Israel with Temple Israel

Once or Twice in a Lifetime

By Carol Michael

Once or twice in a lifetime, a man or woman may choose a radical leaving, having heard Lech l’cha – Go forth. God disturbs us toward our destiny by hard events and by freedom’s now urgent voice which explode and confirm who we are. We don’t like leaving, but God loves becoming. they came over. I was a little scared at first—such a small country, with so much conflict so close, compared to home. It seems perhaps naïve, now, as tensions boil in the US and elsewhere across the world.

Several days in, I found myself at the top of Masada, leading our group in a morning service. Several teenagers walked by, took photos, and said: “There’s a woman leading a service!” Already breathless from excitement, I was thrilled to know that our Reform, progressive Judaism from Temple Israel made an impact, just as all that I saw every day had such a profound influence on me. With our incredible guide, Uri Feinberg, who later became Director of Education at Temple Israel for several years, it didn’t take long for the complexity, the beauty, the history, the politics, the vitality and the challenges of the land, the people and the country to take hold in my heart, mind and soul. With our clergy among us challenging us to support the progressive Judaism that we saw struggling to take hold, I was so glad I took the trip. I look forward to the next opportunity to travel there with our community to study more, to explore further, and to make a difference.

This poem by Rabbi Norman Hirsh in Mishkan T’filah speaks to Abram’s leaving home in Genesis 12:1. The Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” In 2005 I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to Israel. Maybe Abram wasn’t either when he was commanded to go. Of course, no one commanded Birdseye view of Masada. Photo by Carol Michael. me, but there was a Temple Israel trip, I was incoming Vice President, and I had been studying Modern Hebrew at Hebrew College. But with a group? On a bus? I considered myself an inveterate traveler and the idea of being on a bus with a group from Temple Israel sounded kind of tame to me… So I went early and stayed with my Hebrew teacher and her family in Jerusalem, explored with them and on my own, then met the group when

Two Upcoming Israel Trip Opportunities with Temple Israel

2017 Israel Ride. We will join 200 other bicycle riders from October 31 - November 7, 2017 as we ride from Jerusalem to Eilat to support two terrific organizations, Hazon (USA) and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (Israel). Please contact Melissa Carp at mcarp@tisrael.org for details. Study. Hike. Eat. Repeat! Imagine studying in the morning with some of the best scholars and teachers at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, hiking in the afternoon to places we learned about, and then eating some amazing delicacies that will make any foodie salivate! March 2 - 10, 2018. Please contact Melissa Carp at mcarp@tisrael.org for details.