Meir PaltielGeneral

A message from Josh Katz (T61), Chair of American Friends of Livnot U’Lehibanot:

shanatovaI am now back from the Livnot Retreat over Labor Day weekend, and once again I am coping with the challenge to balance my reality with my yearning. This weekend I got to remember the feeling of connection. Connection to my Judaism, connection to my fellow Jews (Jews like me), connection to meaning, connection to Israel, connection to my teachers, and connection to Livnot. I got to remember what it felt like to sing with passion (regardless of how it sounds), to dance with joy, to study text with meaning. This weekend, I awoke my yearning the same way I did after my own Livnot experience in 1999.

The past few days have been hard. Even those closest to me, including my wife and children, have difficulty understanding what I experienced with Livnot. I yearn for the spirit, I yearn for the joy, I yearn for the connection to my homeland and people. Since my first trip, I have tried to build things around me that can make me feel this connection, but I cannot. I bake and braid challah, sing the Shema each night to my children, perform Shabbat rituals at home, attend synagogue, help my children with Hebrew school, and serve on this board. But the void is still there. I can suppress the empty feeling after a few weeks of work, education activism, community involvement, watching football, and mindless entertainment from glowing rectangles. I have done it before. But this weekend has awakened my deep yearning once again to live a life filled with passionate song, joyful dance, and meaningful study. Once again I struggle with the gap between where I am and where I want to be. I struggle with remembering where I have been and reconciling it with where I need to go. I struggle with feeling there is more for me to do. My struggle is my journey, and we all know life is about the journey. This is the power of Livnot U’Lehibanot.

Livnot 35 RetreatI had the chance to speak to the chevre who joined us for the weekend. I pointed out that we all have something in common: we are all on a journey. We are all travelers on a path searching for meaning. We are all in constant states of transition. That is what all chevre have in common. We are not the usual Jews. We seek, we yearn, we feel, we question, we sing, we cry, we dance, and we love. And we do all of this because Livnot woke us up.

This retreat had perfect timing for me. It has been 15 years since I have felt this prepared for the sound of the shofar. I got to sing in a way where I felt it resonate from my belly button to my toes, just like I have done before. I got to share deeply with chevre (and staff) like I have done before. I got to share words of wisdom like I have done before. I got to study with Michael Even Esh like I have done before. I got to dance with Aharon like I have done before. I got to wake up again. So, I thank you all for your contributions of time and treasure. I may be a board member, but I always will, first and foremost, be a chevre.

Shana Tova, Josh

Written by 

Originally from Syracuse, NY, Meir received his BA in American History and Political Science from Tulane University and his MS in Resource Management from SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry. He arrived in Israel in 1992, served in the Nahal Infantry Unit before moving to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. On Kibbutz, Meir was Assistant Manager of the... Read More

248 thoughts on “Happy Jew Year!”

  19. Aw, this was a very nice post. Taking the timeand actual effort to make a superb article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and don’t seem to get nearly anything done.

  33. continuously i used to read smaller postswhich as well clear their motive, and that is also happeningwith this paragraph which I am reading at this time.

  49. Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and help others like you helped me.

  50. I like the valuable information you provide in your articles. Ill bookmark your blog and check again here regularly. I’m quite certain Ill learn lots of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!

  71. My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was entirely
    right. This post actually made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how
    much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!

  83. Sázková kancelář 22Bet casino je provozována společností TechSolutions Group NV jako a Playamo. V současnosti již patří navzdory nedlouhé historii svou nabídkou k respektovaným jménům na scéně s hazardními hrami a sportovním sázením. Opírá se o silné zázemí značky mezinárodní. Je to snadné, stačí jít na 22bet a založit si herní účet. Pokud máte 22bet bonus kód, můžete navíc získat speciální bonusy. Casino dokonce nabízí bonusy bez vkladu. V kasinu 22Bet není nouze o metody vkladu a výběru. Kromě samozřejmých kreditních karet Visa a Mastercard jsou k dispozici také některé možnosti elektronické peněženky, jako je Skrill, EcoPayz, PaysafeCard, SOFORT, Neteller a Instadebit a mnoho dalších. 22Bet také nabízí kryptoměny, které nenabízí tolik online kasin, to je u 22Bet rozhodně skutečný bonus.
    https://www.wall-bookmarkings.win/online-casina-bonusy
    Platforma usnadňuje ohlédnutí za minulými závody, která nabízí dobré jídlo a dobrý bar se sportem na vás nikdy nemůže pokazit. A co zhuštěný seznam nejlepších RTP v kanadských online kasinech, pokud chcete navštívit toto místo na celou noc. Online kasino získat zpět peníze v každém případě přejděte do svého osobního profilu ve FortuneClock a aktivujte juicy spins v Populárních hrách, a pokud jste někdy hráli klasický tříválcový slot. Online automaty je možné si zahrát také prostřednictvím tzv. demo módu, kdy se hraje o virtuální peníze. Hrát tedy můžeš bez registrace a zcela zdarma.

  99. Your means of telling everything in this paragraph is genuinely good, all be able to without difficulty understand it, Thanks alot.

  119. It’s laborious to find educated people on this subject, however you sound like you realize what you’re talking about! Thanks

  127. Howdy! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and startinga new project in a community in the same niche. Your blogprovided us valuable information to work on.You have done a outstanding job!

  140. Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, justwanted to say fantastic blog!

  172. Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with SEO?I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’mnot seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.Kudos!

  176. I’m not positive the place you are getting your info, but great topic.I needs to spend a while finding out much more or working out more.Thanks for excellent information I used to be in search of this infofor my mission.

  179. All crypto portfolios contain a cash allocation and the number of coins in your portfolio is reduced at a low account balance. See portfolio disclosures for more detail. Marszalek had tweeted to say the ether was recovered and returned to the exchange, but that failed to calm a jittery market. The Wall Street Journal reported that withdrawals at Crypto rose over the weekend after Marszalek’s tweet. There’s a new asset called “customer crypto assets” worth some $88.45 bn, matched by a new liability called “crypto asset liabilities”. This asset and its associated liability are by far the biggest items on Coinbase’s balance sheet. Footnotes to the balance sheet describe these new items as “safeguarding assets” and “safeguarding liabilities”.
    https://www.adirs-bookmarks.win/how-to-buy-cumrocket-cryptocurrency
    “Currently, Pi Network recommends to all Pioneers and potential PI users not to engage with any of these exchanges or third-party actors as their actions are not affiliated with Pi Network, and could result in substantial loss or damage to Pi users. Pi Network is also requesting these posts and exchange listings removed, and evaluating additional actions with respect to the third parties and exchanges. Cryptocurrencies The main goal of Pi Connect is to overcome the Pi Network’s current crypto limitations, in addition to offering users valuable information on Pi’s price and conversion rates for popular cryptocurrencies. If you have a financial interest, then the answer to the yes no question would be YES. Sign up to tradeJoin the MEXC Community TodayAlways there for you.

  211. An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you need to write more on this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t discuss such subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *