So what made this rabbi willing to sacrifice economic stability to create a liberal congregation in Israel? We saw him and he said hello but we did not get a chance to talk with him and could not get a feel for the kind of man he is. But he obviously had a vision and made it happen.
After services and dinner at JOH a group of us from the tour gathered in the lounge to have a drink and talk. The overriding question for us was, after meeting people who overcame odds you and I can not imagine, made changes in their lives, changed their trajectories, and then turned around and helped those in their communities. The three that we were thinking about were women so we also wondered about men who revolutionize themselves and then work to change their societies. Rabbi Kelman might be one of those but since we did not talk with him, we had no comments.
The first woman we met, U-vey, from the Ethiopia community decided at some point in her life when she realized that she was being discriminated against because she was Black, that she would not let prejudice box her in. If she needed support, then she created her support. And when she was personally strong enough she used her own power to give back to her people. But not only her people. She saw the Ethiopian community as economically poor but with strengths. She also saw other poor people living in the same economically stressed community and developed interventions for all the inhabitants, not just the Ethiopians. As a roll model other young Ethiopian were emerging in leadership roles. Gardens were growing. People were growing.
While in the desert we met with a Bedouin woman, Amal Aljooj Al Sana from the Negev Institute for Strategies and Peace Development. Here was a woman who was the 5th of 5 daughters, a disappointment and shame to her father, but also loved by him. At 5 she learned about organizing when, as a shepherd for the family's herd (since there were no sons) she saw that all she had to do was align herself with the lead sheep. From this vantage she also realized at that time that she did not want to do woman's work. She did not want to cook and care for children exclusively. From then on, after making that decision she fought directly and indirectly the strong patriarchal system that she was born into. She fought and got schooling and then decided to go to McGill for a graduate degree in social work. In her society that was not possible. She could not leave the tribe without her father's permission and he could not give it to her or he would have lost his status in the community. So she found a young man who was willing to marry her and they together went to Montreal. She got her degree, returned to Israel and is working to upgrade the lives of the women in her community. She has worked to bring preschool to an illegal village and is now working to get other resources and to incorporate it with the legal town. She also has created a workshop for Bedouin women to earn money and free themselves from the strong patriarchy. We see here a decision she made on the hilltops in the desert changed her life and the lives of those around her.
The 3rd woman was Amoun Sleem, a woman from the Domari (Gypsy) community in Jerusalem. This group came originally from India and throughout history has been on the lowest social and economic rung of society. They are the beggars and see themselves as beggars. They are Arabic speaking but are looked down upon by Palestinians and other Arab groups. Amoun decided at around 10 years old that there was something wrong with being a beggar. She started selling postcards in the Old City. The other Domari did not like what she was doing and the other Arabs did not trust her. She basically had to fight everyone and everything. He mother was dead and her father was not loving but she did have sisters supported her. Somehow she finished school and then college. She acted as role model for her sisters and other Domari woman. She founded a center to support training in beauty culture and sewing so that the women could earn a living in ways other than begging. I have no idea how this particular woman was able to fight the internal and external forces and change the trajectory of her life. How did she know that she could do better than beg? How did she fight the forces within her community as well as externally to continue her struggle? I can't even imagine.
These stories, particularly the one of the Bedouin hit my heart. I saw a woman who fought incredible odds and a lot of "NO"s to change her life and get what she wanted. I think of my own life and the decisions I made at the same age. I remember one day at 7 or 8 I decided that I was going to be a better wife to my husband than my mother was because she always made my father mad and made him yell. (That's how I saw it). Such a simple thought/decision governed my life. I have done wonderful things but as a young person, when faced with the NOs of society I folded. OK, I can't go to Antartica with a research team because they don't take women, ok. I'll do something else. So accommodating and facilitating became my modus operandi. Don't get me wrong, I have used my skills well. But what I am trying to say is what I saw this week were woman who would not or could not accommodate. Somehow they made different decisions at critical times in their development. And these decisions are making this life better and are the seeds of hope for future generation. I envy them; I admire them. I am in awe.
Shabbat Shalom.
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