Humility and Cultural Diversity

This post is really two posts in one. I missed a few days there, so I am making up for it.

I have been learning Hebrew since the age of 3. No exaggeration. I began learning the Aleph Bet as soon as I entered nursery. I have done numerous summer tours, spent more holidays than I can count and lived in Israel for various period of time. Yet, when it came time to go shopping today… I froze. I don’t know what it was. So far, I have been able to command the language and get myself through most daily tasks, but for some reason today I blanked. The worst part was that I was too proud to ask anyone for help.

I think I need to re-evaluate my expectations for assimilating into Israeli culture. Yes, I lived in Israel for a year, and in that time was completely fluent. However, that was 10 years ago. I know it will take time to brush off the cobwebs and get back to where I was. I do know that I am not falling into the trappings of the “honeymoon phase;” I think writing about it, and internalizing it has been very helpful for me. I hope that it helps other future Olim as well.

An Observation on Cultural Diversity

Today I got a real dose of the duality of the Israeli ethos. As I was walking to the center of the city (Jerusalem), I came upon a small demonstration by a left wing organization (I am going to leave out its name and purpose, because I would like to keep this blog as apolitical as possible). As I passed, a car pulled up and stopped in the middle of the street, rolled down their windows, and proceeded to flip the protesters the bird. Not more than a minute later another person pulled up and stopped in the road, this time however, the person smiled and flashed the peace sign. I found this to be the ultimate example of the diversity of Israeli society. I think many people who are not familiar with Israel think it is an entirely homogenous country, because of its “Jewishness.” The truth is Israel is as diverse a country, if not more, than any other. The reason for this is that Jews from all over the world have come to Israel since its inception in 1948. Jews from Eastern Europe along with the former Soviet Union, Western Europe, South America, North America, South Africa and Arab countries. While these people share common religious practices (though not completely identical), their cultural differences are very apparent in Israeli society. It is for this very reason that the people, the smells and the languages are all different. I am excited to immerse myself in the culture, as well as retain my own to add to the melting pot that already exists here.