Video: Purim in Jerusalem

Yes, it's a little late, but I wanted to finally post the video of our Purim adventures in Jerusalem. We had a great time going to a public reading of the Megilah by women (a big deal in Jerusalem), a family Purim celebration in the local mall, and my class's Purim party.
Enjoy!

Titchadesh! - My New Tallit

Note: This is another installment in the "Titchadesh!" series. For more background on its name, read the previous post here.


My New Tallit
My friend tells a joke about guitar players. "How many guitars does a guitarist need? Just one...more." I've found that when it comes to clergy, the joke is easily adapted: "How many tallitot does a rabbi/cantor need? Just one...more."


Sarah and I discovered a tallit shop in the Old City that makes beautiful, hand-woven tallitot. When Sarah bought a tallit from there, it was so beautiful that I knew it would just be a matter of time before I got one from there as well. Sure enough, every time one of Sarah's family members visited, they each got a tallit from this shop. The problem for me, though, was that I already had a big, white tallit, similar to their trademark design (for those wondering, it's a white and blue Gabrielli that I purchased when I came on Birthright in 2005). 


All of my other tallitot have a white base, and they're beautiful, but I also wanted something that was not as white...maybe something with a darker base color, or...something else. Since I loved the feel and the quality of their pieces so much, it was worth asking if they had something that maybe didn't have such a white base. We went over, asked if it was possible, and he said that he didn't have anything in stock, but he'd create something just for me. Awesome!


I got a call about a month later. "Hi, Mendel (my Hebrew name I had given him to embroider on the tallit bag)?" "I'm sorry?" "Mendel?" "I'm sorry, who is this?" "This is Yosef from the tallit shop." "Oh hi!" "Sorry, I didn't know your other name...I only know you as, 'Mendel'!" "No problem. What's up?" "Well, your tallit will be ready tomorrow. I made one, but I didn't like it, so I made another, and you can choose which one you like better."


Yosef's an artist. And an incredibly brilliant one at that.


Yesterday, Sarah and I went to the shop and picked up my tallit. It's beautiful, full of color, a little greener (which is one color I didn't have), and when I fold it up on my shoulder, it does not look like a normal, white tallit. Exactly what I wanted. And as for the other tallit he made, he liked it so much, he's keeping it for himself.

Me with my new tallit.

Back of tallit.

Colors of tallit.

Yosef and me. He's wearing the one he kept!

For those interested in more of his work, here's his website: http://www.weavingcreation.com/.

Also, like him on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Weaving-Creation-Tallit-Center-Judaica-art-gallery/102274933182980

Yom Hashoah 2012

Today is the national (and international) memorial day for those who lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis during the Shoah. As a grandchild of survivors, the Shoah has always been not only a part of my people's collective history but also of my family's history. Growing up, I heard countless stories of how my grandmother escaped from the camp, hid with her brother, and survived the war. She was the epitome of a survivor, and I find it fitting that today would have been her birthday - April 19. In Israel, though, the sentiment is exaggerated even further. Nearly everyone has a relative that perished, or fought, or was deeply connected to the Shoah. 


Last year, we attended the national Yom Hashoah ceremony at Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial, with featured speeches from President Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu. For the 10 AM siren, we happened to be at machane yehuda, our local open-air market. Everyone stood still, frozen where they were for the duration of the siren. Cars stopped, drivers and passengers stood on the road, shopkeepers became quiet, and the noisy shuk was silent for one whole minute in memory of the six million. 


This year, we had to find a way to be a part of the broader Israeli community while engaging with our every-day lives. Last night, we watched part of the Yom Hashoah ceremony on a live stream, but after a few minutes, Jeremy had to get on a call to the States. 


Jeremy's story:


Fortunately, I go to Rabbinical school, so making the day meaningful meant showing up and participating in our programs. We started the morning with our normal Thursday services, but our wonderful service leaders, Jessie and Vlad, placed pictures and bios on every-other seat in the sanctuary of someone who perished in the Shoah. Jessie asked us to keep their memories with us today as we davened. Throughout the service, there were references to the Shoah. The most poignant for me was when we said Kaddish. This version of Kaddish Yatom, often translated as the "mourner's prayer," was adapted by Elie Weisel. He placed the names of death camps and ghettos in the midst of the words. For the last few years, this adaptation has always been emotional for me as we read it. Not necessarily because of a personal connection to those places, but because of how it profoundly affected one service leader I saw a few years ago. The way that reading the names of these camps with Kaddish completely crippled this strong man brought the impact of the Shoah to the forefront of my emotions. 


After our service, we went outside on the street and watched as cars stopped, foot traffic stopped, construction stopped (eventually), and life in general just stopped for one minute as the siren blared throughout the country. I could say more, but I think the video below says it all.


Sarah's story:


Since Yom Hashoah is not a national holiday like Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut next week, today I was in the lab like any other Thursday. Instead of observing the siren alone, a few minutes before 10am I walked to the forum, the main gathering place on campus. The siren went off, and the hundreds of students and professors roaming this open gathering place froze. Some were sitting at tables, some were mid-stride, and some were mid-conversation. The scene reminded me "Out of this World," a television show we used to watch as kids where the main character had the ability to freeze time.


Looking around at all the people solemnly standing, there was a notable difference that I had not experienced last year. During the minute of the siren, Israeli Arabs just go on with their normal life. Amid the sea of statue-like students, there were a dozen or so people walking around, moving from class to class, and carrying on conversation as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on around them. I don't know that I expected anything different, but somehow I was shocked to see this happening.


On this Yom HaShoah, may we remember all those family members who we never got to know and all those who fought to survive so that we could live freely as Jews. Today I remember my great grandparents, Sonia and Moshe Anolik and Anuita (Chana) and Avraham Bekin, and my great-uncle Shmuel Bekin. I also honor the memory of my grandparents Esther and Nissan Ancoli who lived their lives as survivors of the Holocaust, and my great-uncles Benia and Lusik who continue to make sure that the world will never forget what happened. Zichronam L'Vracha, may the memories of the six million be a blessing.

Shabbat Review: Ein Prat Minyan

Shul: Ein Prat Minyan
Location: A room off of King George Street near the old Cup O' Joe
Date: March 30, 2012


Description: Ein Prat is actually a pluralistic Beit Midrash (house of study) where post-army individuals learn "canonical Jewish and Western texts with one another, drawing inspiration from them for Israel's future." In other words, instead of just learning what the Sages wrote, they're learning what the Sages were learning at the time (e.g., Aristotle, Plato, etc.). It is a beautiful model of learning for this country and its citizens. 


The room was set up with a semi-mechitza (divider between men and women) - the front half of the room was divided, but the mechitza did not go all the way to the back, so those that wished to sit with men and women together could still do so. I thought that was a really beautiful way to make everyone feel comfortable. When the service started, it was totally informal and there were maybe 15 other people in the room. We only knew that we had started because we saw some people start praying Minchah, the afternoon service, individually. 


A few minutes later, we all joined together with Kabbalat Shabbat, the welcoming of Shabbat. This part of the service is always my favorite on a Friday night, because it is almost exclusively music throughout. We sang and danced, and more and more people wandered in. By the time we arrived at L'cha Dodi, the welcoming of the Sabbath Bride, the room was packed with nearly 100 people. The music was decent, and mostly lively, but the tempos lagged and whoever was choosing keys was not doing a great job, as most were very low, even for women's voices.


After Kabbalat Shabbat, a community member gave a teaching. Although I didn't understand much of what she said, I know she referenced Rabbi Sacks, a prominent Orthodox Rabbi, and some more secular texts as well. Really cool. Then, we moved into Ma'ariv, the evening service, which was more of a "moving right along" style, which anyone who has met me knows that I dislike. But I found solace in my new siddur that has an interlinear translation of the text, meaning I can focus on the words more intently if the setting doesn't connect me to my spirituality. 


Something Special: We did Kiddush at the end of the service, but my siddur has it before Aleinu, and something caught my eye: "The [person who has just said the prayer for Kiddush] should not drink the Kiddush wine, but should give some to a child who has listened to the Kiddush and responded, 'Amen.'" I had never seen this before, so I looked it up in another Orthodox siddur. Sure enough, it's there too (with the addition that if no children are present, the leader may drink the wine)! I really like that tradition. I think it teaches us that even if someone does not know the blessings, just responding "amen" suffices. Indeed, it is just as meaningful and should be recognized before the one who has actually said the blessing. Applying it to synagogue life, the community is more important than the Rabbi. So true.


Take-home Value: Good ruach, a wonderful compromise with the presence of a mechitza, could have been a little quicker and higher in key, but a wonderful way to bring in lots of Israelis from different backgrounds in a comfortable environment.


Would I Go Again: Probably. If I had a free Shabbat!

Visiting Yad Kennedy & the 9/11 Living Memorial

Jeremy was very excited to park like an Israeli.

A few weeks ago, Sarah and I had the good fortune to have a free Saturday afternoon. Even better, we had the even better fortune of having a car! As the end of the year gets closer, we have created a "bucket list" of sites and restaurants that we want to visit before we leave Israel. Since we had such luck of time and a car, we decided to go and visit two sites that were on our list: Yad Kennedy and the 9/11 Living Memorial.


Yad Kennedy


Yad Kennedy is a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The monument was built 3 years after JFK's death, almost exclusively by American money through the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The memorial is shaped like a chopped-off tree trunk, offering beautiful symbolism for how JFK's life was cut short. The 51 columns that make up the building each have the emblem of one of the 50 states as well as DC. The columns seamlessly connect to the ground and extend to the edge of the plaza, continuing the tree imagery. Although the inside room was closed, we could look through the windows and see that there is a place for a candle in the middle of the mostly empty room. The memorial was built in connection to a new forest, not unsurprisingly called the "John F. Kennedy Peace Forest." 







9/11 Living Memorial


The 9/11 Living memorial, also built by the JNF in connection to a forest, is the only place outside the US that includes every name of the victims killed on 9/11. As you walk down into the plaza, there is a structure in the middle that at its base, includes a piece of iron from one of the fallen towers. From the base sprouts an American flag that waves up into the air and evolves into a skyward flame. Looking at the same structure from the opposite side, the imagery of the American flag is completely lost and the structure looks only like a glowing flame. 


Although incredibly beautiful and powerful, there were two things that really struck us as odd. First of all, if you don't know it's there, or where you're going, you'll never find this site. We happened to do our research and were able to see the tiny road signs along the path, but there are a few roads along the way that are unpaved, making it quite the journey. Perhaps that will change in the years to come. Secondly, if you stand at the beginning of the plaza and your eye goes from the ground to the sky, you see the memorial, then the highway, and then a large cemetery. The imagery was striking and confusing, and seemed to contrast the idea of the site being called a "Living Memorial."

Titchadesh! - Our Door Decoration

Note: This is another installment in the "Titchadesh!" series. For more background on its name, read the previous post here.


Our Front Door Decoration
Many families here in Israel have door decorations that say their family's name. It usually says "Mishpachat Cohen (or whatever the family name is)" or "Beit Cohen," meaning "Cohen Family" or "Cohen House," respectively. Of course, some families get very creative with the presentation of their family name. Sarah's cousins, the Bekins, have the sign on their house that says, in ancient Hebrew script, "Bekin House"


For our front door piece, we wanted something that said, "Mishpachat Gimbel," since we hope to take this piece wherever we live, and not just use it with one house. We also wanted something that had a little Israeli flavor. Lastly, we have seen these wood paintings throughout town that just looked perfect for our style. Thus, the piece below! We are thrilled with it and cannot wait to hang it up on our door in Los Angeles.

משפחת גימבל, Mishpachat Gimbel, Gimbel Family

This piece was done, in front of us, by Norman, an incredible calligrapher and graphic designer. You can see more of his work at http://www.normansketubot.com.

The Book of Purim - Beyond Expectations

Last summer, I came up with an idea to do a Purim parody of "The Book of Mormon" called, "The Book of Purim." I quickly wrote the first song, "Shalom," a parody of the song "Hello." We sang it at our summer talent show of sorts, and class interest skyrocketed. Over the next few months, I worked with other classmates to write the script, develop, and produce the project. 


Just 8 days ago, we posted the final version to the web. I am so humbled that the video has more than 25,000 views and has been featured on BroadwayWorld.com, Tablet Magazine, Metafilter, and has been shared countless times on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. The video has been shown in religious schools, board meetings, adult education classes, and many other places. Suffice it to say that response to this video has completely exceeded our expectations.


The video is below to enjoy one more time this Purim season, as well as a full cast/crew/credit listing. This was not a solo effort, and everyone else really made this idea a success. 









The students from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (www.huc.edu)
Year-in-Israel class 2011-2012 present, "The Book of Purim!"


A Purim Parody of "The Book of Mormon"
By Robert Lopez, Trey Parker, & Matt Stone


Executive Producer & Director - Jeremy Gimbel
Assistant Director - Stacy Petersohn
Producer - Arielle Branitsky
Choreographer - Emma Goldin


*Cast (in order of appearance)*
Moreh Price - Daniel Reiser
Morah Gold - Emma Goldin
Morah Green... - Rachel Silverstein
Morah Stein - Lauren Levy
Morah Hirsch - Elle Muhlbaum
Moreh Weiss - Kenny Feibush
Morah Singer - Laura Breznick
Morah Blum - Yael Dadoun
Moreh Kurtz (1) - Jeremy Gimbel
Moreh Kurtz (2) - Michael Danziger
Moreh Rubinshtein - Vladimir Lapin
Rosh Yeshiva of Oz - Marc Ekstrand
Ahashveirosh - Kenny Feibush
Vashti - Lauren Levy
Haman - Marc Ekstrand
Mordechai - Michael Danziger
Esther - Emma Goldin


Original Music & Lyrics:
Robert Lopez, Trey Parker, Matt Stone


Instrumental versions:
Youtube User "esp567" ("Hello" & "Two By Two") and karaoke-version.com ("All Shushanian")


"Hello" rewritten by Jeremy Gimbel


"Two by Two" rewritten by:
Jeremy Gimbel, Stacy Petersohn, Michael Danziger


"All Shushanian" rewritten by:
Jeremy Gimbel & Stacy Petersohn


*Additional Cast & Crew*
Library Secretary - Stacy Petersohn
Confused Library Bystanders - Lenette Herzog, Daniel Alter, Jed Feibush, Samantha Feibush
Josh Auerbach - Himself
Sender of Gift to Friend - Sarah Gimbel
Giver of Tz'dakah - Jessie Wainer
Festive Meal Eaters: Jeremy, Leah, Daniel, Marc, Polly, Adam, Emma, Geoff, Rachel, Sarah 
Director of the Director - Sarah Gimbel
Head Seamstress - Joanne Gimbel


*Equipment Used*
This film was shot on the Sony A77 and Nikon D7000, with audio recordings in Garageband, and edited in iMovie on a MacBook Pro.


*Special Thanks*
Jay O'Brien, Elle Muhlbaum, Leah Joseph, the entire cast and crew, the HUC-JIR Jerusalem campus community, our friends and family.


All material not written specifically for the purpose of education and satire in this film is owned by its original authors and copywriter holders.


No Shabbatot were violated in the creation of this film.