My Heart is in the East & I am at the Edge of the West

Monday, January 17, 2011

By the time you read this post, I will be on my way to Israel for the very first time.

I have no other posts scheduled to go up in my absence. I'm taking my cell phone, but I don't expect to make calls. There are out-of-office messages set up on both my Gmail and my work email. I will only tweet when and if I have free wi-fi at any of the hotels I'll be staying at. I'll be back at the end of January, at which time I expect to be exhausted and jet-lagged and massively happy.

My Israel trip by the numbers looks something like this: I'm taking five pairs of pants, six t-shirts, two jackets, three dresses, 12 pairs of socks, 14 pairs of underwear, three bras, four sports bras, one bathing suit, two purses&  about a million assorted toiletries. I am taking one magazine and no books & 10 granola bars. The memory card on my camera is empty, & my travel credit card has been loaded up with a couple hundred dollars with which I plan to purchase lots of falafel & assorted souvenir tchotchkes. Five people, including three non-Jewish friends, have given me dollar bills to donate to tzedakah, or charity, when I reach "The Land," & just as many friends have sent me texts & emails telling me to have a good time. Last night, one stranger told me not to get bombed (thanks, man).

I’m less focused on the numbers, though, than I am about the emotions, which are innumerable. I've spent about 15 of my 26 years struggling internally with my feelings about and connections to Israel. Do I care? Should I care? Do I have to care? And how do I figure out whether I care & what I care about? Whew.

I was born to a Jewish mother and an agnostic Presbyterian father. I grew up celebrating Christmas but never attending church, sometimes skipping Friday night football games with my overwhelmingly Christian friends to go to synagogue with my mother; when I sent out my bat mitzvah invitations, I begged my mom to let me include the line "Kate's 13th Birthday Party!" just so my friends' parents would know what bat mitzvah meant. I was one of three Jewish students at a high school of nearly 2,000, the only one who I refused to sing a song titled "Beautiful Savior" at my commencement ceremony with the a cappella choir – even going so far as to ensure that the song was banned from future events at my public high school.

But when I made my way to D.C. to work for a Jewish nonprofit after college, I found I knew none of the Hebrew or the hymns or the traditions my community held so dear. I was frequently confused & frustrated, particularly when someone joked that I was “practically Lutheran” for all my (lack of) knowledge of Judaism. Regardless, I somehow found the Jewish friends I'd gone my whole life without – and I have since learned the words and the ways & embraced both sides of my life in equal parts, proud to be a part of them each. I have come to love my Jewish identity as much as I love every other aspect of my identity; I now know I am Jewish not just by birth but by spirit.

Still, I never figured out one very important part of my Jewish identity: What does Israel mean to this girl of such a varied background? Does it have to mean anything except a pretty place to visit? Can I connect with a country whose values so frequently fail to align with my own? Will being there, standing in a place of ancient significant & modern day politics, change things for me? For so long, I have maintained that I can, indeed, be a committed, educated Jew without having been to Israel, without feeling particularly connected to Israel; on this point, I have remained stubborn to the point of obstinacy. But it's been too long. The questions won't go away, so it's time to be true to myself by giving myself the opportunity to answer them. There are so many questions, but they all boil down to this one: What does Israel mean to me?

By the time you read this, I'll be somewhere high over the Atlantic, ready to find out.

21 comments:

  1. Ooh have such a wonderful trip, Kate. I've been debating when I want to go back- both of my sisters live in Israel, and one is due to have a baby any day now. It's been a year since I was there...I actually have dreams about having trouble packing or missing my flight, even though I have no trip planned. I guess for some reason I'm fighting to stay in Boston, but my subconscious wants me in Israel.

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  2. I know very, very little about Israel. Anything I do is from a young man I interviewed at my last paper about a Birth Right trip he took here. After the two-hour interviewed, I walked away thinking, "I want to be Jewish!" Have an amazing time, my dear, and I hope you get most of your questions answered. But not all of them. I think we can be more introspective when there are still some questions left unanswered.

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  3. Wow. Wow. What an unknown adventure. I am honestly jealous and excited for you. The scariest part is that will "what Israel mean to you" mean something you want/expect or not want at all. And yet, you chose to find out. No matter what, Israel will no longer be some foreign place that is rooted to who you are. No, after this trip, Israel, no matter what the outcome will be will be a place where you went to find the unknown.

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  4. I hope you find what you're looking for. :)

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  5. I hope you fall in love with Israel - have fun exploring, experiencing & learning

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  6. :) I hope that this trip brings you the answers you're looking for. Be safe! I can't wait to hear about the adventure when you return.

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  7. This sounds like such an amazing journey for you! I hope you find what you're looking for and enjoy every moment :)

    I'll be here waiting to hear how it all goes down!

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  8. This is an amazing trip and I am so excited to hear your impressions and feelings when you get back!

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  9. I hope you find what you're looking for! Also, don't take drinks from strangers.

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  10. Wow lady. I hope your trip is everything you hope for!

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  11. I hope you have an unforgettable time!

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  12. Beautifully written. I hope you the answer to that question you've been asking. Also hope you have a safe and wonderful trip, sounds wonderful.

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  13. Can't wait to find out your impressions. I hope you find the answers you're looking for, but even more, I hope you come up with new questions that make you want to dig through Israel like a mole trying to find a root, looking for your truth. Nesiya tova.

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  14. have tons and tons of fun. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful experience. :)

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  15. I hope you have an amazing time and really let yourself soak it all in. Safe travels!

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  16. have much, much fun and soak it all up. xo

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  17. Can't wait to hear all about it; enjoy the journey and have fun (even though you won't see this until you get back!)

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  18. What a poignant video! Sure you had a fabulous time! xoxo

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