I guess you could say it’s a hidden miracle that we come to Israel single and adventurous and within three years, we end up married, suburban and combating baby spit at a tea party on a Friday afternoon.
Happy Purim!
The buzz this week – around the Israel blogosphere, Facebook and my inbox – has been about a campaign called Together 4 Israel, which “is putting together the largest ever online rally in support of those living under fire in Israel. All you need to do is return to this site on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 11 p.m. Israel Time to watch a live broadcast online of solidarity rallies from around the world.”
The plan is to gather 1,000,000 people across the globe, joining together to watch the rally and show support for Israel and Sderot. Here’s their video pitch. You can view the speaker list and schedule at the site.
It’s Purim tonight, so if you don’t plan on sticking around a computer, you can log on to the site before you head out of the house and you will still be counted for the rally numbers.
I see the value in this for those who will still be fasting for Ta’anit Esther at 11 p.m. Israel time… It’s a nice idea to feel like you are together with thousands of other Jews, hopefully recognizing Esther’s fast and the need to pull together when we face threats.
I’ve always suspected this myself, but a Hebrew University researcher is daring enough to say it out loud in a recent article:
Hebrew University researcher: Moses was tripping at Mount Sinai
On perusing the momentous occasion of Moses’ trip up Mount Sinai to collect and deliver God’s words to the people, Professor Benny Shanon is reminded of a ‘trip’ of his own:
…[Shanon] recalls a powerful hallucinatory experience he had when he visited the Amazon and drank a potion made from a plant called ayahuasca. “One of the things that happens when you drink the potion is a visual experience created via sounds,” he says.
Shanon presents a provocative theory in an article published this week in the philosophy journal Time and Mind. The religious ceremonies of the Israelites included the use of psychotropic materials that can found in the Negev and Sinai, he says.
“I have no direct proof of this interpretation,” and such proof cannot be expected, he says. However, “it seems logical that something was altered in people’s consciousness. There are other stories in the Bible that mention the use of plants: for example, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.” (Haaretz)
I’m sure there are plenty of people who will find this offensive, but I don’t see why. What’s wrong with using the materials of God’s earth in order to get a little closer to him? Providing it’s done for purely spiritual means? I think that probably works out a lot better than getting ridiculously drunk on Simchat Torah or Purim.
So, kudos to this professor for saying what a lot of us are probably thinking.
And, hey, I want whatever Moses is smoking. No, really – that’s gotta be pretty good if it’s good enough for freakin’ Moses. Like Shanon sums up:
“But not everyone who uses a plant like this brings the Torah,” Shanon concedes. “For that, you have to be Moses.”
(Thanks, Benji)
I got a fun little pamphlet in my cute little p.o. box: Cultural activities for adults, families and children. It’s got a whole bunch of activities planned for residents of Tzur Hadassah over the next month.
Since a few people have contacted me interested about moving here, I thought I’d post some of them to display the kind of things that pass for fun around here.
Kids:
Adults:
Families:
As you can probably tell, it’s very much a family-oriented community. It’s also mainly secular with ‘progressive’ and ‘dati leumi’ sub cultures.