A Message from Rabbi Yitzhak (Feb, 2005)

There are certain times in life that feel more important, more essential to life's purpose than other times. I remember when I was a young man in my early twenties, I worked as an aid in a disabled children’s residential rehabilitation center. At the end of the day, I always felt that my day mattered. It was filled with simple actions that were so essential for the well-being of these children. Simple activities - feeding, washing, assisting them to go the bathroom and playing the ward clown to the sounds of their delighted laughter, all mattered – all gave my own life a sense of purpose and value.

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Times of Fulfillment

Memories of that long-ago time stirred in me recently in a most unlikely setting. While returning from our recent journey to Israel, I was filled with a wonderful sense of purpose fulfilled, of doing something that my soul so greatly desired to do – something that truly mattered – something that was so essential that my heart could not question its value.

When Shonna and I began planning to lead a journey to Israel, we hoped that the experience would strengthen the bond between our community in Eugene and the land and people of Israel. We hoped that some essential loving relationship would be stirred in us and our co-pilgrims and that our community here in Eugene would deepen in its love and understanding of Israel. Our greatest hopes were surpassed as twenty of us from TBI toured the land and met the people, awakening connection that had been awaiting acknowledgement and nurturing. Through our meetings with passionate peacemakers at Neveh Shalom - Wahat al Salaam, and Givat Haviva. Through our time spent in the home of a psychologist from Hadassah hospital who is part of the trauma team for victims of terror. Through hearing from peace activists who work on the most basic level of creating spiritual connections among Muslims, Christians and Jews – we grew in our appreciation of the yearning for peace that continues to stir in the hearts of Israelis.

We opened ourselves to new levels of connection with the central place that Israel holds in our spiritual tradition as we walked the pathways through Beit She’arim and studied together a Mishna recorded nearly 2,000 years ago by the rabbis buried in the caves we found there. We visited the synagogue of Isaac Luria, the great mystic of Tsfat, whose circle gave us the tradition of Kabbalat Shabbat (Receiving the Shabbat), and we visited in that same city the home and studio of a rabbi and artist who taught us about the insights and principles of kabbalah within his paintings.

Our journey may well generate near-mythic stories of a great encounter that took place on a kibbutz basketball court in which a grey-haired rabbi from Eugene, barely, and yet nobly, survived the seemingly boundless vitality of merciless teenage co-travelers who coerced him into a game of hoops.

Our group, whose ages ranged from 14 to 91, experienced Chanukah in a way that we will never forget. We experienced the ancient miracles and the modern wonders of Israel. We felt her sorrows and terrible challenges and we glimpsed visions of peaceful possibilities. We tasted the sweetness of a newly emerging progressive Judaism in synagogues in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We felt hopeful. On our journey we found a beautiful and special large rock from Jerusalem that will soon be shipped to our congregation. We hope that it will serve as a constant reminder of our soulful connection to Israel and will inspire us to never forget our bond with Israel even as we build our beautiful Jewish life in Eugene.

Shalom,
Rabbi Yitzhak

Our travelers will share more stories and photos from their trip at a Havdallah service on February 12th at 7pm, with a dessert potluck, at TBI.

Read the letter they sent us mid-trip to get another sense of their journey.