Today was a touring day. We started with a visit to Hurbat Etri (see above photo) where we walked around the remains of an ancient Jewish village inhabited during the 1st Century CE. We walked around the limestone structures, as well as climbed down into the underground mikvehs, and "hiding holes", so as to better understand the lifestyle our ancient ancestors lived so many centuries ago.
From there we traveled to the Bar Kokhba Caves and, like our 8th grade students do every year, the adults crawled through the tight underground crevices and trails to appreciate what it must have been like to live underground and prepare for the impending revolt against the Romans.
In the evening we had the incredible pleasure of having Steven Israel work with us on sharpening our appreciation for Communities of Practice (CoP) through the investigation of the etymological background of the term "community". [Did you know that "community" means to have a shared experience?]
It was during this session where we also looked at what characteristics differentiate the Jewish community from the general community. Through studying a few Talmudic source texts we identified the additional criterion of having a "must" factor applied to the citizen and member of every Jewish community. According to our wisdom literature every Jew has an unyielding obligation to support one's Jewish community. The idea that this is not an optional responsibility, rather, that it is obligatory, once again demonstrates one of these repeating moments where our Jewish tradition openly conflicts with our broader society's common culture...something we have to always be conscious about.
Well, its time to sign-off and get a good night's sleep for tomorrow's visit to Caesarea (followed by a relocation from Kfar Maccabiah, Ramat Gan, to the Prima Royale Hotel, Jerusalem).
Lailah tov (Good night)!
No comments:
Post a Comment