by David Jacobowitz, Los Angeles, CA

Before this year the most elaborate thing I could make was an omelet and place it in a bagel, but now I am able to make a whole new arrangement of dishes. Now that I’m living in my own apartment I have worry about what I’m going to be eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t have my mother anymore to pack my lunches and make my dinner while I lazy around the house. In fact it’s just the opposite; now I’m packing my lunches and cooking dinner for the apartment. Want to hear something that sounds unbelievably weird but at the same time delicious? Deli Dogs. Something I came up with one night on the spot while thinking what my apartment should have for dinner. It’s basically a hot dog wrapped in deli meat lathered in ketchup and barbeque sauce, and then tossed on the frying pan. These have become a favorite in Apartment 2, of 80 Derech Chevron. I recall people doubting Shalem for the sole reason that they “didn’t know how to cook”. Well I was never one who really cooked for himself in L.A, but now that I’m here I have embraced cooking and am now making dishes that I could only watch my mom make in the past. I have made dishes ranging from schnitzel and barbeque chicken to the likes of chicken fried rice, stuffed peppers, and chili. Recently I’ve also taken up baking, which is as easy as it looks. Following instructions off a sheet of paper isn’t the toughest thing in the world. Using my mom’s banana chocolate chip muffins recipe and turning it into cake didn’t really come out the way I planned the first time to say the least, but now I am able to make it the way it’s supposed to come out.
One of the best feelings in the world is when someone tells you that what you cooked is delicious; I’m physically unable to prevent the smile that shows up on my face every time I hear that. I’m glad I didn’t let my inexperience in the kitchen prevent me from coming on Shalem, because it’s just one more thing that I’ve learned from this program.

by Ariella Daniels, Toronto, Canada

This past Shabbat, Shalem had the opportunity to stay at the home of Rabbi Trugman and his wife at Moshav Mevo Modiin.  Our stay was an incredible experience, full of song, prayer and unity.  When entering the Moshav it was very evident that the people of Mevo Modiin are very unique, warm, spiritual, and family oriented.

Rabbi Trugman shared his very strong ideology on life with us through song and words.  He and his community have a very optimistic look on life through what they view as existential experiences.  They value every given moment in life and live it in the most spiritual way possible; through song.  When told we would be spending Shabbat at the moshav of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, it was expected that everyone would be singing happily.  But this community’s musical prowess is beyond past the norm, taking us through time and space to worlds one can only imagine.  It is no coincidence that we spent Shabbat Shira at such a place!

For me personally, my parents connect me to Judaism through song and dance.  I will always remember my father singing Z’mirot Shabbat and my mother trying to get me to dance with her.  Shabbat in Israel has been a challenging time for me as I am constantly measuring my Shabbat experience to my Shabbat experience back in Toronto, of my father’s voice teaching me the tunes to every song in the bencher.  Our stay at Rabbi Trugman’s house was the Shabbat I was looking for to feel truly at home.

Moshav Mevo Modiin is filled with nature and the love of an open community.  Their doors are clearly open to all.  Everyone should learn from them and their knowledge on life and their relationship with G-d.  It was truly one of my favourite Shabbatot B’yachad so far!

by David Jacobowitz, Los Angeles, CA

Shalem. What is there to say? From spending Shabbat together in Jerusalem to going on strenuous hikes in the Negev, this has been one of the wildest years of my life. Speaking of crazy, this semester’s schedule has been especially hectic- waking up at 7:30 every morning for tefila, followed by intense Ulpan studies and then off to Chazon Yeshaya (Soup Kitchen). Volunteering has impacted my life beyond measure, for when I see that I contributed to the smiles on my customers’ faces it gives me a feeling that I can’t possibly explain in words. Leaving the soup kitchen is as hard as it sounds but doesn’t compare to the pushing and shoving that I endure in Machane Yehuda while trying to supply my apartment with fruits and veggies. Searching for the best deals while having your eardrums attacked by each vendor’s voice that carries to the other side of the shuk isn’t as fun as it sounds, but an experience nonetheless. Being responsible for the budgeting of my apartment has also given me a responsibility that I have never had before, but will have for the rest of my life. Deciding which milk and which peanut butter is the best deal for the apartment is strenuous work, but I am happily enjoying my role as the budgeter for the experience it will give me in the future. Choosing to come on Shalem was the best decision I could of made for it provides me with both the tools for religious growth and for future independent living .

by: Jared Ebrahimoff, Scarsdale, NY

This past week on Shalem was great! I really got a chance to take advantage of the countless opportunities available to me in Israel. I Volunteer at The Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin. Besides being able to help out at an amazing organization, I get to meet amazing people ranging from soldiers to volunteers to random people who want to help out in anyway they can. This week happened to be the center’s monthly Shabbat Dinner at the Great Jerusalem Synagogue where I had the opportunity to meet even more people including future lone soldiers, community members, and the one and only Shyne. I enjoyed Shabbat lunch at the home of a few of the volunteers, and on Saturday night I went to a Lone Soldier get together. Without Shalem I would have never met these great people who I volunteer with every week. Besides my busy and enjoyable Lone Soldier filled week, I was able to visit and hang out with friends and family that I haven’t seen in a while. I can’t wait for this coming week!

 by:  Sam Spencer, Woodbridge, CT    

     The complex life of our forefather Abraham serves as an inspiration to all who delve into the words of the Torah. Far from perfect, Abraham emerges as a man of many layers. He was a man of peace and diplomacy, yet adamantly defended his own honor and property. He was the father of two sons and the father of a new world, engaging the demands of the present while accepting his responsibility to the future. As a man of faith, Abraham infused patience with eagerness as he sought out and served the One God. Abraham’s story reaches readers of every generation because it relates a human journey, involving the vicissitudes and opposing tensions that still define human life today.

     Abraham strove for peace and understanding with fellow man while fighting to protect his own honor and conviction. He understood that a man must be flexible and diplomatic, but there are moments when one must stand up in the name of self-respect and honor. When the Sodomites took his brother captive along with the possessions of his household, Abraham fought back with immediacy and tact: “When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his clan…and went into pursuit as far as Dan. At night he and his servants deployed against them and defeated them” (JPS Genesis 14.14). Abraham fought to protect his brethren, he understood that in an imperfect world a man must often fight, use force to stake claim to what is rightfully his. Abraham, however, was also a master of peace and diplomacy. At Be’er Sheva, Abraham turned a potentially explosive dispute with Abimelech into a covenant of peace. He reproached Abimelech for seizing his wells but in the end made the wells stand as eternal symbols of the peace between the two men; such was the balance of Abraham, to reproach but make peace, fight but lay down arms. Abraham learned how to adjust his approach towards fellow man based on the character of the individual; he acted according to the tempo and need of a situation.

     Abraham grounded himself in the vital demands of everyday life while directing his eyes to the promises of the future. Abraham lived his whole life as a sojourner, a foreigner in native populations (“he dwelled many years among the Philistines”), yet he knew his life would anchor a new people, found a new nation. When Abraham approached the Hittites of Canaan after Sarah’s death, saying, “I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you so I may remove my dead for burial”, he was also saying, now I am a resident alien among you, but I am intent on establishing a connection to this place, for my wife’s ashes will become the very dust of this land( JPS Genesis 23:3). Abraham involved himself fully as a husband and father, knowing that his duty to the present paved a road to the future of many nations. He heeded the voice of his wife and relied on her council, he mourned her soul when she passed away. He prepared his sons for greatness knowing that both, in their own way, would carry on his purpose and legacy. Abraham ensured Isaac’s marriage to a woman within his lineage, intuiting that Isaac would continue the founding process of a nation in The Land. He understood the potential of Ishmael; the Lord promised “I will make a nation of him, too, for he is your seed.” Abraham understood that he might not witness the fruits of his own toil; he might not live the reality of his own vision. Through patience and perseverance, Abraham sought to anchor himself in a faith and way of life that he may pass down to his children and his children’s children.

     As a man of faith, Abraham persevered through a long journey with many checkpoints, he patiently climbed a ladder with many rungs. He learned the nature of his Creator in slow, gradual increments, struggling to understand the One God; he tested the limits and potential of his faith, as God, too, encouraged and tried the man’s will. Abraham appreciated the Divine presence with a clearer understanding following each trial in his path. After the first dispute between Sarah and Hagar, God soothed Abraham, “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you, your reward shall be very great.” Abraham and the Divine built trust with each other; Abraham believed in His promise for offspring as numerous as the stars, even when his wife was barren, so the Divine strengthened the bond with His believer. He further familiarized Himself with Abraham, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession”, so Abraham would know that the One God is his past, present, and future.  After the final test atop Mt. Moriah – on the mountain, the climax of the man’s lifelong journey – Abraham understood the righteousness of the Lord’s vision, and the Lord understood the strong faith and trust of his earthly counterpart.

     The multi-faceted life of the biblical Abraham tells the story of a man or woman living today. Every person’s life possesses moments of peace and moments of battle; every human being must reconcile opposing tensions, strive for harmony in a world of conflicts. Every life has its own present realities and dreams for the future; desire and will can pave the path of every life’s unique course. Abraham was a man of faith, but his story is not the story of the religious man. His story is the story of the ordinary man or woman learning about his or her own calling and drive, counting his or her own stars in the sky, pondering his or her ability to carve meaning into the world. Striving to live like Abraham means striving to live a human life with all of its trials; trying to succeed like Abraham means committing to a life of vision, courage, and understanding, a life of weakness and strength, a life worth retelling to endless generations to come.

by Ariella Daniels, Toronto, Canada

Today we had the opportunity to volunteer for a couple of hours at an organization called Shekel- Community Services for People with Special Needs.  This organization provides workshops for adults with slight special needs. Some of the activities include candle making, sewing, graphic design, and soap-making.

 Even though the work involved may appear repetitive and tedious, it was not noticeable because we were constantly active and around many people.  It was a lot of fun meeting new people, including some Israelis who are still in high school.  The volunteering involves physical work which helps develop one’s motor skills like putting things together, packing, stacking and screwing.  My fellow chanichim and I shared smiles and laughs with the adults we were helping and it felt really good to work together with them, something we cannot necessarily get in a classroom.

 It was so nice to know that this organization provides services for adults who have special needs, giving them some sort of income and something productive to do.  It gives me such pride to see the State of Israel provide such an important organization such as Shekel, and to have the opportunity to contribute to this organization through volunteering on Shalem.

by: Sam Spencer, Woodbridge, CT

During these ten days of repentance, we seek a path to lead us back to Hashem, we search for the word which will invite God’s presence to our midst. The attempt to access God’s compassion and understanding is a struggle that flows across the generations, a challenge that has tried the hearts and minds of Jews from Abraham to our own day. Following the destruction of the Holy Temple, Jeremiah pleads, “Bring us back, O Lord, and we shall return; renew our days as of old.” How can we relate this cry to our lives today? Not everyone will provide the same answer, for behind every pair of eyes is a unique personality, a different vision shaped by a different life experience. Some Jews may focus on the nostalgia for days of old, the image of our ancestors and the way life used to be. A haredi Jew may prefer the lifestyle and values of an earlier day, keeping in mind the Chatam Sofer’s decree “Innovation is forbidden from the Torah.” Others may interpret the theme of renewal as a call to forge a new bond of Torah U Madda, to use the Torah values of our fathers and mold a new vision of faith and service to Hashem. In such an approach, one may confront and admit our fathers’ mistakes in order to improve upon them, while making their virtues relevant as a guide to righteousness. The want to return to Hashem remains in either vision; however varied the convictions and dreams in the mind, the cry to “Bring us back, Hashem” grips the heart of every member in the broader community. The seemingly contradictory but ultimately reconcilable nature of Jeremiah’s verse underscores the hope that in spite of ideological differences between Jews, the common yearning for repentance, the shared longing for God’s kindness and forgiveness, will usher in a new year of brotherhood and tolerance.

by: Cincy Lieberman, Charleston, WV

As all the Shalem chanichim get settled into our volunteer placements, we begin to learn a new side of the land we live in. Some chanichim are working with a special needs program, some are teaching children soccer, others are working in a pharmacy. Jared and I are helping out at the Lone Soldier Center in Jerusalem. The Center has many programs aimed at helping chayelim bodedim (lone soldiers) before, during, and after their service in any way possible. Last week Jared and I went to the Tekes Hashba’ah (induction ceremony) at the Kotel. Most families come to celebrate this day with their children; they bring food, take pictures, and show their support. A lone soldier does not have this luxury. All the lone soldiers came together on the Netiv Areyeh balcony, overlooking the Kotel, before the ceremony.  Jared and I met with them to make them feel at home, show our support and pride. We hung out and talked about their service, backgrounds and just life in general.  It gave us the opportunity to learn about the training process and get to know what its like to be a soldier away from home.  We all ate a home cooked meal and heard a few words of inspiration from their commanding officers. Each soldier received a care package from their officers and set off to begin their Tekes Hashba’ah  together.

by: Rabbi Aharon E. Wexler

 “Man’s origin is from dust, and his end is dust; at the risk of his life he earns his bread; he is likened to a broken shard, a withering blade of grass, a fading flower, as passing shadow, a dissipating cloud, a blowing wind, flying dust, -a fleeting dream”

– From the U’Netaneh Tokef Prayer attributed to Rabbi Amnon of Mainz

 “We know that man is more similar to an ape than an ape is to a toad. It may be that ‘man has not only developed from the realm of animals; he was, is, and shall always remain an animal.’ But is this the whole truth of man?”[1]

 This Yom Kippur we will spend a whole day beseeching God, begging not just for health and wealth, but for our very existence.  Yet the question must be asked, if Man is but ‘a fleeting dream’, why is he worthy to stand before the Creator of Heaven and Earth, Time and Space, and address Him?

 “In the Bible, body and soul are viewed as one and the existence and meaning are attributed to the soul on the physical, human and historical plane.”[2] For Judaism, it is the soul of man that sets him apart from all of creation. “The soul of man is a part of the Divine and, in this respect is a manifestation of God in the world.”[3]

 The Psalmist is bothered by this same question when he writes:

 “What is man (enosh) that thou art mindful of him, Mortal man (ben adam) that you take note of him?” (8:4)

 “The two words chosen for the human race, enosh and ben adam are intentionally chosen for their inflection of insignificance being heavily charged with intimations of the impermanence and fleeting nature of human existence.”[4]

 The word enosh brings to note his frailty and ben adam reminds us of his lowly origins from the dust of the earth (adamah). It is with the use of these very words that the Psalmist asks his question in bafflement and surprise.

 And yet in addressing his question directly to God we find pregnant in his question the implicit recognition that the God of Israel is not some aloof Deity, but one who accessible, takes an active interest in man, is concerned with man, is ‘in search of man’.[5]

 The Psalmist in the next verse then goes on to do something strange. He answers his own question using his very answer to only sharpen the question that he previously asked.

 “You have made him a little less than divine, and have adorned him in glory and majesty.”

 What makes Man ‘a little less than divine?’

 The earliest instance of insight as to the nature of Man is found already in the Sefer Bereishit when we are told that Man was created in the image of God. God of course has no image, so what is meant that we are created in His image?

 We can help answer this with the Tomer Devorah. The first line of the Tomer Devorah[6] is an exhortation for man to act God-like. Imitatio Dei. Since we can never be similar to God in our appearance, we are to imitate Him in our actions. And since nothing can prevent God from doing good things, then nothing should prevent us from doing good things.  RaMBa”M as well stresses this idea in his Mishneh Torah when he writes that a human being should “imitate God as far as he can”.[7] The reason we imitate God is to return to our very nature; to the image He created us in. And in by acting like God, we become even more like Him fulfilling His mandate for us.

 The Mechilta[8], stresses this point when it analyzes the position of commandments on the two tablets of the Aseres HaDibros. With five written on each side we find the command “Thou shalt not kill” lies opposite the command “I am the Lord your God.” The Mechilta goes on to explain that the reason for this is a subtle reminder that one who kills man is in fact killing God.

 The Sharei Kedusha[9], by Rav Chaim Vital, proves this point even more by commenting on a passuk that is clearly talking about God, “The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty” (Tehillim 93) to ask what is it about Man that makes him so majestic?  Rav Vital goes on to wrestle with this idea Man’s majesty and divine nature, with the empirical reality of Man’s disgusting physical needs.[10]

 The MaHaRa”L writes[11] as if responding to our question, that the reason the Torah records that God created us in His image is to teach us that while all the other animals walk stooped, it is man alone who walks upright thus showing that he has dominion on the animal kingdom and is set apart from them.

 In what some have called a ‘radical theological idea’, the MaHaRa”L states[12] that the very reason that Man can sin is that he is created in the image of God. In a radical departure from most Jewish thinkers, he believes that it is that very freedom of choice that makes us Godlike and thus puts us even higher than the angels who have no free will and thus can not sin and therefore can never be godlike.

 Having sinned, and therefore proven our divine status; Man has the right to turn to God and ask to return in Teshuva which is in essence a return not just to God, but a return to ourselves.

 Shana Tova!

[2] Rachel Elior in in Arthur A. Cohen, Paul Mendes-Flohr  Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought (New York: The Free Press) 1987 pg. 889

[3] Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, The Thirteen Petalled Rose, (New York: Basic Books Inc. 1980) pg. 51

[4] Nahum M. Sarna, On the Book of Psalms (New York: Schocken Books 1993) pg. 62

[5]  See Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1976)

[6]  Chapter 1

[7] Hilchot Deot 4:6

[8] Parshat Yitro Parsha 8

[9]  Gate 2 Part 1

[10] See Part 2 Gate 4

[11] Derech HaChaim pg. 142

[12] ibid. pg. 148

by Rabbi Aharon E. Wexler (Shalem Faculty member)

Rabbi Wexler is originally from NY. After high school Rav Wexler made aliya and studied at Yeshivat Hakotel. He teaches Jewish philosophy in addition to giving a bi-weekly chabura. He is also a Doctoral Candidate in Jewish Studies.

Frankly, what I heard about the man made me think he was crazy. But friends of mine told me that he was speaking in town so I went to hear him. Some said he was a prophet or visionary, others said he was just a dreamer.  His name was Ezra HaSofer and what he had to say that day changed my life forever.

He spoke of renewal and return. That “Teshuva” was the only thing in this world that man was able to do that had repercussions for his past, as well as his future. That the word “Teshuva” wasn’t just fancy Hebrew for the word “Repentance”, but rather it was an all embracing return to both God and self. He spoke about the renewed settlement in Judea and how it symbolized Teshuva on the national level. The romance of an ‘ancient people returning to their ancient land to both build her and be built by her’ captivated me.

By the time he finished speaking I had resolved to join him, my people, and my God. The price was steep. I had a beautiful Babylonian wife and three wonderful children with her. She of course now thought me mad and so a divorce ensued. I gave her and the kids everything I owned. It just felt like the right thing to do, and penniless I set forth on the caravan from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Upon arrival the situation was bleak. The economy was in the dumps, and the security situation was scary. But little by little as the years past, we rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, put order into economy. I set myself up in a shop as a blacksmith and remarried; this time, she was a Jew. But as the years wore on, we forgot about why we came and the Teshuva we did. That was of course till that fateful morning.

It was the first day of the seventh month at the break of dawn that a call came through the city of Jerusalem waking everyone up. They said that we were to assemble as soon as possible at the Water Gate. There, we found a huge wooden platform set up; and as the crowd of men, women, and children settled in and as the sun was about to rise, a hush fell through the crowd as an elderly gentleman with a regal appearance made his way up the stairs onto the wooden platform. I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Ezra HaSofer! The years had done him well. He had these huge eyes that had both a fire and kindness in them belying his years. Suddenly, he pulled out this gigantic old tattered scroll and lifted it high above his head as he proclaimed with a charisma I have never before seen in a man “Zot HaTorah Asher Sum Moshe!” “This is the Torah that Moses had placed before the children of Israel by the mouth of God and the hand of Moses!” And as he put the scroll down he began to read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” He went on to read about a man named Abraham who was the first to recognize God and how he walked with God. He read about Abraham’s children suffering harsh slavery in Egypt and how God remembered his friend Abraham and took his children out of Egypt with great signs and wonders. The story went on about how these former slaves made a covenant with God and that the Land of Israel was conditional on these former slaves keeping to the covenant.

It was then that our stomachs dropped when we realized how far we had fallen. And as he continued to read about our special role to be a kingdom of priests; that tears started rolling down our eyes. The reading continued till noon and then it ended. Ezra lifted up his head from the scroll with a paternal smile, he told us that today was Rosh HaShanah and that we were not to cry, but rejoice. That God loved us very much and that we were to go out ; eat, drink, and celebrate for this would be the source of our strength.

As the crowd dispersed we resolved each man in his heart to make the Torah our way of life once again and that Rosh HaShanah would forever more be known as a day of Teshuva. After the holidays, the men approached Ezra and signed and swore and oath to make the Torah the constitution of the new state. The rest, as they say, is history.