Allow Me To Digest

A few days ago, I was sitting at my friend Jen's kitchen table in Herzliya just outside of Tel Aviv trying to draw a bead on how I would explain the experience of being in Israel. After all, it had taken me 48 years of yearning to get back there. Israel is such a complicated, complex place that even the air overwhelms the senses. Israel is the land of our birth as a people, the place we face for prayer, the landmarks of Torah, the repository of hopes and dreams, real history and revisionist history, real news that shakes one to the core of one's being, and fake news that just pisses people off. It is impossible to love it blindly unless you, yourself, are blind. 

And if you think Israel is an apartheid state, then you don't know what apartheid is and you shouldn't say shit like that unless you've been there and can personally illustrate that bit of antisemitic propaganda. Which you would not be able to do if you've ever been there in the first place. Israel may be a lot of things, but apartheid is not one of them.

The truth is, I cannot describe Israel quite yet. I will, at some point, be able to write about the journey, but the malingering end of jet lag and the lack of clearheadedness make it impossible to say much at this time. I need time to decompress. I need time to sort out the vast array of emotion/feelings/anger that Israel provokes

Yes, I said anger. 

And I'm already planning my next trip. 

Therefore, this is all you're gonna get tonight. 

Toes in the Dead Sea. 


Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
If you have not been to Israel, go.
Your world view will change.