. Has the legacy of the Holocaust made the world a safer place for persecuted minorities?)

Playground Rules

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Two and a half-year old life coach the Muffin does not mince words. A visit to the playground becomes an insightful view into what makes this small person tick, as well as what pisses him off.

"You don't stand, you have to sit," the Muffin admonished a young girl twice his size standing at the top of a yellow slide. "She's a big girl, she knows what to do," M.O.M. (Mother of Muffin) told her pride & joy, at which point he decided to make his own rules. The slide made of long silver rollers (think butt massage) provided a golden opportunity for rule-breaking. With chants of, "I am a climbing duck," the Muffin went down the roller slide - on his stomach. The ride was repeated several times, until the Muffin attempted to walk up the roller slide to avoid climbing stairs. Danger!

Because he is a life coach, the Muffin excels at communication. Some of his comments are rather obvious - "You got a drink!" Other times, the Muffin astounds grown-ups with his unique take on topics ranging from geography to anatomy. Recently, the Muffin learned the names for private parts. "What does mommy have?" asked M.O.M. Thinking about it for a good ten seconds, the Muffin exclaimed, "pagina!" M.O.M. and this author laughed hard, so hard we neglected to correct the Muffin's error.

Though a seasoned life coach, the Muffin is open to persuasion. When his lunch company expressed consternation at his incessant crashing of toy cars into each other, the Muffin took action. "We don't like when cars crash, people get hurt," the Muffin was informed. Within seconds, the cars had been named Duck and Cat, and were carrying on a lively conversation sans crashing. "I like cars," said the Muffin, pleased to have regained adult approval.

The Muffin proves that age does not stand in the way of one's ability to effect change, alter perspective or motivate individuals. After potty training, anything is possible.