Reflections on my visit in Israel

I began to see Israel this time not from the eyes of a tourist, but to a small extent, through the eyes of those who live there and have made Israel their home. From our meeting with Yosi and Dina Haim, who invited us into their home for Shabbat dinner... to my conversations (in my broken Hebrew) with many cab drivers... to an afternoon exploring the Carmel market and old parts of Tel Aviv with Mira Korn... to lunch with Adam Griesman in lev shel Tel Aviv at the Ben Ami coffee shop... each of these experiences deepened and broadened my love of this land and my understanding of her contradictions.

I find this country to be one where the natural contradictions of life are played out more vividly. Where "yes" and "no" go on in a tension tighter than any place else I have encountered. Old and new of the cities intertwined, ancient and modern culture in contrast, Hebrew spoken as a native tongue and yet also for some reserved only for prayer, the frenetic pace at which every one lives - just watch out when you cross the street if you doubt this -- and yet it all comes to a stop on Shabbat only to burst forth again the next evening, the pulse of life so palpable, the colorful landscapes with every shade of cream and bronze and gold and purple and faded shades of green... and yet from up close it is just muted and dusty and gritty and dry and sand. Rich and poor is Tel Aviv with the beautiful shades of blue of the Mediterranean, lined with new high rise apartments and condominiums overlooking it, yet the city is often dirty and looks like a run down Miami beach.

People from all lands... who consider themselves to be returning home. And yet others who also wish to claim this land, as if they are the only refuges from this place that has known nothing but to cast those who lived there off to other places time and time again. To whom does such a place really belong? Perhaps only to the strong, to the righteous?

A home land. A place from where I am sure once my ancestors came and to which many have returned. A full circle? Or more like a hurricane, with Jerusalem at the eye of the storm, casting outward... all who enter inward.

A land so fragile and at risk. Where the water is as scarce as the patience. Yet a people strong and determined to make the best of their lot, to make life in a land promised long ago. A country divided left and right, yet united by the desire to remain.

Wave, Particle

I read Michelle's post from July 4 and it made me think, "Is the material world continuous and in flow, or is it a series of static states that are connected."

Like a movie, is life made up of frames, where we can observe each one if we choose? Is there a silence available to us in between each state? Even in a rushing and raging river? Even in the roar of the wind? Even in the dance of a flame? Are they continuous, leaving no room for stillness and silence within their movement?

In a movie, as it is played, we seem to see a continuous flow of movement and events. But in reality, our mind is simply filling in the gaps -- chattering away, interpreting, trying to make sense of what it has seen, and offering up its interpretation. But when we slow that movie down, when we bring it to a stop, we appreciate the trickery of our mind. That what we thought was non-stop and continuous was actually a series of freeze frame images, with a small gap or crease between each image. Our mind wants to believe that it is continuous, and tells us so... but it is not. In between each frame is an opportunity to be quiet and to observe that silence.

The movie is easy, but could I say the same for a river? It flows down toward the ocean. Perhaps it is the mighty Mississippi. Capable of discharging, as it did in August 1993, at a rate of 485 million gallons per minute or 1,080,000 cubic feet per second—a rate sufficient to fill Busch Stadium about every 65 seconds. But isn't that rush of water still only a series of frozen frames in time, observable each, each with a pause in between. Each frozen moment offering a built in opportunity to take a breath and just watch. I think so.

The question is not a new one. And the debate is not settled by science. Light has been observed to have dual qualities of wave and particle. "In physics and chemistry, wave–particle duality is the concept that all matter and energy exhibits both wave-like and particle-like properties. A central concept of quantum mechanics, duality addresses the inadequacy of classical concepts like "particle" and "wave" in fully describing the behaviour of small-scale objects. Various interpretations of quantum mechanics attempt to explain this ostensible paradox." (See Wikipedia for Wave–particle duality).

Perhaps our hearts are the continuity. Our soul, our observation, carries us between the frozen frames. The material world needs observers. Observe - watch over. Those who will keep things safe from above. We can remain out of the fray and revel in the gaps and folds of time standing still.