Thursday afternoon of orienation at the Judean Youth Hostel, all of Section 3 was welcomed to a moving assembly initiating the new semester in Jerusalem. Mel Reisfield, a Hebrew teacher on Year Course and long time Judaean, delivered an inspiring speech about his childhood, teen-aged years and early involvement in the Young Judaea Youth Movement. He described how he and his friends rallied, paraded, and fought for the freedom of many different types of Jewry at the time. His Zionist-filled lecture was fun, amusing, inspirational and emotional, leaving us all with a strong sense of pride and love for Jews and the land of Israel!
This week classes started in Jerusalem and we've been having a lot of fun learning about Israel, but perhaps the most fun of all is Zionism and the Arts. On Tuesday, Dr. Avi Rose took us on our first siyur (field trip) to the Museum of Italian Jewish Heritage and the Israel Museum to teach us about the origins of Zionism through artwork.
At the Italian museum we got to see an intricate Rococo style ark and ornate torah dressings. Avi taught us about the small Jewish community in Italy and all their experiences after World War One. The museum held all sorts of interesting artifacts from prayer shawls to menorahs.
When we'd seen all we could we hopped back on the bus and went to the Israel Museum. We spent and hour huddled around Avi and the model of ancient Jerusalem learning all about the architecture and the Old City.
Zionism and the Arts is an incredible class. Being able to travel each week to see the things we study is invaluable. I can't wait to see what the next siyur will be.
Israel Update is an opportunity for Section 3, every Monday, to sit and chat with one of the staff members about the current events going on in Israel over lunch. This week, the focus was on the shooting at the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva and the aftermath of such a horrible tragedy. In addition, we spoke with Gabi about John McCain's plans to visit Israel, and Sheldon Shulman, teacher of the Arab-Israeli Conflict class, explained to us how it is in fact quite common for presidential candidates to tour foreign nations before Election Day. The update ended with a chat about bureaucracy in Israel, and comparing it to the United States and Great Britain.
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