When we first prepared to go to Israel, we had gathered to imagine our goals, expectations, and hopes for the trip. In the airport before we boarded the plane for Newark I shared once more the prayer for the journey I had crafted from our shared sentiments.
It was incredible how fully we had realized these hopes: to connect with the Land of Israel and with each other; to have genuine and heartfelt encounters with Israelis; to deepen our understanding of Israel past and present; and to emerge with renewed hope for peace. As I recited each line of the prayer made of our hopes for our first congregational trip (God willing, of many!) to Israel, it was clear that each wish had been accomplished, and more.
That is, except for the very last section, which spoke of hopes and dreams yet to come: "And may we return in peace to our homes and to Or Hadash to share these experiences and insights and help people connect through us, and bring Israel to a more central place within the life of our congregation." This part of our prayer, of course, is yet to be fulfilled and it requires all of us in the community to help bring it to fruition - which I have no doubt we will do just as surely as we accomplished all our other hopes for this incredible trip.
I hope you have enjoyed reading the blog and being a part of our congregational trip as well. Please stay tuned to this site for information coming soon on how you can view photos from our trip, and also don't forget to join us this Friday night, February 22 to hear my own reflections on our trip, and then on March 14 to hear from those congregants who were with us on the trip. May this be the first of many congregational trips and the beginning of a deepening of our connections with Israel as individuals and as a community. May we grow in our appreciation and love of Israel and all it can be - for us, for the Jewish people, and for all the world.
Amen.
2 comments:
As a member of the wonderful group that traveled to Israel, I so appreciate your journaling. At the moment, I am totally overwhelmed by all I saw, all I did, and, especially, all I learned. Thank you, Josh, for your conscientious documentation. I will visit your blog over and over as I attempt to process the entire experience.
Rabbi Waxman,
Co-worker Amy Goldberg-Alberts shared the link to your blog so I might share your experience with my third grade religious school students at Congregation B'nai Jacob (Phoenixville). The students embark on a "virtual" trip to Israel and your words are giving more meaning to my "tour guide" script than I ever could. Thank you for taking the time to journal.
Andrea Zavod
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