My Letter to NYU-Poly

The Israel Way-Oranim program I currently am a participant on, NYU-Poly Master's in Israel, is in danger of being discontinued after many years of operation. Below is a letter I wrote to the presidents of both NYU and NYU-Poly in the hopes of changing their minds. I sent it out almost two weeks ago and they have responded, saying that my insights are noted but nothing has officially been decided (as far as I know).

Please read and react, either by commenting or even writing a letter to the presidents themselves; whatever we can do to save the program. I have a friend who is looking forward to participating in this program in Fall 2012, and he won't be able to if the program is canceled. Thank you.

John Sexton - President of NYU
john.sexton@nyu.edu

Jerry Hultin - President of NYU-Poly
hultin@poly.edu
_______________


Dear President Sexton and President Hultin,

My name is Joshua Rubock and I am currently a graduate student in the NYU-Poly Master's in Israel program. As you know, I have been living in Israel as a participant on this program since last October and will finish the program within the coming weeks. All participants have been notified by Israel Way-Oranim's Director of Admissions, Ofir Teva, that the university wishes to discontinue the NYU-Poly in Israel program and no one directly associated with the program was notified about it from NYU or NYU-Poly administration. I urge you to reconsider your positions.

Joining this program nine months ago has provided me with a once-in-a-lifetime experience that cannot, and will not, be compared to anything of any sort EVER. First of all, finding this program allowed me the ability to come back to Israel for the first time since going on my Taglit-Birthright Israel trip three years ago, and getting my Master's degree here has allowed me to accomplish my objective earlier than I had thought possible. I discovered the program by Googling "Israel opportunity programs" for an assignment for my Hillel internship two years ago at the University of Connecticut. Now that I look back, it was the best decision of my life. 

While studying for my MS in Organizational Behavior, I have done so much that no NYU-Poly student in Brooklyn can say they have done by gaining an international experience in graduate school. We are taught by Israeli professors, providing a different view of the world than the traditional American view; they educate us on how American companies run and how Israeli companies run, too. I have traveled all over Israel and outside of Israel; Oranim has taken us on trips to Eilat, the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, the Negev desert, Safed, and every place in between while learning about Israel's unique history and culture. I have traveled on my own (or with friends) to nearby cities while living in Tel Aviv, the cultural capital of Israel. I have learned to speak Hebrew while engaging with locals, the best way to learn about a new culture. I have made many new friends in other MASA programs, not just from the United States but also from Canada, South America, Europe, and Russia. I have traveled to Jordan and Europe with friends, learning more about other cultures around the world. I have participated in several security and diplomacy programs and seminars, becoming more Zionist than I had ever been before and paying more attention to world news than previously. I have even worked an internship that has taught me about the human resources field by selling a new service by a start-up company. 

I am not the same person I was nine months ago. When I return to the US in ten weeks, I will have become more knowledgeable about many cultures, about human resource management, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and have grown so much thanks to every opportunity I have taken advantage of. If I had done the same program in Brooklyn, all that would have changed was learning about human resources and getting my degree. However, now I have friends from all over the world and knowledge from many different sources. 

A friend of mine from high school applied to join this past Spring semester, however, since NYU-Poly decided to postpone the incoming class because a minimum number of people had not applied, he was not able to come here. He applied because he saw what I have been writing on my blog (http://gradschoolinisrael.blogspot.co.il/), and wanted to experience something powerful like what I have while studying for a Master's in Management. He was devastated when he heard that he wouldn't be coming in March but in October instead. Now that you might cancel the program, you would be canceling his and over 50 other prospective students' dreams of studying in Israel.

The program has not had very much success admitting students because it is not marketed enough, and Oranim cannot do it alone. I have searched all over the Internet and all over the NYU and NYU-Poly sites, and NOTHING mentions the NYU-Poly Master's in Israel program as an option to study. It is only mentioned on Oranim's website and MASA's website and their social media pages, and they often have trouble getting the word out because the only other type of people they have to spread the word about the program is alumni. This program needs all the help it can get to market it. Without such information the program is sure to crumble, however, with your help it can thrive again. Undergraduates at NYU get the chance to experience something similar to what NYU-Poly offers and it's all right here: http://www.nyu.edu/global/global-academic-centers/telaviv.html. Keeping my program can continue to provide NYU-Poly with a significant competitive advantage over other graduate programs at other universities and colleges. If anything you should expand my program.

When I first applied, I was blown away to find such an amazing program already available. Why take it away from others in the future, like the 50 current prospective applicants planning to start in Fall 2012? They can learn so much from living for a year in a country that is the only free democracy in the Middle East and is a global leader in culture and innovation today with its technological start-ups. NYU and NYU-Poly fit well with Israeli culture and society, focusing on i2e, innovation and entrepreneurship are in both the blood of NYU-Poly and Israeli culture. Please reconsider your thoughts and actions of discontinuing the NYU-Poly Master's in Israel program and give future students the ability to learn in an environment in which few can.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Joshua Rubock

Why doesn’t the Muslim world recognize Israel? (Jerusalem Post article)

By MOHAMMED MOSTAFA KAMAL

07/21/2012 22:21

If Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran do not accept peace, the rest of the Muslim world must boycott them. This will be justice.

Photo: Reuters

No Muslim country boycotted East Timor or banned its citizens from traveling there after it became independent from mainly Muslim Indonesia. Christian-majority South Sudan became independent from mainly Muslim United Sudan in 2011. As with East Timor, we did not see any Muslim boycotts.
However, when Israel became independent in 1948, Muslim countries acted with unrelenting hostility. Why? One of the basic tenets of Islam is that Muslim-majority countries’ first allegiance should be to Islam, in the form of a single Islamic Caliphate, and not to secular conceptions of the state, whether Arab, Persian or Turkish.

However, prior to the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Sharif Hussein Bin Ali of Mecca, together with many other Arab leaders, enticed by the prospect of power, abandoned the concept of an Islamic Caliphate and sought to form new countries, which they would rule. They called their ambition Arab Nationalism. To accomplish their objective, they sought British aid in overthrowing the Ottoman Empire.

With British assistance, the Arab leaders succeeded in toppling the Ottoman Empire – but it was Britain that assumed control, not the Arabs. It was a repeat of the tragic defeat of the last independent Arab ruler, Mîrzâ Muhammad Sirâj-ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, by Britian in the Battle of Plassey.

Britain had in fact never intended to liberate the Arabs, but rather to gain control of the Middle East oil fields. As far as Britain was concerned, the plan was simply to divide and conquer. Blinded by ambition, the Arab leaders of 1916 not only didn’t achieve power for themselves, they unwittingly set the stage for the fragmentation of the Middle East and the creation of the State of Israel.

Several new countries were created in the Middle East, with borders chosen not to further Arab unity, but to defeat it. As part of the disposition of the region, the idea was advanced at the United Nations of dividing Palestine into two countries, one for Jews and one for Arabs. The Nazi Holocaust, Jewish appeals for the creation of such a state and greater European ambitions for the region were all contributing factors behind this idea.

The British Mandate in Palestine was duly divided on May 14, 1948, and the modern State of Israel was formally recognized, and began its journey. At the time, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin clarified that his support for partition was motivated by a desire to reduce British influence in the area.

It is unfortunately true that many Palestinian Arabs were evicted from their homes. However, not in 1948 due to Israel’s independence, but from 1930 onward. Arab Muslims leaders have been hiding this crucial fact from the entire Muslim world ever since.

From1948 onward, the Arab states have tried repeatedly to annihilate Israel. Every time, their efforts met with resounding failure, but this only served to fuel Muslim anger against Israel and Jewish people. Except for Turkey, no Muslim country had diplomatic relations with Israel, allowed its citizens to visit Israel or the import of Israeli goods. Israel and its people were beyond the pale.

In 1967, to maintain its existence Israel had to occupy all of the Palestine and the Syrian Golan Heights. In 1979, Egypt recognized Israel following the Camp David Accords of 1978 between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin.

Interestingly, the Soviet Union and its allied were now backing the Arabs against Israel, a state of affairs which persisted until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Realizing the implications, the PLO and its leader Yasser Arafat gradually headed toward the Oslo Peace Accords.

Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo agreement on September 13, 1993, at the White House.

That which had once seemed impossible and unthinkable had now become quite real. As a result, Israeli military forces were withdrawn from most of Palestine. A new Palestinian government was formed. But Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and other splinter groups were against the treaty and vowed to carry on the war. Fatah’s proposed two-state solutions was meaningless to Hamas, which together with the Islamic Jihad continued to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel. These groups were backed and sheltered by Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.

Due to their acts of aggression, Israel had no choice but to counter-attack. Yitzhak Rabin, who had signed the Oslo agreement with Arafat, was assassinated by an extremist Jew in 1995 for not reacting strongly enough, with many on the extreme Israeli Right feeling desparate that the terrorist attacks were increasing even as Israel withdrew from territory.

There then followed a series of confrontations between Hamas and Israel. In between these incidents Israel showed respect for a UN resolution which required it to withdraw its forces from south Lebanon in the year 2000.

It was deadly mistake. After the 2000 withdrawal, the Lebanese Hezbollah become more powerful and organized.

They were getting arms, training and other military materiel from Syria and Iran.

Before the spread of Internet accessibility in the Muslim world, and even after, in 2000, news coverage on the nature of the terrorist attacks against Israel did not properly reach many Muslims. That Hamas and other extremists were using innocent Palestinians as human shields when they launched rockets was not widely enough known in the Muslim world. So when Israel responded, it was always the guilty party, committing inhuman, incomprehensible acts.

Even in 2005, when then-prime minister Ariel Sharon withdrew all Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, controversially- elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to wipe Israel off the map, and terrorist attacks from Gaza intensified. As a result, further withdrawals were halted and there was a breakdown in Israel’s ruling Likud party.

Sharon and liberal-minded leaders broke away to form the Kadima party, which with the support of the Labor party came to power and kept the peace process going, in the face of unrelenting Hamas opposition.

Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006, and refused to recognize Israel’s existence. Not satisfied with this, Hamas and Hizbullah attacked Israel, killing and abducting Israeli soldiers, leading to a month-long war. For all these developments, majority-Muslim countries blamed Israel. There was no criticism of Hamas, Hezbollah and Ahmadinejad. On the contrary, they were idolized.

Hamas and Hezbollah’s aggression and terrorism have pushed Gaza and its inhabitants into enormous misery, but these facts are presented in the Muslim world in a fragmented and distorted way.

When we compare Israel’s actions since 1948 with those of East Timor or South Sudan, the only conclusion to be drawn is that the Muslim world’s attitude toward Israel is totally illogical, unfair and unjust. Israel was established in the exact same manner as were Australia and America. History will not rewind. Anti-Israel activities have not brought the Muslim world anything but tension, conflict and economic ruin, keeping them relegated to third-world status.

That Israel is itself colonial or expansionist, that it seeks additional Arab lands, is simply a lie. The best proof of this lies in the fact that Israel has ceded territory since its formation, and that following the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, Israel has committed no acts of aggression against them.

Israel and the Jewish people are unnecessarily stigmatized in the Muslim world. With a world population of 7 billion and growing, resources are getting scarcer, not more abundant. To keep up this unnecessary conflict with Israel based on lies and ignorance can bring no good, and could potentially cause a regional war, with terrible consequences.

We have seen the gruesomeness of large-scale modern warfare. Muslim countries must acknowledge history and recognize Israel prior to the 1967 armistice lines. Only the combined efforts of Muslim countries can deflect the aggressive, anti-peace path of Hamas, Hizbullah and Iran toward true peace.

If they do not accept peace, the rest of the Muslim world must boycott them. This will be justice. To do otherwise based on the fragmented, distorted and false history of a country and a religion would be a desecration of Islam and bring guilt on all Muslims. The whole Muslim world must come forward and prove that Islam believes in justice and peace, and it must persevere. As soon as this matter begins, it will bring good to the world.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in the UK. He is from Bangladesh.

THIS ARTICLE SPEAKS VOLUMES! ALL TRUTH!

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=278385

35 Hours of Petra

Here is a long overdue post... my visit to Petra.


Yes, I went to Petra a couple weeks ago with my Livnot friends Matt, Mike, and Tim. What an amazing trip! You can check out all of my pictures from that trip on my Facebook photo album "35 Hours of Petra" or click here. So here's how everything went down:

Al-Khazna, or the Treasury

We left Tel Aviv on a Tuesday evening and took a direct bus to Eilat then slept over that night at some Christian hostel (the owners were really nice and offered us free New Testaments). The next morning, we got up at 7am and finally crossed the border at 10am. While doing that, we met a few Israelis who were on their way to Petra, too. We talked while each one of the eight of us was getting our passports checked. Matt, Mike, Tim, and I then took a cab up to Petra (two hour drive) for 50 Jordanian Dinars. Our driver was this really cool Palestinian-Jordanian who was a bad driver and got lost on the way because he missed the sign for Petra. Eventually, we saw a cab for the Saba'a Hotel, the one we were planning on staying at, so we just followed that car all the way to the hotel (what a lucky break!). We dropped off our bags and went straight to the park (for anyone who doesn't know, Petra is an archaeological park and currently one of the 7 Wonders of the World). We bought two day passes which cost 55 Dinars ($75-80). If you ever go, make sure you're staying at a hotel at least one night because otherwise, you will get charged 90 Dinars instead (it's much cheaper to stay at a hotel or hostel for at least one night).

The four of us walked around for a bit, often getting asked if we would like to ride a horse or donkey for a few dinars, always turning down the offer. We first walked through Bab el-Siq, the path that follows the course of the Wadi Musa (in Arabic, "Valley of Moses"), a riverbed that once flowed into Petra. Once we walked through there, we came upon Al-Khazna, or The Treasury (right), and it was a beautiful sight. Can you imagine how the Nabataeans of 2000 years ago carved this thing out of just rock. Such amazing skill! Al-Khazna is supposed to be the mausoleum of King Aretas IV. After taking a few pictures, we went along the main path in the park, visiting the Siq, the Street of Facades (which contains mainly neatly-cut rock tombs), and a small stadium. On our walk, we went in to have tea at 4pm (no joke, just for Tim because he's British) and we met this really cool Bedouin, Athman (pronouced Aht-MON, and no he is not a Pokemon). He invited us to join him for dinner later in the neighboring town of Little Petra, where a friend of his lives. We told him we'd think about it.

Left to right: Athman, Matt, me, Mike, and Tim at dinner

After walking around a bit more, we decided to take Athman up on his offer, despite our worries. Instead we went to have dinner behind a cave just outside the city of Petra, a closer and quieter area. Athman put up the chicken on a fire with two bags of coal. It took about an hour to cook, but by adding some vegetables to the dinner and a few spices, it ended up tasting absolutely wonderful and was worth the wait. The five of us enjoyed dinner with Athman's friend, Muhammad, and some great conversation. We hitchhiked back into town and parted ways. Matt, Mike, Tim, and I decided to end the night by going to a narghile place and relaxing.

Far to near: Tim, Matt, and Mike
looking out from the High Place

The next day, we got up at 7am and went straight to the park after a quick breakfast. We wanted to get a whole day of hiking and exploring in so we could see as much as possible (Petra is way too big to see, probably even in three days). We saw some pretend soldiers do a really cool routine while Mike pretended to not know it was going on and walked right in front of us for part of the time. We again stopped by Al-Khazna to take a few more pictures. Then we took a hike up to the High Place of Sacrifice, which is one of the better-known high places for the Nabataeans worshiped their gods. From here, you can see all of Petra, Wadi Musa, and Aaron's Tomb (Aaron, the High Priest and brother of Moses). What a breathtaking view! After seeing the High Place, we climbed down and made our way to the Garden Hall. This monument is thought to have had a beautiful garden planted in front of it a long time ago. We also stopped by to see the Colored Triclinium, the Soldier Tomb, and the Lion Triclinium (a cool looking lion is carved into the rock but I unfortunately lost that picture).

Bedouins climbing and playing

Ad-Dayr, or the Monastery

Lastly, we took a journey up 950 steps. On the way, we ran into a group of Duke University students with whom Matt and I got into deep conversation, making the trek up the stairs much less painful and very interesting. For much of the time, Matt was engaging with a girl from West Virginia who happened to know a couple of his good friends from his home in Chicago. I talked with this girl, Esther, who was really cool. The Duke kids told us they were in Petra just for the day, but had been in Jordan for the past two months teaching English to kids in the capital city of Amman. They were really enjoying their time and learning a lot of Arabic. We finally got up to the top of the steps and saw a beautiful wonder before us. Ad-Dayr, or the Monastery, was the amazing gigantic sculpture we had our eyes fixed on. Back in the time of the Nabataeans, it was supposedly used a biclinium for the meetings of religious associations and certain rituals. It also may have been built in memory of King Obodas II. While Matt and I were hanging out, catching our breath and getting to know our Duke friends better, a few Bedouins decided to climb up the side of a giant rock and jump onto the top of the Monastery. They then jumped, climbed, and played around on the top for a while. It was amazing to see such acrobatics, something I'd be too scared and not flexible enough to do (white men still can't jump!).

Me and Matt with our Duke friends

Afterwards, we all went down the steps and walked out the park. We said goodbye to our new friends before we went back to our hotel to grab our stuff and go. We got a cab and went straight to the border, but not before we'd have a very interesting journey on the way back into Israel. First, the driver who brought us back got into the cab and immediately gave us some free sodas, a very unexpected and welcomed gesture. Then we decided we wanted to sleep in Eilat that night instead of in Aqaba, so we asked the driver to pick up speed, at about 100km per hour, to get us back to the border by the time the border closed by 8pm. I made the difficult decision to use my phone while roaming and call the border to ask them to stay open an extra 15 minutes for us. I called the Israeli side and they said they wouldn't mind, but it wasn't their decision. I then called the Jordanian side. I said, "Hi, we are three Americans and one Israeli and we are about ten minutes from Aqaba and would like to cross the border tonight. Could you please keep the border open an extra 15 minutes?"

To our surprise, they said, "We'll keep it open until eight and a half."

"Really? 8:30? Thank you so much. We'll be there very soon!" I declared.

As soon as I got off the phone, the four of us cheered and rushed the rest of the way to the border. We got there at 8:10pm and got escorted through very quickly in a span of about 15 minutes. While we were walking through, I asked a woman if they ever keep the border open for anyone. She gave me a quick no. The four of us realized we were a special case, and we felt REALLY good about that!

We finished crossing the border and walked our way to a gas station, where we called a cab to take us back to Eilat. We stayed over that night at a hostel and got a good night's sleep. The next morning, while Matt and Mike slept in, Tim and I walked down to the mall and got breakfast. Then Matt and Tim took a bus straight to Jerusalem while Mike and I stayed a couple extra hours to go snorkeling. It was very fun. At 3pm, Mike and I took a bus back to Tel Aviv, getting there an hour early. What a nice way to end the trip!

If you ever have a chance to go to Jordan, take a trip to Petra. It will be worth it to see one of the most beautiful groups of rocks and a wonder of the world. Any questions, please feel free to ask me.

Livnot U'Lehibanot (To Build and To Be Built)

The beautiful poster my group made,
captained by Jenn

So I took a break from Oranim during the last week of June and participated in Livnot U'Lehibanot's one week Northern Exposure program, at the behest of my friend Jenn (the one from Rishon LeZion ITF). She just finished her program and moved out of her apartment last Sunday and went straight up to Tzfat for Livnot. She was one of the last people to get there, even after me. Tzfat was my destination and I missed the direct one at 10:30am, so I took a bus to Rosh Pinna then a quick cab to Tzfat. When I got to the Livnot campus, I dropped my bags and immediately started saying hi to new people. I first met a girl named Carleigh, who was way too tired to talk after just finishing her Birthright trip that morning, but she pushed herself to be social. I met Matt, a kid from Chicago who has been traveling for the past month since he finished Birthright. In fact, everyone among the 14 of us in the group had finished Birthright in the past few weeks except me, Jenn, a guy named Mike, and a girl named Kylie (who just happens to also be from West Hartford and went to Hall High! What a coincidence!). There were also people from New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Arizona.

After everyone met, we did a short tour of the Old City of Tzfat, which mainly included the alleyways that Livnot is located around and Jerusalem Street, the main street in the city. To finish off the tour, we walked to the highest point in Tzfat, the Cistern. Inside, we echoed our voices a billion times and sang the first Livnot song we learned ("Koom koom lay lay lay lay lay koom koom lay lay..." -- I'll have this song in my head for a while). Afterwards, we ate dinner back at Livnot. We also got our room assignments, in which all six guys in the group roomed together in one dorm. We then just relaxed for the night.

On Monday, we got up for breakfast and the IBA Israel News at 6:30am. We went to hike Nachal Amud, the first leg of the famous Sea to Sea ("Yam L'Yam") hike in Israel where you hike from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean. The four week Galilee Fellowship group joined us, or actually we joined them, because they were doing Sea to Sea. We stopped every once in a while for a water or snack break and listened to the tour guide and did chevrutas (group discussions). The hike took about nine hours and it was very intensive -- JUST how I like it! I also got the opportunity to make more friends, in which some of us played a game of Contact (Matt called it something else). We also took a break to go swimming in a deep end of a stream; we jumped off a rock into a small pool that had really cold water. After the hike, we took a break. We had an open dinner, in which most of us went to an Italian restaurant to get pizza. Jenn surprised both me and everyone with her Hebrew skills she has developed in the past 10 months; she's better than I thought she was but that's because she underestimated herself. I had been ready to order for everyone in Hebrew myself before she took over. Then we had a "class" discussion with a guy named Alon, who works for Livnot. It was an intimacy discussion, but it unfortunately didn't get as personal as I'd hoped but it was interesting. We had a free night in which we all just chilled at Livnot. I had been talking about my being on a MASA program and how awesome it is -- and people like Sivan and Erica became interested immediately. They didn't know that Israel opportunity programs existed outside of Livnot and Birthright. I showed them the MASA website and how you can do just about anything from school to volunteering to internships.

Left to right: Michael, Sivan, Erica, Kylie, and Jenn

On Tuesday, we had breakfast and news again. The great thing about breakfast is that it's all home cooked -- so home cooked that all participants and the bnot sherut (program coordinators who are 19 year old girls doing their national service instead of serving in the IDF). Each morning, breakfast was delicious. After this, we started some community service in which we helped excavate 16th century Tzfat property right around the corner from the Livnot campus. I helped do some digging and finding artifacts. I was digging in a small hole with Kylie and Erica, and each time we found something that looked like an "artifact" and not stone, we sang a little song -- "Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah... ancient artifact!" Then the group forgot about the three of us for about 40 minutes while they were having a meeting. We had lunch after excavating. In the afternoon, we had another discussion. At night, we went out near the Old City and had a bonfire with smores (a bonfire is NEVER complete without smores!). We sang songs, put the marshmallows under the fire, had a 20 minute personal reflection time, and just enjoyed each other's company. During the reflection, I just went out and laid down on the ground and looked up at the sky. Not a thought entered my head except to focus on hearing the sounds around me: crickets chirping, cars going by on the highway over the hill, and quiet. It was so peaceful and just what I needed.

Charlie's Angels: Carleigh, Jenn, Adina as the Angels
 and me as Charlie

On Wednesday, Eve and I woke up early to cook breakfast with Temima, one of the bat sheruts. We made vegetables and oatmeal which was delicious. We hiked a mountain in Arbel and went swimming in the Sea of Galilee ("Kinneret" in Hebrew). Arbel was amazing; we hiked down, often down rocks and on narrow walkways. We stopped a couple times and this hike was less intense than Monday's but this one had an amazing view. The most breathtaking view I'd seen on Monday was of a cow we'd gotten pretty close to. Swimming in the Galilee was really cool, too. It is the largest freshwater source in the Middle East, and the main source of water for the vast majority of Israel's population. We hung out there, ate lunch, swam for a bit, then tanned at the edge of the water while skipping pebbles. It was bliss. Once we got back to Livnot, we had the rest of the day and evening free; we wanted to go out as a group to a local bar but we didn't want to pay too much so we went back to the Cistern with a few beers and just chilled and sang Livnot songs. It really was a great group bonding experience.

Doing a trick at an ancient
synagogue. Top to bottom:
Ryan, Matt, Jenn, and Sonia

After breakfast on Thursday, we went to a local nursing home to play Bingo and sing Livnot songs to the elderly. I helped a couple old guys play and had really nice conversations with them in Hebrew and English. One was named Fredy and the other was Artur. Jenn and Sivan also sat the table with me and they helped the elderly play Bingo, too. Singing songs brought smiles to many faces -- both young and old -- and if they had the ability to get out of their chairs to dance, I'm sure they would have. Michael, the kid from Los Angeles, also sang a lullaby in Russian to some of the Russian-speaking residents. After we got back to Livnot, we had an open lunch, where we went to the local square and got falafel and schwarma. After lunch, we had another "class" about Shabbat, which turned into a discussion about personal beliefs and rules to follow on Shabbat and what to observe. I asked a series of questions regarding homosexuals being allowed to have sex, when the Torah specifically says that it is forbidden for a man to lie with another man. Michael had brought up the issue because he wanted to know how he could deal with his homosexuality and being Jewish at the same time. Leading the discussion, Alon pointed out to us that it may be a sin according to the Torah, but one of the most important things in Judaism is to be comfortable with yourself and know that no one is perfect but to try your best to live with the commandments. We learned that there are three commandments of the 613 that say would be better to die than to commit: murder, idolatry, and sexual misconduct (such as adultery and incest). In essence, it's better to sacrifice yourself than to commit these sins. It was my favorite discussion of the week. After this, we prepped for Shabbat, cooking and cleaning. I ordered bookshelves and did dishes.

Left to right: me, Jenn, and Carleigh

After breakfast on Friday, we braided challahs to later be baked for Shabbat. I created a sad excuse for a braided challah and a fish (I wish I had pictures for it). Jenn made a Mickey Mouse silhouette and Matt made a challah pizza. We then went to visit a couple artists: Sheva Chaya, the glassblower, and David Friedman, a painter/drawer who uses geometry in his art for drawing the Hebrew letters and connecting it to Kabbalistic Judaism. We then prepared more for Shabbat. We then had the rest of the afternoon free to do whatever, so we had lunch and I went to a local jewelry shop to buy a couple necklaces (not for me... shhhhh!). Kabbalat Shabbat came upon us and we celebrated by singing more Livnot songs and lighting candles. We walked around to a couple synagogues to experience what Shabbat is like in Tzfat. It's really crazy; all Ultra-Orthodox Jews at about 70 different shuls in the city welcoming in the Shabbos bride. It's beautiful how excited they always are every week to have 25 hours of blissful rest. We then came back to Livnot and had dinner. We said Kiddish, had a delicious dinner, and then went out to the balcony to sing more songs and enjoy company. It was the most amazing feeling of community and family I've felt in a while. Everyone was up singing and dancing and smiling. We then did an Oneg in which we gave L'chaims to friends and others in the program. I gave l'chaims (giving cheers to someone) to Jenn, who got me to go on the trip with her, to our coordinator, Avital, who fearlessly led us the whole week and gave me motivation for the week when she was frustrated with me for taking too long the first morning before the hike, and other friends.

Avital, our fearsome bat sherut

On Saturday, everyone was split into groups to go to local families' houses for Shabbat lunch. Sivan, Mike, and I went to the home of a family whose husband is the rabbi of one of the more spiritual synagogues in the city. Temima walked us there and we ended up waiting about 45 minutes for the family to come home, but we were greeted by one of the sons when we got there. He was a nice but shy kid of I wish I remembered their names because they were such nice people. Anyway, we had a very delicious lunch of chicken, rice, challah, and the works. We all discussed Kaballah, thoughts about Judaism, backgrounds, and more. We also met a few of the family's friends, a cool guy from South Africa and a Russian family. After the three of us got back from lunch, we had free time until dinner and Havdallah (the ceremony that ends Shabbat). The whole group got a chance to have a big snack while hanging out. During Havdallah, we said goodbye to Shabbat and sang more songs. We cleaned up then effectively ended our program by having a closing circle. In the circle, each member of the group reflected back on the past week, mentioning what we enjoyed most, what we thought could be improved, and how we can affect our Jewish communities in the future. I mentioned that I was thankful to Jenn for convincing me to come on the program with her, thankful to Avital for pumping me up at the beginning of the week, and how I think I could affect my Jewish community back in Connecticut.

Livnot was such an amazing experience. I am strongly considering going back when my program ends in about a month for another round of Northern Exposure. Livnot was founded by Aharon Botzer 33 years ago and he still runs it today. He likes to get to know the participants personally, as he did with me a little bit on the Nachal Amud hike. Many alumni come back to do a program again or just to visit for a Shabbat or a day. It is such a warm atmosphere and I would recommend anyone to do any of their programs, however, they are more geared toward people who don't mind not "partying" and are comfortable in close-knit family-like atmospheres. You can visit them at www.livnot.org.