Tuesday, June 4, 2013
After days of heat, Yerucham has been blessed last night and this morning with much milder temperatures, thus far in the sixties and seventies. While I know that it shall be warmer later in the day, right now it is wonderful.
As in Miami, when you are indoors there is air conditioning to reduce the heat, but without AC for one such as I, the wilderness can be difficult.
So too with life in the wilderness. Without the mediating effects of people who care, the wilderness is foreboding, fraught with potential dangers. Yet in a community such as Yeruham, I have not heard words of discouragement. Slightly less than one week into this volunteer program my experience is that the people who, today, are in the ascent, are people who scarcely have a problem with the environment. Rather they see it as an opportunity – its natural resources a source for industry; its hills and valleys a scenery of unparalleled beauty. One might expect difficulties with such a diverse population in so small a place, yet here this variety is an opportunity to learn, share and grow.
So it is that last night, our group shared in a musical evening led by an incredible Israeli, his family’s origin in India – an opportunity that, I, at least have never had previously.
Indian Drumming
Israel is beset with challenges, but those I had expected to materialize, I haven’t yet found. Although not yet the Garden of Eden, my observations of Yerucham are a community irrigating itself through the the hard work of many through the economic contribution of workers, management and donors alike. This is a harbinger of blossoms yet to be – the fulfillment of the dreams of all who have worked on behalf of the State of Israel.
Rabbi Larry Halpern