Sports always appealed to me most when I could view it as a patriotic thing.
Go New York! Go U.S.!
Tonight could have been about Israel, but the fact is, the team is a lot of NBA rejects. Americans lost to the Russians tonight, not Israel.
(Seems I was the only one of my Israeli hang out tonight that thought so).
Well, sadly, we lost the Euro championships to the Russians.
But I’ve never cursed that much during a Superbowl…
Everyone told me what to expect: problems, rudeness, long lines, maybe even crying.
“If your parents’ ketuba says ‘temple’ they will automatically assume they got married in a Reform process so they won’t accept it. My friend had to go through hell to prove her parents were married and she was Jewish.”
“If you want your rabbi from abroad to officiate the ceremony, well, expect a fight and then even when you think you’ve won, expect to lose… That’s what happened to my friends.”
“They’ll go on strike the week before your wedding and then - well - my friends almost couldn’t get married.”
My experience at the Rabbanut of Jerusalem wasn’t any of those things, at least not today. The process went smoothly, from one official to the next until we finished as much as we could in one day. Tomorrow I have to go to the Beit Din with two friends to prove that I am single. Fair enough.
Look, the Rabbanut of Israel (the modern version of a religious court system) has many flaws. It basically deals with marriage, divorce, conversion and a few other issues. All Jews must marry through the Rabbinate, so they have to get married a certain way, prone to issues they wouldn’t run into in, say, America. They ask if you are taking niddah classes - and you actually have to have a teacher sign you off, even if you only meet with her once. You have to prove your Judaism (even if you didn’t convert), and Reform, and even sometimes Conservative, is not enough. You also have to prove you are single.
Of course, you can’t marry a non-Jew under the Rabbanut. It also means you have to have a religious process for your wedding - chuppah and a rav officiating. You may not like that, and decide to go to Cyprus and get married without all the religious restrictions - you wouldn’t be alone. The people without a declared religion - without a Christian, Muslim or Jewish clergy marrying them - are forced to do it all the time [that is due to a lacking Israeli law that deals with this type of issue].
But you know what? For me, it works I think. It felt somehow familiar to go through those offices today, to sit in front of this rav with a classic beard, sitting behind a desk equipped only with a phone and a pen, in a dimly-lit room. I kind of felt like for an hour today, I was playing in biblical Israel, an Israelite girl going through just one process of life.
I kinda wish more of daily life was like that here. Maybe a little crazy, but part of me wonders if it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let in more theology to the government. I realize the specifics are complicated; I realize that modern-day issues are not addressed really, but what if they were? What if everyone participated in a few more unique Jewish traditions?
You know that it’s an Anglo when the t-shirt says, “Israel.”
You know that it’s an Israeli when the t-shirt says, “Brazil.”
(And you know it’s my brother when the t-shirt says, “Rami Levi.”)
Taken from the JPost, words translated (April 24th) from Iranian President Ahmadinejad. I took the liberty of explaining some of his more - confusing- terms… Well, in any case, consider the links my commentary: “The greatest problem from which humanity suffers today, the main problem facing the countries of the Middle East, is the continuation of the processes that took place during World War II … Let’s assume certain things did happen [in World War II]. Why should the people of the Middle East, for over 60 years, be paying for it under this pretext? “… The same people who claim to have saved humanity, and to have prevented further massacre in World War II, and who avenged the victims of that war - why have they killed over 100,000 innocent people in 60 years… Why do they grieve over some of the victims only? Let’s assume that the [Holocaust] were true - who should be punished for this? This is a serious question facing contemporary humanity. “Why do you think they are safe in Palestine? These people, who left their homelands as a result of your pressure and anti-Judaism, went to a country that did not belong to them. Different minorities from different countries came to live side by side, just like pieces of paper joined together with a paper clip. They live in an atmosphere of insecurity on a daily basis. I’ve said this once, and I’ll say it again: Open the gates of this big prison. Allow these people to decide freely, and you will see that they will return to their homelands. Of course, you must first let go of your anti-Judaism. You must let go of it. We believe that just like the rest of mankind, the Jews have the right to live a life of prosperity, freedom, and security. Set them free, and let them return to their homelands.”
“How come whenever someone criticizes you or exposes your mistakes, you attack him through the media that you finance, and portray him as a criminal? Wrong! Ahmadinejad is a schoolteacher and a very peace-loving man. To this day, I have never harmed an ant in my life. Allah willing, I will never harm any living or inanimate object.”
I can’t think of a better way to commermorate Yom HaShoah on the eve of the day in 2006 than to be listening to the Yad Vashem programming on the radio, a yarzheit candle lit nearby, and reading about the Iranian president’s declarations to destroy Israel, unless the Jews return to their countries in Europe.
Someone asked me to tell them about my aliyah experience for a school project so I ended up writing out a lot of the whole story, the first time I ever did that. Here it is, for me to remember, and in case there are holes elsewhere that needed filling in.
Apparently, my odd version of religious observance is stirring increasing curiousity amongst some coworkers. My office is mostly observant, from American-style modern orthodox to Israeli national-religious to Beit Shemesh black-and-white to full on Charedi.
Me? I don’t really talk about my religious observance style much. I never really consider anyone interested, but the more people I meet here the more I realize everyone is interested. As a rule.
Well then: Yes, I wear jeans and tank tops. Yes, I live with my fiance. No, I don’t keep strict halachic kosher when traveling abroad. Yes, I keep strict kosher in the house. Yes, I cleaned the apartment according to halacha for Pesach. Yes, I plan on keeping nidah laws when I’m married. It’s true that I’m considering covering my hair. Yes, I believe it is a paradox to wear 100% real hair (or fake for that matter) in sheitals (wigs). Yes, a lot of Charedi-Jewish behavior trends piss me off. Yes, a lot of secular-Jewish behavior trends piss me off. Yes, a lot of middle-of-the-road-Jewish beahviors piss me off. Yes, I believe there is such a thing as an Orthodox homosexual.
The list goes on and probably gets more confusing but that is how I feel. There are practices I’d like to get better at. There are struggles I am a failure at but I still believe in the importance of tradition, halacha, religious observance, and belief. Even, dare I bring it up, a Jewish theocratic state.
One time in college, the Hillel director asked me to participate in a talk about Orthodox Judaism to students from all different backgrounds. I asked him why he’d want me to do it and not some my skirt-wearing shomeret negiah friends.
“Exactly because of the way you look. You’re wearing jeans and a tongue ring, but you keep Shabbat.”
I guess that works in pluralistic America; here in Jerusalem it just results in everyone feeling confused. And perhaps threatened.
Someone should tell Ahmadinejad to stick with the poetry and drop the leadership gig.
Explored the Israel Museum and Bible Lands Museum today; free entry thanks to Bank Hapoalim. (Thank you Bank Hapoalim. That doesn’t excuse you from pinching money from me for no reason every once in awhile. Happy holiday.)
It’s amazing how different the Bible can seem through a historical magnifying glass. When you start to filter politics, science, economics, psychology, and more into the Bible and post-Bible histories, things can either look dim or hopeful. But wither way, it’s definitely more interesting. It was fun to let me imagination roam around that all day.
Also, it was pretty cool to see and think about all this on Pessach. Not even so cliche anymore.
