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

