“Aliyah” is the Hebrew word for immigrating to the state of Israel. It comes from the root of “Oleh” which literally means to go up, because when you immigrate to Israel it, is as if you are spiritually going upwards to a holier place.
Aliyah has definitely been on my mind these past two days in Jerusalem. I spent Sunday at the Avi Schaefer Foundation's annual symposium. This year’s topic was “The Meaning and Purpose of Israel as a Jewish State,” and multiple speakers and sessions focused on the awkward mix of religion and democracy here in Israel. As the mostly foreign-born audience listened to opinionated speeches about this hot-button topic, many speakers also encouraged the audience to make Aliyah and join Israeli society. A.B. Yehoshua spoke about how Jews can only be truly fulfilled living in the land of our forefathers, and this drew many reactions throughout the night. It was a provocative statement, but it definitely made me think about the comparisons between Jewish life in America and that in Israel, and whether I would find life richer in Israel.
Monday’s main event was the Masa cultural evening at the main convention hall in Jerusalem. Masa is a joint venture between the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government to sponsor Israel programs for Jews from around the globe. This giant umbrella organization includes all types of programs, from gap-years to post-college programs, and they hold events to bring all Masa participants together. At the cultural evening, participants were invited to a workshop with an Israeli artist and then to a concert featuring Israeli singer Mookie. I went to a workshop that was run by pianist/singer Shlomi Shaban and writer/singer Yali Sobol. Sobol discussed and read excerpts from his latest novel, and Shaban played some beautiful pieces on piano. It was perhaps the most sophisticated and cultural hour and a half I’ve spent in Israel! After the sweaty and fun Mookie concert, I got on a bus with my friends headed home to Acco with other Masa participants who lived in North Israel.
As I settled in for a long bus ride back to Acco, I heard Spanish behind me. I turned around and saw a lot of kids around my age all speaking Spanish. I did take Spanish for three years and I remembered enough that I was able to have a decent conversation. I found out that these kids were from Panama, Costa Rica, and Argentina, and that they were on a 5-month Israel program. Soon, the whole bus was filled with the loud noise of our two groups trying to communicate with each other. It was a lot of fun dusting off my Spanish and making new friends, and it definitely spiced up an otherwise boring ride.
After dropping off the Spanish-speakers at their kibbutz near Tiberias, we arrived in Acco at three in the morning, exhausted from two long and intense days in Jerusalem.