Arab Market, Yoga and Tel Aviv!

This morning Rev. Gramely and I went the Arab Market, walked into one of the shops, saw goods that we wanted to purchase and began the bartering process.  As soon as I asked "Kamah Zeh?" 'How much is this?" I noticed that this shop was different. It felt different--less pressure, the shop keepers were more knowledgeable and easy going.  We began talking--it turns out the Omar, the store owner went to UIC--where I did my undergraduate work and is a Jeweler and his brother Yosef, who also is a Jeweler and in the family business, lived in Naperville for a few years.  We shook hands.  Omar asked Yosef, to show me "the well."  We walked through the large store and Yosef flipped on a light switch, I looked down on the floor and there, I saw a laminate cover over an ancient well, clearly from antiquity, was illuminated.  Unreal.  I learned from the brothers that they had been born in Jerusalem and their family just celebrated 384 years on the same property.  They should us pictures of his relatives and the home that has belonged to his family for generations.  Eventually, we spoke about our respective time at UIC and after a while, I shared with him that as a student, a Palestinian friend and I organized a student group on campus called PEACE--People Encouraging Acceptance Through Communication and Education.  Jews and Muslims came together for dialogue, programs and activities.  Actually, Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary gave us the seed money for the group!  Anyway, we talked some more and discovered that we share a favorite Persian restaurant (Rezas) and a fondness for Greek town.  Finally, I purchased a small piece of Jewelry and as we shook hands and said good-bye I realized my interfaith study/tour of the Holy Land had already begun.

From the Shuk (Arab Market) I walked to meet one of my yoga teachers, who lives in Jerusalem, for lunch.  Diane is one of the best teachers of Torah I have ever encountered and the Torah we shared over Moroccan vegetable soup and whole grain bread was brilliant and beautiful.  One of the teachings she offered to me seems so obvious, but I had not heard it before and was happy for the teaching.  She told me that in Hebrew the word Yehudah (Jew) is spelled with the same 4 letters that spell Adonai + 1 more letter--a daled.  Daled in hebrew is often the letter that symbolizes humility.  Diane thus offered a reflection on how the Hebrew word Yehudah (Jew/Jewish) contains both the idea that there is strength in Faith, and we must also be humble and remember from whence we came etc.

After our time together, I walked back to the hotel and met up with Rev. Gramely to begin the ride to Tel Aviv. Our official program begins in an hour.  It is cold, dark and rainy--thunderstorms and all.  Jerusalem and all of Israel need the rain, yet i am cold and miss seeing the sun over the Mediterranean.   I am thrilled that Nathan reminded me to bring an umbrella to Israel.  Yes, before I left, N spoke to me in Hebrew saying, "It is winter in Israel. There is rain in the winter.  Bring an umbrella."  Let's hear it for our tuition dollars at work!!

With Love.

It was a beautiful morning to visit the Kotel (Western Wall).  I stayed for a while and enjoyed being alone with my thoughts and prayers while surrounded with others who were also alone expressing words from the heart.

After the Kotel, Rev. Gramely I wandered around the Old City, we went to the Burnt House Museum which is basically a 20 minute movie about a Priest-family who lived during the days of the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem.  The multi-media presentation is housed within the ancient ruins of the 2nd Temple. We then went to the Arab Market, and I bought tee-shirts for the kids and had a bite to eat.  After, I walked downtown for a while--and saw the new train in Jerusalem! WoW! When we were here 6 months ago we watched this train go back and forth as practice runs without passengers and now finally--there are people riding the train!  Fun to see.  A modern Israeli miracle.  Of course the real miracle is how it manages to avoid all the people who cross the street right in front of it!  I walked back to the hotel around sunset and took in the view.. along with the pollution, noise and traffic... Ah, the beauty of it all.  While walking back, I reflected back on my morning prayers and remembered David Zeller's beautiful prayer-song, "I am alive." A perfect song for how i felt today. In the clip below, Reb David Zeller (T'L) sings Ha'Lo Chai Ani (I am Alive) at 24:27 but a minute or so before he teaches about the song and... the whole video is wonderful!

http://vimeo.com/1176214                           Rabbi David Zeller:

Reverend Margaret Gramely and me at the Western Wall.

Day One: Jerusalem

Day One:  Jerusalem

After a fairly exhausting travel day--nearly 18 hours--I arrived with Rev. Margaret Gramely, at Ben Gurion airport last night and a few hours later (!) we finally made it to the hotel.  It is a bright and sunny  Tuesday morning in Jerusalem and I am looking forward to walking to the Old City and going to the Western Wall in few minutes. The Wall is my first stop on this visit because I want to return to the spot where only 6 months ago I was blessed to see my children look up in awe and amazement at the holy sight.  It was so great to see them so excited about being at the Wall.   They knew they were standing on holy ground.

I want to return to the Wall first thing because it there where I felt God's presence rest between Kyle and Nathan as I watched them speaking and praying together.

Also, 6 months ago I was at the Wall with members of my congregational family, Beth Am and we prayed, sang and shared together as we welcomed in Shabbat and it was a beautiful time for all of us.

Today I am with out my family by my side, and with out my congregation and I miss both.   I want to get to the Wall first thing because I will use this time of quiet and solitude to say thank You.  Thank You for all that is mine.  The blessings include both the great moments and the challenging ones and I want to reflect on it all.   The western wall is of course part of sacred Jewish history and it also holds with it the words and prayers of my children and extended family.  I will return there today to continue the prayer-conversation that has existed for millennia, to return to the conversation that I began 6 months ago.

I'll keep you posted.

Thoughts after a Funeral

I am sitting in the Subaru auto-service waiting area.  I came in for a quick oil change and was told I need new front and rear breaks.  I'm glad I brought work to do. Needed new breaks seems like a great metaphor right now. I definitely need to slow down and come to a complete stop with ease... and take a break from doing, working, going all the time! I bet a lot of us do.

Recently, a friend asked if I ever got an entire day to just hang out by myself and do whatever I want. Wow.  Can't remember when the last time that happened. How would I spend my time?

Yesterday I officiated at the funeral of a beautiful 54 year old woman who was a beloved daughter, wife and mom of two.  There were close to 1000 people at her funeral because she had a heart large enough to hold them all.  We never really know who we reach with our love or who has been touched by a deed, word or good thought we send.  For some of us, living a life that offers unconditional love and acceptance, sweet hugs and acts of kindness comes naturally.  For others, it takes a concentrated effort to live life in this manner. Either way, when we do live with the intention to live a meaningful life of good deeds, acceptance and love, the world has got to be a better place.  Just has to be.   And we are better for it.

We are now into the 10 Days of Awe--the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur devoted to ongoing reflection and repentance.  I reflect today on how I can be more open and accepting of others and myself.  I am inspired by the strong women who have come before me. Women who, despite encountering (daily) pain and challenges, model what it means to live with a loving heart and a compassionate soul.

For those who have paved the way... I am grateful.

To See the Light: Jack Kornfield: 'A Lamp In the Darkness' (excerpt)

Below is an excerpt of an excerpt from today's Huffington Post.  This is a wonderful article to read as we conclude the last shabbat of the year.  May these few days before Rosh Hashanah bring us closer still to God, ourselves and one another.   Shavua Tov!

Editors Note: Jack Kornfield is a Buddhist teacher and has been a practitioner for over 40 years. The following is an excerpt from his book 'A Lamp In The Darkness.'

A Buddhist teacher and colleague, Debra Chamberlin-Taylor, tells the story of a community activist who participated in her year-long training group for people of color. This woman had experienced a childhood of poverty, trauma, and abuse. She had faced the death of a parent, illness, divorce from a painful marriage, racism, and the single parenting of two children. She talked about her years of struggle to educate herself, to stand up for what she believed. She described how she had become a radical to fight for justice in local and national politics. Finally, at the last meeting this woman announced, “After all the struggles and troubles I’ve lived through, I’ve decided to do something really radical! I am going to be happy.”

No matter what you have faced, joy and renewal wait your return. When you remember you can open your eyes to the mystery of life around you. Sense the blessings of the earth in the perfect arc of a ripe tangerine, the taste of warm, fresh bread, the circling flight of birds, the lavender color of the sky shining in a late afternoon rain puddle, the million times we pass other beings, in our cars and shops and out among the trees without crashing, conflict, or harm.

Spiritual practice should not be confused with grim duty. It is the laughter of the Dalai Lama and the wonder born with every child. Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, depicts this spirit in the story of a boy who wrote to him. “He sent me a charming card with a drawing. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters—sometimes very hastily—but this one I lingered over. I sent him a postcard and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, ‘Dear Jim, I loved your card.’ Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it.’ That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

Yes, we need to carefully navigate through hard times. But the whole world is also our temple, to be tended with love and dignity no matter what. As Martin Luther King Jr. exhorted us all, “If a person sweeps streets for a living, he should sweep them as Michelangelo painted, as Beethoven composed music, as Shakespeare wrote his plays.”

The world offers perennial renewal, in the grass that pushes itself up between the cracks in the sidewalk, in the end of every torrential rainstorm and in every newly planted window box, in every unexpected revolution, with each new morning’s light. This unstoppable spirit of renewal is in you. Trust it. Learn that it flows through you and all of life.

Shabbat Shalom!

I spent part of the morning in our eldest daughter's 4th grade classroom with other parents and grandparents.  Each student/parent/grandparent team told the class of their family origin... we all came from some where other then America!  I listened as the stories unfolded.. there were Holocaust survivors, people born in DP camps, people who came from Italy, Russia, Poland, Israel, Ukraine etc.  Everyone  had a story and I was once again brought back to feeling grateful and in awe of our People's history, our perseverance and strength.  I was reminded of the hard work and sacrifices made by those who came before us so that we could have a better life.   And the only way I can repay them for all that they gave us, is to help 'pay it forward' and try to instill values of family, good deeds, optimism, perseverance, inner-strength and more in my children.

On the last Shabbat of our Jewish New Year, I will think about what values I hold dear and will talk with the kids about what it means to live a 'good life'.  I will ask them to describe what a "good life"means to them and they will not be allowed to use the words: itouch, ipad, computer or TV... :-)  I'll let you know how it goes.  !

Shana Tova u'Metukah~Blessings for a good and sweet New Year.