RABBI ELIZABETH W. GOLDSTEIN
  • Torah Music
    • Leviticus / Vayikra / Vayiqra Songs Lyrics
    • Genesis / Bereshit Music Songs Lyrics
    • Exodus / Shemot Songs Lyrics Music
    • Numbers / Bemidbar Jewish Music
    • Deuteronomy / Devarim Music Songs Lyrics
  • About Rabbi Elizabeth
  • Hineni Community
    • Gonzaga in Israel
  • Shir Tikvah

Safed, Mystical and Magical

6/6/2016

0 Comments

 
            It really is amazing how you make friends wherever you go—I was in a store in the mystical city of Safed and met a woman with whom I immediately had a connection. Rivka invited me for tea, after I had bought presents for all the kids, one or two for myself (obviously not on Gonzaga's budget) and then we sat for a while and drank tea with nana (mint). We exchanged life stories and likely will become Facebook friends.
            I also found myself in of all places, Livnot u'lihibanot (an orthodox outreach group whose ways and beliefs I have struggled with in the past)—they were going to be hosting a birthright group. While I feel like I am planning a different kind of Israel experience I was curious about the success of this experience among college age students. I talked to a couple of the young interns and waited for the group to come to see how they would be approached and to assess the messages, but they came late and I had a lot to do.
            I wandered into the Kosov synagogue (dedicated to Jewish community of Kosov) which was basically empty but I was led to the women's section where I sat and deciphered a long explanatory brochure about why Mt Meron is important for every Jew and about the spiritual power of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Except for maybe two words, I got the whole thing. By the time I was done reading I wondered if I should hop a bus to Meron. But I moved on.
            I visited the synagogue where we once prayed for our children. I gave thanks in that same space 11 years later for the gifts of my children who I miss very much.
            And then I was about to turn back to the bus station when saw a sign for an artist named Kathleen Wasserman and the gate was open so I went in and made another new friend. I also made glass art and we organized a glass art making mini-class for the students. She is a Reform Jew with a PhD in education and we had more in common than she has with about anyone in Safed. So we talked for a while and I created art which was very fun. Safed is an artist colony and a haven for the Mystics, the Hasids and Chabad, and also a lot of secular Israelis. And they all get along. It's kind of an amazing place. I chanted the Nava Tehila niggun on a rooftop. My time in Israel is coming to a close.
            Tomorrow I am going to tour Christian sites with Abraham Hostel to see how they run a day trip and Wednesday I will stay in Tiberias and assess it educationally. I might even bike a little.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Glass Making in Tsfat
Picture
Picture
Picture
Safed or Tzfat, as it is known in Hebrew
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Does this baker know that this cute quote from the Haggadah means "this is the bread of affliction" in Aramaic. I just can't believe he would intentionally name his bakery that....
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

New Friends in Jerusalem & Gonzaga 2017 Trip Planning

6/5/2016

0 Comments

 
    The Ramallah day was a lot to digest and then Aaron and I were meeting with Aziz from Mejdi about the Gonzaga trip Friday morning so we worked into the night on Thursday planning the ideal trip, which we have, of course, adjusted now several times. But it was amazing to work with Aaron, to see his life in Muslim quarter of the old city, and to talk about life and politics and the many Spokane connections that we share. We took a physical spread sheet and excel and sat in T'mol Shilshom until almost 11 pm and then the next morning after the meeting with Aziz at the American Colony Hotel—we reviewed the itinerary in Mahaneh Yehuda (I insisted we go to the open market because I really wanted to get there to buy my favorites before Shabbat). So by the time I left Aaron late Friday afternoon, we had a working plan for the Gonzaga trip. I have a bunch of things to add and probably will continue to add until I leave Thursday night but soon we will submit it to Mejdi and see what they can do with it. Then Gonzaga and I will have to make the hard budget decisions. 
    By the time Shabbat was over I had met three more amazing people who can contribute to the Judaism portion of the study abroad experience and I wondered how we would fit it into the already full itinerary. 
    Nava Tehila Friday night, not surprisingly, moved me to tears. It was quite strange having prayer leaders I only knew through YouTube. We were not allowed to record during the service but I am attaching my rendering of a great niggun (wordless tune) they did. Look out Moscow, Idaho Jewish Community of the Palouse it's coming to you soon. 
    Shabbat day connected me with new friends and old and I did a lot of walking in the heat. By the end of Shabbat I really remembered Jerusalem—it's paths and connectors and streets and alleys. Whatever I had thought I might do Saturday night, I couldn't move. 
 
Picture
Picture
   The day of rest turned into even more amazing plans for Gonzaga. Pardes has a social justice program as well as a conflict resolution program and my old friend, Marcie Lenk teaches academic Christian groups through Machon Hartmann Institute, uses texts and discusses power in the state from a Zionist and Orthodox perspective but also academic. I can't wait to hear my colleague, Shannon Dunn have this discussion with her. It's like too exciting for my brain. 
    And my new friend, Naomi Marmon-Grumet, who runs the Eden Project, has drastically changed the experiences Orthodox women have with regard to purity laws and mikveh. She also agreed to speak to my students on gender and Judaism. And she is married to an old teacher from my days at Frisch. Hello, Rabbi Grumet! So that was Shabbat. 
    Sunday I left my bags and took the bus which I now have down pretty well to the Israel museum. I needed 2 days and I had three hours. I took so many pictures for the purpose of course planning that my phone refused to take any more. Ancient archeology to modern art, gigantic life-size synagogue models from all over the world that you can walk inside, modern art depicting Palestinian reactions to 1948 and 1967, the Dead Sea Scrolls (I means the actual Dead Sea Scrolls), videos of Israelis' celebrating Independence Day. And don't even get me started on the Hebrew Bible. I could give a semester long course just from one wing. I could barely pull myself out of there but I had to get to Tiberias before nightfall.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Israel Museum
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

Jerusalem and Ramallah

6/2/2016

1 Comment

 
1 Comment

Rick Steves' Tour of Ramallah

6/2/2016

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

    Dr. Goldstein Leads Gonzaga-In-Israel Study Program

    2017 will see the start of a 4 week Israel Study Abroad Program, for more information contact Dr. Elizabeth Goldstein in the Religious Studies Department

    For More Information
    Email Dr. Elizabeth Goldstein

    Archives

    February 2019
    September 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    May 2015

    Categories

    All
    Aaron Press Taylor
    Abraham Hostel
    !Ah ... Elizabeth's Latest Blog Post
    Arafat's Grave
    Art
    Beit Ariella
    Beit Daniel
    Bethlehem
    Birthright
    Chabad
    Christians
    Christmas Eve
    Dead Sea Scrolls
    Diaspora Museum
    Efrat
    Elizabeth Goldstein
    Feminism
    Gay Marriage
    Gay Pride In Tel Aviv
    Gender And Purity
    Glass Making
    Gonzaga
    Gonzaga-In-Israel
    Gonzaga In Middle East
    Gonzaga In Palestine
    Graffiti Tour
    Hebrew
    Hebrew Bible
    Human Rights
    Israel
    Israel Museum
    Jaffa
    Jewish
    Kalandia Checkpoint
    Kathleen Wasserman
    Kosher Food
    Kosov
    LGBTQ
    Livnot U'lihibanot
    Machon Hartmann Institute
    Marcie Lenk
    Mediterranean
    Mejdi Travel
    Meron
    Mikveh
    Mount Meron
    Naomi Marmon-Grumet
    Nava Tehila
    Orthodox
    Palestinian
    Pardes
    Peace
    Prison
    Rabbi Grumet
    Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
    Ramallah
    Rashi
    Rick Steves
    Safed
    Satlow's Polythetic Model
    Secular Judaism
    Shabbat
    Shannon Dunn
    Shopping
    Spokane
    St. Peter's Church
    Tallit
    Tel Aviv
    Thomas Friedman
    Torah
    T'ruah
    Trump
    Tzfat
    Zionist

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Torah Music
    • Leviticus / Vayikra / Vayiqra Songs Lyrics
    • Genesis / Bereshit Music Songs Lyrics
    • Exodus / Shemot Songs Lyrics Music
    • Numbers / Bemidbar Jewish Music
    • Deuteronomy / Devarim Music Songs Lyrics
  • About Rabbi Elizabeth
  • Hineni Community
    • Gonzaga in Israel
  • Shir Tikvah