Arriving In Israel

We arrived in Israel on May 15. Our arrival here carries significance for all of us for at least two reasons. First, when we started our trip, Israel seemed so far away. It felt as if we had so much to do before we arrived there. To be here now forces us to acknowledge that this remarkable journey that we have taken as a family is approaching its conclusion. While we miss friends and family, after this, it will be hard, I think, to return to our normal routine. In particular, it will be hard to return to a life, in which at times, we feel more like ships that pass in the night than a close knit family. Hopefully, we can figure out a way to make our lives back in LA a little less hectic. I’m hopeful but skeptical.

Second, since the time that I spent my junior year in Israel, the country has always held significance for me. I remember back during the summer before my junior year, I was living with a bunch of guys on the Cape. I fully intended to return to Hamilton for my junior year. I was being groomed for the auspicious role of editor of the Hamilton newspaper. Most of the guys that I was living with worked on the paper, and I was finding them thoroughly annoying, with rare exception. It occurred to me—what the hell am I doing? It was not as if the Hamilton College Spectator carried the prestige of the Harvard Crimson. I then decided I wanted to go abroad.

The next question was where should I go and what programs could I still get into given that it was so late? I decided on Israel, primarily because I did not want to be another one of those kids who went to England, Spain and France (no offense intended to Melissa, who went to France). We made some phone calls, and a few weeks later, I was on a plane to Israel. My experience in Israel was nothing short of spectacular. I made a great group of friends, learned a great deal about the Middle East, and, thanks to a girlfriend, began to realize that being religious or even simply believing in God did not necessarily mean abrogating rationality. Of course, as has been alluded to in the other blogs, as a Jew arriving in Israel, you’re inevitably struck with this wondrous feeling of not being in the minority, that Judaism does not have to be nerdy and that Jews, when necessary, can be tough SOB’s. Like Maya and Emma, I found myself consumed with the idea that everyone is Jewish from the prostitutes to the generals. In my more ironic moods, I used to fantasize about how my mother would react if I told her I was dating a Jewish prostitute. There’s kind of a good news/bad news aspect to that.

I so loved my experience during my junior year that I returned to Israel for another 7 months after graduating to see if I wanted to make Aliyah. My experience was not as spectacular, probably having more to do with my depression at the fact that my graduation signified that adulthood was approaching, than anything to do with Israel. However, after leaving Israel in January 1988 (as the Intifada was starting, although my departure was not the result of the Intifada), I have not been back to Israel.

As Melissa has indicated, even in these few short days, it has been magical sharing the discovery of Israel with the kids and for Melissa and me to share it with each other. My kids, at this point, come both with so much experience in seeing other cultures and a much richer understanding of Judaism, than I possessed at the time of my first visit to Israel, that they are already getting so much out of the experience. I look forward to having a wonderful experience with my family in Israel, while at the same time I am filled with some trepidation about our fast approaching return date.