I have just returned to Winnipeg from Israel! What an amazing experience Laurie and I had participating in Rabbi Green’s Study Tour to Israel. This was a unique trip which was planned with a lot of care by Rabbi Green, our Program Director, Shira Uretsky, and our Event Chair, Eric Ellis. Working with Rabbi Ed Romm, Educational Director of the Fuchsberg Center of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem, the trip was planned to ensure that our religious, spiritual, educational, cultural and social needs were all met. We stayed at the Guest House of the Fuchsberg Center which is ideally located about two minutes from the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem, a short walk to the Jaffa Gate of the old city, and to Ben Yehuda Street.

 

Those of you who read the United Synagogue Outlook magazine should be familiar with the Fuchsberg Center. It is a complex which includes the Guest House, a small synagogue and a yeshiva for the study of Conservative Judaism. We had several morning classes with world-class scholars on such topics as Women and the Bible—the theme of barrenness of the Matriarchs, Introduction to the Talmud, and Midrashim in the Psalms. We had two Shabbatot with exceptional Scholars-in-Residence, and the opportunity to attend services at a very interesting variety of shuls.

 

We had an extensive opportunity to not only tour within and outside Jerusalem and be treated to most of the great tourist sites, but to have in-class history lessons to provide the background for much of what we saw. We had the most fantastic guide throughout the trip, a young archaeologist originally from Boston by the name of Mecheal Osband. His knowledge of history, archaeology and anthropology was incredible. We also met with a number of minority groups who live in Israel, both Jewish and non-Jewish, including visits to a Yemenite village, a Druz village, and a Mahmudi Muslim village. On top of all this, there was time to shop, eat and visit family and friends in Jerusalem, as well as to share in the unique experience of Eric Ellis’s Bar Mitzvah, presided over by Rabbi Green.

 

Another important aspect of the tour was the opportunity for Tikun Olam. Thanks to generous donations of toys, crafts and stuffed animals from our congregants and the participants on the tour, we are able to make a huge difference to the hospital experience of sick children in East Jerusalem. Those donations are going to the children’s ward at the Hadassah Hospital on Mt. Scopus, which serves a largely Arab population. We heard some very moving accounts by Ed Romm’s daughter who works in the ward and the generosity of our congregation certainly far exceeded her wildest expectations.

 

Despite the dismal ten day forecast for rain every day, which I pulled off the internet just before leaving, the weather was great. In fact, we experienced no rain while touring and it must have been about 20° C on the day we went to Masada and the Dead Sea. It was warm enough for some of our intrepid travelers to enter the Dead Sea despite our guide’s warning that this wasn’t the time of year to do so.

 

Everything exceeded our expectations. My personal theory is that this is one of the benefits of traveling with the Rabbi, and his closer connection to God. It seemed to be the opposite of Murphy’s Law. The other amazing aspect of the trip is that the whole experience was greater than the sum of its parts, as great as all those parts were. The coming together of a group of people, many who did not know others, or did not know them well, and forming a community over the course of just under two weeks was a beautiful experience.

 

If you were not blessed with the opportunity to be a part of this year’s inaugural Study Tour with the Rabbi, I would encourage you to seriously consider it in the future, as I have no doubt that a similar tour will be offered again. This was a groundbreaking program—apparently nothing quite like it has been offered or available previously. However, since we embarked on it, we have been told by Rabbi Romm that there is great interest being expressed by other congregations for a similar type of experience.

 

Tu B’Shevat is just around the corner. We have come to celebrate this holiday of the trees at Shaarey Zedek with a beautiful Tu B’Shevat Shabbat Dinner and Seder as well as with a family program. We have also encouraged the purchase of trees for Israel in conjunction with the holiday. It has always struck me as a little bit incongruous and funny to be celebrating this holiday in the dead of a Winnipeg winter, but having just been in Israel, seeing the importance of the trees and also knowing that the almond trees are about to bloom and unleash their heavenly scent around the country, I have a greater appreciation of the holiday this year. I encourage all of you to support the tree planting efforts in Israel and hope you take the opportunity to celebrate Tu B’Shevat with us.