Lessons from the Land
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The Emery/Weiner School Volunteer Delegation on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem included David Lankford, Jeff Natter, Jyme Roundtree, Scott Labrie, Cantor Laurie Rimland-Bonn, Steve Daum, Angi Boudreaux, Issac Aboulafia, Dana Aboulafia, Alyssa Weinstein-Sears and Joe Weinstein-Sears. Volunteers Noa Gadot-Davis and Limor Oren were with their Israeli families for Shabbat.
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Time spent in Israel always puts me in a reflective mood, and my recent trip to the Land was no exception. Over spring break, I spent an incredibly meaningful week in Israel, volunteering with a group of colleagues from The Emery/Weiner School. This service-learning experience was a partnership with our sister school in Haifa, the Leo Baeck Education Center, and was made possible by generous contributions from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and the Taryn and Dan Braun family.
The following are a few of my takeaways or “Lessons from the Land.”
Lesson 1:
Zionism is moral and ongoing work
Long before Theodor Herzl envisioned a modern Jewish state, the Jewish people languished as second-class minorities within the empires of the world. Thanks to the tireless and holy work of many poets, politicians, protesters and pioneers, Israel is now the one place on Earth where Jews can exercise self-rule and self-determination among the Family of Nations. Spending two days working on Kibbutz Eilon emphasized this truth for me.
In 1938, during the early stages of the Holocaust in Europe, Jews purchased land and built a “tower and stockade” community in the Northern Galilee. This outpost grew to house Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Poland. Soon, they transformed this rocky, forested land into groves of fruit trees and vegetables, shelter and a large dairy farm.
The community of Eilon, like the State of Israel itself, remains a work in progress. Forced to adapt to a 21st century economy and the reality of changing Israeli attitudes and preferences related to the kibbutzim, Eilon continues to reinvent its purpose and viability for the future. Within the last few years, Eilon has become an artistic hub for musicians and mosaic artists.
As members of our group raked, cleaned and cleared the area, we listened to Israeli Air Force fighter jets overhead, striking terrorist outposts in southern Lebanon. In Eilon, one is very aware of the existential nature of the current war.
Zionism, in this context, is an imperative to fight for survival. Though building and maintaining a nation-state is messy work – often criticized and controversial – supporting and defending the Jewish homeland is a moral imperative.
Lesson 2: Evil is real
Very few outsiders have been able to set foot within Kibbutz Nir Oz – located next to Gaza – since that terrible Shabbat morning of Oct. 7, 2023. As we walked past empty home after empty home, marked with black flags for the dead and yellow flags for where residents had been taken hostage, evidence of destruction was everywhere. The emotional toll surfaced when we found ourselves in front of the Bibas home.
By now, most have heard the heartbreaking story of this family – Yarden, who was recently released from captivity, and his wife Shiri and their two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, who were murdered in captivity by Hamas. Standing in the Bibas front yard, I saw a tire swing hung carefully on a nearby tree, a child’s toy airplane stuck in a nearby bush, tricycles tipped over near the front porch, an open washing machine filled with clothes – it was all just too much.
As a lifelong educator inspired by Jewish values, I strive to see the good in every human being. I am also sadly aware there are those in this world who kill Jews – including the elderly and the very young – just because they are Jewish. Hamas terrorists embody an antisemitic evil that is very real.
Zionism, as the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, requires nothing short of lethal force at times to protect the innocent from these monsters. It’s a terrible truth about the real world that hit home powerfully for me while standing in Nir Oz.
Lesson 3:
Humans are complicated; love and service are universal
On our last afternoon in Israel, we visited Jerusalem. Watching the sun set over this ancient and complicated city, I couldn’t help thinking about the many competing human needs, desires and visions that have shaped this “City of Peace.”
Often, that competitive complexity has led to violence and discrimination. Humans frequently talk past each other and, as the pressure mounts, we tend to emphasize differences over commonalities.
Praying in Jerusalem nevertheless fills me with love for Am Yisrael. And because of this love, I feel deeply worried about the rise of nationalistic extremism and ultra-religious parties in Israel.
I’m also worried that in fighting off the monsters (e.g. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, etc.), Israel may be tempted to respond in “monster-like” ways. Zionism that is not informed and checked by inclusive, human-centered Jewish values is nothing at all. The most effective, long-lasting way to fight against real evil is by doing real good.
Every year before Purim, Leo Baeck students and teachers participate in a day of community service. This year, we joined a large volunteer group at a farm in Tsrufa, where we collectively gathered more than four tons of cucumbers.
Though many of the students and teachers from Leo Baeck spoke limited English (but better than my Hebrew), we shared a common, unifying language: service. Working alongside Jewish students and teachers, Israeli Arabs, workers from Thailand and recent immigrants to Israel, our differences melted in a collective offering of hard work and loving-kindness.
Though these are dark and challenging times for the Jewish people and people of Israel, there are powerful lessons from the Land – lessons that I would argue are “for such a time as this.”
Joe Weinstein-Sears is head of the upper school at The Emery/Weiner School.
The following are a few of my takeaways or “Lessons from the Land.”
Lesson 1:
Zionism is moral and ongoing work
Long before Theodor Herzl envisioned a modern Jewish state, the Jewish people languished as second-class minorities within the empires of the world. Thanks to the tireless and holy work of many poets, politicians, protesters and pioneers, Israel is now the one place on Earth where Jews can exercise self-rule and self-determination among the Family of Nations. Spending two days working on Kibbutz Eilon emphasized this truth for me.
In 1938, during the early stages of the Holocaust in Europe, Jews purchased land and built a “tower and stockade” community in the Northern Galilee. This outpost grew to house Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Poland. Soon, they transformed this rocky, forested land into groves of fruit trees and vegetables, shelter and a large dairy farm.
The community of Eilon, like the State of Israel itself, remains a work in progress. Forced to adapt to a 21st century economy and the reality of changing Israeli attitudes and preferences related to the kibbutzim, Eilon continues to reinvent its purpose and viability for the future. Within the last few years, Eilon has become an artistic hub for musicians and mosaic artists.
As members of our group raked, cleaned and cleared the area, we listened to Israeli Air Force fighter jets overhead, striking terrorist outposts in southern Lebanon. In Eilon, one is very aware of the existential nature of the current war.
Zionism, in this context, is an imperative to fight for survival. Though building and maintaining a nation-state is messy work – often criticized and controversial – supporting and defending the Jewish homeland is a moral imperative.
Lesson 2: Evil is real
Very few outsiders have been able to set foot within Kibbutz Nir Oz – located next to Gaza – since that terrible Shabbat morning of Oct. 7, 2023. As we walked past empty home after empty home, marked with black flags for the dead and yellow flags for where residents had been taken hostage, evidence of destruction was everywhere. The emotional toll surfaced when we found ourselves in front of the Bibas home.
By now, most have heard the heartbreaking story of this family – Yarden, who was recently released from captivity, and his wife Shiri and their two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, who were murdered in captivity by Hamas. Standing in the Bibas front yard, I saw a tire swing hung carefully on a nearby tree, a child’s toy airplane stuck in a nearby bush, tricycles tipped over near the front porch, an open washing machine filled with clothes – it was all just too much.
As a lifelong educator inspired by Jewish values, I strive to see the good in every human being. I am also sadly aware there are those in this world who kill Jews – including the elderly and the very young – just because they are Jewish. Hamas terrorists embody an antisemitic evil that is very real.
Zionism, as the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, requires nothing short of lethal force at times to protect the innocent from these monsters. It’s a terrible truth about the real world that hit home powerfully for me while standing in Nir Oz.
Lesson 3:
Humans are complicated; love and service are universal
On our last afternoon in Israel, we visited Jerusalem. Watching the sun set over this ancient and complicated city, I couldn’t help thinking about the many competing human needs, desires and visions that have shaped this “City of Peace.”
Often, that competitive complexity has led to violence and discrimination. Humans frequently talk past each other and, as the pressure mounts, we tend to emphasize differences over commonalities.
Praying in Jerusalem nevertheless fills me with love for Am Yisrael. And because of this love, I feel deeply worried about the rise of nationalistic extremism and ultra-religious parties in Israel.
I’m also worried that in fighting off the monsters (e.g. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, etc.), Israel may be tempted to respond in “monster-like” ways. Zionism that is not informed and checked by inclusive, human-centered Jewish values is nothing at all. The most effective, long-lasting way to fight against real evil is by doing real good.
Every year before Purim, Leo Baeck students and teachers participate in a day of community service. This year, we joined a large volunteer group at a farm in Tsrufa, where we collectively gathered more than four tons of cucumbers.
Though many of the students and teachers from Leo Baeck spoke limited English (but better than my Hebrew), we shared a common, unifying language: service. Working alongside Jewish students and teachers, Israeli Arabs, workers from Thailand and recent immigrants to Israel, our differences melted in a collective offering of hard work and loving-kindness.
Though these are dark and challenging times for the Jewish people and people of Israel, there are powerful lessons from the Land – lessons that I would argue are “for such a time as this.”
Joe Weinstein-Sears is head of the upper school at The Emery/Weiner School.
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