I am returning to Vancouver for the summer at the beginning of next week. I realize that I have been remiss in updating the blog as of late. I am currently re-evaluating the purpose and form of this site.

Wishing you a great summer!

The last few weeks I have been mostly involved only in my learning. However, I have spent a couple of recent Shabbatot in some interesting Yishuvim (settlements) not too far from Jerusalem.

About a month ago, I went with some fellow students on a Shabbaton of sorts to Kochav Yaakov. Kochav Yaakov is a settlement north of Jerusalem consisting of a diverse mix of residents that span the spectrum of observant Judaism in Israel. It was founded in 1984 and today has approximately 380 families. I stayed with a very nice family. I attended a very interesting Kabbalat Shabbat / Maariv prayer service on the outskirts of the Yishuv, where a lone house stood with a small landscaped area around it. Together various residents and guests of the Yishuv sang, danced, and prayed as the sun set, illuminating the clouds and sky with beautiful shades of red. The bare desert lay in front of us, with what I believe was a Arab settlement over the hill to our left. After having dinner at my hosts, we all met up again and ventured over to a Chasidish Tish with Rabbi Kornreich (the local chief rabbi) in Tel Tzion, an adjacent community. After Shacharit, we all met up for lunch with a doctor who is an alumni of my Yeshiva who lives in the Yishuv. It was incredible to see an example of how the Jewish people have transformed the desert into beautiful, habitable communities. I am told that the flowers and foliage around the community are sustained by small “drip”-based water tubes. Kochav Yaakov was “established on the value of Jewish unity” according to their website, and such value was quite highly evident in the interactions I had there.

Last Shabbat, I went to Hashmonaim to spend Shabbat with Rabbi Ari Solomont and family. Hashmonaim is a Yishuv between Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv, near Modi’in. It is a beautiful religious-zionist community with nice large homes and a large percentage of English-speaking Olim. It felt very much like suburban North America with an Israeli aesthetic. Most of the other guests at the Solomonts were recent high-school graduates who are studying here for some time before continuing on to university (as is the practice) and it was interesting to hear their perspectives. I thoroughly enjoyed this Shabbat, and after Shabbat ended, on Saturday night, I was able to hear a lecture by Rabbi Herschel Shachter, Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University in New York. He spoke on the subject of Purim, drawing on a vast array of sources. He is, according to a Rabbi of mine, one of the leading American rabbis of our generation, and it was highly fortuitous that he happened to be speaking in Hashmonaim that night.

About three weeks ago, we attended the funeral of Rabbi Noah Weinberg. Rabbi Weinberg was founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, one of the foremost Jewish outreach organizations in the world, and an organization that has affected thousands of Jews though their Jewish learning programs, Israel activism training, and their very popular Aish.com website among others. The eulogies were delivered from the stairs at entrance of a Shul in the Kiryat Sanz neighborhood of Jerusalem. I was quite an emotional event, where seemingly thousands of people gathered.

On this past Wednesday, we went on a Tiyul (tour/excursion) in the area to the northwest of Yerushalayim. We toured the area where Operation Nachshon, the 1948 military operation to stop the Arab blockade that prevented supply convoys from reaching Jerusalem, took place. This was a crucial corridor to the northeast of the city, surrounded by 40 Arab towns. The success of this mission facilitated the inclusion of West Jerusalem in the 1948 borders of the State of Israel (the Old City and East Jerusalem not having been captured until the Six Day War in June 1967). The area has become Castel National Park, a commemoration, and includes the trenches from the battles. We then walked along a trail in the hills in the area. It was incredible to be able to see the city of Jerusalem from a neighboring hilltop in the Mivaseret Tzion area – the Jerusalem Forest lay in front of us, behind it Har Nof, and then the other western neighborhoods of the city were visible, including the huge bridge that will be part of the light rail transit project.