3am ...hebrew words & dreams are surfacing..some after 33 years.

      The 6 of us will ,connected by varying circles of fate, find our way to Eretz Yisrael, over the next 24 hours. We will convene not in a hotel, but in the apartment of an observant Jewish family in an older neighborhood that is popular with Western immigrants who have made "aliyah" to Israel. The apartment is owned by a Jewish family from Atlanta who made their aliyah in the last 10 years.  I found this apartment on"for rent by owner." The world is our oyster...

      I bear a lot of responsibility for this journey. I've been a strong motivating force behind this pilgrimage. It is so much more than a vacation. In fact, it is the opposite of a vacation. To vacate -is to leave, but I am returning to the source of much that is the root of my strength and who I am.

     This is my 3rd trip to Israel. My last trip was 33 years ago in 1976- I was 23 years old. I was not going to visit. I quit my job in the U.S., boxed up my bit of furniture and possessions and shipped them all to Haifa. I went with a new wife and 23 new friends from all over the U.S. who shared a common goal- to be part of developing a small kibbutz, Kibbutz Gezer. I studied hebrew and apprenticed as an electrician. I loved the chavura- the sense of community that was the foundation of my new existence. Dahlia, my wife, became pregnant, but lost our child to a miscarriage in the 5th month. Dahlia was an unhappy person. She would not find happiness with Israel, with me, or -worst of all with herself. We returned to the U.S. I met Debra, my true life mate, life-line, best friend. We celebrate 30 years of marriage this sumer...

       I brought my desire for building community back with me. My present chosen family- called "Common Ground" nutures all of my hopes and dreams of what a community can be. Our home on 80 acres in north Alabama is a dream made true- that resonates outward to find a way we can connect with the larger universe-   and live a life closely connected to the Earth- and to be a small part of the "healing" that finds itself expressed through many of the lives of "my generation."

       This journey will be something different for each of the 6 of us. I must tamp down my expectations and excitement that I am bringing together not only myself with the dreams and ideals of my youth, but also sharing this experience with folks who are primary in my present life. I'm the only one in the group who has already experienced first-hand Israel and claims a strong emotional presence and comfort level with the land & the people.

      American Jews rarely understand why Israelis see them as their "weaker cousins." The vitality of Jewish culture grows more assimilated into mainsteam American culture- more so with every generation- in spite of the best efforts & intentions. After returning from Israel in 1979, I taught Hebrew language and culture to 4th-7th graders for 12 years. Debra, my wife, has taught at a Jewish Dayschool for about 20 years. We and our cousins have done our best to instill in our children the importance of continuing their adult lives as Jews. Most of our kids attended Jewish Dayschools. But, now that our kids are adults, the importance of "keeping ourselves as a distinct people" has grown less urgent and perhaps even irrelevant in their lives.

But I believe that destiny and fate will play her hand... German Jewish society was largely viewed as a succesfull and assimilated society that had climbed to the heights of the best circles in German culture. We may wish to forget...but the world will not let us. How provoking we are to the world that we insist on not just occupying our 5 thousand year old homeland after challenges and setbacks and dispersals that have continued over 5 thousand years. We thrive and grow and remember.

     I wish to share the words of a chidrens' song- that every toddler Israeli learns+plus Jewish kids world over. The tune is recognizable anywhere on the face of this planet. It is one line- and it is sung again & again with more & more energy, a ruach ve-hazak-gadol. It tells about our continuity as a people from ancient times- who til this very day, in spite of all odds, Just as God promised, we live and sing and celebrate life.

     Da-vide, Melech Yisrael, Chai, chai, ve-kayom....(repeats ad nauseum, ad hysterium).

     "David, King of israel, lived-lived long ago.

            B'yom ha-bah b'Yerushalim-next day in Jerusalem!     Yaacov