APRIL 11 • 2024 | 11
J
N
Robin Food that creates tasty
meals prepared with leftover
food from the Haifa shuk
(marketplace). And we spent
time — not nearly enough
— at Hostage Square where
the families of the hostages
share their grief in moving
and profound ways as the rest
of us bear witness and try to
support them.
And we farmed.
Our biggest project
involved extricating the
irrigation system from the
winter overgrowth and
aligning the pipes, so they
lay about 6 inches from the
tree trunk. This creates the
best mix of air and water for
a healthy root system for the
mango trees. We also spent a
morning in the mango groves
pruning baby mango trees
or painting sunscreen on the
bottom of avocado trees to
protect the bark.
The hard work, the fresh
air, the intensity of our efforts
to understand what it was
really like in and on the
ground, both exhausted and
exhilarated us. We arrived
in Haifa for Shabbat and for
Purim, a tired but proud
group of Americans. We had
pushed ourselves in every way,
perhaps most of all in finding
patience and tolerance for the
individual journeys of all the
people in our group. Kabbalat
Shabbat by the Mediterranean
Sea, officiated by group
member Rabbi Julia Appel,
was just what we needed.
THE LESSON OF
GRATITUDE
But we had one surprise left.
After Shabbat dinner, we
were challenged to each speak
about something we were
grateful for. Ryan Lubin from
Memphis stood to speak. His
young niece, Rose Lubin, a
Lone Soldier from Atlanta,
had fiercely defended her
community of Kibbutz Sa’ad
on Oct. 7. Thereafter, she
returned to her usual duties
guarding the Damascus Gate
in the Old City making sure
non-Jews could safely pray at
the Temple Mount. On Nov.
7, while on duty, Rose lost her
life to a terrorist who stabbed
her to death. Rose was buried
with full military honors.
Her funeral at Mount Herzl
was attended by thousands of
mourners.
Ryan had joined the trip as
another step in his grieving
process. Here, at Shabbat
dinner, he told his beloved
niece’s story while we listened
and wept. Ryan explained
what he was grateful for: it
was for all of us. He told us
our work honored Rose’s
memory.
I get goosebumps writing
about Rose and Ryan. To
imagine that this group’s
journey of discovery served
yet another sacred purpose
was overwhelming. So, it
seemed apt to turn our
attention to the Megillah
on Saturday night where
we attended a reading at a
Reform synagogue in Haifa.
It is common knowledge
that in the entire Megillah
there is no mention of God or
religious rituals. Israeli Rabbi
Yoel Ben Nun says, “It was
written in such a radically
secular style to teach us that
Divine providence exists in
places and situations far from
the realm of holiness …”
And so it was for us, the
inaugural group sent by
Adamah to farm and learn
in Israel. In the mud and
the rain, in the physical and
intellectual work, and in the
emotional rollercoaster, we
didn’t just help Israel, we
helped ourselves. We are no
longer Jewish Americans in
a strange land. We are — at
least honorary — fellow
Israelis who worked the land
with our hands, our hearts
and our minds.
We felt the call of our
ancestors, the demands of the
present and the hope for the
future. We did it all with the
light of the life of Rose Lubin
guiding us. I will never forget.
Israel is inside me now. Am
Yisrael Chai.
Israel needs you. But
you need Israel. Volunteer
opportunities abound (check
the Facebook group Sword of
Iron). But if that’s not your
thing, go as a tourist. Walk the
streets, stroll the boardwalks
by the sea, eat scrumptious
food. The economy is
suffering, and you can help.
In the end, I promise you will
get more than you ever could
have hoped for. So, please —
just go. Your family is calling
you home.
Jan Goldstein Frank makes her home
in Bloomfield Township. She coached
forensics in the Bloomfield Hills public
schools between 2005-2023. Jan is a
partner, with her husband Jon Frank,
in the law firm Frank and Frank. She is
the mother of three sons, two daugh-
ters-in-law and Grammy to the remark-
able Emilia and Maya Frank.
Sunrise over
Kibbutz Ravid
Lori Weberman and
Jan Frank, both from
Bloomfield Township,
on Kibbutz Ravid