I noticed that my passport was stamped the exact same day that I left Israel last year. I am trying to make up some sort of story about how this is appropriate, how it's as if I never left, etc., etc. But a lothas happened since I was last here. A year later, I am in Israel for very different reasons, staying in a very (!) different place, and I'm here for a very long time. But---to be sure---the events of last year's trip here set in motion my decision to come here, and I'm glad they did.
I will not write about all the things that happened in the weeks leading up to my departure from the U.S. Suffice it to say, there have been very few times in my life when I have been as emotional or unable to deal with an event as these past few weeks. I do want to thank everyone who has been so supportive of this huge, crazy decision of mine. I don't think I would have gotten on the plane without you.
I do recall trying to make something out of the fact that my flight to Israel included a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany. I had given up, really. But while sitting outside the terminal for my 5 hour layover at 6 AM, a group of three Chassidic men---probably Bobovers, though I'm really not sure---were going around to the other clearly-Jewish men looking to form a minyan (quorum of ten Jewish men) for Shacharit, the morning prayer. [As I was wearing a Colts hat and sitting without 30 children running around me screaming, I was naturally not approached]. Despite that, I ended up joining them in the corner of the room as the 10th man, and there were a few surprised looks when I pulled out my Tefillin bag and Siddur. As I was putting everything away at the end of the service, a British Chassid remarked exactly what I would bet most of us were thinking: "This here was an extra special davening [prayer service]---To show the Germans we are still here...and stronger than ever." I guess that is it---Frankfurt is where my mother's parents spent time in a DP camp after WWII, and 60 years later, I was on a connecting flight to study medicine in the country which, according to Thomas Friedman, has the most publicly traded companies in the world (after the US). So, while part of me wants to refrain form trying to extract this sort of intense symbolism out of a layover in Germany, I simply cannot.
So, here I am. I arrived at Ben Gurion safely without too much fanfare, took the train to Hof HaCarmel (The Carmel Beach), and took a cab to Sam "Shmuel" Korb's breathtaking apartment in Ramat Begin (near Ahuza in Haifa). If you need a visual cue to how beautiful the view is from his living room is, I have posted a picture to help you out:
Sam is a good friend of mine from back in my days at MIT (i.e. he was a brother at AEPi). He made aliyah last summer, and is currently serving with the Israeli Navy Seals in their research department. He has learned a lot of Hebrew since I last saw him, and has clearly picked up many of the local customs (especially his incredible hospitality!) We spent all day Friday cooking various items for his Shabbat "Kiddish", drinking wine, doing laundry, and listening to terrible Israeli music. All in all, it was a nice way to get reintegrated into the rhythm of Israeli life.
I am going to end now and continue later. I will just say that I am currently in the Jerusalem Bus Station, where I quickly ran off to after Ulpan this morning to meet up with an old friend from MIT (Ian Jacobi) and my cousin Jenny (who is currently in the Birthright "MEGA Event" which apparently lasts late enough that I will miss my last bus back to Haifa, and have to take the first one in the morning. Oh well----my last moments of freedom before Medschool starts.
As always, I love to hear from everyone. My email is michael.j.star@gmail.com, and I will have a phone soon.
Best,
Michael
1 comment:
That picture doesn't do Sam's apartment justice. What a view!
- Stiebel
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