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While convenient to lots of things, the only problem with my hotel room is that Jerusalem seems to want to stay out a lot later than I do. Still, I feel semi-rested as I get ready to meet native Spokanite, Aaron Press Taylor who will be my guide as I travel to Ramallah for the first time. I would say this is my first entry into a Palestinian city except for the fact that in 1994 on Christmas Eve, several fellow Pardes students thought it would be a good idea to walk to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and get our passports stamped with the special Christmas Eve stamp. Although I venture forth in life, I carry a lot of hesitancy with me. However, though I was nervous I decided to go anyway. I was newly dating Tamar and she had plans to go to a concert so this was not a joint venture. I forged forward into the dark night along derech Beit lechem and passed by the Kever Rachel or Rachel's road side burial, an iconic site. Now apparently it is pretty closed off from easy access, but I remember thinking "I'm just trotting by a major biblical event." We reached Bethlehem and there were banners everywhere of Arafat but it that was the only thing that felt "Palestinian" to me. We lined up at the post office at midnight and got the stamp and we walked back. We didn't talk to anyone nor did we sightsee. We came and went. Now more than 20 years later, so much has happened and nothing has happened in the way of progress. We can call it disputed or we can call it occupation but there is a serious problem and I feel that Israel can build light rails inside of barrier walls but we will never be free until we are all free. So kids can eat ice cream on ben yehuda street and pretend the world outside doesn't exist but I can't pretend. I have to go to Ramallah today to acknowledge the reality of this world that is accordingly to my GPS, 8.5 miles from my hotel.
 Jerusalem near the hotel Elizabeth just composed a new tefilat ha derech while waiting for Aaron.
ברוך אתה ה שומע תפילה (blessed are you hearing this prayer.).
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Taking the train from the airport into Tel Aviv. Going to meet Rabbi Efrat Rotem for dinner. Hope I get a little time to recover from trip before that. Otherwise trip was smooth. Had the same flight as Neili from Spokane —she is going to visit relatives in Israel. On the flight I studied Torah with a chabadnik --sharing our different interpretations of impurity and gender on Lev 12. Fascinating as he was telling me that The chabad interpretation is peshat (the plainest meaning of the verse) using rashi's science from the 12th century. Yet it is interesting to read "a woman who conceives" as "a woman will surely spawn a male" and conversely that a man will surely spawn a female. What goes into the tube comes out last.... Are we even reading the same Torah?? How can we talk about commonality when we can't agree on the simplest understanding of the biblical text? But we can laugh and talk about davening and cell plans and kosher food. Satlow's Polythetic model. The other guy next to him is American, went to yeshiva on Staten Island and is 5-6 years younger than me. He just moved to Efrat from Baltimore. I am wondering why he moved to Efrat. I asked him if he knew Meir Schweiger from Pardes. He did not. He said Trump is crazy but Obama was bad for Israel. The other guy said Thomas Friedman hates Israel (I was reading from Thomas Friedman's book From Beirut to Jerusalem). I'm wondering why we are spending our energy populating Efrat. It seems crazy to me for a new immigrant to Israel to intentionally move into the West Bank. Some say Efrat is different because it is so close to Jerusalem and it has been around for so long. It's not going to be decided today. And realistically Efrat is never going to the Palestinians.
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Dr. Goldstein Leads Gonzaga-In-Israel Study Program2017 will see the start of a 4 week Israel Study Abroad Program, for more information contact Dr. Elizabeth Goldstein in the Religious Studies Department Archives
February 2019
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