A beautiful Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day):
So, yes, I too have noticed that I am the worst blogger ever and in addition, I am incapable of responding to an email with more than two sentences. I am not sure I can promise that any of that will change. I definitely go through phases where I really enjoy writing but lately, I have just been too busy (and after I am done being busy, too tired!) to have any desire to write for fun.
The last couple weeks have marked my first set of spring holidays in Israel on aliyah. The juxtaposition of feeling very much on the inside (Yom HaShoah) and very much on the outside (Yom HaZikaron) caught me by surprise. I pray that I will never feel like an ‘insider’ on Yom HaZikaron but I also appreciate that the longer you live in this country, the greater the chance you will lose a loved one fighting for the country.
Yom HaShoah took on a different and more meaningful dimension for me in Israel – the ultimate response to anyone who has wished for our destruction. The Nazis hoped to build a museum about Judaism once they exterminated us from the earth. We built the State of Israel instead. I cannot think of a better way to honor the memory of all those we lost.
Last week I attended my first scientific conference in Israel, the Israeli Society of Gene Therapy Conference at the Technion in Haifa. Lucky for me, the talks were in English. It was also my first time riding the train in Israel! It was all the more fun because it gave me an opportunity to chat with more of the people in the gene therapy department who I don’t see every day in lab. I am still surprised by how friendly and inclusive everyone is given that I am significantly younger than most everyone else, a newcomer, and have yet to master the language.
Lab is going well in general and I am starting a few projects of my own. I am pretty excited about that. I love to talk about my work but I will spare everyone the details on my blog so if you want to hear more about stem cell stuff you’ll have to get in touch with me personally:-)
Last Thursday I went to Tel Aviv and saw a really weird movie about the Yom Kippur War with Alan, Shiri, and Shaul. Afterwards we went out for sushi. I think I was the person who was happiest with the dinner arrangement. We woke up bright and early on Friday and went hiking up north, near Tiberias. We finished at the Kinneret and then took the ’scenic’ route back to Jerusalem along Rte. 90 and Rte. 1.
On Monday we had a ceremony for Yom HaZikaron at work around the time of the air raid siren, like on Yom HaShoah. On Monday night I went to a Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony and fireworks in Efrat with Naomi, Elka, and Becs. It was freezing! After that, we headed to Tel Aviv for Alan’s roof party, where it was significantly warmer. Yesterday Alan and I had a late brunch at Coffee Bean and then headed to Ramat Aviv where we spent the rest of the afternoon jumping the waves and walking on the beach.
Okay, that is my major life update!
I want to post two things that are special to me:
1)audio of the Declaration of the State of Israel, 1945 (click on the speaker icon)
2) One of my favorite poems in honor of Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut:
The Silver Platter
by Natan Alterman
The land grows still
Crimson skies dimming, misting
Slowly paling again
Over smoking frontiers
As the nation stands up
Torn at heart but existing
To receive its first wonder
In two thousand years
As the moment draws near
It will rise, darkness facing
Stand straight in the moonlight
In terror and joy
When across from it step out
Towards it slowly pacing
In plain sight of all
A young girl and a boy
Dressed in battle gear, dirty
Shoes heavy with grime
On the path they will climb up
While their lips remain sealed
To change garb, to wipe brow
They have not yet found time
Still bone weary from days
And from nights in the field
Full of endless fatigue
And all drained of emotion
Yet the dew of their youth
Is still seen on their head
Thus like statues they stand
Stiff and still with no motion
And no sign that will show
If they live or are dead
Then a nation in tears
And amazed at this matter
Will ask: who are you?
And the two will then say
With soft voice: We–
Are the silver platter
Upon which the Jewish State
Was served to you.
Then they fall back in darkness
As the dazed nation looks
And the rest can be found
In the history books.
