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March 3, 2023 (10 Adar 5783) Only in the Holy Land! Dear Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you well and in good health. Please join us tomorrow morning at 10:15am in our beautiful sanctuary for Shabbat services, which will also be available on our regular Zoom prayer link. This Shabbat, we will celebrate the Bar Mitzvah of Eric Perlman. We extend a hearty Mazal Tov to Eric and his proud parents, Brian and Jeanine, who will also sponsor tomorrow’s Kiddush. As many of you know, I recently returned from a school trip to the Holy Land. I accompanied seventy of our senior students to Israel and am now honored to share some stories from our tours through the northern Galilee! For several days, we stayed at a beautiful hotel called Ness Ammim. Situated in a breathtaking area of the Holy Land, the hostel served as our homebase while the students explored the amazing and significant history of many of Israel’s northern towns. Two Sundays ago, we were introduced to the visible archeological layers of building that produced the city of Ceasaria. The tour guides also explained the acculturation that was the biproduct of the intermingling of Roman and Jewish culture. At Tzipori, we visited the house of Rav Yehuda HaNasi, the redactor of the Mishnah. On that day, the educators asked the students to identify the most central elements of Jewish identity and belief. Before I blinked, there was a fascinating and high-level debate as to whether specific religious and social practices were more or less important than global Jewish concepts of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and V’Ahavta L’Reiecha Kamocha (love your neighbor like yourself). Passionate and articulate, the students dug in their heels, quoted texts, referenced curricular materials from numerous Jewish studies classes, and engaged in deep intellectual and respectful discourse. In many ways, they were arguing some of the most essential ideas emanating from Jewish educational philosophy regarding the concept of universalism versus particularism. After visiting Rosh HaNikra, one of the most northern destinations in Israel, we spent some leisure time at a climbing park which was billed as featuring “the highest climbing wall in the Middle East!” Between wall climbing and bungy jumping we were indeed exhausted when we returned after the day’s activities. At our next stop, we learned of the significance of the prison at Acco, visited a mosque, and delved into the history of the town’s military conquerors. Elements of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism remain part of the town’s very fabric and were brilliantly highlighted at a local museum. The day continued with hikes of various lengths alongside the Kziv River and the Yechiam forest trails. Arriving in the magical and mystical city of Tzefat, we began our day with a melodic introduction to Kabbala from a talented musician, who led the group in a stirring rendition of Lecha Dodi. As a seeker, he had traveled through India and Nepal, before returning to his roots in Judaism and finding his new soulful life in Tzefat. And while he himself was a contestant on The Voice, he has now traded in potential fame and fortune for the opportunity to meditate, teach, compose and, in his own words, breathe the air of Kedusha. Only in the Holy Land! At our next session in Tzefat, we met with an artist, originally from Detroit, who shared his insights into Kabbala. He riveted us by explaining that the path of Hashem is the path of total giving and the path of total happiness. Holding in his hand a tattered paperback, he explained how The Book Jewish Mysticism by Arye Kaplan had literally transformed his life. For the last ten years, his creative process has been sharing the mysteries of Kabbala by communicating his artistic interpretation of the sound waves of the Shofar into visual inventiveness. To say that we were fascinated by the simplicity yet simultaneous depth of his presentation, would be a tremendous understatement. As I stepped out onto the street, I encountered someone walking by, who engaged me in conversation. When I told him that the artist upstairs was metaphorically staring into the souls of our students, he responded, that it wasn’t metaphoric, but rather it was literal’ “that’s what we do here is Tzefat.” Only in the Holy Land! To top things off, a woman representing some of the local artists of Tzefat, who stood outside her store, introduced herself and explained that she had made aliya 29 years ago. As it turned out, she had also gone to the very same school where our kids are presently studying. Only in the Holy Land! My friends, while I am grateful for the numerous blessings that are extant “only in the Holy Land,” I am also hugely appreciative to return to Shul this Shabbat with you. I look forward to joining you in prayer and study, engaging in conversation, and preparing for the upcoming holiday of Purim!
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach,
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