Pre-Pesach Workshop

One of the R"aMim (I talked about this position before), developed an incredible Pre-Pesach workshop today.

Building on Devarim 26:6 and the way the Haggadah....
"The Egyptians treated us badly and they made us suffer, and they put hard work upon us.".....
"And they made us suffer," as it is said: "They set taskmasters over [the people of Israel] to make them suffer with their burdens, and they built storage cities for Pharaoh, Pitom and Ramses."
"And they put hard work upon us," as it is said: "The Egyptians made the children of Israel work with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard work, with mortar and with bricks and all manner of service in the field, all their work which they made them work with rigor."

and the way the Rambam.... (In every generation one must show himself as if he personally has come out of Egypt...)

...understand it, this Rebbe took the opportunity to teach the texts and have the kids "turn it around" by contributing to the school. They built a handball court - complete with fixing up a cement wall and floor - in the field behind the school. The secretary and I got permission and permits from the village where our school is located, a couple of parents donated the supplies (not so much money all-in-all) and the teacher - with a lot of experience with building - oversaw every step of the process. It took two, 4-hour class periods to learn the texts, and another two periods to build it. Today was the final stage and, once the cement and paint dry, the class and the school will have a permanent memory of a great experiential learning experience!

Israeli Elections (ii)

I was talking with a 9th grade literature teacher here about the elections and what I felt (two posts ago) about kids' interests. He's not an American but he did feel, like I did, that Israelis listen to the news at a very early age. I gave him a summary of what I wrote in the post (without telling him about the blog).

He disagreed. He felt that the interest in politics and news comes from a different place: most people here, he said, feel that normal, day-to-day life is too boring, too trivial. It's an escape. Even the bad news is an escape and better than the routine.

Though we'll never know for sure, I hope he's wrong.

Teacher Salaries

This blog is supposed to be an honest look at my experiences in the Israeli eductaional system. To do that, I guess I could not go very long without talking about salaries.

But an introduction first: I approach this topic with a bit of fear. I'd like this blog to be a frank look at my experiences and, if at all possible, to be of assistance to future olim who are in chinuch. Because of these two goals, a post about salaries is liable to scare people away. Obviously, that is last thing I'd like to do. Still, I talk about it because a) I want to be honest, and b) I want future olim who are in chinuch to come here with their eyes wide open. Worse than a poor salary is a poor salary that you expected to be a high salary.

OK, here we go.....

After taxes, I take home 1/5 of what I used to take home in the U.S. That's a big pay cut, to say the least. (I wonder what the reduction is in other professions.) We really fel it.

We were never rich in America but we were able to pay our bills, put away some money, not worry so much when the washer broke. But, we also didn't take major vacations either. Since this is an anonymous blog, I can honestly say, that we were absoulutely very "rich" in the Pirkei Avot sense - we were happy with what we had. We really felt like we needed nothing: we drove newer cars, not fancy but reliable and safe. Our house was respectable and roomy but not huge. We visited Israel once every other year. All was really fine. Even perfect. Thank G-d.

In Israel, in truth, it has been hard. My wife and I have had to watch our expenses now more carefully than before. We've dipped into savings a bit. It's not easy. That's the straight truth. It has not been easy. Despite the lower tuition bills (cut by almost 75% from our American bills!), mostly everything else costs the same or more. And that's without mentioning trips to America that we can no longer afford. I do not want to scare off potential olim, but the truth is the truth.

But I will say this: we're in Israel. I am well aware of how hard it is to read gushy descriptions of what it's like to live in Israel. I never used to read them before we moved. So I will not start now. But I will say that that statement, "We are in Israel," really is something that my wife and I appreciate and value. It's not a motto or a slogan - we're really here!

We're here. And that really is worth a lot.

To be continued......

Israeli Elections 2006

I know there are a number of American high school students who are involved in politics, but it seems to me that many, many more Israeli students care more about the upcoming elections than do Americans of the same age before their elections.

When I was in high school I knew a little about American politics. But the little I knew came from sterotypes and jokes (e.g. Jimmy Carter liked peanuts, Reagan liked jelly beans, etc.). Maybe it was just me: I didn't really care that much about politics.

But I am surrounded by students talking politics, "wearing" politics (t-shirts, ribbons), working politics (many hand out fliers or hold banners at intersections), joking politics... I'm not saying that there are incredible, well-thought-out, philosophical discussions filling the hallways. They're still kids and they still see the world, for the most part, in black and white. Politics to them are reduced to banners, mottos, personalities. Most could not talk about politics in deep, thoughtful ways.

But there does seem to be an interest among Israeli youth in politics in a way that far surpasses what I remember when I was their age. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they live politics more than Americans. They have to: they or their friends may have been displaced during the disengagement. They or their friends feel terrorism and its effects in a very real, tangible way. Finances are tight and every financial decision by the government is felt - and spoken about - at home. Their fathers and brothers serve in the army - they too will soon.

To many Israeli youth, the luxury to detach from politics is a luxury they cannot afford.

Purim Costumes

Near the high school where I teach is an elementary school for kids primarily from poorer families. Our school went there a few days before Purim to dance, sing, tell stories, give mishloach manot, etc. It was incredibly special. I noticed something interesting about their costumes: someone, or some wonderful organization must have distributed Purim costumes to poorer families in the area. In every class, there must have been 5-6 kids with the exact same policeman's uniform, 5-6 kids with the exact same paratrooper's uniform, 5-6 kids with the exact same queen's dress.

In the end, I did not see a single child in the entire school without a costume!

I felt a bit sorry for the kids: did they notice who had those costumes? Did they feel bad? I don't think they did. But even if they did notice, I think they would have felt worse if they had no costume at all.

In the end, I mostly felt tremendous warmth that someone, somewhere made sure that every single child - regardless of socioeconomic status - could enjoy Purim.

Purim 5766

It’s been almost a week since Purim and things have been so hectic that I haven’t had a chance to post in a while.

Purim in Israel (or at least the little part of Israel that I saw), was absolutely great. I suppose in some ways it was similar to Purim in a very-Jewish city outside of Israel (Brooklyn? Monsey? Teaneck?)... dressed-up kids (and many adults) everywhere you look, packed shuls, people driving and walking around delivering mishloach manot.... just a wonderful experience. Obviously, the fact that these kids and adults were in Israel was particularly spectacular. Spending the holiday celebrating the Jewish victory against yet another enemy bent on our destruction in Israel... it’s hard to describe.

When I had a moment to breath, I tried to do just that: to breath and take it all in.

In many other ways, though, I think Purim here was different than in the States. I refer specifically not to Purim day itself but to the weeks leading up to Purim. As I mentioned in previous posts, the spirit of Mishenichnas Adar Marbim B’Simcha permeated schools, newspapers, community events, shul calendars. Almost every day of Adar leading up to Purim you could see a few people in costume, shiurim about Purim, carnivals, tzedakah opportunities, Shabbat programs, etc. etc. etc. It was so easy to feel the holiday coming and the simcha that accompanies it.

Again, when I had a moment to breath, (and who has time to breath on a day-to-day basis?) I tried to do just that: to breath and appreciate it.

Anonymity

During the Purim season, where wearing masks is the thing to do, I thought I'd talk about the mask I wear on this blog.

Only two people in the world (besides me) know who I am. That is, only two people know that I am the one who writes this blog. One is my wife. The other is a dear friend who is also a teacher, thinker and advisor to me for the last many years. (In a recent post to this blog, "hajew" claimed to know me. I don't know. Oh well, that may make 3).

This friend asked if I was interested in publicizing this blog. I thought to myself: it might be interesting to have 100, 1,000, 10,000 hits a day reading my words, learning from them, helping them in their classrooms, or in Israel, or both..... (who am I kidding....)?

But my answer for now is: The blog is for me. I like the fact that I can write anonymously and freely without people that I know reading it. I like using this blog as a diary, an almost private diary. To keep track of my goings on.... for me. I like the fact that I can refer to teachers or students and not worry that someone will know who I am talking about. That freedom allows me to observe and record in an almost limitless way.

So, my answer to my friend: "No thank you. I want it to be private."

He asked me, "If you want it to be private, why write a blog at all? Just keep a real diary!"

A good question.

I've never kept a diary in my life. I've tried twice that I can remember but neither of them lasted too long. I think the fact that some people read this blog - not too many, but a few... once in a while... sometimes... - is enough of an impetus for me to keep writing. It helps me that some people read it but it also helps me that not too many people read it. For now, I'm happy with the balance.

That's the answer for now.

Behind the Teachers' Room Door

Look here for a brilliant, succinct observation on one of the hidden parts of the "art and science" of teaching. Worth the read if you've ever been a teacher or a student or both.

Tiyul Shnati

I just came back from a 3-day tiyul with my school. A few initial observations (there's a lot to talk about and I'll try to do that in future posts):

As I mentioned before (here and here), it is simply wondrous to go on a tiyul where, on the list of items to bring, along with water, a hat, warm clothes for the evening, etc. is.... a Tanach. Our tiyul was to the Negev and, to talk about Avraham planting the "Eshel" (tamarisk) tree (Bereishit 21:33) while standing in front of one near there... simply amazing.

We also saw the Rotem tree (either juniper or the white broom) mentioned in Tehillim 120 and elsewhere. The Gemara (Erchin 15b) says that the passuk refers to speakers of Lashon Hara and the punishment they receive. (The Gemara in Chagiga 12b has other sins related to the rotem as well.) The beginning of the passuk, talking about the far-reaching damage caused by arrows is like lashon hara in that one can harm someone even from a distance. The effects of lashona hara, the passuk continues, are like rotem coals in that their deleterious effects are long-lasting, simmering like the coals themselves.

(Our tour guide said that many Bedouins make fires out of Rotem leaves then, after spreading them out and covering them with sand, they sleep on their long-lasting warmth all night.)

We heard all this, sitting in front of a rotem in the Negev Desert. Just one example of the richness of a tiyul..... in Israel.

Adar (III)

I hope the shtick is beginning to die down. Today's events.....

- I taught in English for a short time. Cute, but it felt pretty weird.

- One of the grades coordinated with one of the administrators and davened in a local shul. They then went to a coffee shop and called their Rebbe's cellphone and told him to join them. He taught them in the store. Very, very cute.

I think that's it. Is this the beginning of the end of the craziness or the calm before the storm? Only time will tell.

Adar (II)

Rosh Chodesh Adar (Day 2)

- Very lively davening: Aliyot were "sold" for chapters in Tehillim, chapters in Tanach, chapters in Mishna, and pages in Gemara. Lots of singing. (The chazzan for Hallel chose funny/strange tunes such as Maoz Tzur, the American national anthem and We are the Champions and Stairway to Heaven (pretty close to the border of inappropriate but I'm expecting worse so I'll give it a pass.)

- Nice, organized dancing from the school's band.

- After a half-day of learning, a Sports Day. Part of the day was the Faculty against the students. Just great!

I'm expecting it to get worse.... !