The diversity of Judaism

  What's it like to be in a Jewish nation?  This is a completely new experience for me.  

Truth is, many of these experiences aren't really linked to my Judaism.  Sure, I've heard of tsimmis, but I've never eaten it. (See left.)  My family doesn't have restrictions on eating, let alone cooking on the Sabbath. Traditional Jews have slow-cooker meals that enable them not to work one day a week, and so this sweet stew isn't part of my life except in metaphoric speech.      "Don't make a tsimmis over it!"  means don't make a big deal.  My uncle sent me an awesome email about my experience here, in which he appreciated that I was "living the life -- tzimmis that can be eaten rather than having to endure it."

Kosher rules are consistent here, too.  At our hotel, it seems that breakfast is a dairy meal, and dinner is a meat meal.  At first, I didn't notice this as a Jewish thing, rather as a situation of what foods were served when.  But then I began to notice that some meals had butter and some meals only had margarine.  On the right, you'll see a sign in town:  "For BBQ customers only! Meat Restaurant.  Please do not sit with dairy food!".

What else did I notice? Well, just as I was surprised in the Gulf Nations to see the Red Crescent signs, the Muslim version of the Red Cross, I was tickled to see the red Stars of David by first aid kits.  It turns out that there is a whole political Magen David Adom. It is not officially recognized in other nations. However, in Israel, it is the symbol for first aid rescue society.  Maybe someday it will be recognized in the international community and given the same protections.

  The hotel has certain elements that are clearly Jewish, too.  Candle lighting. A miniature synagogue within the building.  And a Shabbat elevator--so travelers don't need to do the "work" of pushing buttons on the sabbath.  This isn't your typical fare at, say, the local Holiday Inn!

  We had the great fortune of speaking with Dr. Yehuda Bauer yesterday and he struck some deep chords with me.  Many of you have read the recent Thomas L Friedman article in the New York Times, "Israel to American Jews: You Just Don't Matter."  Spending time by the Western Wall, I relate to what he says about the wall being like a Pagan rite-- touching stones, touching earth.  Of course, it is touching history too, but there is such disdain about freedoms and obligations with this wall.  The general consensus among people I spoken to here is that Netanyahu chose to side with the Orthodox community about male and female separation by the wall so that he could keep his job at the next election.

   Judaism is so diverse, and Jewish culture is so diverse.  Listen to this brilliant scholar speak about the contradictions of a nation trying to belong to the Jewish people.  In the attempts to accommodate some, others are put to the side.  The initial ideals are thwarted, but the traditional icons remain.  I don't know the answers, but it is fascinating to be here, even as an outsider.