by Sybil Schwartz
Anita Saltz Student, Jerusalem
Beth Emeth Synagogue, Wilmington, Delaware

I yearned for a Judaica journey of sustenance - one filled with opportunities for intellectual growth, spiritual awareness, and engagement in and with the land and people of Israel. One that I could afford. Two years earlier I had connected with one of the ongoing seminars at the The Anita Saltz International Center's progressive study center in Jerusalem that was created in conjunction with the Union of Reform Judaism's Department (URJ) of Adult Education. Upon returning home my appetite had been whet by the Rabbinical and academic scholars who skillfully integrated and wove together prayer, text and field study to nourish my Jewish soul.

Again this year I found myself craving Judaica immersion in the spiritual and historic land of our people. A "traditional tour" was not going to satisfy my appetite. In mid-May 2009 a diverse collection of fellow sojourners (who for the most part did not know each other) along with our teachers from Saltz and URJ began our journey of steps through Israel: engagement with text, prayer, tikkun olam, and the political historical and religious landscapes of Israel.

Each step of the journey was a unique learning experience.

For a portion of one day I was immersed in the diverse non-Jewish immigrant population of Tel Aviv, many of whom had escaped civil wars. We walked through their neighborhoods to learn that these refugees are being assisted by Israelis to navigate the country's bureaucracy toward securing a job and surviving. There was the Shabbat we studied Torah and then spent the remainder of the day on a walking expedition of Yaffo's bakeries, and learning the history of the city. One morning we peeled potatoes and served lunch at a Jersuleum food kitchen to understand the plight of the older poor Russian Jews who had not learned sufficient Hebrew to integrate into Israeli society. The citizens of Israel were sustaining these immigrants, not the government.

Our steps brought us to Jerusalem, the city saturated with prayers, parallels and polarities since time immemorial. Meandering through the alleyways of the city we heard the diverse sounds of a monotheistic people in prayer. On Shabbat morn we prayed and in the afternoon walked to a grassy knoll overlooking the walls of the old city to study the works of Shmuel Agnon, who focused on the conflict between traditional Jewish ways and modern life, and the spiritual turmoil that can develop when removed from the homeland and faith. On another day we trekked to the house of Ben Yehuda (responsible for the revival of Hebrew as the spoken language) whose home is sporadically defaced by a sect of Orthodox Jews who regard the work of this Zionist as secularizing the "holy" language.

Wherever we walked in Jerusalem, symbolism abounded at every intersection. The men's clothing styles, length of women's skirts, kippah colors and styles, pace of walking, and location and size of synagogues fostered an atmosphere of kinship among the similar groups and polarization from those whose beliefs and practices differ. We witnessed the polarizing effect of Jerusalem Day. Streams of individuals in attire generally associated with Orthodoxy were making their way to the old city. The portrait of this large solo vibrant band of young and old (the non-Orthodox did not seem involved) en route to the Kettel illustrated a sect's political views concerning Jerusalem.

After walking over 140,000 steps I returned home with a greater understanding that Israel's strength and endurance can not be sustained by troops alone, but requires a pluralistic Israeli and Diaspora Jewish society rooted in tradition, prayer, and tikkun olam. I came to appreciate that the future strength of the house of Israel will be in its capability to accommodate the diversity of its people under one roof with assorted synagogues and batei midrash. For progressive Jews to influence the destiny of our people in Israel this will mean that we need to be at the forefront of creating sacred spaces for prayer in our synagogues, engaging text in our batei midrash, and performing multiple acts of charity in the house of Israel.

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