 |
|
 |
Love from Esther in Jerusalem
July 18, 2006Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend
Hi! How are you? I hope you're having a good day wherever you are.
It is shocking how quickly the situation here in Israel has turned on its head and became as ugly as it is. So fast. From one day to the next, we are in the middle of a war, or a new kind of one. No time to get used to it or prepare for it. And we are safe here in Jerusalem. Saying that out loud and writing it down feels so bizarre. We are inviting people from the north to come and stay with us in Jerusalem. Who would have ever thought? Pretty ironic, but that is what it is. Judith Stauber, the Executive Director of Hillel in New Mexico, was studying at the ULPAN in Haifa. All 200 students have been relocated to Jerusalem, and Judith is with me in Baka now, which is just right. Her e-mail is judiths@unm.edu. All of the Hillel professionals studying at Pardes and Livnot are in Jerusalem and continuing their Torah studies as usual.
I worry about all the kids who were supposed to be at summer camps up north and are now in shelters. I worry about the parents and families of our soldiers and wonder and how they are coping. Are they sleeping and eating? I worry about the thousands of people who have heard the loudest of booms over and over and over. I worry about the psyche and well being of the entire country.
Everyone I know is reacting in a different way. We have learned that every reaction is valid. Every reaction. Some people are able to work as if all is OK, while others can't concentrate on work related items at all. Some people are opening their homes, sending care packages and calling their friends and families up north. Some are glued to the radio, internet and television news, while others cannot listen. Some are eating at cafes in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and other places, while others are staying very close to home. And the reactions change a thousand times in the course of a day.
All I know in the core of my being is that we will take care of each other the best we can and give each other strength. Because that is what we have to give. And that is what we are about. Kindness is abundant here, and once again we see generosity, huge hearts and loving gestures which make me cry.
And we keep on laughing if and when we can.
Praying for all the wounded and those in pain and wishing comfort for all Klal Yisrael,
Much love,
Esther
Esther Abramowitz is Hillel's director of student life in Israel. She lives in Jerusalem.
|
 |
|
 |