“Imagine all the people living for today.” Once upon a time a young, Jewish girl was driving to school listening to Imagine, by John Lennon. “Am I living for today,” she thought. Living in Israel used to seem like a fantasy for this girl. Kabbalat Shabbat at the western wall, seeing my savta every Shabbat, and eating falafel at least once a day, life could not have been better in the dream world of Liat Perlin. Finding deeper religious roots, spending time with family that I very rarely get to see, and learning about Israeli culture have been dreams of mine ever since I was a little girl, and what better way to pursue these dreams than to study in Israel. I am going to live for today.
Although I attend shul every Shabbat morning, studying in Israel will more deeply enhance my religious roots. As I tutor bar and bat mitzvah students every Sunday I think about the importance of a B’nei mitzvah. The first question that I ask my students is, “why are you going through all this hard work?” Most of the answers are “because my parents are making me” or “so that I can have a party,” but one of my students told me, “Because I want to believe in G-d.” This answer brought even more questions to my head, “why doesn’t she believe in G-d,” “Am I helping her find her Jewish roots,” “Have I learned enough about my Jewish roots.” At this exact moment I decided I would go to Israel and learn about Judaism in order to strengthen my connection to the Jewish people and the land of Israel.
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” Israel is a whole country full of milk, honey, and Zionists. One of my goals while in Israel is to learn about Israeli culture and how a Jewish state came to be. I want to learn about all the dreamers who put their ambitions into action, creating the Jewish homeland. Zionists such as Theodor Hertzl, Chaim Wiezmann, and David Ben-Gurion are few of the many people that I look up to and wish to learn about while living in Jerusalem. In addition to learning about the history of Israel, I also plan to live as an Israeli, learning about the culture. I can’t wait to eat falafel, drink shoko, and munch on some pesegsman. Israel is my homeland.
“I hope someday you will join us.” I am one of 8 Jewish kids in my grade. Although, I make only good out of the situation, sometimes I feel isolated. Having to explain why I missed the party because of Shabbat is getting a little old. I can’t wait till I get to go to Israel and meet other Jewish teens who also celebrate Shabbat, and live through the same Jewish hardships that I go through every single day. I know that while in Israel I will make best friends’ friends that I will remember and cherish for my whole life. I am going to be open and non-judgmental to meeting and getting to know everyone on the program.
I am not completely sure what I will learn about myself and my people while in Israel but I do know that I am going to learn about how many different types of people can live together in harmony. I know that in Jerusalem Arabs, Christians, and Jews live together. Jerusalem is the center for the three monotheistic religions. Bursting with religious tension, Jerusalem must be the golden example displaying how very different people are able to live in peace. I have many goals that I wish to accomplish while in Israel, but my top aspiration is to learn about peace. So I conclude with this quote from John Lennon’s song Imagine, “And the world will live as one.”
-Liat Perlin, Oded 2011
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| Liat Perlin reading Torah at camp this summer |
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