On August 20th, in less than two weeks, I was going to be leading a group of 28 people on a trip to Israel. I am very sad and disappointed to share with you that our trip has been postponed. Not canceled, mind
you, but put off for a few months, possibly even a year. We held out as long as we could, monitoring the situation in Israel carefully (as I know many of you are as well), and weighing all our options. In the end, however, we decided - as a group - that now is not the time for mainly first-timers and families with young children to travel to Israel. Making this decision was very painful, personally. And yet, the rabbi in me cannot help but see so many learning opportunities in this experience.
First of all, the whole ordeal has given all 28 of our travelers a small glimpse into what life in Israel is really like. Each rocket fired across the border worried us a little more than usual; each attempted cease fire and truce was first heartening... and then disappointing when it was broken
once again. We always sympathize with what's going on in Israel, but now it felt so much more personal and intimate. That alone was worth everything we've been through. But it has also been an oddly team-building experience! Earlier this week, we all sat around a living room and discussed our feelings and disappointments about canceling our trip. It was a very emotional and sad evening, but also inspiring and bonding, and I have no doubt that when we DO go next year, it will be all the more powerful and meaningful. We will have overcome adversity, and stubbornly insisted on making this trip happen! When we get to Passover, in the Spring, we will each surely say 'Next year in Jerusalem' at the end of our Seders with A LOT more fervor and passion!
We are not alone in this experience. A simple Google search shows how many people have had to cancel their Israel trips in recent weeks, and have then written about it on one Jewish website or another.
A particularly touching article was written by Rabbi Joshua Hammerman on the Times of Israel blog, about his synagogue's cancelled trip. His account really hit home for me, because it was an incredibly similar experience to what we've just been through. Rabbi Hammerman's travelers felt a similarly bonded result of their shared struggles, as the rabbi declared that this was 'the best group I never traveled with.' In my case, however, it's not the best group I 'never' traveled with; it's the best group I almost-went-with-but-then-had-to-wait-an-extra-year-to-travel-with-but-we-got-there-eventually... it just doesn't sound as catchy.
As always, the Torah somehow miraculously speaks to the emotion we're feeling right now. Our Torah portion is Va'etchanan, which includes the Ten Commandments. But before that, we also hear Moses once again beg God to grant him entry into the land. Moses' request is denied. In fact, God even gets angry at him and declares, "Enough! Never speak to me of this matter again!!"
(Deuteronomy, 3:26) We hear the pain in Moses' plea, and today, we also feel his frustration and disappointment at never getting to set foot in the land he so desperately pined to enter. We can, however, take comfort in knowing that ours is a temporary setback. We are neither Moses - forbidden from EVER entering Israel - nor are we the Jews who lived pre-1948, who sang 'Next year in Jerusalem' at their Passover Seders with tears in their eyes for two thousand years, knowing it would not happen in their lifetimes. It is true, our decision this week was painful and disheartening. But it has left us feeling more connected, to Israel AND one another, and it's made us more determined and resolute: Next year we WILL stand by the beaches of Tel Aviv and bless our arrival; we WILL travel to goat farms and chocolate factories and see the best of what Israel has to offer; and yes, we WILL stand by (the egalitarian part of) the Western Wall and know that we did, indeed, fulfill our Passover dream. We made it to Jerusalem.
Kein Y'hi Ratzon - May it be God's will.
Photos in this blog post come from Ohev Shalom's Israel trip in 2011:
1. A group photo of everyone who came on the trip.
2. The breathtaking Baha'i gardens of Haifa.
3. Reading Torah atop Masada.
4. Cantor Friedrich praying the shacharit (morning) service from our hotel balcony in Tel Aviv.
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