Shabbat meditations from Taly Lehrich

Just before we head off to Kabbalat Shabbat at the old Ottoman
Train Station, the Tachana Rishona in Jerusalem 

After a long week, Shabbat is much anticipated. It is rejuvenating to shower, put on nice clothes, and enter the streets of a city that has settled down for the day of rest. We began Shabbat with a service at what was once the Jerusalem train station. It felt almost like  a concert instead of a service. We got up out of our seats and danced and sang with each other. We then had the option to go to Danny's synagogue, Tzion, or do a discussion/walking-tour. I was one of six people who went to the longer, musical service. The community, made up of visitors and locals alike, was alive with song. I didn't know many of the melodies, however once I caught on I felt just as much a part of the community as anyone else. The rabbi gave our group a shout-out and welcomed Danny back. She gave a heartfelt greeting which brought some of us to tears.

Saturday morning we had the option to return to Tzion or to go to an Orthodox/Sephardic synagogue (a community that follows traditions from pre-expulsion Spain). Having enjoyed the service Friday night, I chose to go back to Tzion. Many opted to get a sense of the Orthodox/Sephardic communities we are often not exposed to. We walked to our respective synagogues for prayer and Torah service. At Tzion, Avery was honored with an aliyah (blessing over a part of the Torah portion) to the Torah and Danny did hagbaha (raising the Torah as it is dressed and returned to the ark). After lunch and free time we went to the park with a not-so-brief tour of Mishkenot Sha'ananim. At the park we played frisbee, soccer, and read. I went for a run, discovering how Israeli children enjoy pretending to hit you with a bike. We walked back for seudah shlisheet, the last meal before Shabbat ends, followed by an incredibly eye-opening program about the many different people living in Israel.

This program was introduced as a Q-and-A session with an ultra-orthodox Jew who made aliyah from Australia. Her quirky personality amused us at first but her highly conservative beliefs--disdain for secular life and Zionism, to name a few--soon made many of us uncomfortable. Out of nowhere, she quickly changed her outfit, replacing her black headdress with a colorful scarf and removed her stockings. Suddenly she was dressed as an Irish woman who had moved to a settlement in Judea and Samaria/West Bank so her family could be away from antisemitism and live freely as Jews. Soon After that she turned into a left-wing activist from Tel Aviv who supported the two-state solution, speaking in broken English. Lastly, she became an Arab principal for an all-girls school who explained the difficulties of life as a Palestinian-Arab resident of Jerusalem. This woman was an actress, portraying various sides to many of the complex issues in the area and we got to ask questions and challenge the statements of each person she portrayed. I went into this session with minimal understanding of these complex issues, let alone an opinion one way or another. This conversation allowed me to think about things from different angles, and each in a distinct way. I still might not have a solidified opinion but at least I feel more informed.

Taly Lehrich
Bayit V'Gan neighborhood
Jerusalem, Israel