Sunday, actually a little chilly

In Ulpan today we read a satire by Hanoch Levine. He is an Israeli playwright known for his sarcasm. His style of writing has made him a controversial figure. He does not seem to be afraid to violate the Israeli version of PC.
I brought my lunch from home and sat on a shaded balcony on the grounds of the Fuchsberg Center. After eating, I stretched out for 20 minutes of relaxation. It occured to me that if I were at home and was asked where I would most like to be, this would be it. I consider myself very lucky.
We learned a midrash about the Akeida that, by using a pair of similar sounding words, associated the test of Abraham with a flag mentioned in the Psalms. As a result, Abraham's response becomes a verification of the judgement of God in choosing Abraham and furthermore for all God's judgement. In another similar midrash, using the test of Daniel, we are led to understand that even though we could never take the same test that Abraham did, we are tested often in everyday life by withstanding the temptations to violate the commandments. When we choose to live according to Torah, we communicate the truth of God to the nations as an ensign on a ship sends out a signal.
Sally Klein-Katz's class on teaching Israel continued to explore ways we can bring Jews closer to Israel. It is generally agreed that depending on the Holocaust and depicting Israel as a victim are not successful anymore. We discssed other programs such as the shlichim, and the many programs that get youth to visit Israel. The better programs seem to be the ones that put Israelis in tough with diaspora Jews.
After class we had another meeting of the Legacyy Heritage fellows. Today we were supposed to discuss the use of Hebrew to increase interest in Israel. None of us really thought it would work although anyone who had participated in such programs enjoyed them. We felt that people who wre willing to try to learn Hebrew are already inclined towards Israel. My group included a retired dentist who is now a synagogue administrator in Minnesota. His synagogue is large and very active. Many of his members visit Israel regularly. A few years ago they ran a trip during Passover.
This town does something to you. I found a box of left over sandwiches in the Beit Midrash from a lunch program today. They were headed for the pach ashpa (trash can). I took one and thought of the frail, tiny, woman who sits on the shaded side of King George St begging for coins. Before our afternoon meeting, I went down the street, found her and gave it to her with a few shekels. I don't know who felt better about it afterwards.