Visit Israel.

Now.

I recently returned from my first trip to Israel. Was I anxious? You bet. Was it for nothing? Absolutely. The flame of Judaism that's in each of us burns brighter with the oxygen of Israel.

It's amazing. Israel is awesome in the truest sense of the word. It's LIFE CHANGING. Israel is beautiful this summer. Yes, there is an intifada happening. Something is always happening in Israel. But with the same awareness I use in my everyday life here in Los Angeles, I enjoyed Israel very much.

I went to Israel as part of a United Synagogue Solidarity Mission - Operation Joshua. One of the goals was to get an "inside" look at the movers and shakers of the Masorti Movement, Conservative Jews in Israel. Another goal was to show support for Israel in what surely is a difficult time. Mission accomplished.

We met with the first Israeli ordained as a Masorti Rabbi. We went to the Mahon Schechter and the Fuchsberg Center, Conservative Yeshivas in Israel. We were met with open arms by Mayor Ehud Olmert of Jerusalem and again in a private meeting with President Katsav in his home. Our group of 48 went North - to Camp Ramah / NOAM where the kids were radiant. We visited with a USY Pilgrimage group at Kfar Kedem, a reconstructed Biblical village and actually rode donkeys while dressed in biblical garb: it was so goofy it was fun! We davened together at the Masorti Wall - the southern section of the Western Wall where men and women can pray together. It must have been an unusual sight - we were on the local news that evening.

Israelis welcomed us to their homes in Gilo; a site of nightly shelling from neighboring Beit Jalah. The neighborhood of Gilo appears to take it in stride: they built a cement wall and painted it with the view they used to have before the army moved in to protect them. Humans really are resilient.

All of the people I met in Israel could not have been more welcoming. Fortunately and unfortunately, we had the place to ourselves. Everywhere we went, either individually or as a group, the comments were the same: "we're so glad you're here," "thank you for coming" "won't you please tell your friends?"

I actually felt free in Israel. I spent five days in Jerusalem and two in Tel Aviv. There were discounts and smiles galore. I walked on Shabbat for 45 minutes beginning at 11:15 p.m. - something I would NEVER do in Los Angeles. I enjoyed a lovely Shabbat dinner in the home of the Ben-Yishais, Yisroel and Rachel and their four children. We talked frankly about the differences of what we see on television and the reality. Israelis live their lives - some are depressed about the state of affairs and wondering if there will ever be peace in the Middle East, others go on as we do here.

I left Israel a changed woman. Certainly this trip enhanced my awareness of and knowledge about Israel. I find myself reading the Jerusalem Post on-line; Israel now a very real multidimensional part of my religious history. I came back enriched and invigorated: for my faith, for continuing my education, and for what I can only describe as "ahh, Jerusalem."