we all have two heads-- at least

Today

Part I
Plimo asked Rabbi what the halachah would be for a person who has two heads--upon which head should that person lay his tefilin? Our Talmud Teacher, Ari, noted that this is an obvious questions, because each of us has two heads--at least. This was how he began our Talmud class. How do we deal with our own ambivalence? We can take Rabbi's approach and deny it (he told his student to get out of his classroom or be excommunicated). But ultimately it will smack us in the face. A moment after scolding his student for asking a "ridiculous" question, a man came into the Bet Midrash announcing that a baby boy had just been born with two heads and they needed to know much money to give the Cohen for the pidyon haben. This story is so much of our story. It is the story of Jewish texts--the notion of makhloket (argument/dispute) that is so central to Rabbinic Judaism. It is a story of pedagogy and the need to learn from our students, give them the benefit of the doubt, and engage their questions. It is a story of internal struggle and our personal and collective psychology. It is the story of the "other"-- the person who we do not imagine in our midst or the person we ignore until we can no longer. I'm sure there is more, but I'll stop there for now. I'll just say one personal note: I often find myself in Rabbi's position. Wanting to banish ambivalence from my life and pretend that in my small sanctuary of reason all is clear. But today, after hearing about many of the difficult lives that foreign workers and refugees must face here in Israel, I wondered briefly if becoming a rabbi is the best way for me to do tikkun in the world. Does the overlap of my skills and where there is a need point to me staying on this path? I didn't banish this thought from my mind immediately. I considered it. Allowed it to sit in the Bet Midrash of my mind for awhile. Maybe I'll let it sit there a little longer. It's worth letting it be there, if for no other reason, than that it keeps the conversation interesting.

Part 2
Why Israel is good for me:
A few days ago everyone was asking me if I was exciting about coming to Israel, and to those with whom I felt I could be slightly more honest, I admitted that actually, not really. I didn't want to go. So why did I? Everyone was convinced I could have convinced my school that I didn't need to spend more time in Israel. After all, I already did my year in Israel. My reason was that I thought it would be good for me. I didn't know what I meant by that. But I figured that it would be like eating canned spinach--might not taste so great, but ultimately would give me huge muscles. Today I fell in love with Israel again, but for a completely different reason than in the past. This time it is about the people. I have always loved the Land of Israel and the culture to a certain extent, but this is the first time that I am interacting with Israelis in a semi-professional realm, getting to know Israelis my age who share my values and living in a part of Israel that is not dominated by Anglo culture. I'm sure this is a special group of people, but they are really amazing. They are creative and energetic. They are caring and thoughtful. They are deeply invested in their society, in taking care to build the kind of Israel they want to see. This is not meant to be a scientific statement, but if I were to summarize my observations I would say that I left a culture of consuming and landed in a culture of building, maintaining and constantly repairing the society. Don't get me wrong, Tel Aviv has its consumerist side. But that is not the motivation for life. That is not the mentality. People do not wait around for someone to offer them something. They are builders. In that sense, the Labor Zionist's ideals have really influenced Israeli society. I may be making some gross generalizations based on only two days of observations, but hey, it's better than the usual generalizations people make about Israelis. I feel really proud of Israel today. Not because she is a Jewish state with kosher food where I can flee if someday a crazy person decides to try to wipe out my people again, but because of the Jewish values that are steeped in the society.

Part 3
Beware of the Sabra--I'm not talking about a native-born Israeli, I'm talking about the fruit. You would think I would have known. I'm not new to this place. But I thought the pointy things were just on the cactus plant, not on the fruit itself. And it looked innocent enough. And when I picked it up it didn't hurt me. But my roommate yelled "quick, put it down!" She seemed to be overreacting. I didn't feel anything. As we sat eating figs and watermelon, she explained, "they have thin invisible spiky things that get into your skin and sting." Apparently you don't feel it right away. But a few minutes later I was tweezing my hand trying to get the little buggers out. But they are invisible. And too tiny for the tweezer.

Park 4
Too much happens here in one day to process everything, but it is especially tough when one of the things that needs to be processed involves senseless violence. Apparently some people think the best way to terrorize the Jews is to bulldoze Jerusalem. I was really skeptical the first time that it was a terrorist. I thought perhaps maybe the man was just crazy. I still think he might have been. But this seems to have been done with the intention to cause terror. What a stupid thing to do. 25 people were injured for no reason. This is not going to help the Palestinian cause. Instead, as I learned today, Israel will just stop allowing Palestinians to work in Israel. They will hire more foreign workers. And if you want to hear about human rights violations, just look into that whole system. It's too depressing to think about. Hurt. Death. Slavery. When will we learn?

Park 5
I have to end with something uplifting. At the end of this f***ing crazy day, I helped a friend think about possible names for his soon to be born child. He wanted a Hebrew name that doesn't sound geeky. Isn't that sweet! I can't wait to meet you piloni.