From Nation's Capital to Nation's Capital: The Azza Street Spy

Two Self-Righteous Moments Last Week
I had two self-righteous moments this week that I think represent a milestone in my aliyah. I will attempt to articulate them, but I understand that this is an immigrant experience that others, native Israelis and American Jews, just don't get.

The first epiphany occurred early Thursday morning when I was checking email. My old shul in DC, Kesher Israel, is sponsoring Mishloach Manot baskets, a common fundraiser among American shuls. An email notice went out advertising this year's baskets. An excerpt from the email:

Purim is coming! Send your warmest wishes to community members through the Kesher Israel Sisterhood's annual Mishloach Manot fundraiser. This is a great way to send gifts to your friends and support the shul-and Israel! Yep, this year's theme is Israeli products. You will see that the packages are $1 more expensive than last year. This is because we are using Israeli products and benefiting small business in Israel. Keeping that in mind, I hope you will still be able to send the same number of baskets as last year.

I read this and chuckled to myself. Of course, I am pleased that they are sponsoring an Israeli business. Nothing inherently problematic or offensive about that. Even a desirable effort. But, drumroll please, how about moving to Israel and supporting Israeli businesses daily? That same day, I supported:

**Jerusalem's bus system by riding three buses with my monthly bus pass;
**Israeli school children by reporting into work and practicing psychology in the local schools;
**an Israeli corner grocer by buying a yogurt;
**Israeli banks by withdrawing cash and paying my November rent (a *much* longer story for another post) by depositing cash into the bank account of the contract agency that collects rent from residents of Absorption Housing;
**another Israeli corner grocer by buying a much-needed ice cream bar;
**an Israeli watchmaker/watchstore owner, by buying a new watch since my two watches each broke the same week :(

This list does not include my Israeli cell phone carrier, internet provider, and other services that I use daily. This list only includes that day's transactions and not the grocery shopping I did the day before, or the other dozens of tasks I do weekly that represent my participation in the Israeli economy. (Included in the general list is reporting into work on Sundays, boo-hoo.) Supporting vs participating in an economy is a topic that deserves more attention in a future post.

Of course living here is hard. Just look for my next posting about why I had to pay my November rent in March through direct deposit when I pay the other months' of rent through direct withdrawal from my own bank account. Really, don't ask; I might cry. In addition, I don't believe aliyah is for everyone. Sometimes I wonder if it is even for me. (I'm currently trying to decide if staff meetings are more amusing or more painful in Hebrew.) But other times I am absolutely positive that it is for me. I live here because it counts more and has more personal and communal meaning for me. Patting myself on the back for using Israeli products for Purim baskets is not nearly as cool as going to the Jerusalem Cinemateque's musicals marathon on Purim.

The other self-righteous moment came when I heard the name friends from DC gave their new daughter. They named their daughter a modern, Hebrew name. In current name fashion, modern Hebrew, ideally hip Israeli names, are the fad. These names are meant to indicate a connection to Israel, Zionism, and a level of cultural sophistication to know which names in Israel are hip these days. These friends and others are giving their kids Hebrew-only names that are not too liturgical or classical.

Again, I have no problem with American Jews feeling a connection to Israel and giving their kids Hebrew names. I think it is good both for the kid and American society, contributing Jewish and Israeli flavor to America's multicultural diversity. However, giving a kid a modern Hebrew name does not approximate the connection one can forge when actually living in Israel. Moving and living here, even while giving your kid some old-fashioned, religious name, represents a much greater stride.

For example, I spent this past shabbat on a yishuv north of Jerusalem with a really great family with their own never-ending immigrant adjustment challenges. One daughter has an old-fashioned, old-school, religious-sounding name that would never pass the name-fashion test in today's American modern Orthodox circles. However, this family and any other living in Israel, can name their kids what they want; they do not need to participate in the naming game. They are connected to Israeli and their Jewish identity in much more significant and meaningful ways by living their daily lives in Israel.

Without sounding too obnoxious, I guess my reaction is that America's Jewish communities' relation to Israel is effortful and bland. These gestures are desirable and should be encouraged. But, they should also be recognized for what they are: an effort from afar to connect with something that one can walk and breathe when living here.

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