Day 1!!!!

REFLECTIONS ON DAY 1 by Dan Klein Thoughts on אחד יום שָׁלוֹם from the CBE Israel 2016 trip. We opened our experience with our welcome dinner at a fabulous Yemenite restaurant.  This one is traditional for CBE Israel trips.  If you think your אִמָא went nuts with making sure you got enough to eat, she  would be deliriously happy with the menu here.  We had at least seven kinds of appetizers, any one of which would, would have been a meal for a family. Two eggplant dishes, humus, baba g’nush, falafel, meat “cigars”, outstanding pita, and more.   Then we had Yemenite kabobs with french fries.  One kabab was chicken and the other was a beef and lamb sausage-like affair (not like the Greek kabobs we’re used to).  Baklava for desert and house wine throughout. But the most important serving was being able to coalesce as a group which we did at this Yemenite dinner.            After a good night’s sleep and a traditionally abundant Israeli breakfast (everything from pickled herring to eggs to pastries to lox to fruit to more and more) we began our program in earnest. Today was dedicated to Israel’s stellar position in innovation, starting with a moving visit to Independence Hall where we learned about the declaration of independence read by David Ben-Gurion (through a recording).  I was unaware that the actual war had begun quite a while before the declaration.  That event served to establish our homeland and to escalate the war to its broadest proportions.  It was, in fact, the end of the British mandate that sparked the conflict.   Our second stop was at the Ayalon Institute.  This is on the site of a kibbutz under which a clandestine bullet manufacturing facility was operated during the mandate and war period quite literally under the feet, if not the noses of the unsuspecting British army.  The story of how a small number of people risked imprisonment or execution while  manufacturing 2.25 million rounds in frighteningly dangerous conditions with no one, including the other kibbutzniks, knowing, was a moving part of our history that made me particularly proud to be a member of the Jewish community.  Indeed, it is very likely that, had this operation not existed, there would not have been enough ammunition and we would have lost the war. After a boxed lunch we headed off to the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot to learn about Israel’s stunning leadership in scientific research.  Rather than me trying to describe, it take a look at their web sitehttp://www.weizmann.ac.il.  This visit was a perfect background the final element of today’s program, a talk by Assaf Luxembourg an entrepreneur and self-described industrial ambassador. Mr. Luxembourg delivered a dynamic and animated talk that was at once exciting and informative.  He demonstrated the uniqueness of the Israeli culture and how well suited it is to innovation:  a mature, inquisitive, exhaustive, bottom line orientation focused on finding the right ideas, executing to perfection and doing so with passion.  He ended with a description of the company he leads and what it is doing to help make innovation and entrepreneurship a  dramatic and compelling ambassador for the land of Israel.  Take a look at the website for his company http://crowdmii.com/.  I think you will be as impressed as I am. Some personal thoughts on being here: The most obvious one is that from the moment I stepped off the plane I felt home.  This has been the case in each of the three times we’ve come here and I’m sure it is no coincidence. When at home the only Hebrew we generally see is in prayer books, the torah, and other ritual contexts.  But when I see Hebrew on store fronts, newspapers, billboards advertising for Mc Donalds, or –dare I say– ads for less than family appropriate services (I’m told this is legal here), it really brings home that Israel is a real place and Hebrew is the language of real place.  And we are part of that real place. This feeling was particularly reinforced here in Tel Aviv.  Places like Jerusalem or S’fat evoke a sense of awe and ancient, biblical and Talmudic history first; and modernity and day to day life second.  Tel Aviv evokes a sense of vibrant, present, contemporary daily life with all its joys and warts.  Except for the proliferation of cell phones, cigarettes, differently shaped license plates, this city could be any modern metropolis. To me this brings home the concept of Israel as a HOME land, a place where real people live real and contemporary lives. That was אחד יום of our 2016 trip.  And now it’s off to bed, even though it is only 4:30 (your time). Best Regards, Dan Klein Click here to Reply or Forward 4.97 GB (33%) of 15 GB used Manage Terms - Privacy Last account activity: 1 minute ago Open in 1 other location  Details