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Irreverent and funny; devoted, kind, and humorous. The first description is of Menashe; the latter is Alizah. They are two lovely people who are making my first trip to Israel in 45 years sweet, informative, and engaged.
Lovely portraits of people and community.
So that is where you have been. Thanks, Susan for sharing your experiences with us. Be safe.
Thanks, @cdor! I plan to share a few more experiences before my two-week trip is over. I’ve had awesome trips to Gush Etzion and Jerusalem, so more to come.
After hearing about the shootings in Texas, and contrasting that to soldiers in Jerusalem, I feel safer here at the moment. I mean it.
I enjoyed reading that. Thank you.
Thanks for checking in, Susan. It sounds awesome.
:) Your openness to others and their unique and individual qualities shines through here, Susan. It seems everyone is enriched when we approach life with an open-eyed appreciation for the wide diversity of human experience and the varied ways that men and women find meaning and their way to G-d.
A beautiful statement, Trink. I try to stay open, but it’s really hard sometimes. I think my lack of tolerance tends to show up when people lie, cheat, steal, are uninformed, are combined uninformed and judgmental. I tend to be more open when people are informed, principled, loving, dedicated, creative and motivated. Yep, that probably describes me! ;-)
Thanks for sharing this, Susan. I look forward to reading more about your journey.
Thanks, Percival. It is. More stories to come.
I’m glad you are having a lovely time. G-d bless!
Thou shalt not abide evil nor the sounding trumpets of the uninformed.
Do I hear Amen ? :)
Amen!!
Susan, I understand there is now a section of the Western Wall (separated from men by a barrier of some kind) where women can pray. Is that right?
I hope you’ll get back to us about your impressions of the Western Wall. As I understand, it’s the closest spot that Jews can get to the Temple Mount. Is that right?
Looking forward to your future posts from Israel. Are you going to float in the Dead Sea?
Kent
Susan, hoping G-d touches your spiritual journey in profound ways. Looking forward to your updates. Blessings from Missouri.
Kevin
I do kind of like meaningful diversity.
I think your feelings are based on reality, but please note that Israel has a super competent security state because it has to. It’s also a teeny-tiny country and there can be effective government programs run by a technocratic elite in some teeny-tiny countries. Please remember that these countries need: a technocratic elite is actually competent, the right culture to generate competent and intelligent government workers, and enough free-market capitalism to afford to buy all the necessary gear and training.
Wonderful, SQ! Prayers ongoing….
There has always been a spot for women to pray, and I prayed there. I also prayed at the Wall from the inside of the Temple Tunnels, a deeply moving experience. I will do a post on the Western Wall in the next few days. BTW women (primarily from the US, I think) are protesting that women and men should be able to pray together; I think that’s idiocy, but more on that later. Also, Jews can go to the Temple Mount but it’s very difficult to do; for religious Jews, the preparation is rigorous, because it’s impossible to know precisely where the Holy of Holies is. I don’t plan to go to the Dead Sea or float in it. More later! Thanks for your great questions!
The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Thank you, Hypatia. And the same blessing to you.
We have been saying that for years. Spread the word.