North Carolina ASB

This spring break, I went with a group of 15 other Michigan state university students to Bayboro, North Carolina to clean up after hurricane Irene. In the fall, I became one the alternative spring break chairs at Michigan State Hillel house meaning I would help plan a charitable spring break trip for Jewish college students. The plans ended up completely different as they started; we expanded the trip, through Destination Detroit, to people of all races and religions at Michigan State, Grand Valley, Central, Kalamazoo, Eastern, Western and Albion. As the trip neared I was anxious of how it would go because of the unfamiliarity I had with the new group of trip goers; however, although different from my expectations, the trip turned out to be life changing. We arrived to a town in North Carolina, population one thousand, where there were more churches than businesses and every food was fried. It was completely different than any of us were used to and at first we were a little apprehensive, especially when they told us the daily schedule. We had to be up at 6:30, to the work site at 8 and after a long day of work we could return to the church at 5 for showers and dinner. I think we were all nervous about having to work that hard with the only reward being the satisfaction of helping other in need. However, after the first day I think all of our mindsets had changed. The people in town told us about the hurricane while we worked and I think we were shocked to realize how horribly random it would be if that happened in Detroit and how blessed we were to not have to face coastal increments. It felt good to make a difference for those who do not have the luxury of doing it themselves. Not only did the work bring us satisfaction but it also brought us together. It went from riding in a car with two African Americans and Asian Americans I did not know or feel any connection to, to singing Mulan, laughing about college life, and painting the walls with new friends. As the trip progressed, we grew closer and sometimes discussed the marginalization we sometimes all feel as Jews, blacks and Asians; I think we all realized we have more in common than we think. We all had a great time together and have plans to reunite at one boys house for homemade Korean food, all attend a Black Caucus meeting with one of the presidents of the organization on our trip, and to all sit down for Shabbat dinner at the Hillel house. I am glad to say I made a new group of diverse friends roofing a family’s house in Bayboro than partying on a beach in Florida. I am honored to have been a part of making this trip happen and will carry the lessons it has taught me throughout my life. Alternative Spring Break 2013 was not easy, but nothing life changing ever is.

Charlotte Master
Alternative Spring Break Chair

Alternative Spring Break: New Orleans

Our journey began with a group of 13 students from three different Universities: Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, and Grand Valley State University.   It was so heartwarming to have a group of students, many underclassmen, open up so quickly.  Through the words of Sarah Shulman, “I feel one of the most valuable lessons we learned was not from the farmers but from each other, going on a trip such as this one with 12 other 'strangers' is something that not everyone would do. I mean, I am so thankful for this trip because no matter what problems and stressors we encountered, support was always exuded by all, meeting each other was a learning experience because we all have different personalities and lifestyles and it was awesome to learn about and from others and within a few hours become comfortable enough to be our true selves”

Whether someone needed motivation to get through the physically exhausting workday or applying aloe to a heat rash back at the center, we became each other’s support system.  This support system gave us the opportunity to give back to the community at our highest potential. These experiences were ones none of us will forget.   It is amazing to hear the inspirational stories and the dedication of all the community partners.  Especially the farmers we were able to get close with. 

After canvassing for political justice in New Orleans, the volunteer coordinator, Gahiji, took us down to the lower 9^th ward where Hurricane Katrina hit the hardest. What really amazed the group was how much devastation was still present. Gahiji explained to us that a lot of people did not have enough money or did not receive appropriate refunds from insurance companies to properly rebuild their homes. It was really sad to see the spray-painted Xs on the homes stating how many people in the house were still alive; it reminded us of the Jews in the Holocaust who were singled out, not having the power to do fight for their freedom.

The racism dialogue helped us become more understanding of the racial battles that are still prevalent in all of society, especially New Orleans.  This was a structured dialogue led by two professionals who stimulated conversation between the two groups residing at the Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal

Green light was a unique opportunity because we got to enter homes all over the community with various different socioeconomic statuses.  This is an organization that doesn’t discriminate by income.  It helps install Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs in any home in the Orleans Parish that wishes to become more sustainable.  It was touching to witness the raw emotions exposed by revealing the amount of money that would be saved by the simple change of installing

            While navigating through the city, we drove past Tulane University’s Hillel house. As a Hillel group, we instantly felt excitement and were eager to go in and visit. We entered the house, and immediately, our jaws dropped in awe. It was such a beautiful place with great resources for students on Tulane’s campus. They were implementing the ‘Green Revolution’ that New Orleans is aiming for; they provided meals for students using local ingredients and had sustainable energy sources throughout the building. The house was homey, and had beautiful portraits on the walls, Macintosh computers, and a lovely dining area for Shabbat dinners and other meals. The Hillel house also provided yoga classes and Krav Maga classes to help ease the stress of being a student. They invited us for dinner, but we already had plans to indulge in the authentic southern cuisine.

We would like to Thank ASMSU and Repair the World for granting us with funds for this unbelievable trip.  We could not have done it without their financial support.  We would also like to extend our thanks to The Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal for their gracious accommodations. 

This alternative break is supported in part by Repair the World, to learn more about Repair the World, please visit www.weRepair.org.

All the pictures from the trip can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151126365006319.436636.201166321318&type=3

Day 9 - Monday, December  24th

Waking up at the ass crack of dawn, 5:30 in the morning in the Bedouin Tents was not our ideal way to start our day.  However, the bright sunrise that peaked over the desert hills proved to show all of us that we would have a pleasant day..until we smelled the camel shit.  Upon smelling this, we gathered the courage to ride camels in a circle.  We even had the opportunity to name the camels.  After departing the silent desert, we embarked on a treacherous 2 hour bus ride filled with frigid conditions that no towel or sweatshirt could provide a sufficient amount of warmth.  Upon arrival at the Mesada, we gazed upon the steps that would lead us to the monumental feat for our trip.  As we gathered our gear, preparing ourselves for a gruesome, sweaty hike, we found that said hike turned out to be a 15 minute stroll up the mountain.  Despite the short walk, achieving our goal to the top of the Mesada remained monumental.  Before commencing our archaeological tour of the ruins of the Mesada, we were given the opportunity to renew our Jewish names.  The purpose of renewing our name was so all of us could unite in the act of Judaism.  In order to do so, we stood in unity, shouting from the tips of Mesada into the hills of Israel.  As each name was echoed back, a new sense of spiritual awakening engulfed our group.  From there, we explored the remainder of the Mesada, where Lilly stood with courage in front of our group, having her Bat Mitzvah on top of the beautiful mountain.  Mazel tov!  After this awesome little ceremony, we began our journey down the mountain.  This proved to be much harder than the upwards journey because of the winding Snake Path.  After a brief lunch, what was meant to be a long ride to the Dead Sea, seemed short due to our anxiety to float in the Sea.  The experience exceeded our expectations.  Not only did we lather from head to toe in mucus like mud, but we also managed to form bonds with other members of Taglit.  The Dead Sea proved to be very lively.  We were hesitant to submerge right away, but as everyone began bobbing along, we quickly floated our way to serenity amidst the Dead Sea.  After the sudden shock of burning sensation, it very quickly became fun in games as people began loosening up and dancing through the Sea.  It was interesting to feel the way the Sea was able to carry us without effort as if we were a feather.  After a brief, but cleansing shower, we journeyed to our final destination: Ma’ale Hachamisha Hotel.  The evening was pleasant, as everyone settled in and feasted like champions!  We look forward to experiencing the final moments of our journey before we are taken hostage on Delta flight #### to the United States of America.

Miss you and love you

Love,

Allie, Lizzy and Marci

Day 8 - Sunday, December  23th

Our 3 nights at the Hashalom hotel has come to an end and we are ready to continue our trek of Israel by heading to the southern desert of Jehuda and of course, stopping at several jaw dropping stops along the way.   

               For most of us, the sound of our alarms at 6 am was a harsh slap in the face to the fact that going to bed at 2-3 a.m. was probably not the wisest idea.  However we pushed through the sluggish morning managing to get our entire luggage on the bus and grabbing a quick breakfast rather quickly.   Now that we were ready to go, we all met as a trip in one of the hotel lobby rooms.  There, we all got into a circle and took turns talking about how great of an impact the soldiers had on us Americans, and how great of an impact we had on the soldiers. It was this afternoon that our Israelis would be leaving us to go back to the IDF. The stories that were told brought tears to many eyes, for it was that moment where reality hit us… That after today, we would lose part of our family.   After we hugged the shit out of each other we boarded the bus and off we went!  Our first stop was only 5 minutes from the hotel and was one of the most incredible overlooks of Jerusalem we have encountered thus far. We took photos and Sarah pointed out historical landmarks for not only the Jewish people, but also showed us how Jerusalem was holy to Christians and Muslims, which was quite fascinating. The only crappy part of this stop was that as soon as it was too late and the bus departed, I realized my Apple headphones fell out of my pocket and I would never see them again L.  Our next stop was a second visit to the old city of Jerusalem where we toured the beautiful tomb of King David and the Last Supper Room . They were beautiful for 2 reasons. One, the architecture of the tomb was unbelievable, and two, because it is one of the few places in the world where Jews, Christians, and Muslims, can all come to pray.  In fact, we happened to see a group of Nigerians kissing the ground of the tomb which was rather interesting.  After the Last Supper Room and the Tomb, we had lunch and shopped around the city for couple hours.  I bought a Mezuzah for my Mom, which meant a lot for me because, ever since she moved into her new condo, she never managed to buy one for her doorframe.  Of course,  being the obnoxious ball of energy I sometimes tend to be, when we were touring the outside of the Second Temple of the Jewish People, I tried hopping over an ancient well and I tripped and dropped my mom’s Mezuzah 40 feet underground. I have never been so pissed at myself in my entire life.  But it was ok!!!  Roy , our incredible security guard, showed me an “illegal” entrance to the sewers of the temple entrance.  I literally walked though the underground tunnels of the holiest landmark of the Jewish people and found the mezuzah!  My mom better fucking appreciate it J. Anyways, we ended our tour at the Western Wall where we prayed and then walked through the Bill Davidson Memorial, which meant a lot, especially to the people from Michigan, because Bill Davidson lived in our Jewish community in metro-Detroit.  We boarded the buses for the last time as a complete family.  We now left for the Central Bus Station where we said our goodbyes to Shaked, Avioo,  Yoav, Atar, Maya, and Rotem for the very last time on the trip. Our soldiers all seluted us as our bus departed which pretty was very sentimental.  After we left the station, it was pretty quiet bus ride and there definitely felt a sense of emptiness. After two hours of driving south, it was dark now.  We finally got to our destination where we would be sleeping, which was the Bedwin village.  We ate dinner in a tent while sitting on our butts, and used our hands instead of silverwear.  After dinner, Felix took us on a short hike to a quiet spot in the middle of the desert, where he gave an chilling speech on why Judaism is in the eyes of the individual. It was really deep.  We then proceeded to lay in the sand, watching the stars, and screaming out to G-d, our prayers we want to be answered.  It had a mystical and spiritual feel to it.  We hiked back to our campground where there was a bonfire ready and delicious Smores to snack on. We partied till it was time for bed and then all got cozy as we fell asleep, together, as a family, in our own Bedwin tent.

Written by:

Brett Feinbaum

aka The Bus 1026 president

aka tittie boi

aka 2 chains

aka mr. tru OG stunna

Day 7 - Saturday, December  22th

               Today was a very special day for numerous reasons. First, today’s breakfast was the only optional meal for the group. Although most of the group slept in, some of us did enjoy the breakfast that the hotel served. Following breakfast, there were two optional sessions. The first was meditation/ yoga and the second was bar/bat mitzvah review. I attended the bar/bat mitzvah review, so I cannot speak about the yoga/mediation session. Nevertheless, during the review session for the ceremonies we rehearsed the Aliyah Blessings, learned about the logistics of the ceremony, and talked about what should be in our speeches. After those two optional activities, the group had Shabbat lunch.

               After lunch, in a mad dash since there were long lines for food at the hotel dining hall, we all spilled into a room with the other bus from Ohio. Lizzie, Nathan, Jeremy, and I sat in the front row because we were the members of our group to have a bar/bat mitzvah today. I was nervous as ever since this was my first bar mitzvah ever.  Emmy helped me along with some Israeli soldiers for the proper reading of the blessing since my Hebrew is not the best. During the speeches from the Ohio State kids, they kept doing their chant, Oh-io. I knew that the first member of our group would have to do the Michigan State chant, Go Green-Go White. Nonetheless, I did not think that the first member of our group would be me.

               Before I put on the talit, I jokingly whispered to Felix “I was not suppose to be the first person from our group to be called up,”  and he just shrugged with a smile on his face. His calm demeanor brought a calm over me before I spoke the blessing that I had just learned how to say a few hours ago.  While I was doing the blessing for the talit, Maya the Israeli soldier who I chose to read the Torah portion came up. I read the first line of the blessing while shaking and speaking Hebrew very slowly. The congregation responded and I repeated the second line of the blessing and read the third  line of the blessing speaking very slowly and sometimes with help from Ester, the Hillel Birthright director. Nonetheless after Maya spoke from the torah, the Vayechi, I finished with the last portion of the blessing and went to stand in front of the Torah.

               Two members of the Ohio bus made their speeches directly before me and then I spoke. I had started to write something on my iPhone before lunch but I did not pull out from my iPhone, I wanted to speak from the heart. I started with a joke: “I’m glad you guys came, even though this was not optional.” I continued with my speech by mentioning that I am glad I had this amazing opportunity to have my Bar Mitzvah in the holiest city of Jerusalem.   I again made a joke with stating that Ester in the review session had said that we would say amazing so many times if we did not write out our speech and I proclaimed “that I had only said it once, well then twice.” But then the next sentence I began started with “amazing.” The room filled with laughter. I continued with my speech pledging to be more involved with Hillel and do more community service in my community. And of course I had to complete my speech with a “Go Green” chant.

               Lizzie, Nathan, and Jeremy had their bar/bat mitzvah following mine and did a wonderful job! Nathan and Lizzie had very sentimental speeches while Jeremy had a very funny but sincere speech; matching his personality. Following the ceremonies we had an activity run by the soldiers. We played dress up games and had dance offs between the boys and the girls. Following their activity, we did Havdallah.

               Succeeding Havdallah, Reuven Hazan gave an excellent speech regarding politics in Israel. He explained the differences between the American two party system and the Israeli five cluster groups that are composed of twelve individual parties. Although I find this quite interesting, some of the readers of this post may not, as some of the members in the audience were falling asleep, so I will spare the details. Following the speech we hoped on the bus and went to downtown Jerusalem and enjoyed our last night with our Israeli soldiers. Shopping bags, fun memories from the night, and sleepy faces piled onto the bus and headed back to the hotel. I will remember this day for the rest of my life and I am sure that Lizzie who had her first Bat Mitzvah today will as well. Nonetheless, our entire bus will remember this night as the last night with our great Israeli soldiers who have become a part of our family.

Aaron Walden

                                                      Day 6 - Friday, December  21th

               Yad Vashem; The Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem.  Sitting at the bottom of Mt. Hertzel it is so extensive that it would take 4 whole days to see the whole thing.   We only had about 2.5 half hours.  So, while we did not see the entire complex as a group it was an educational and moving experience. We did not have Sara to guide us, but our guide was from Yad Vashem and he was very knowledgeable.  The architecture was meant to be unsettling.  It is a heavy structure all cement built into the ground.  The light shines in from on high.  You must criss-cross throughout the exhibits; some areas are narrow and some wide.    Our journey began by watching a video of the story of Hanna, a survivor who had come from Hungary.  What really touched me and made me cry was her telling of the remorse she felt by not allowing her mother to delouse her and give Hannah, her portion of rations.  That guilt was so deep.  After that we entered the museum where there is extensive information on the propaganda from the Nazi party, as well as the military history of the European theatre of World War II.  There was a section dedicated to the explanation of what it meant to be a Jew in Europe.  Our guide told us that in Israel many people did not know what European Jewry life was.  How they lived, how some acclimated and how some did not.  That was surprising to me.  As we journeyed further down the path we entered the area about the ghetto and how the Nazis took time to finally decide what the “final solution” was going to be.  Then we entered the area about the concentration camps.  It had real rail road tracks used for transportation of millions of souls.  We saw a portion of the exhibit that showed the shoes of people who had been exterminated.  From this we learn that these millions were individuals.  Woman who wore high heels, men who worked in a factory and children just beginning to walk.  We finished Yad vashem with a chasm built into the mountain with water at the bottom.  This water works as a reflecting pool.  Above it is a dome with the names and faces of people lost to the Holocaust.  Around it are shelves filled with names of people who were exterminated.  They have found 4 million names but will never find all of them.  So this reflecting pool serves to not only remember the ones we know we lost but the ones with no name.  The people who were completely wiped from history due to war, racism and a man, an elected official who had a vision to wipe out one race.  The water also reflects the faces of the people who come to visit.  Whether they are Jews or not they are the future, the people who must carry the lesson forward to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.  It is about hope and remembrance. 

Despite the torrential downpour we ventured outside to visit the memorial dedicated to the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.  You walk through the dark silently with the light from 5 candles reflected from mirrors to appear as if it goes on forever.  From speakers names of children are spoken and the city they were from.  I identify as ethnically Jewish.  But for the Nazi’s none of the religious divisions mattered.  They had their Nuremburg laws and if they defined you as a Jew you were subhuman and only good to work or be killed.  It was fitting that this memorial was built into the mountain dedicated to Hertzel.  He envisioned a state where Jews would be free of oppression.  This was one of the darkest times for Jews and many of the ones who survived found salvation in the land of their ancient ancestors, Israel.

               After this moving experience we traveled to Machen Yebuda for a taste of a modern Israeli open air market.  It was something out of a novel or movie.  The spices, nuts and fruit were on display.  The vendors were shouting and the people were pushing, talking, smelling, and tasting. It was Shabbat so we welcomed it in the lobby of the hotel as a bus.  Juliana read the blessing. We had dinner and then there were services.  I personally went to the alternative one where we had a discussion about modern Shabbat in modern Jewish American life and the importance of rest.  Later there were Hillel conversations on everything from tattoos to the discussion I went to about sex, love and relationships in relation to Judaism.  It was led by Esther the head of birthright for Hillel and it was really interesting to debunk the myths and learn what the Torah really says.  The topics ran the gambit from contraception to having children.  We then exchanged our gifts with our visiting IDF soldiers and saw the baby pictures of everyone in the group.

Rachel Manela