Family Trip in Israel Winding Down: Day 5 - 8

Israel Day 5
Friday, June 27

The adults visited the LaDa'at Kinneret Cemetery and entered the world of the early Zionist pioneers. Legendary personalities rest here, such as Rachel the Poetess, Zionist philosopher Ber Borochov and songwriter Naomi Shemer.

The kids enjoyed the culinary delight of a Chocolate Workshop at the Galita Factory on Kibbutz Degania Bet.

Everyone then headed on a drive south, along the Jordan Valley, and west through the Judean Desert. Upon entering Jerusalem, they stopped at Mount Scopus to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing. The day ended with Kabbalat Shabbat services at the Kotel.

Israel Day 6
Saturday, June 28

Morning: Rabbi Laurie and others headed to the Wall to attend a Women of the Wall service.Everyone enjoyed a free Shabbat in Jerusalem; from attending services to touring around. Many headed over to the Old City Ramparts for a walk along the ancient walls of the city!

Israel Day 7
Sunday, June 29

The group of families walked through the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall alongside the Temple Mount. One last Kotel visit to experience the special atmosphere of this holy site, before visiting the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, including a visit to the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall Excavations.

Just before lunch they took a walking tour through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, for a guided tour of excavations sites from the past 30 years, including: walk along the rooftops of the Old City, The Cardo, a Byzantine street that is now the world's oldest shopping arcade, and the Hurva Square, the central square of the Jewish Quarter.

In the afternoon, the group was led on a guided visit through the City of David's new excavations which have redefined the origins of Jerusalem; and wade through the 2,600-year-old Hezekiah's Water Tunnel in the Kidron Valley.

Our adults joined the Israeli Society  in the evening for a dialogue with scholar Dr. Paul Liptz of the Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew Union College, who visited Micah this past December. During this time, the kids experienced the Jerusalem Time Elevator - a state-of-the-art motion simulator showing 3,000 years of history.

Israel Day 8
Monday, June 30

Dead Sea Basin!
The group rode through the Judean desert on camels in Biblical-style at Genesis Land. They passed by Qumran, the area where the Dead Sea Sect established a community, and the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This led them to an ascent to Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaires.

  Photos: camel rides, rabbis on Masada, Rabbi Flip and Ede taking in Masada.

The afternoon came to a close with a bath in the relaxing and healthy sulfur springs at the Mineral Beach and a float in the Dead Sea!

Day 3 and 4 for our families in Israel

Israel Day 3
Wednesday, June 25

The group took a guided visit to Caesarea, one of the Land of Israel's most important cities during the Roman Period; they visited the Herodian Theater and new excavations along the Mediterranean shore concluding with a visit to the 900-year-old Crusader city built on the same site.
 

The adults also took a guided visit to Zichron Ya'acov, one of the first communities established by the early Zionist pioneers, which included a walk along the colorful Pedestrian Mall and a wine tasting at the famous Carmel Winery.
 

The kids walked through the 2,000-year-old underground water tunnels at Park Alona, which once brought water to Caesarea.

In the afternoon, all of the families wound their way through the alley ways of Tsfat, uncovering the hidden words, secret codes, and mystical messages on a family scavenger hunt through the Old City of the ancient Kabbalists.

Four top photos and above left: Learning about Caesarea; Above right: learning about
Tsfat as a group.

Israel Day 4
Thursday, June 26

This morning, the families took an off-road Jeep tour up the Golan Heights in the footsteps of Israeli soldiers and their battles in the Six-Day War. They were able to gain an insight into the strategic complexity of the Golan.

Photos were taken in a bunker previously in Syria, now within Israel on Golan Heights

Family Trip: Day 2 in Israel

Israel Day 2

On the Agenda:
This morning, the adults walked through the museum at the new Rabin Center, dedicated to the history of society and democracy in Israel, while the kids visited the Tachana, Tel Aviv's newly renovated old train station.

After lunch, the group visited the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall, alongside the colorful Carmel open-air market and across the way from Sheinkin St., with hip cafés and funky chic shopping. They also visited the Old City of Jaffa and stroll through the renovated artists' colony and the old port, including a walk through the famous Jaffa Flea Market - “Shuk Hapishpishim”.

Family Trip to Israel: Day One!

Family Trip to Israel

June 22 - July 2

Our Families have arrived in Israel! They are safely in Tel Aviv and already enjoying their journey. See our first glimpse of their trip below and stay tuned for more updates.

 

Julie Greenberg and daughter, Lily, at the airport!

Rachel K., Louisa G., Sydney S., and Eden R. at the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv

Annual Meeting - Friday, June 20

Annual Meeting

FRIDAY, JUNE 20

6:00 Non-Dairy Potluck Dinner
6:30 Business Meeting
7:30 Shabbat Service and Installation

We will provide the main course and drinks.
Please bring a non-dairy side dish that serves 8-10 people.

RSVP to Micah at office@congregationmicah.org or 377-9799 and let us know what you are bringing.
Your RSVP is important as we need to be certain a quorum will be present.

PROPOSED SLATE FOR 2014-2015

Pursuant to Article X, Section 10.3 of our By-laws, the Nominating Committee reported the following Nomineesto our Board at our meeting on April 23. The Congregation is hereby notified of the following slate of nominations:

Executive Committee

President: Marjean Coddon (no vote required)
President Elect: Jeff Landman|
Vice President: Josh Malkofsky-Berger
Secretary: Steve Rothenstein
Treasurer: Richard Abelson
Legal Advisor: appointed by the President and confirmed by the Board and is a non-voting ex officio position

Board of Trustees

3-Year Term: Paul Barnett, Hilary Diskin, Marty Mulford, Jeff Newman, and David Zolensky
1-Year Term: Melinda Hershkowitz

Submitted by the Nominating Committee: Nick Ettinger, Vicki Estrin, Hillary Kaplan, Craig Zimberg, Libby Salberg, Hope Stringer, and Ronald Galbraith, chair.

Article X, Section 10.4: Nomination by Petition - Nomination for any elective office may be made by petition of thirty (30) members of the Congregation, with such nominations to be filed with the (current) Secretary at least fifteen (15) days before the election (June 5).

Article X, Section 10.5: Mailing of Petition - The Congregation shall be notified of said nominations by petition at least seven (07) days prior to the election (June 13).

 

We express our sincerest appreciation to our departing Officers and Board members:
Stephen Froshin, Larry Fuldauer, Hillary Kaplan, Josh May, Kay Robins, Libby Salberg, Shirley Speyer, Wendy Spira, Hope Stringer, and Bates O’Neal (MiTY President).

May's BIG Question is rather... small

What is your SMALL Question?

Is it something we can answer?

It is something you contemplate?

Here are a few of our SMALL Questions:

You are on a flight. A fire breaks out in the back of the plane. You get enough time to make ONE phone call. Who would you call?

You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. What do you do with your remaining days?

Are you the kind of friend that you would want to have as a friend?

What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up?

If you had to go back in time and change one thing, if you HAD to, even if you had “no regrets” what would it be?

BIG Question: When do you conform?

When Do You Conform?

Lisa Silver - Cantorial Soloist

When Do I Conform?
I have always considered myself to be a non-conformist. For a nice Jewish girl from the suburbs of Detroit, I did not conform to a typical path. I played the violin, joined a country band, dropped out of music school, and moved to Nashville at the age of 20 - without a job, car, or long term plan. I drove a bright red moped to recording sessions for years. I adopted a baby as a single parent when I was 39.

I like to dance to the beat of my own drum (actually I’m not much of a dancer, but that’s beside the point). I was a freelance musician for 30 years before I became the Cantorial Soloist/Music Director at Congregation Micah, and, more recently, the music teacher at Micah Children’s Academy.

I do think there are times when conforming is the most appropriate and best thing to do, especially when choosing music for our congregation and school. I am for fortunate to work with open minded Rabbis and educators at Micah, who encourage creativity and innovation. I appreciate how our congregation enjoys original melodies and new settings of prayers. But there are times when I think it best to conform to the traditional melodies that are still being used in congregations all over the world, especially during the Torah service on Shabbat. There are new melodies, and I’m sure they are interesting and lovely, but the old melodies are expected. They are comfortable to our members and make visitors feel at home.

In the Micah Children’s Academy, I’m always trying out wacky new songs with the kids. But I also choose music that conforms to the expected educational standards set by the state. That is the appropriate and best thing to do for the kids and the school. To borrow, loosely, from the words of Ecclesiastes - to everything there is a season. A time to stand out, a time to conform. A time to think outside the box, a time to color inside the lines. And I hope I continue to be wise enough to know the difference.