From Israel with love...
It is all too easy, living in Israel, to get caught up in all of the challenges that are facing the Jewish People in State; to get caught up in all of the negativity and cynicism, and in the process forget how truly special a place the Jewish State of Israel is, and how fortunate one is to be able to live here today - challenges and all.
Yesterday, a colleague of mine at work went to the post office to pick up some stamps. When she returned from the post office, she took a look at the sheet of stamps that she had purchased and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw (Hint: Scroll up).
It's the little things that make living here so special. There's nowhere else in the world where one can learn Torah from a stamp; there's no other place in the world where it is just feels so natural to see a stamp like this being sold in the post office and affixed to letters that you get in the mail (this stamp is only one set of a larger series).
Only in Israel...
Israel
Zionism
Judaism
posted by Ze'ev @ Friday, January 13, 2006
6 comments
6 Comments:
Looking from cynical side though - Israel as a state always used Jewish symbolism. Examples of that can be Yad VaShem, Maccabiada (symbol that contradicts the essense), Alpaim shana LiHyot 'Am Chofshi in the anthem (again - 'Am Chofshi - really - that's what we struggle for? I thought it to be 'Ovdei Hashem in His Land with His Torah, but anyway...). However when it gets to core Jewish values (Pollard, 'Aza, teaching TaNaCh so students appreciate it not as Bible and Myth but for what it really is), it fails miserably, especially in the past few decades.
By
Anonymous, at
Fri Jan 13, 08:12:00 PM GMT+2
great Post.oF COURSE A STAMP WON'T SOLVE EDUCATION PROBLEMS-BUT ITS STILL WONDERFUL.
gREAT ,HILARIOUS GUEST POST .lAUGHING IS ALWAYS GREAT-ESPECIALLY HERE IN iSRAEL.
By
Anonymous, at
Sun Jan 15, 03:09:00 AM GMT+2
suggestion-get rid of word verification-see if it makes a difference.
By
Anonymous, at
Sun Jan 15, 03:11:00 AM GMT+2
That is pretty cool.
By
Jack Steiner, at
Sun Jan 15, 08:07:00 AM GMT+2
Greg, you make a fair point, but a dangerous one. I do not think we can say that all things Jewish in the State of Israel are mere window dressing or some type of gimmick or ploy.
The fact is, is that today, the State of Israel si the center ofr Torah and Judaism i nthe world today - and the State of Israel supports Torah instutitions ot the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Daat Y- it is nice, and it's the type of thing, that while it might not solve all of our problems as far as Jewish indentiy and education go, its a step i nthe right direction.
Also, i took off word verification, we'll see how it goes...
Phish - Agreed - although we do have Elvis here in israel ,as Neve Ilan.
Jack - indeed, it is.
By
Ze'ev, at
Sun Jan 15, 11:40:00 AM GMT+2
Bring Back word verification!
Great Post:
Gregory I would disagree with you as to what are authentic Jewish Values and what is window dressing. While I agree with you that it is the responsibility of Israel to work for the freedom of Jonathon Pollard, treachery is not a Jewish Value, and that is what Pollard was guilty of. As for Aza - Ocuupation is not a Jewish value either. As for the Tanakh - I think that the Zionist reading of the Tanakh (Our national history and our original constitution is far more "Jewish" than the Orthodox view - for the Zionist/Modern understanding is that the Tanakh is a book by Jews for Jews and of Jews, where as the Orthodox view it as by G-d, for the world and of Jews.
H
By
Anonymous, at
Sun Jan 15, 05:14:00 PM GMT+2
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