WRJ Centennial Trip: Reflections on a Shabbat in Israel

It’s Shabbat. Where is the quiet? This morning, there is the sound of wind blowing across the sand and rocks. Throughout the bounty of an Israeli buffet breakfast (oy!), there I hear the cacophony of voices, the clinking of silverware and dishes, chairs scraping across the floor. No quiet here. Moving into the sacred space for Shabbat services. Maybe here. The air is full of women’s excited voices, Israeli women, North American women, greeting, seating, putting on tallit, finding the holiness in this special community. Throughout the service, there is no quiet.  The melodies–all of them–blending to form a symphony of sound. Voices chanting, reading, papers rustling, pages turning. Where is the quiet? Here comes the Torah, the joyous sounds of women celebrating, bringing its sweetness to their lips as it passes. The call to Torah, voices calling out ancient blessings, hearing them repeated back. The scrape of the yad across the parchment, some voices unsure, others strong and clear. And still, where is the quiet? Walking to lunch in a picnic area–the wind whistling past my ears, sometimes raking my face with sand. There is no quiet here. The air is filled with delicious smells of lunch, women’s voices in many accents: Israeli, Canadian, the South, New York, Ohio, and some too blended to decipher. There are children nearby, their high-pitched laughter cutting across the space. Climbing into the jeep for a bumpy ride to the crater. It’s loud, the conversation and laughter of women mix with the baritone voice of the guide. At each stop, it’s a lesson in geology, a lesson in nature, a moment to savor the beauty and indescribable starkness of wind and water-shaped land features. And yet, it is not quiet here, either. The constant whistle of the wind pushes through the air, speaking to us of the power of nature. Reminding us that we are but specks of dust in the wind. Shabbat is coming to a close now. Still, my ears yearn for quiet–for rest–for silence. But it does not come. The rest, the peace comes from within my soul. It is Shabbat. While there is no quiet around me, it is within me, and I am at peace.