Day 2- Blog

From Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel

Day 2 of “Riding4Reform” – Everyone is still smiling! We’re making new friends, getting reacquainted with old friends, commiserating over shared sore “bums” and enjoying seeing this part of Israel from our bikes. This year, for the first time, we have two high school students from Noar Telem riding with us. Noar Telem is the Israeli Reform Movement’s youth movement – Yonatan Sherman, from Kol Haneshama in Jerusalem and Guy Immerman from Kibbutz Yahel. They are doing the ride to raise funds for the scholarship fund for national activities for Noar Telem and they’ve raised about $12,000.00 shekels so far. Kol hakovod to Yonaton and Guy – they are terrific!
Off to finish dinner and to our evening program at Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv. Tomorrow is the Israeli election – it will be an interesting experience to be here during this time.
Erev tov!



FROM MATT SOFFER
This morning Rabbi Weider discussed the title of this week’s parsha, “Vayikra”: “And [Adonai] called.” I was so grateful that he said what he brought this idea before us, during Shacharit. I won’t expand too much upon his d’var torah—I’ll leave his rumination for a blog entry of his own—but I would like to personalize it. The gist: we are all “called” in some way; that’s why we’re putting our bodies through 5 days of intense riding. We all heard something; maybe not literally from God, maybe a figurative whisper, echoed through human voices. In my first month of being here, I heard a very compelling call.

It was Shabbat, and as those who know me best know, I love playing my guitar on Shabbat. I sat in “Liberty Bell” park, across from my apartment, and played. It was a beautiful day, the perfect day to sing with friends. While my friends and I played, sang, and rejoiced in our own corner of this park, a man and his wife swerved from the path of our walking to approach me. He called me: “slicha…”

“Me?”

“Yes – ah, you speak English.”

Needless to say, our singing stopped.

“Are you Jewish?”

“You bet. Shabbat Shalom.”

“You know…you are not supposed to play a guitar on Shabbat.”

I was shocked. “Excuse me?”

“It is against Shabbos to play your guitar.”

A pause, before I continued: “I see. Well, that’s not exactly how I observe Shabbat.”

“What do you mean?”

“I observe Shabbat differently.”

He seemed slightly baffled. Perhaps, to him, I seemed slightly ridiculous. “Ok…well…Shabbat Shalom.”

“Yes, Shabbat Shalom.”

After Rabbi Weider spoke of “calling,” I thought about what kinds of calls compelled me to ride. In the hardest part of the ride, the question arose once again. And the answer was simple: I signed up because of his call. This man, who interrupted my Shabbat celebration, my own personal oneg, was my call. He made an assumption that frankly the majority of Israelis make every single day: that Orthodox is the only way to practice Judaism, legitimately. He joined the voice of the majority—the voice of the government, and the myriad of state-employed Orthodox rabbis; the voice that supports the Orthodox monopoly on Jewish expression.

The bright side is that he wished me “Shabbat Shalom.” This man, after all, felt that he was doing a mitzvah; can’t I be glad that a man is seeking to perform a mitzvah for what he thinks is my best interest? This bright side resounded in my head for many months afterwards. I managed to find a bit of satisfaction in his salutation. But there comes a point when a friendly hello or goodbye doesn’t quite go the distance. But the echo of this man’s call is precisely what is enabling me to go this distance. I dream of an Israel that celebrates the plurality of Jewish expression; an Israel that understands the many faces of our people—the many diverse voices…the many calls, the many responses. Today, his ignorance was the call and this ride is my response.
MDS


Yonatan Sherman
I am not sure about the rest of you, but today was very very easy!!! I thought it was a good rout for the second day of the ride. Today I got a chance to talk to a lot more riders and I met some new friends. The more we ride the happier I am I joined, this ride has a big importance the impj. The meeting of people from u.s.a, Canada and Israel is great!!!
I am hoping to continue in having a good ride tomorrow.

By the way- the “gamad anak” game is great and fun!

Good night
Yonatan Sherman


-Guy Immerman
Today was much better to me that yesterday. I enjoyed the ride and I saw some cool stuff along the way.
Tomorrow is Election Day and I’m really excited to know what the future hold for our little country.
I also heard that Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church Virginia helped sponsor me in this ride. Thank you for all those involved. It means a lot to me participate in the ride. I’m having a blast! Thanks again!!!
We’re about to go out to “Biet Daniel” to meet the community. Some of my friends are gonna be there.
I hope to go to McDonald’s later tonight, but that a whole different story..
Good night and good luck,
Yours,
Guy Immerman