Independence Day - Freedom of Choice!

This evening we attended services at Rehovot's main synagogue where the cantor David Ulman led the prayers. Rabbi Simcha Hacohen Kook was also in attendance. It was a very moving service. The most moving prayer, the prayer for the wellbeing of the State of Israel, attributed to Israel's Nobel Prize winning author Shai Agnon, is a centerpiece of the service.

A detailed translation can be found here.

תפילה לשלום המדינה

אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, צוּר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגוֹאֲלוֹ, בָּרֵךְ אֶת-מְדִינַת-יִשְׂרָאֵל, רֵאשִׁית צְמִיחַת גְּאֻלָּתֵנוּ. הָגֵן עָלֶיהָ בְּאֶבְרַת חַסְדֶּךָ וּפְרֹשׂ עָלֶיהָ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶךָ וּשְׁלַח אוֹרְךָ וַאֲמִתְּךָ לְרָאשֶׁיהָ, שָׂרֶיהָ וְיוֹעֲצֶיהָ, וְתַקְּנֵם בְּעֵצָה טוֹבָה מִלְּפָנֶיךָ. חַזֵּק אֶת יְדֵי מְגִנֵּי אֶרֶץ קָדְשֵׁנוּ, וְהַנְחִילֵם אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְשׁוּעָה וַעֲטֶרֶת נִצָּחוֹן תְּעַטְּרֵם, וְנָתַתָּ שָׁלוֹם בָּאָרֶץ וְשִׂמְחַת עוֹלָם לְיוֹשְׁבֶיהָ. וְאֶת אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, פְּקָד-נָא בְּכָל אַרְצוֹת פְּזוּרֵיהֶם, וְתוֹלִיכֵם מְהֵרָה קוֹמְמִיּוּת לְצִיּוֹן עִירֶךָ וְלִירוּשָׁלַיִם מִשְׁכַּן שְׁמֶךָ, כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה עַבְדֶּךָ: אִם יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם, מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ: וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר-יָרְשׁוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ, וְהֵיטִבְךָ וְהִרְבְּךָ מֵאֲבֹתֶיךָ: וְיַחֵד לְבָבֵנוּ לְאַהֲבָה וּלְיִרְאָה אֶת שְׁמֶךָ, וְלִשְׁמֹר אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָתֶךָ, וּשְׁלַח לָנוּ מְהֵרָה בֶּן-דָּוִד מְשִׁיחַ צִדְקֶךָ, לִפְדּוֹת מְחַכֵּי קֵץ יְשׁוּעָתֶךָ.

הוֹפַע בַּהֲדַר גְּאוֹן עֻזֶּךָ עַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל אַרְצֶךָ, וְיֹאמַר כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נְשָׁמָה בְאַפּוֹ: יהוה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֶלֶךְ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בַּכֹּל מָשָׁלָה, אָמֵן סֶלָה.

*Mechitza* *Warning* *Women's Voices Below*

"Anda" A play about the Eichmann trial

I went to see the play "Anda" written and directed by Hillel Mittelpunkt performed by the Beit Lessin Theatre. Here's the synopsis from Beit Lessin's website:

Israel, 1961. The eve of the Eichmann trial. Nochi, a bright young attorney on the prosecution team of the Eichmann trial, is flung into an unexpected conflict: Anda, a hospital nurse who survived Auschwitz, wants to testify at the trial, but has been rejected by Ben-Gurion’s political establishment. Nochi risks his career and his romantic involvement, and is torn between his desire to remain faithful to his principles and the pressure to bend to political dictates.

It is a powerful play which follows a fictional lawyer (Nochi) working in Gidon Hausner's prosecution department as he tries to help put together the case against Eichmann. He is periodically visited by a representative of the Mapai party who wants to influence the way the trial is handled. Specifically he wants to make sure that all the witnesses testifying have no affiliation with parties opposed to Mapai's agenda and especially no witnesses from Hungary who might stir up the issues related to Kastner. Anda comes to him having suffered through 'medical' experiments in block 10 of Aushwitz. The party man won't allow her testimony because he has a picture of her alongside Menachm Begin at the famous demonstration against taking reparations from Germany. The play explores the relationships between the European Jews who came to Palestine before the Holocaust, those born here, the Jews who came after the Holocaust and their children. Nochi is a child who was sent by his parents from Poland to Palestine at the last minute and grew up a kibbutz among sabras whose parents were kibbutzniks. Having no parents he was a yeled chutz, literally an 'outside child'. Nochi wants to be 'inside'. The play explores his relationship with the sabras in the form of his girlfriend and her father, with the people from 'there' like Anda and Nochi's own father who survived and now lives in Jerusalem struggling to come to terms with his survival and with his relationship with his son.

The characters represent forces that molded the collective consciousness here in those early years. Ben-Gurion and Mapai were ruthless in their control. Some of this was bad indeed and we are still suffering from many of injustices and misjudgements of that period. But to be fair, had BG not been so heavy handed a lot of what was accomplished in those years might not have gotten done at all. Yisrael Eldad (one of the triumverate that headed the Lehi Fighters for the Freedom of Israel and father of Prof. Aryeh Eldad MK) used to say that if Menachem Begin had been Prime Minister instead of BG he would not have brought all those Jews to Israel to live in the ma'abarot (tent villages) in '48-49. He would have said to wait until things got a little better and we could offer them better conditions after all the suffering they've been through. There might very well be something to that.
The years before the Eichman trial were also the years when what we refer to today as the 'survivors' were just refugees, the remnants, the sheep who didn't get slaughtered. Nochi's world isn't interested in what happened to his father except to show that they were right, Jews belong here not there. And the Jews from there had to justify their survival. For the most part they kept quiet. The lucky ones managed to build a new life. The Eichmann trial was a turning point. It gave us all a chance to hear the stories. I believe that being able to focus on a trial and a punishment made it more legitimate to tell the story. This was not wallowing in self-pity but the survivors represented by their State prosecuting a perpetrator.

Grappling with our image of the Holocaust, the survivors, the role of the State of Israel and the role of the leaders in Eretz Yisrael before the state in relation to European Jewry is fascinating and complex. The play succeeds because it's not just about the past.
Many of the issues raised are as relevant to our identity as Israelis today as they were in 1961. Maybe even more so.

Tales of Two Zionist Cities

Yesterday I took advantage of chol hamoed to visit Tel Aviv!
This month Tel Aviv celebrates it's CENTENIAL!!!
I don't often take time to think about Tel Aviv. But in moments like yesterday when I went with a brach of my family to walk around the newly redone Port of Tel-Aviv, enjoy the sea breeze and take in some of the street performances on the boardwalk I am amazed at what has been built here.
Just think of where the Jewish people were at the beginning of the twentieth century. Those who didn't stay put emigrated to the new world. Now here is this modern secular city where Hebrew is spoken, the major commercial center of the state where close to the majority of Jews live today.

Today, we had a barbeque picnic at a lovely public park in Nes Tziyona (founded in 1883 after a Lubavitcher named Reuven Lerer made a deal where he swapped his house in Odessa with a visiting Templar who had an orange grove in the holy land) where there is a little zoo, lots of grass and playgrounds and sports facilities. We found ourselves a little shaded table right next to the ostriches. A good time was had by all!

Celebrating Creation!

On April 8th early in the morning Rav Simcha HaCohen Kook Rehovot's chief rabbi recited the blessing עושה מעשה בראשית (Birkat HaChama commemerating God's creation of the sun on Wednesday the 4th day of the week.)
Rav Kook (a nephew of the Rav Kook) prefaced this bracha which was heard by many Rehovtites who gathered outside one of our major synagoges by saying that this was the fifth time since the founding of Rehovot that Jews gathered here to mark this occasion. This particular ceremony takes place only once in 28 years. He took a shesek fruit (loquat) which he picked that morning and recited the shehechyanu blessing over it as well. This blessing praises and thanks Hashem for keeping us alive to reach these important occaisions.
Because this happens only once in each generation there is something very powerful about coming together, in Eretz Israel, and hearing the shehechyanu on the fruit of the land. Everyone was very moved.
This year the blessing of the sun coincided with the morning of erev Pesach. This is taken by many as a possible sign of redemption being close. (Rav Kook pointed out that another sign mentioned in kabalistic texts is an earthquake in Rome.)
After that we went home, ate breakfast and went out to burn the remains of our chametz.
May we be priveledged to eat our Pesach sacrifice in Jerusalem next year.
All of us, together.
Amen