2-28-16
During our 10 day trip away we did many things. Our hike up Masada was defiantly hard , but the sunset was well worth it. I found it really interesting how Harid was such a crazy builder and had all those ideas to build on top of Masada. His mind was far ahead of anyone's. After this we went to Gadna. Gadna is a week simulation for teens in the army . It was really hard the first day because of the rain and the fast pace. Each day kept getting better and better, not in the way I would think though. Although there were many physical challenges and mental I learned a lot about myself and Israel. When we learned to shoot a gun, they took it extremely seriously during their training. We learned how to respect the weapon and how to shoot properly. This is something that I highly appreciated because , I feel if we treated something with such power with more care in the United States, we would not have as many problems with violence. Shooting this weapon did not feel real till we made it to the gun range. It felt like something out of a movie. The gun was laying there, staring at me and my heart pounding. Shooting the gun and being at Gadna really taught me a lot about how Israel values their country, with respect and they are willing to fight for it. Throughout this experience I really appreciated how the IDF valued the aspect of friendship and working together. By trying to all work together it made the experience a lot more meaningful. In the end of Gadna I will always cherish it , but I was glad the experience was over ( lets just say the bathrooms were not the best!) After Gadna we spent time in Eilat. It had beautiful weather every day and we were lucky enough to shop and spend days at the beach. This whole trip gave me a opportunity to appreciate not only the physical beauty of Israel, but the way it is perceived.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Judaism and Intermarriage.... My thoughts
2-14-16
Today In Jewish history we talked about the aspect of intermarriage in the Jewish community and in the reform movement. The reform movement is generally more accepting of the concept of someone marrying someone who is not Jewish and the rule of a child technically not being Jewish if their mother is. Today this discussion got me thinking about the whole concept of love and Jewish tradition. I am extremely grateful for being part of the reform movement because it allows me to be able to explore the different parts and aspects of how I and others view my religion. There are many debates on whether the reform movement is to accepting. When I think of love I , I generally do not think about the aspect of my religion , but as I start learning more about my religion it usually pops up in my head more. My religion and continuing my religion to my grandchildren and children is something that I wish to happen and I am sure it will. It is hard to predict the future , but that is one aspect of love; it is hard to predict who you are gonna fall in love with . I do know that as I get older I start to realize that being Jewish is more than just going to synagague because of the history we have. Because I am starting to realize this I belive that no matter who I matter , I will for sure be raising my children Jewish
Today In Jewish history we talked about the aspect of intermarriage in the Jewish community and in the reform movement. The reform movement is generally more accepting of the concept of someone marrying someone who is not Jewish and the rule of a child technically not being Jewish if their mother is. Today this discussion got me thinking about the whole concept of love and Jewish tradition. I am extremely grateful for being part of the reform movement because it allows me to be able to explore the different parts and aspects of how I and others view my religion. There are many debates on whether the reform movement is to accepting. When I think of love I , I generally do not think about the aspect of my religion , but as I start learning more about my religion it usually pops up in my head more. My religion and continuing my religion to my grandchildren and children is something that I wish to happen and I am sure it will. It is hard to predict the future , but that is one aspect of love; it is hard to predict who you are gonna fall in love with . I do know that as I get older I start to realize that being Jewish is more than just going to synagague because of the history we have. Because I am starting to realize this I belive that no matter who I matter , I will for sure be raising my children Jewish
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Expectations for Gadna and Masada
2-10-16
Next week we will be taking a week long journey to Gadna. Gadna is army base in Israel and we will be experiencing what basic training is like in the army. I like many others, am nervous , but I do believe that it will all be worth it in the end. I hope that I will be able to get the most out of the experience. I want to be able to focus on the positives. We have been told many times that this is a once in lifetime experience and I think that is the whole point of this trip. I want to do things that greatly change who I am as a jew. I knew that being in the army was hard, but I think I will have new respect for the people in Israel for joining a organization like the IDF. We will also be spending some time at Masada and hiking it. I am not a huge fan of hiking , but I have also heard about the amazing sunrise and I think it will be ANOTHER , once in a lifetime experience, which goes along with the whole point of being in Israel. Learning new things about myself and this beautiful country I am in. We will also spend a night in a bedouin tent, which will be really incredible. One thing I am realizing about this trip is that , in one week we can experience something or more than one thing that some people will never. I am starting to realize how lucky I am because of this experience. Some people In my town have never left the Midwest or let alone Madison Wisconsin. Traveling here is making me grow each day. I am forever grateful for everything I am learning and experiencing.
Next week we will be taking a week long journey to Gadna. Gadna is army base in Israel and we will be experiencing what basic training is like in the army. I like many others, am nervous , but I do believe that it will all be worth it in the end. I hope that I will be able to get the most out of the experience. I want to be able to focus on the positives. We have been told many times that this is a once in lifetime experience and I think that is the whole point of this trip. I want to do things that greatly change who I am as a jew. I knew that being in the army was hard, but I think I will have new respect for the people in Israel for joining a organization like the IDF. We will also be spending some time at Masada and hiking it. I am not a huge fan of hiking , but I have also heard about the amazing sunrise and I think it will be ANOTHER , once in a lifetime experience, which goes along with the whole point of being in Israel. Learning new things about myself and this beautiful country I am in. We will also spend a night in a bedouin tent, which will be really incredible. One thing I am realizing about this trip is that , in one week we can experience something or more than one thing that some people will never. I am starting to realize how lucky I am because of this experience. Some people In my town have never left the Midwest or let alone Madison Wisconsin. Traveling here is making me grow each day. I am forever grateful for everything I am learning and experiencing.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Article Reaction: Davids Secret Weapon
2-8-16
Article Reaction: Davids Secret Weapon
I read the article, Davids Secret Weapon by Ido Hevroni. Hevroni discusses the processes of how David fights Goliath and also how he becomes king. He describes the difference in appearance of Goliath and David . Then the personality between Saul and David. He describes how God favored David because of his faith in God and bravery and that was the difference between him and Saul. One thing that this article focuses on is the difference between appearance and reality. David is small , but has faith and is mighty and Saul big and strapping.This is significant because it show the contrast of why God choose David . It says that appearance is nothing compared to the will to fight and faith in God. I agree that appearance does not mean anything in your will to be a leader. I think that in order to lead you need to have the confidence and determination. I do not think think however faith in God should be the only reason you are fit to be a leader I do believe that Davids faith in God is a representation of what it means to be a leader. I took this as, being confident and brave and not caring about people opinions that break you down.
One other part of being a leader that I agree with that David did do is the willingness to respect others and do what was right. What was right was to end the fight another was to later on tell Saul that he did not mean to hurt him by fighting in the battle with the Philistines. A huge thing people should get about this article is it touches on one other important thing. Do not Judge a book by its cover, whether it be a leader or not. I believe that this is a representation that the Tenakh is some of a true story but it is meant to teach us a lesson about life. Overall the article touches on the parallel of being a good leader and how people view peoples importance based on their appearance and stature and the story of David and his fight and his faith in God and bravery. It further proves that the these storys are there for a reason to further how we treat people. This is a key part of being Jewish, how we share the world with other people.
Article Reaction: Davids Secret Weapon
I read the article, Davids Secret Weapon by Ido Hevroni. Hevroni discusses the processes of how David fights Goliath and also how he becomes king. He describes the difference in appearance of Goliath and David . Then the personality between Saul and David. He describes how God favored David because of his faith in God and bravery and that was the difference between him and Saul. One thing that this article focuses on is the difference between appearance and reality. David is small , but has faith and is mighty and Saul big and strapping.This is significant because it show the contrast of why God choose David . It says that appearance is nothing compared to the will to fight and faith in God. I agree that appearance does not mean anything in your will to be a leader. I think that in order to lead you need to have the confidence and determination. I do not think think however faith in God should be the only reason you are fit to be a leader I do believe that Davids faith in God is a representation of what it means to be a leader. I took this as, being confident and brave and not caring about people opinions that break you down.
One other part of being a leader that I agree with that David did do is the willingness to respect others and do what was right. What was right was to end the fight another was to later on tell Saul that he did not mean to hurt him by fighting in the battle with the Philistines. A huge thing people should get about this article is it touches on one other important thing. Do not Judge a book by its cover, whether it be a leader or not. I believe that this is a representation that the Tenakh is some of a true story but it is meant to teach us a lesson about life. Overall the article touches on the parallel of being a good leader and how people view peoples importance based on their appearance and stature and the story of David and his fight and his faith in God and bravery. It further proves that the these storys are there for a reason to further how we treat people. This is a key part of being Jewish, how we share the world with other people.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Article on solution to stabbings :Rather Than Despair at the awfulness of it all By: David Horvitz
2-1-16
Rather Than Despair at Awfulness Of It All: By David Horvitz
In David Horvitz's article " Rather Than Despair at Awfulness Of It All," he details the stabbings of two Israeli women ; Dafna Meir and Shlomit Krigman, one women only twenty four and the other in her late thirties and a mother. Both were promising caring women, who worked incredibly hard in life. Horvitz very quickly gets to his main point by saying one thing , the killing must stop it is getting not only Israelis killed by getting Palestinians killed by them being responsible for these stabbings. He begins to also propose solutions and the problems with what we are doing with the situation currently. He says we need to stop , " the lying and the brainwashing, the abuse of religion, the distortion of history that has produced yet another Palestinian generation deaf to the notion of Jewish legitimacy in the Holy Land." He gives suggestions that international schools should start giving more funding to things that help merge and educate understanding of Palestinians and Israelis, we need to find some way to to teach the legitimacy of the Jewish people in Israel. Instead of constantly fighting find some way to educate people on these conflicts and how to solve them, including the people living in Israel. Overall Horvitz wants people to know one thing and one thing only , the violence is not solving anything or getting us any further.
Rather Than Despair at Awfulness Of It All: By David Horvitz
In David Horvitz's article " Rather Than Despair at Awfulness Of It All," he details the stabbings of two Israeli women ; Dafna Meir and Shlomit Krigman, one women only twenty four and the other in her late thirties and a mother. Both were promising caring women, who worked incredibly hard in life. Horvitz very quickly gets to his main point by saying one thing , the killing must stop it is getting not only Israelis killed by getting Palestinians killed by them being responsible for these stabbings. He begins to also propose solutions and the problems with what we are doing with the situation currently. He says we need to stop , " the lying and the brainwashing, the abuse of religion, the distortion of history that has produced yet another Palestinian generation deaf to the notion of Jewish legitimacy in the Holy Land." He gives suggestions that international schools should start giving more funding to things that help merge and educate understanding of Palestinians and Israelis, we need to find some way to to teach the legitimacy of the Jewish people in Israel. Instead of constantly fighting find some way to educate people on these conflicts and how to solve them, including the people living in Israel. Overall Horvitz wants people to know one thing and one thing only , the violence is not solving anything or getting us any further.
The First Tiyul,
2-1-16
The First Tiyul
Today we experienced our first Tiyul. We went to Gezer , which used to belong to the Cannaanites. I was dazzled by the history we experienced and the incredible view we saw, completed with green rolling hills. When I came on this trip I knew that every day I would be lucky enough to see history every day, but it truly hit me today. We literally sat where these people we were learning about walked. One thing that I realized was that , things that could just look like a pile of stacked up rocks , had so much more to it. These " stacked up rocks," were incredible inventions that protected a city and innovated technology. The large hole used to fill up with water especially startled me. The amount of time it would take to build these kind of things is insane. I am looking forward to experiencing history day by day being in this beautiful place.
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