The day of departure from Israel was spent leisurely at the apartment in the morning. I was all packed and ready to go by 9 AM even though I was not really expecting to be picked up until somewhere between 1 and 2 PM. I guess I was a bit anxious to be on my way home after so long away. I was picked up by friends at about 1:30 PM. They wanted to spend some time at the sea, so we headed to Tel Aviv. I must admit that while going to the Mediterranean Sea initially sounded OK; once I was there it only made me more anxious to get to the airport and be on my way. The last time I was at the sea was 11 years earlier with my wife. While being at the beach is usually soothing, this time it made me miss her more and I took the time to separate myself from my friends and call home.
The life-style in Tel Aviv is vastly different from Jerusalem. While Jerusalem is unquestionably the spiritual capital of the world, Tel Aviv is significantly more secular. While most restaurants in Jerusalem are kosher, finding a kosher restaurant in Tel Aviv takes a little more looking.
I did manage to take a few pictures in Tel Aviv of some buildings that I found “interesting” architecturally, but have no idea what the first two actually are. The last is clearly a hotel and is about 2 blocks from the sea.
After a quick dinner, my friends dropped me off at the airport. This was at about 8:30 PM for a 1 AM flight. While there was technically no hurry at all, I was getting anxious to go and was emotionally already gone.
Security at Ben Gurion Airport is, of necessity, the best in the world. By the time you get into the terminal building you have already been screened at least twice without any interaction with anyone. Once inside you stand in a line to check in and check baggage. A security screener takes you aside and asks a few questions. While they actually ARE listening to the answer, they are paying more attention to your face and body language, looking for anything that would indicate a problem. This includes profiling, and I have absolutely no issue with that at all. While they do use metal detectors, they do not and will not use the full-body scanners being deployed in airports around the world as they consider them too expensive, too slow and, most importantly, completely ineffective. They are instead deploying other advanced technology that should be quite effective and speed up the security process. (Check out this link for more information: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1336571/Terrorism-Can-really-stop-bomber-asking-Are-terrorist.html?printingPage=true)
The flight from Israel to New York was quite uneventful. The wait to get from New York to Chicago was 8 hours, and I certainly could have done with a much shorter layover. By the time I left Chicago on my final flight I was more than ready to be home again. Arriving at the airport at home and seeing my wife waiting for me at the exit doors to the secure area made the rest of the trip vanish from my mind completely. Suffice it to say that it was a very happy reunion. We went straight from the airport to our traditional restaurant for dinner, and both my wife and I commented that it seemed as if we had not been apart.
The ensuing week was spent in the normal fashion – my wife went to work while I stayed home and practiced and also did some of the outstanding yard work that inevitably must be done. Our youngest son came home on Wednesday afternoon, and the oldest son came home on Thursday night. Our youngest daughter will be here this Wednesday, and the house will be as full as it gets for this trip.
This past Shabbat I was given the honor of leading the Shacharit service at our synagogue. I used a combination of the new hazzanut I have learned and the old nussach that they are used to hearing. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to use some of my new knowledge and skills at the shul that has been my spiritual home for a number of years and to hear the comments from people who recognized the difference in my sound and leadership since beginning my studies. I hope to lead again before returning to Israel to complete my training.
As always when I lead services, I felt a connection to Hashem. I must say, however, that it is nothing at all like the connection I feel in Jerusalem. When attending services last Shabbat, and indeed even just being away from Jerusalem, I feel a certain ---- emptiness? ---- it is hard to put into words. I asked a friend of mine in Israel about it, and her response was “Your high level of spirituality wants you to be as close to the Shechinah as possible and the Shechinah is only in Israel. That's basically what you're missing.” This is all still new to me, but I think that she is correct. I guess I’ll have to see how I feel when I get back to Jerusalem in just over 2 weeks.
