Parshat Miketz – From Eretz To Exile (and Back) | Hanukkah

Parshat Miketz – Torah From The Holy Land

Torah: From Canaan to Exile (and Back)

In last week’s parasha, Joseph is an incredibly passive character. His father loves him more. God reveals a prophecy to Joseph through his dreams. His brothers hate him. His father sends him to check on his brothers, and they throw him in a pit. The list goes on until the very end of the parasha, when Joseph asks the cupbearer to remember him when he is set free, and the parasha tragically ends with the cupbearer forgetting him. Two years later, Pharoah dreams, and Joseph is brought to interpret them. Then, in a matter of lines, Joseph goes from lowly and despised to the Viceroy of Egypt.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes this quick change, and comments that “the story is telling us something fundamental about the relationship between our dreams and our achievements. Joseph was the great dreamer of the Torah, and his dreams for the most part came true. But not in a way he or anyone else could have anticipated… There is no achievement without effort. That is the first principle. God saved Noah from the flood, but first Noah had to build the ark. God promised Abraham the land, but first he had to buy the cave of Machpelah in which to bury Sarah. God promised the Israelites the land, but they had to fight the battles. Joseph became a leader, as he dreamed he would. But first he had to hone his practical and administrative skills, first in Potiphar’s house, then in prison. Even when God assures us that something will happen, it will not happen without our effort. A Divine promise is not a substitute for human responsibility. To the contrary, it is a call to responsibility.” Professor Ben Sommer also notes a similar phenomenon, pointing out that the entire enslavement of the Israelites is so that they would learn building skills, to later built a house for God. There’s something in every situation that we need to learn, so we can be ready for our real work manifesting the Divine in our world. This parasha is the beginning of B’nai Israel’s first experience in galut, exile, setting the stage later for the first conquest of Eretz Yisrael. Now that Jews have returned Israel, we too need to ask what was the lesson of exile that Israel is supposed to learn now?

Rabbi Isaiah Ha-Levi Horowitz (1558–1630), called the Shlah, taught: “He who dwells in the Land of Israel must always remember its name, K’na’an, which teaches servitude and subservience (hakhna’ah) to God.” And then he continues, “Thus, may it be granted you to be (that is, to think of yourselves as) strangers in your land, as David said: ‘I am a stranger in the land: hide not your commandments from me’ (Psalm 119:19). From this we learn that the settlers in that land must, as strangers, be in a state of ongoing subservience (Hebrew: yoshvei ha’aretz tzerikhin lihyot behekhneia) and not make the settling of the land into the essential element of the enterprise.” This is a powerful statement; he is claiming that there is something much more essential to Israel than only the land itself. He demonstrates this with an example, the opening words of last week’s parasha: “And Jacob settled . . . in the land of Canaan (Genesis 37:1). Jacob sought to settle in tranquility [then the turbulence of Joseph sprang upon him], for it is a land ‘that devours its settlers’ (Numbers 13:32), eliminating those who want to sit in it with quietude, relaxation, and validity, to eat of its fruit and enjoy it thus.” There is an essence to the land which causes the dweller to be in a state of exile, even while inhabiting the land.

Rabbah Tamar Elad-Applebaum comments in “Process Theology and Eretz Yisrael” that this feeling of galut, exile, is actually necessary to dwelling in the land. Eretz Yisrael is “an educational environment designated to become a spiritual training space for believers, training them to settle it while always in motion. (This can give a greater understanding regarding the role of exile in training the nation for its eventual return to Eretz Yisrael.)” Settling the land means that we must be willing to relinquish our ownership over it to the one who created it, having faith that we will be sustained and that we will be able to survive in the land. And it’s exile that has trained Jews for centuries in this art of faith. From place to place we have wandered, seemingly comfortable and prosperous one day, and fleeing with few possessions the next. According to the reasoning of Rabbi Sacks above, these lessons in galut are necessary actions, that when learned allow us to inhabit the land of our ancestors, and not, as Rabbah Tamar reminds us, be spit out. May we be blessed this week to become active participants in our own lives, and may we have the strength to reinvent ourselves so that we may deepen our relationship with the Holy Blessing One.

Hanukkah: Strangers in Our Home – R’ Sholom Brodt

“On every other holiday you don’t need a house. On Chanukah you need a house to kindle light at the door. On Chanukah when I see someone else kindling, I also say a blessing. When do I know that I’m at home with the Torah? When do I know that the light of the Torah is really my own? If I blow my mind over everyone else’s good deed and I can’t control myself, I have to say a blessing over it.

It is possible to live in the same house as your wife and children and be strangers t…o one another. On Chanukah every person in the house is kindling light; every night the light is becoming stronger and deeper and more.

Our age is the age of strangers. We’re strangers in our own homes; we’re strangers in our own land; we’re strangers in our own religion.

Let this Chanukah open the gates for all of us — the lights of Chanukah at the gates to show how holy everyone else is. Let this Chanukah give us the strength to bring light to the whole world, because people only hate each other when they have no home. So our light of Chanukah will show the whole world how deep life is — how deep it is to serve G-d.”

You can view a PDF of this week’s parasha here.

Sam Blustin is an alumnus of the Conservative Yeshiva (2014-2015) and a current Rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (Class of 2020). You can view more divrei Torah at www.samblustin.com or contact Sam directly at samblustin@gmail.com.

The Third Temple

Yesterday was Tisha B’av. If you’ve never been to a Jewish summer camp near the end of the summer, or don’t have a triple degree in Talmud, Jewish Studies, and Hebrew, then chances are you haven’t heard of the “holiday”.

Tisha B’av is the saddest day of the Jewish year, a day of mourning and a day of fasting. We commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples, the defeat of the Bar Kochba Revolt and the fall of Beitar, the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion of Jews from Spain, and the commencement of the deportation of the Warsaw Ghetto Jews to Treblinka during the Holocaust, among other calamities. As a result of this day of mourning we fast, sit on the ground (not on chairs), and generally refrain from pleasurable things.

The past few years (except last year), I had been at Herzl Camp over Tisha B’av. There, a large portion of the community fasts together, and we all partake in the reading of the Book of Lamentations and the Book of Job as is the custom. We also typically showed the movie “A Hero in Heaven”, a tribute to the life of Michael Levin, an American who made Aliyah and gave the ultimate sacrifice while fighting in the Second Lebanon War. Michael, too, was buried on Tisha B’av. Here at camp, I thought I understood Tisha B’av.

Back in 2008, I explored Israel on Alexander Muss High School in Israel. I learned Jewish history from beginning to the present. I understood the importance of remembrance. I understood the modern importance of the lessons of the First Temple, as idol worship and corruption were the cause of its collapse. I understood the importance of the lessons of the Second Temple, where sinat chinam, baseless hatred, caused the Temple to be destroyed. I understood the importance of a Jewish state, and the need to protect and defend it at all cost. But yet, Tisha B’av was just another day to me, another ritual rooted in ancient (or seemingly ancient) times.

That changed this year. This year I’m fortunate to have spent Tisha B’av in the Third Temple. No, I’m not breaking some major news story where the Jews have destroyed the Al-Aqsa Mosque and rebuilt a grand and glorious new temple. No, this temple was created in 1948, with a victory over the surrounding nations in the War for Independence, and still stands to this day. This temple is Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel.

This Tisha B’av, and actually this whole week, I’ve been volunteering at a vineyard in the Kinneret region up north, in St. Paul’s partnership region. As I fasted, for the first time, I got to work the land of Eretz Yisrael. I got to experience and take part in the constant rebuilding of the Third Temple by helping to make this land beautiful and prosperous. This contrast between the fast and the labor, between the remembrance of what was and the reality of what now is, is an experience that is not lost on me, and that I will take with me the rest of my life. We are here now, and we’re not going anywhere.

Once again, there are people the world over that call for the destruction of the State of Israel and the elimination of the Jewish people. Like it or not, they are on our doorstep and ready and willing at a moment’s weakness to strike. We’ve unfortunately seen it these past few weeks, where the people of Israel and Jews across the world have witnessed the terror of those who want to destroy us. We have also seen, however, a Jewish unity unlike anything we have seen in a long time. Jews from all over the world stood up for their brethren, and raised their voices together in support of the Israeli people.

Let us continue to heed the lessons of Tisha B’av, of the First and Second Temples, of the Inquisition, of the Holocaust, and let us recognize that UNITY, and only unity, will leave us victorious in this time of the Third Temple. Together, as a Jewish community, we can and must stand for what is right and just in the world. We can and must fulfill our purpose of being a beacon of light, peace, and prosperity unto the nations. This, I believe, is our mission, and our duty. And only together, we can make it a reality.

Why Isn’t My Kid Jewish? Lessons of a USY Pilgrimage Madrich

USY’ers wrapped in t’fillin posing at Robinson’s Arch

It’s the last day of USY Poland-Israel Pilgrimage. We’re standing at Robinson’s Arch, in the “egalitarian” section of the Kotel, also known as the Western Wall. All 47 of us are there together, all by ourselves, ready to daven Sunday Shacharit. The men have kippot on, as well as a tallis and t’fillin. Some of the women wear a tallis, if they brought one on the trip. Before we start, I ask the women if anyone wants to wrap t’fillin, as I’d be happy to share mine for the second half of the service. After all, that previous Friday at Shacharit, the women had been taught how to wrap t’fillin, along with the reasons for why we do it. I think it would be especially meaningful for some of them to wrap at the Kotel. It turns out I’m right. Immediately after the question is raised, one girl shouts “I do!”. Taking my lead, a few of the other USY’ers pledge theirs for the second half of the service to any willing ladies who also want to wrap.

Business settled, we begin our service. Today’s leader is Briana, a USY’er from Florida whose T’fillah goal is to learn and lead a weekday Shacharit service. Standing next to her, calling pages and giving moral support, is Josh, a Rel Ed (a position on a USY board that oversees religious education for their chapter/region/country) who had both led many services on our trip and taught other USY’ers skills so that they could also lead. In a really moving and beautifully led service, all 47 of us pray together as one, each of us in our own way.

After the Amidah, I unwrap my t’fillin and hand it over to one of the ladies. I help her to wrap them, and she stands there, shoulder to should with others who have put on t’fillin, heads pressed against the great stones once supporting the Holy Temple, davening with intense kavannah (intention).

USY'ers wrapped in t'fillin davening at Robinsons Arch 1

USY’ers wearing t’fillin and praying at Robinson’s Arch

It’s such a moving scene, to see 42 USY’ers, Conservative Jews, taking on their role as young Jewish adults in such a reaffirming way. To see egalitarianism alive and thriving in this moment, in Israel, at the Kotel of all places, is inspiring.

Overlooking our platform where we’re davening, another tour group gathers, equally as moved by the experience. They stand there watching, and even join as we joyously sing the Shehecheyanu to celebrate Briana’s achievement. This excitement for Judaism, for ruach after meals, and even for prayer, is not an isolated incident on our trip. Time and again, these young USY’ers, some of whom may not have stepped into a synagogue since their B’nai Mitzvah (at least for services), prove that they’re willing and excited to partake in Jewish life in its fullest.

Are these youth outliers? Are they fundamentally different from all other American Jewish youth? Why, back home, are parents of children all across the nation asking, “Why isn’t my kid Jewish?”

“Why isn’t my kid Jewish?” I’m not here to judge what makes a person “Jewish”. That you can decide. But one thing that studies like the infamous Pew Report, and my own experience working in the Minneapolis Jewish Community has shown, is that in increasing numbers young Jews don’t identify as being Jewish. Many don’t practice Judaism on a day to day basis, a weekly basis, or even on a yearly basis. The idea of a 3 day a year Jew is an unfortunately prevalent one. Parents, synagogues, and communities have been brainstorming ways for years to change this trend, to limited success. But there have been shining stars.

“The success of the Jewish summer camp” and “experiencing Israel” have been rightly heralded for their outstanding work in creating knowledgeable Jews who are proud of their identity. How do they do it? There are many factors, but simply put, and I believe most importantly, there’s Jewish immersion.

For 1, 4, 8 weeks, Jewish youth at summer camps are, as a former camp director describes it, put in a secluded bubble and pelted from all directions with little tidbits of Judaism. Every action, be it eating, praying, playing sports, or art, is infused with Judaism and pride for Israel, both overtly and subconsciously. To many campers, saying HaMotzi before a meal or Birkat Hamazon is as much camp tradition or just another part of a meal as it is “prayer”. For many, ruach (song sessions) during Shabbat is a big highlight of their experience. Many don’t even realize that the words they sing are from our t’fillot.

An Israel experience is quite the same, in the sense that a Jew often feels completely “at home” as a Jew in Israel. To be a Jew in Israel does not make you different and restrict you from actions, as it might in America, but it connects you to the majority of the people around you. The language, the ability to wish anyone on the street a Shabbat Shalom on Friday afternoon, the ability to go into almost any restaurant you want and be able to order anything from it, all add to this feeling of Jewish immersion.

So when my Rabbis and community ask, “How can we bring the success of camp and Israel back into our community?”, the answer is not the one that they want to hear, because it is the one they have the least control over. While synagogues and communities can certainly do more to offer meaningful, engaging, and fun programming, and they can create excitement at their events similar to a camp atmosphere, the issue of Jewish engagement, and the ultimate solution, lies with those same people who are asking “Why aren’t my children Jewish?”. The issue, and the solution, lies with the parents.

It lies in the parents who drop their children off at Hebrew school on Saturdays, and then go to yoga class (or worse, the parents that bring their children late because they were at yoga). It lies in the parents that prioritize a high school football game over a Shabbat dinner. It lies in the parents who took a break from Judaism at age 13, and who forgot to come back 30 years later.

Judaism is not just a series of blind acts of faith, one followed by another. It is a series of lessons and values that makes us better people and guides how we should treat others in this world. Shabbat teaches us the importance of family, of differentiating between right and wrong, of the value of time. Kashrut teaches us the value of treating everything in this world with respect, care and dignity. Prayer teaches us the value of community and personal reflection. If not from Judaism, where are our children learning these lessons? From TV? From their friends? From popular culture?

Jewish children need Jewish immersion. They crave Jewish immersion, and are inspired by Jewish immersion to live more “Jewish” lives. The success of Jewish camps and Israel trips is impressive and important. But how much more of an impact can it have coming from a parent? From your first heroes in life? From the people you model yourself after and in many ways become? This is how we renew Jewish life.

Parents, you don’t have to do all. Start small and choose one thing. Light the Shabbat candles on Friday night. Bless your children before Friday dinner. Go to synagogue with them on Saturday mornings. Try not mixing milk and meat in your meals. Only eat kosher animals, even if the meat itself is not kosher. By doing these things, you’re showing your children that you care about Judaism. You’re showing them that it’s important to you. Only then will it become important to them.

Immersion in many ways is a relic of the past, but it is also the future. Jewish camps and Israel trips have figured this out. Will our families figure it out too before it’s too late?

SHUL REVIEW: Shira Hadasha (Friday Night and Saturday Morning)

Rating: 4/5- A Beautiful Friday Night Service Lacking In Ruach. 5/5 – Best Saturday Morning Service I’ve Been To In A While

Service Attended: Friday Night Services (8/16/2014) and Saturday Morning (8/23/2014)

Slogan: An Orthodox, Feminist Congregation in Jerusalem
Time of Service: Friday-1:15, Saturday- 8:30am-11:30am
Mechitza: Left-Right, shtender in the middle
Women: Lead Kabbalat Shabbat, Torah Service, read Torah and Haftarah
Meals: They asked at the end of the service for anyone who is looking for a place to go for Shabbos dinner (or lunch on Saturday) to go up front and they would match you up. I had a place to go, so I didn’t take advantage of this.
Frequency: Every Friday night and Saturday morning
Family friendly service

Review:

Friday night: The service I attended was really unlike anything I had attended before. The service was for the most part a typical Carlebach style service, and the congregants sung with some really beautiful harmonies, both from the men’s and women’s sides. The room was half to 3/4 full, and I think that even had the room been full, the size of the room still would have been too big to really have an amazing davenning experience. The service felt very slow, and I could tell that there were individuals who really wanted to pick up the pace and bring more ruach and energy to their davenning, but as a community, it just didn’t get there for me.

The women’s side was more full than the men’s, and for the first time, I actually felt like I would rather have been davening with the women. They just seemed more into the service and to be participating more.

Overall, I would like to go back and see if this was a one time thing, or how they daven.

Saturday Morning: Saturday morning services were wonderful. There was more ruach, and the harmonies were just as beautiful as always. The man who led Shacharit had a beautiful voice, and it was very pleasant to sing along and harmonize to.

Women led Torah service and read part of the Torah reading. What was really special was that there was a Bat Mitzvah, so the Bat Mitzvah girl read the Maftir Aliyah and Haftarah, and she did it beautifully. This was not a sight I thought I would see in Jerusalem, but it was certainly welcome. We threw candy at her after her blessing, and the children present ran up and collected as many pieces as they could.

If you like to sing, Shira Hadasha is the place for you.
Shira Hadasha is located at 12 Emek Refaim Street, Jerusalem. For more information, visit their website.

How To Take The GRE In Israel

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So you’re in Israel for the year, and you need to take the GRE to apply for your select grad school. What do you do? Where can you take the test, and how can you get there? Good thing I’m here to help. Last week, I took the GRE, and wanted to lend my experience to help out the countless others who might have questions. Here’s what you need to know. (NOTE: These tips, especially on how to get there, work for any of the tests provided by ETS at this location)

The first step of taking the GRE is obviously signing up
- Start by Signing in or Creating an Account
  - NOTE: If you don’t sign in at the start, you’ll have to go through the process again after sign in/account creation, so do it first
- After signing in, select ‘Register for a General Test’ in the ‘My GRE Home’ page
- Select Israel from the dropdown
- Three cities will show up: Ramallah, Ramat Gan, and Tel Aviv
  - You’re probably tempted to select Tel Aviv from the list, so you can go and party afterwards, but there isn’t actually a test center there (but you can check, it will probably say there are no times available)
  - Unless you’re a particularly daring person and wish to go to the West Bank, Ramat Gan is your best (only) option (Ramat Gan is a suburb of Tel Aviv, so you can still go party if you’re up to it)
- After selecting Ramat Gan, you’ll see information about the test center, like it’s at Ramat Gan college. This is important. Click on ‘Check Seat Availability’ under Test Dates and Availability.
- This goes to a page called ‘Test Center Selection’, where you unfortunately have to put in the location again. Type in Ramat Gan in the search box. If you’re interested, you can also take the test in Amman, Jordan, or Lebanon, but this tutorial only covers Ramat Gan.
- Select the first option, site 8150: Tel Aviv (actually Ramat Gan), then click on availability
- Select a date, and if the time works for you, ‘Schedule an appointment’
- At this point, you can sign in or create an account if you haven’t already, or finish registering for the test
- Congrats! You’re registered for the GRE!
The next step is to study (or not)
- As part of the confirmation, you’ll receive free software with practice questions and tests, including timed tests
- You can get this free software here! You’re welcome
Test Day!
- Make sure ahead of time you know how you’re getting to the test
  - From Jerusalem, I took the 400 from the Central Bus Station (Tachana Mercazit) to the Ramat Gan – Road 4 Bar Ilan Interchange. Tell the driver you’re going to Bar Ilan University. I think it was something like 16NIS
  - It’s a little bit of a walk, and hard to find, so leave time
  - When you get off at the bus station, you may have to walk half way up a bridge, down the other side towards another bus stop, then up another bridge that goes left across the highway.
  - Google walking directions. Don’t bother trying to use the address provided on the GRE site. It says the address is ’87 PINCHAS RUTTENBERG STREET’, but google recognizes it as ‘Pinhas Rutenberg St 87’ (note the spelling). It won’t recognize it otherwise
  - Instead, use Ramat Gan College, and it will get you there faster
  - Using, Ramat Gan College, you’ll take Etsel Street past Arieh Ben Eliezer St, and take the first left down a long driveway past a security officer
  - At the end of the driveway, there will be a building on your left that should be Building 6 (Binyan 6). The office is either 608 or 610 (I can’t remember), but you’ll see it immediately on your left, and it’s on other signs if you miss it. The door has a sign saying it’s the testing station
  - If you choose to go by way of Pinhas Rutenberg, then you’ll go through a long confusing maze of buildings, eventually going through Building 5 to a courtyard that leads to Building 6 and 7
- The office opens around 1 hour prior to the test, and there are a few places to eat or grab a snack on the campus itself (I went to the little cafe outside of Building 5)
- If you get there earlier than the test time, they’ll start to process you earlier, and you can start earlier
- POLICIES
  - You can bring absolutely nothing into the test with you. They’ll give you a locker that locks, and you put everything in it except your passport
  - Make sure you have recent identification that matches your registered name exactly. See more information on what identification is allowed, but you may need an updated picture on an alternate ID if your passport doesn’t look enough like you
  - They’ll make you empty all pockets and take a metal detector test before entering the testing room
  - They do give you a nifty pair of earplugs though
  - You get a 10 minute break in the middle of the test, but make sure you leave a good couple of minutes to get back into the test, as they have to re-verify your pockets are clear, you don’t have any metal, and you have to resign-in
- Know what range of score your desired college is looking for going in, because you can choose to send your score at the end after seeing it (minus the writing section) for free. You have to pay a fee if you send it at a later date

Hopefully this has helped as a guide, and if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them if you comment below! Happy testing!

SHUL REVIEW: Moreshet Yisrael (Friday)

Rating: 3/5- Typical American Conservative service, with participation in the service likewise

Service Attended: Friday Night Services
Date: 8/29/2014

About: Fully Egalitarian, Masorti (Conservative) congregation
Time of Service: 6:45pm Friday night
Mechitza: None, people can sit wherever
Women: Full participation
Sermon: English on Friday Night, Hebrew (same sermon) on Saturday Morning
Meals: No mention of offers to set people up
Frequency: Weekday mornings, every Friday night, Saturday Morning
Family friendly service: Yes, Rabbi gave out treats to the younger kids present.

Review: Moreshet Yisrael is one of the only fully egalitarian, Masorti (Conservative) synagogues in Israel. The space is beautiful, but unfortunately acoustically lacking. On the evening I was there, there were around 30 people, which is around 1/4 of the total size of the synagogue, so it was also lacking in the energy necessary to fill the space fully.

As such, it was a typical American Conservative shul in many ways. Seating was spacious, and prayers mumbled or quietly sung in contrast to the typical Israeli loud kavanah. They used a guitar (and a tambourine) for Kabbalat Shabbat, and put it away for Ma’ariv. The shlichei tzibur led a very nice service, but they were largely on their own in the davening.

In the end, if you’re looking for a place that resembles a service back home where men and women participate equally and can sit together, check out Moreshet Yisrael.

Moreshet Yisarel is located at 4 Agron Street, Jerusalem, as part of the Fuchsberg Center Complex. For more information, visit their website.

SHUL REVIEW: Beit Yisrael at Yemin Moshe- Ashkenazi (Saturday Morning)

Rating: 5/5- Friendly, with good kavanah and harmony, and an excellent kiddush

Service Attended: Saturday Morning Services
Date: 8/30/2014

Observance: Orthodox
Time of Service: 8:15am-11am Saturday Morning
Mechitza: To left of men’s section, shaliach tzibur in the middle of men’s section. Sizable women’s section
Women: No leadership
Meals: Known for its kiddush after the meal, which was very nice. No mention of meals at the service, but their newsletter says to email Valerie Adler to request a meal
Frequency: Weekday Shacharit, every Friday Night, Saturday Morning, and Saturday evening
Family friendly service: While there were families, there weren’t too many, and were not a focus by any means
Sermon: English sermon, announcements in Hebrew and English

Review: Beit Yisrael, also known as the Ashkenazi shul at Yemin Moshe, was one of my favorites so far. Great combination of kavanah and harmony, and the voices beautifully filled the space. I went with a female friend (who is conservative), who also enjoys it there. Many English-speaking people daven there, so it can feel very homey for the English speaker.

English sermon, with Hebrew and English announcements. Very friendly people, and I was invited to join them for High Holidays by one of the leaders of the congregation after the service. The highlight is definitely the kiddush afterwards, which had a number of delicious treats, a great lasagna, and some tuna and egg salad.

Come for the food, get some great davening to boot. I definitely recommend Beit Yisrael.

Beit Yisrael is located at 2 Pele Yoetz Street, Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem. There are signs pointing you to the Ashkenazi shul when you get into Yemin Moshe. For more information, visit their website.

SHUL REVIEW: Nava Tehila (Friday Night)

Rating: 6/5- By far the best Friday Night service I’ve been to in my life. Lively, musical, spiritual.

Service Attended: Friday Night Services (September 5, 2014)

About: Egalitarian and inclusive, they use varied instruments and meditation type melodies to elevate prayer
Time of Service: Friday, 6:00-8:00 pm
Mechitza: None, open seating
Women: Full participation
Meals: No mention
Frequency: One Friday per month, plus select High Holiday services, see calendar here
Language: All kavanot (talking) in Hebrew and translated in English

Review: Nava Tehila is the idealized vision of prayer and instrumentation coming together in joyful bliss. Rabbi Ruth Gan Kagan set the tone for the night by specifying that there would be absolutely no talking between prayers, but only singing and silence, and that if you came to just sit around, you were in the wrong place. The kehilla was comprised of a very young crowd, and I recognized a number of students from the Conservative Yeshiva and Pardes present.

The seating was comprised of concentric circles (which fill up fast), with the majority of the inner circle belonging to the Nava Tehila band. One of the things that made Nava Tehila unique was the variety of instrumentation; there were guitars, an upright bass, flute, saxophone, cajon, and bongo, along with a number of singers. For Kabbalat Shabbat, they used selected lines from each of the psalms set to original tunes, in a meditative, repetitious way that lent to the entire kehilla singing and harmonizing together. Each melody would last 5-10 minutes, and there would be absolute silence for a number of seconds between each prayer. Bookending these psalms were the full versions of Yedid Nefesh and Lecha Dodi.

Kabbalat Shabbat ended around 7:30, and at that point the option was given for people to leave if they wanted, or stay for Ma’ariv, and many people left, which made it kind of an awkward transition, where by Ma’ariv was made less important. Instruments were put away for Ma’ariv (I would have preferred they be kept, since they had played into Shabbat already), but it was nice davening as well. It ended with the usage of instruments for one last song at the end.

All said, while the traditionalists out there might not enjoy this, those willing to experiment with an alternative type davening will have a transformative experience that will have them wishing Nava Tehila met every week.

Nava Tehila is located In Kol Haneshama at 1 Asher Street, Jerusalem, in Speitzer Hall. Nava Tehila is also a band, so check out their music. Also, be sure to check the calendar as they play occasionally at Tachana Rishona on Friday afternoons. For more information, visit their website.

SHUL REVIEW: Kol Haneshama (Saturday Morning)

Rating: 2/5- As a friend of mine so eloquently described it, it was just “bleh”

Service Attended: Saturday Morning Services
Date: September 6, 2014

Observance: Reform
Time of Service: 9:15am-11:30 am on Saturday Morning
Mechitza: None, open seating
Women: Full participation
Meals: Very light kiddush (two cakes). No offer of meals
Frequency: Every Friday Night and Saturday Morning
Family friendly service: Friendly to families. There’s a play area at the side of the sanctuary for kids
Sermon: Hebrew sermon, announcements in Hebrew and English
Neighborhood: Baka’a

Review: Kol Haneshama is one of, if not the only, Reform prayer community in Jerusalem, and one of the few in all of Israel. It’s located in a beautiful building in a beautiful sanctuary that fits around 150 in Baka’a. Unfortunately, it was maybe a third full on this morning, and the crowd gathered was rather aging.

I arrived before the beginning of the service, and we waited until there was a minyan. While the people there were very friendly, and I was given an aliyah, I found the service very disjointed and the nusach (melodies) very inconsistent. We’d start by reading a prayer together out loud, getting to a line where someone at some point wrote a song using those words, and then we stared singing the song, regardless of whether it fit into any nusach. In the span of P’sukei D’zimrah and Shacharit, we covered ‘Stand By Me’, multiple Carlebach songs, some tune that sounding like it could have been taken from a musical, and other tunes to which I found it quite hard to sing along with, let alone harmonize with. Keeping with the more American style davening, prayers were typically sung together, as opposed to the more Israeli/Orthodox style of davening out loud at your own pace with in a framework. The entirety of the service was, as my friend who grew up reform described it, just kind of ‘bleh’.

If you are looking to be a part of an egalitarian service with somewhat non-traditional nusach in line with the American Reform movement, than you might consider Kol Haneshama. It also starts later than many congregations, so that is nice.

Kol Haneshama is located at 1 Asher Street, Jerusalem, in Baka’a. For more information, visit their website.

How To Get A Student Visa In Israel

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Ah, the Misrad Hapnim. Everyone’s favorite Israeli bureaucratic organization. If you are as unfortunate as I was to not get a Student Visa before you came to the country, and you’re staying in the country for more than 3 months, you’ll inevitably have to take on this daunting challenge. And if you’ve talked to anyone who has dealt with Misrad Hapnim in the past, you’ve probably heard horror stories like my roommate who’s been 6 times with no luck. And while you could attempt to forgo the whole visa step and live as an illegal immigrant, you may prefer to go by the book. If that’s you, then you’ve come to the right place. This is ‘How To Get A Student Visa In Israel’ (specifically in Jerusalem).

Contact your program, as they will be able to help you with paperwork and likely have helped other students before
From your program, obtain a letter in Hebrew on official letterhead signed by the head of the program stating the following (Note: This definitely works with a Yeshiva. Not as sure with other programs):
1. Your name
2. Your passport number
3. A statement that you will be studying at the Yeshiva
4. A statement confirming you are Jewish AND that your mother is Jewish (especially if you’ve converted, this is the easiest way to prove that you are Jewish. Don’t go through the process of producing conversion documents and such. What they don’t know won’t kill them.)
  1. If you’re not Jewish, you can still get a student visa. Talk to your trip provider on the best way to do so
5. A statement containing the start and end dates of your studies, as well as a statement of the hours and days of the week that you study (ie. 9-18:00)
  1. Make sure your dates are of the Gregorian calendar, not the Hebrew Calendar
6. A signature from the Rosh Yeshiva
You’ll need to get a passport picture. There are many places you can do this, including but not limited to photo places on Ben Yehuda and right next to the Jerusalem Misrad Hapnim.
There’s a form that you will need to fill out, but the form available online is slightly out of date and can just be filled in there.
Bring your Passport
You may need to pay, but it depends on the person you talk to. I’ve seen it should cost 165 NIS. I didn’t have to pay anything.
Find the location of the nearest Misrad Hapnim (you can’t go anywhere you want, you have to go in their district)
1. In Jerusalem, this is Misrad Hapnim on 1 Sholmtsiyon HaMalka (NOTE the spelling. Searching anything else in Google will either get you no results, or send you near the Knesset. Trust me, I did it…)
Attempt to figure out their hours. Expect to fail.
1. At the time of this writing, Misrad Hapnim in Jerusalem is open for Visa acquisition on Sun-Tues, Thurs, from 8am-12pm. That’s it. Don’t try to go any time else. This may change at their discretion
2. If you get there right at 7:55, you can probably walk right in, and not have too long of a wait inside
Try to look as Jewish as possible. This sounds awful, but they do tend to profile, and have been known in the past to make it hard on the lives of those blond haired, blue eyed Jews
Once you get through security, make your way up to Kuma 1, the first floor. This is the Visa office
1. To get your form, wait in line for the front desk. They’ll give you the proper form (you’ll want an A2 visa). Fill it out
2. I was told by others that I would need to make an appointment, but on arriving to get said appointment, they said just to go in and wait for the second desk to be open. Even if you’re supposed to get an appointment, DON’T. Read on
3. When ready, wait in line for one of the desks. It doesn’t really matter which one, but I had a great experience with the lady at desk 2. I would recommend waiting for her
4. When it’s your turn, tell the person at the desk that you had been in there previously, and that they told you to come back once you updated your paperwork. They do this frequently to most people, and they probably won’t remember you anyways. This way, you’ll avoid having to have an appointment.
5. If it happens to fail, feel free to try to go to another person your next time in
It’s very likely you won’t be successful on your first try, so don’t despair, I got it on my second try. As I said earlier, my roommate is on try 6 and counting
Some notes
1. Expect to be yelled at at least once. It’s part of the experience
2. Feel free to try to game the system, especially as I described above
3. Israeli bureaucracy sucks. Expect to fail at least once, if not multiple times
4. A smile goes a long way

That should be all you need. Feel free to share your own stories below, and maybe they’ll help someone else as well! Best of luck!