Old/New World Discourse: Signs and Wonders

In 5761 (2001), Missy Oldest and I were Blessed to visit Israel. None of her other siblings ever set foot here before we made aliyah. Computer Cowboy, likewise, was never a tourist.

We came to the Holy Land for a ten day odyssey of self and national discovery, courtesy of a family gift given to Missy Oldest, in honor of her becoming Bat Mitzvah. She and I joined an expedition managed by Emunah, Israel's largest women's religious Zionist organization.

Our extended family intended us to have fun. Emunah intended us to show solidarity (our travels occurred during the Second Intifada). Our friends considered our travels the ultimate in mother-daughter bonding. Yet, Missy Oldest and I understood our trip as a chance to get better acquainted with home.

We framed that trip began with prayer. We chanted The Travelers' Prayer, Tefilat HaDerekh, felt gratitude for the minyonim on the airplanes and embraced the opportunity given to us to recite the three-faceted blessing in the manner which is only permitted in Israel; we thanked Hakodosh Baruchu not for "fruit," (of the seven species) but for "its fruit" (literally fruit of the Holy Land). We also made sure to offer up thanks for the chance to walk on the most sacred dust of the entire Earth.

While we were uttering words and songs, lines and psalms, our fellow passengers were kissing the ground or crying. I think a few even softly spoke the words of the Shechianu, the prayer of thanks which celebrates the important firsts in life such as first tastes of a season’s new fruit, naming newborns, wearing new cloths, and more.
 
Flash forward to 5769 (2009). BH, Missy Oldest, also known as "Becca," is in her Yud Beit year in a religious girls' school in Jerusalem and her mom, Yours Truly, has managed to work her way to the Gimmel-level of ulpan. Meanwhile, we've both been writing and publishing in various places.

Ever the enterprising teen, Becca, who quickly realized that two Jews make for three opinions, proposed that we offer "She Said: She Said" to The Jerusalem Post's blog editor. That editor, fortunately, liked our idea. She concurred that two related, Jewish, Israeli, female writers, of different generations might create interesting sparks, especially since each of us is right, all of the time.

Find out for yourself next week, when Becca and I, juxtaposed, debate the proper temperature to cook oatmeal and the best way to explode letters off of a page. She and I, in tandem, will explore the nexus of young and old, of imported and of native, of daughter and of mother, and of Israeli and of everyone else. Stay tuned.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for reading "Old/New World Discourse!"