Must a Jew Believe in God? Article

God has always been a concept that I've struggled with. What is God exactly? Do you have to believe in God to be Jewish? What does believing in God even mean? The article Must a Jew Believe in God talks all about the Jewish belief of God. According to Rabbinic and Biblical Judaism, the belief in God is something that is important. The Maimonides' thirteen principals of faith mentions that God does exist, and that believing in God is essential to one's Judaism. Obviously, depending on the type of Judaism, orthodox or reform, you will get different answers about one's belief in God.

I think that it is up to each person to interpret their God, and their views about God. Some people may feel a strong connection to God, while others may not. Personally, I don't know if I believe in God or not, but I absolutely still consider myself Jewish. I'm in Israel, the holiest place on earth, studying, and experiencing the culture for four months. If that still doesn't classify me as Jewish, then I don't know what does.

From Israel to Jordan: Across the Border

Having my parents in Israel this past week has been incredible. It has been so nice getting to catch up with them, and fill them in on all of my Israel adventures. This past weekend, we went on an adventure of our own! It started off on Friday morning, with a 4:00 AM wakeup. By 4:45, we were headed down to Eilat, and a few hours later, we started to approach the Israel-Jordan border. Before I knew it, we were walking on Jordan territory. Jordan is literally across the street from Israel, but as we headed to Petra and Wadi Rum, I noticed all of the cultural differences. The language is different, the people are different, the geography is different. That's something that's really interesting to me. I think that we tend to judge other countries and cultures based on preconceptions that we may have of them, but you see a completely different side of things when you're actually there experiencing it for yourself. This is a perfect example of me being on EIE and living in Israel for four months. Everyone has their preconceived ideas of Israel, and the conflict going on here, but it's incredibly different to be living here and experiencing it myself.

Matisiyahu's Religious Journey and Substance Abuse Problems

The article I read was about Matisiyahu's upbringing, and his religious journey and substance abuse problems. I thought that this article was so interesting. We all know who Matisiyahu is, we've all sung and danced to his songs. This article was so intriguing to me, because I've always seen him as such a real and optimistic guy. This article is proof that we don't know nearly as much about people as we think we do.

Matisiyahu got into drugs and alcohol at a very young age, letting these substances control him for most of his life. While he was going through the toughest of times, he turned to music, Judaism, and the land of Israel. Israel, along with music, were things that helped him find the right path in life. He used his belief God, and ancient traditions to cleanse himself of all of the toxic things in his past. He then used these things as a way to better his future, which I truly admire.

Women of the Wall Magilah Reading

Over the past few days we have celebrated Purim in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We all dressed up, went to a parade, and had so much fun! On Shabbat, we visited the Kotel and joined the Women Of The Wall for a special reading of the Magilah. All of these women were huddled around a Magilah scroll, dressed in costumes, chanting, and shaking the grogger every time we heard Haman's name.

It was such a cool experience to be at the Western Wall, surrounding by all of these incredible and empowering women who have fought for so much justice, change, and equality. I felt honored to be standing among them, participating in the reading of the Magilah, and the celebrating of Purim.

Hiding Judaism in Copenhagen Article

The article I chose to read was entitled, 'Hiding Judaism in Copenhagen.' This article talks about  anti-semitism occurring in Copenhagen, and how people react if they find out that you are Jewish, or even worse, Israeli. Israel's ambassador to Denmark, Arthur Avnon, gave Jews in Nørrebro, Copenhagen advice, suggesting that Jews traveling in Copenhagen exercise 'extreme subtlety': "Don’t speak Hebrew too loudly, cover up any visible Star of David jewelry, fold your kippot and slip them into your pockets." 

One of Denmark's best-known journalists, Martin Krasnik, decided to test out the Ambassador's warning, wondering what would happen to him if he walked through the streets of Nørrebrogade, a place that he used to live, wearing a kippah. Many people asked him if he was Jewish. They flipped him off, or told him to go to hell. However, Krasnik mentioned that the outcome would have been much worse if he were an Israeli. 

As much as I found this article interesting, it disgusts me. This article was written almost two years ago, and even now there is still a large wave of anti-semitism and attacks in Europe. Another aspect of Jewish life that this article made me think of was The Holocaust. The Holocaust ended 7o years ago, and there is still anti-Jewish behavior being exhibited all over the world. I truly hope that we can put an end to all of this anti-Semitic and disgusting behavior soon.

One Month in and a Vacation

Well, we have officially been in Israel for over a month! I feel like we just got here, but yet we've already done so many cool things! This past week and a half, we headed down south for a vacation. Our first stop was Masada, which we hiked at 4:00 AM in the pitch dark and freezing cold! Once we got up there, we had a beautiful t'fillah service, and a Jewish History class. Although the weather was pretty unbearable, I learned so much about Jewish History at Masada. I used to think that Masada was just a tourist destination, a beautiful place to hike. However, being there, and being educated on the location, I learned so many things that I had never known. For example, I learned that Herod The Great built Masada as a vacation home, that it had a lot of Roman influence, and that the Roman Siege of Masada lead to a mass suicide of all of the Jewish people living there at the time.

After Masada, we went to the Dead Sea, stayed in Bedouin Tents, road camels, went to Eilat, and so much more. All of these were aspects of our trip that I had been waiting for since arriving in Israel. It was all so much fun! However, my most meaningful experience of the week was definitely Gadna. At first, I didn't like it. I had a really hard time adjusting, but in the end, I ended up loving it. Over the few days that I was there, I learned so much about myself, and how to work with other people. The entire experience gave me a whole new appreciation for Israelis, and all that they do. Each of them work so hard to serve their countries, which is something I truly admire.

Israel Museum Tiyul

Today we took a Tiyul to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. It was absolutely beautiful, and so much fun! While we were there we saw the infamous אוהב sculpture, the model of the second temple of Jerusalem, and the old dead sea scrolls! We learned about all of the different sects of people during that time, including Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and Essenes. We had different kids in our class portray the different people in the sects, which really helped me to understand what each sect was about. 

The sects all differed from each other in their beliefs about religion, afterlife, and culture. For example, the Sadducees wanted to adopt Roman Culture, but not their religion. The Pharisees sect wanted to adapt to the Roman Culture, but not be influenced by it. The Zealots were against the Romans, and they were very harsh and forceful towards them. Lastly, the Essenes sect isolated themselves because they did not want to be influenced by the hellenists.